General

How Much Does A 5 Ton Trane Air Conditioner Cost?

Gennaio 19, 2021 By kyle

When looking to buy an air conditioner, it’s hard to find a better combination of quality and stability on a large scale than with a 5 ton Trane model. They’re renowned as a titan in the A/C industry and are known for their high-quality products that will last for years to come. When you decide you’re ready to buy one, the only thing standing in the way is often the price behind them. o if you’re asking yourself, “How much does a 5 ton Trane air conditioner cost?”, read on. Although they make a great case pitted against the competition, that isn’t to say they’re a light purchase, and with so many different factors on the table, it’s all need-to-know information.

Stock Prices

Typically speaking a 5 ton Trane air condition system is set to cost anywhere between $4000 and the better part of $10,000. For a unit that can operate well in up to 3200 square feet, that’s a quickly justified price but doesn’t make it any easier on the wallet. It does actually depend on your location more than anything else and the supplier of the unit that will have the biggest impact on price, but all in all, this is the general price range, with the midpoint of around $6000-$7000 being the best price to keep in mind.

It is, however, important to note when we’re looking at this kind of price range that this includes a standard installation as well. Unless you have particular circumstances that may result in more installation work required and a higher fee, for the vast majority of cases, this gets you from purchase right through to working order without your input.

Ducting & Extra Work

The next major area to remember when looking specifically at how much a 5 ton Trane air conditioning unit will cost you is your ducting. Any air conditioning system needs proper ducting to be effective, and when you’re looking at a 5 ton AC unit, that is going to be more important than ever to get the most out of it. That means your ducting needs to be in prime condition, as well as any other extra work that is required to make it operate.

Older properties will be the most applicable here, since they will likely need specific work to be in order for them to reach their fullest potential, and that makes things much more costly but depends on the specific situation. Even with reasonable ducting though that needs touching up, you’re looking at an extra fee anywhere from $3000 through to $10,000.

Premium Features

Finally, the last major consideration with your overall unit cost will come from any additional features that you choose to include in your installation. Any additional features are expected to cost more after all, but for some of the more advanced systems like the Trane Comfortlink II, they can even save you money in the long run as you have the most efficient system possible.

By utilizing features like this, even though they do have a slightly higher overall setup cost, you can enable smart technology to direct increased or decreased amounts of warm or cool air to different areas of your home depending on the time of day and the climate of that zone. That means you get more of what you need, when you need it, and none of the extras, really saving on energy wastage.

How Long Does A Typical Air Conditioner Last In Florida?

Gennaio 18, 2021 By kyle

Air conditioning is a great bit of home tech that can seriously improve your quality of life, but if you don’t know what you’re up against, there’s the chance that they can cause you a few more issues than you might want to deal with. With that being said, it’s important to remember that home-based technology is better than ever before. There are huge advancements in the tech that goes into making AC systems of all shapes and sizes, but even with these technological innovations, an AC system still can’t last your whole life. That’s where knowing the facts is essential.

How Long Do AC Units Last?

Back to the matter at hand — the general answer to how long an air conditioner will last is always going to be around 10 to 20 years. But if you’re asking yourself, “How long does a typical air conditioner last specifically in Florida?”, however, then you should probably be expecting slightly closer to the 10-year mark. The typical climate puts a massive strain on the system after all, and with the sheer humidity, they get seriously put through their paces.

Having said that, it still does depend on a few different factors to get a good answer. Firstly, remember that it makes a big difference depending on the air conditioner that you buy. More heavy-duty machines will likely do better in the long run, but cost much more to set up, and if you don’t use them right, even large machines may be damage-prone through short cycling from the constant on and off nature they are not designed for. It’s a trade-off. It also depends on whether you’re looking at window AC systems or split AC as well. All in all, this is the best benchmark.

How Can You Make Them Last Longer?

If you decide to invest in an air conditioner in Florida and you want to make it last as long as you possibly can do, you need to take care of it as much as you can. It’s like any complex machine after all, and there are a lot of different parts involved in making it do its job.

