Cooling
Choosing the most efficient air conditioner to suit yours and your family's needs, is by no means the easiest task.
At Harley Plumbing, we are able to advise you as to the different types of Air-conditioning available and give you unbiased and updated information as to the many different brands on offer.
Our experience at Harley Plumbing has shown that our clients have FOUR main areas of question and concern when choosing their Air-conditioners.
1) Evaporative Cooling v Refrigerated Cooling
2) The upfront costs of the Air-conditioning unit and the installation costs.
3) The energy ratings of the systems with on-going costs. It is not commonly known that the "star ratings" on labels for Air-conditioning changed in 2003. While most people are aware that the more stars on a label, the better, at Harley Plumbing, we can also give you an explanation as to the capacity output (kw) and the power output (kw) and what will be best suited to your needs.
4) The correct sizing of the Air-conditioner for their home or business. The output capacity (as mentioned on the energy labelling) is the amount of heat that will be removed or added to your rooms. As a general rule, the governmental advised standard is
- 125 watts (0.125kW) per square metre of floor area to be cooled in living areas and
- 80 watts (0.080kW) per square metre of floor area in bedrooms.
We strongly encourage you to call our experienced servicemen at Harley Plumbing and ask for a no-obligation quotation for your Air-conditioning needs.
REFRIGERATED COOLING - SPLIT AIR CONDITIONERS
DID YOU KNOW???
- That a split Air-conditioner should be sized correctly for the room that it is to service?
- That when you purchase a split Air-conditioner, it requires a plumber and an electrician for installation and each must provide you with a legal certificate?
- Not all brands of Air-conditioners are equal when it comes to efficiency and costs (both initial outlay and continued runnings), this is something that you should feel free to discuss with Harley Plumbing.
What is a Split Air Conditioner?
A split Air-conditioner means that there is an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. A split cooler can be a wall split or a ducted split.
A split cooler can simply cool alone but due to the fact that the cost is usually not that much more, most people opt for a reverse cycle split.
This means that is heats and cools!
A wall split cooler is designed to cool a specific area. The outdoor unit is placed on an external wall and the indoor unit is placed as close to the outdoor unit as possible.
A ducted split is designed more for cooling an entire house or office area. Generally these are more efficient to run and can be "zoned".
An example of "zoning" is to cool your living area during the day and your bedrooms at night. (For more information on ducted systems, please see our heating section!)
Above picture: Example of Zoned Cooling within a house
Wall Split Air-Conditioning Cooling Tip
To use your wall split Air-conditioner most efficiently, don't leave windows or doors open to let hot air inside!
This will decrease the efficiency of your Air-conditioning unit. Your wall split Air-conditioner is designed to cool the internal air!
Benefits of Your Wall Split Air-Conditioner
1) You can set a temperature and your Air-conditioner will continue working to keep your room at that level.
2) You only have to cool the room that you are using.
EVAPORATIVE COOLING
Evaporative Cooling
What is evaporative cooling?
Evaporative cooling is natures' most efficient way of cooling - through the evaporation of water! Evaporative coolers do exactly that, they cool by drawing warm or hot air through wet pads using a fan blower.
Evaporative cooling is becoming more and more popular in Melbourne as it is best suited to warm, dry climates without intense humidity.
It also gives the feeling of bringing the outdoors in, by allowing open doors and windows while the air-conditioning is running
(In fact - this is essential!)
Australian studies have shown that even large evaporative coolers usually cost between 5 and 10 cents per hour to run. So, on a hot Melbourne day, it can cost under $1 to run an evaporative cooler for the whole day!
Above picture: Example of a Split Air-Conditioner with a Remote Control
Evaporative Cooling Tip!
It is most efficient to open (approximately half way) the window in the rooms that you are cooling that are farthest from the vent. The open window is acting as an exhaust for the cooled air.
Above picture: an example of a duct in the roof commonly used for evaporative cooling.
The benefits of Evaporative Cooling
1) It is a Cost effective option for cooling an entire house or office area.
2) Internal air becomes comfortably cool not uncomfortably cold.
3) Your evaporative air conditioner can be used to cleanse the air in your home e.g. cooking or smoking smells can be blown away.