Servicing

First of all, servicing is essential. You should really be having your AC system serviced at least once per year. In a climate as demanding as Florida, it’s the least that you can do to give your AC a fighting chance. That should include anything else that needs doing at the same time as well. If you do nothing else, it should really be this.

Cleaning

As well as having your machine serviced by a professional, it’s also a really good idea to learn a thing or two about cleaning your air conditioner yourself. The most important part of that is routinely switching out the filter since that is such a key part of the whole machine. It also protects other parts from getting unnecessarily unclean too quickly, which can easily be one of the easiest causes of a short lifespan. Other things like cleaning the drains are just as useful.

Replacing

Finally, there’s the factor of replacements to think about as well. If a part in your AC unit is damaged, then replacing the whole thing might not always be the best course of action, and instead, it might simply be a part replacement to keep your machine lasting longer. Different parts have different justifications for a repair since some may even cost as much as the machine did itself, but others are generally easy fixes that really do make your AC last longer. It’s always a good idea to get the repairs done by a professional, but if your machine is under 10-15 years, it could be worth a look.

Can Solar Panels Run My Air Conditioner?

Gennaio 10, 2021 By kyle

While most people gladly welcome the summer sun, thinking of lazy afternoons by the pool with a cooling drink close by, high temperatures can also paint a very different picture for those who have to run their AC systems to the max and watch their electricity bills go through the roof. If you’ve been there, the thought of getting solar panels to run your air conditioner and lower your bills might have crossed your mind.

But you may be asking, “Can solar panels run my air conditioner?” The answer is absolutely yes! When summertime puts a strain on your AC and your budget, there’s really no reason to suffer through the heat in order to reduce energy consumption. Installing solar panels can be a great way to cut back on energy costs while also caring for the environment.

If you’ve learned a thing or two about solar air conditioning beforehand, you’ve probably weighed your options to understand how to get more bang for your buck. So here are some important aspects to keep in mind when working with solar panels and an AC unit.

What is solar air conditioning?

Solar air conditioners give the same results as conventional AC units, so in terms of efficiency they’ll cool your space just as you’d expect. They just use a different energy source to work their magic – solar power – and they are great at saving energy, money, and being kind to the environment. That’s why so many AC providers have made their units solar-compatible.

When looking for a suitable solar powered AC option, you should know there are two types of units:

Solar photovoltaic air conditioners

This type of AC unit is not much different from a split air conditioning unit. While the latter is powered by energy from the grid, solar PV air conditioners run on the energy provided by solar panels. The bigger the AC system, the more solar panels you’ll need to power it.

The great thing about these systems is that you can pair them with a battery to store all the extra energy from the solar panels and use it whenever you need it. This setup is called solar PV hybrid air conditioner.

Solar thermal air conditioners

Solar thermal air conditioners work by heating the liquid that evaporates and runs through the whole system thus creating the cooling effect. It’s a simple and effective way to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home.

Using solar panels to power your AC

Now that you know you can use solar panels to power your AC unit, there’s still an important question to answer: should you go for solar air conditioning only or should you install a residential solar panel system that will cover your entire electricity needs?

Most experts agree you should choose the second option. Using solar panels to power you AC only when you have a grid-connected home is not the most practical idea. That would imply having a separate electric circuit for the aircon unit, installing an off-grid solar panel system, and pairing it up with batteries to have a backup when the sun’s not shining. When you do the math, you’ll see that spending so much money on the equipment and installation work just to end up with solar panels you only use to power your AC is probably not worth it.

On the other hand, installing a solar system for your entire home comes with considerable benefits. For starters, the system will produce more energy in the summer, exactly when you need your AC to run at its full potential, while also covering all your other electricity requirements. Another major advantage is the incentives you get from electric companies. The extra energy generated by the solar system is sent to the grid in return for credits that you can use to reduce future electric bills. And if you consider the bigger picture, why save money on AC costs only when you can save money on your entire electrical bill?

Conclusion

A separate solar air conditioning system might make sense for people who live in off-grid homes or for those who don’t have enough space to install a full solar panel system, but for everyone else, a residential solar system is definitely a great long-term investment.

Can I Rent A Portable Air Conditioner?

Gennaio 9, 2021 By kyle

On hot summer days when you feel as though the heat is taking over your life, you’d do anything for a cool breeze to take you out of your misery. It can become really hard to focus, and all you want to do is lay around and maybe take four or five showers per day.

If this is the case for you, then it may be time to invest in an air conditioner. They can get quite expensive, however, and you also have to think about the cost of installing them. If you’re living in a rented home, you also have to get the landlord’s permission, which can be a hassle in and of itself.

So what can you do? You could get a portable air conditioner, which is very handy for both homes and small businesses. They’re more compact and the installation process is easier, so you don’t need to hire a professional and you can move them from one room to another. But then you have to pay the upfront cost. Is it really worth it to throw down the big bucks if you’re only going to use it for at most three months in a year? In that case, you have another option: renting a portable air conditioner.

The benefits of renting a portable air conditioner

So you may be asking, “Can I rent a portable air conditioner?” Yes, you absolutely can! Renting furniture and appliances has become common practice because of how convenient it is. You can get access to the latest models from the best brands without paying an arm and a leg. If you buy your own unit, you’re probably going to want to keep it for a long time, so you have to worry about maintenance and repairs. On the other hand, if you rent it, maintenance and servicing will be taken care of for you.

The cost of renting a portable air conditioner varies from company to company, so you’ll want to do a bit of research and compare offers. Keep in mind that the higher the quality of the unit, the more expensive it will be to rent it. For example, if you want a unit that can cool down your living room in under 15 minutes and makes very little noise, it will probably cost you a bit more. Even so, it will still be cheaper than buying a wall unit and having someone install it.

Portable air conditioners come with a kit you use to connect the exhaust hose to a window. They can be installed either horizontally if you have double-hung windows or vertically for sliding windows.

But before you start searching for a portable air conditioner to rent, there are a few things you should know.

How much cooling power do you need?

The cooling power of air conditioners is usually measured in BTU or British Thermal Units, which shows how efficient the unit is at removing heat from a room and lowering the temperature.

Portable air conditioners usually start at 12,000 BTU, and you should choose the model according to the size of the room you’re planning to use it in. 12,000 BTU is enough for a room of about 400 square feet. For 600 square feet, you would need at least 14,000 BTU, and for 1,000 square feet, you need 18,000 BTU.

You’ll also see cooling power measured through tonnage. For example, a one-ton AC is not an air conditioner that weighs one ton, but a 12,000 BTU unit since each ton is the equivalent of 12,000 BTU.

Other than the size of the room, there will be a few other factors that influence how much cooling power you need such as the shape of the room, insulation, the height of the ceiling, and the number of people using the space.

What are the electrical requirements?

In terms of electrical requirements, only the smaller units can work on standard 120-volt power outlets. Larger units such as a 2-ton AC need special outlets and voltages like a 208-volt, single-phase, and 30-amp circuit.

If you have a lot of space, you therefore need a lot of cooling power. If you can’t accommodate the electrical requirements of a large unit, you could also rent two or three smaller units that can work on a standard electrical outlet.

What about maintenance?

In the process of cooling the air in a room, a portable air conditioner removes moisture that becomes condensate and needs to be drained. No-drip units or self-evaporative units recycle this water and use it to cool off its cooling coils so you don’t have to drain it manually.

Partially self-evaporative units use only part of the condensed water so you will still need to manually empty the condensate tank from time to time. Since the accumulation rate on these units is low, they’re still considered low-maintenance. You can also connect the air conditioner to a floor drain with a gravity drain. This way you never have to deal with the condensation.

Are There Portable Air Conditioners Without Exhaust?

Gennaio 8, 2021 By kyle

Using a portable air conditioner is a great way to beat the heat during those long summer days. They’re compact, easy to install, and energy-efficient. But many new owners are surprised to find a large exhaust vent hose included in the box. That might be because they’re often not shown in the pictures used in advertising. Then they hear about ventless portable air conditioners and wonder if they could somehow keep the room cool without the bulky exhaust hose. So are there portable air conditioners without exhaust? That’s precisely the question we’ll try to tackle in this article.

How Portable Air Conditioners Work

You’re probably interested in taking the exhaust vent out of the equation because it’s inconvenient to find a window for it, especially when you want to move the portable air conditioner from one room to another.

Much like all air conditioners, these portable units pull warm air from the room and run it through a cooling system that uses refrigerant to soak up the heat. Many people think that the refrigerant cools the air, however that’s not the case. It actually absorbs the heat and condenses the humidity that turns into drops of water through a condenser coil.

The air that carries the heat away from that condenser coil has to go somewhere, so it’s taken out through the vent into an exhaust hose and out the window. If you don’t stick the exhaust hose out a window, the hot air will stay inside the room with you, preventing it from cooling down.

You could technically stand in front of the unit so you can enjoy the cool air coming out, but the room won’t get cooler. It would be like trying to fill your tub with cold water while pouring hot water in it at the same time. You’d still feel cold water in the area where it’s being poured into the tub, but the rest wouldn’t be as cold.

Once you understand how portable air conditioners work, it’s easy to see why you need to use the exhaust hose. An alternative would be to use the ventless portable air conditioners we mentioned earlier, but they’re not really air conditioners, as we’ll explain in the following section.

How Ventless Portable Air Conditioners Work

If you’re searching for a portable air conditioner without the window exhaust hose, what you need is an evaporative air cooler, also called a swamp cooler. As we said before, they’re not really air conditioners. They basically cool the air by evaporating water into it.

How it works is that you first fill a tank with water. Some models allow you to add ice so that the air can cool down faster, while others have the option of connecting a water hose or a line so you don’t have to keep filling the tank. The water is used to wet an absorbent material inside the device through wicking or a pump. There’s a fan that pulls in hot air from the room and passes it through the wet material. As the hot air passes through the wet material, it causes evaporation, and the air is cooled and released back into the room. It’s similar to what happens when you get out of a poor or the shower. The dry air causes the moisture in your skin to evaporate, taking away heat with it. As a result, your skin feels cool, even a bit chilly.

Evaporative air coolers don’t cool down a room as much as a regular AC unit, but they can be pretty effective in the right climate. Additionally, they use less electricity because there are no compressors.

They’re ideal for arid and semi-arid climates because the cool air it releases is in the form of vapors, so to avoid turning your room into a muggy swamp, it’s better to keep a window or a door open so the humid air has somewhere to escape.

However, keep in mind that in a humid climate, an evaporative air cooler has limited value. In some cases, it might not be a whole lot better than simply using a fan. Since there will already be a lot of moisture in the air, you can just point the fan in your direction, which will cause the moisture on your skin to evaporate and you’ll feel cooler.

How To Install A Vent For Portable Air Conditioner

Gennaio 7, 2021 By kyle

A portable air conditioner is a practical climate control device and a good replacement for a fixed split system. This appliance can be easily moved or transported to any space and allow you to cool rooms that otherwise could not be reached by ventilation. These units stand in the middle or on one side of the room, where they pull moisture out of the air and cool it down. Every portable air conditioner needs an exhaust pipe so that it can vent the hot air it removes from the room.

Portable air conditioners need to vent hot air. If the machine can’t remove hot air, it can’t run very inefficiently. If you operate a portable air conditioner without an exhaust hose, the area behind the unit becomes very hot. So instead of cooling the room, it may actually make the room hotter.

Most units come with an exhaust hose that runs from the portable air conditioner to the window. Portable air conditioners use an exhaust hose to blow out the hot air and water vapor generated by the unit. If you’re connecting a portable air conditioner, you will need to route the exhaust hose to the nearest window. Below we’ll go into how to install a vent for a portable air conditioner.

How To Install A Vent For A Portable Air Conditioner

Your exhaust hose kit should include the fittings for an exhaust hose (including attachments and gaskets) and a window filter kit that will allow the user to properly vent the air. The hose should be at least five feet long and usually about five inches in diameter. The filter kits consist of foam that is attach to the window and prevents hot air from entering the room from outside. The exhaust hose fits through a small hole in the foam. This filter will fit most window and door frames, although they are not always suitable for casement windows.

Place the portable air conditioner near the window that you plan to use as a vent.
Slide the connectors of the exhaust hose over the vent on the back of the air conditioner.
Add the exhaust hose to the connector.
Set up the window filter kit so that the window matches the exhaust hose. Attach the foam to the window.
Connect the exhaust hose to the portable window filter.
Start the air conditioner and check that all connecting parts are tight.

Be careful not to lengthen the exhaust hose as this can create backpressure, causing the portable air conditioner to heat up.

Vent the portable air conditioning system with a vacuum pump

With a proper vacuum pump, you can create an ideal vacuum of -1 bar. However, it’s more expensive to purchase and more complicated to use. In addition to the pump, you also need an electronic manifold. This is connected to the compressor unit together with the pump and a Schrader valve. The nitrogen bottle of the pump is set to 3.8 to 20 bar, depending on the refrigerant. The pressure can then be released in a controlled manner using the manifold.

How the best portable air conditioners work

The multi-stage filtration method removes dirt, germs, and unpleasant odors.
The ventilation function ventilates the room and cleans it.
Night mode provides an opportunity for silent operation.
The appliance can be self-cleaning, which keeps the device clean.
Self-diagnosis will help identify possible malfunctions and notify the user about it.
Most systems have an auto-restart option that allow the device to be rebooted in the event of a power outage.

Do All Window Air Conditioners Leak Water?

Gennaio 6, 2021 By kyle

Window AC units work efficiently for a long time, provided that the installation is done with high quality, the device is in good order, and maintenance is carried out in a timely manner. But one of the most common questions is that “Do all window air conditioners leak water?”.

Not all window air conditioners leak water — but some definitely do. Failure to comply with the care needed to operate the device can lead to unpleasant consequences, for example, water dripping from the air conditioner into the floor of your home. There may be several reasons for this.

The most common causes of water leaks from the air conditioner

1. Incorrect installation

The window air conditioner should be installed so that the rear is slightly lower than the front. This allows the water removed from the room air to flow to the back of the unit. The required difference between the front and back is about three centimeters. This is the first thing to check. Many of the air conditioners are improperly installed due to the rush to get relief from the heat quickly.

If the front of the air conditioner is set too low, water will flow into the room instead of flowing outside. If the air conditioner is installed too low at the back, water will tend to flow out at the edges rather than through the drains on the back wall as it simply cannot get there.

2. Icing

After removing humidity from the air, the water can turn into ice if there are problems with the cooling system. Remove the front grill while the unit is operating and if there is ice on the cooling system, it will likely need to be repaired.

3. Air seepage into the air conditioner

If warm air enters the air conditioner, it enters the cooler and dehumidifier. In such cases, condensation will form. If water is leaking from the front of the air conditioner, check if it’s dripping from the base of the unit or if it’s leaking from the area adjacent to the front of the air conditioner.

To check this, turn on the unit for 30 minutes, and then using a flashlight examine the front edge of the unit from below. Small water droplets in this area indicate an air seepage problem. Use insulating foam to stop warm air from entering the interior of the device.

4. Drain hole blocked

The back of the air conditioner has holes or grooves for water drainage. If they become clogged, water may flow back. To check this, run the air conditioner for 30 minutes and then see if water flows out. If water does not come out of the back of the air conditioner, the drain holes are clogged, use a small chip to clean them. To ensure that the water is drained, never drill additional holes on the air conditioner which can cause serious damage.

5. Blocking of internal drains

Inside the air conditioner, there are small passages that allow water to flow from the front of the air conditioner to the rear. If they’re blocked, water will collect at the front of the unit and flow out onto the floor. In this case, the air conditioner must be dismantled and returned to service.

6. The temperature outside the window is too low

This occurs at the end of the refrigeration season. If the temperature outside the window drops below minus 15 degrees Celsius at night, ice may form on the cooling system. If water does not flow from the air conditioner when it’s turned off at night but appears in front of the unit in the morning, it’s very likely that this is the problem.

Turn off the air conditioner before going to bed and restart it during warmer hours. An alternative would be to operate the unit at night in fan-only mode. This will allow air to circulate in the room during the night and prevent it from cooling.