Review Window-Mounted Air Conditioner

With rising energy costs today, it might prove insightful and money saving to conduct a quick energy audit throughout your house. Begin with a well thought out check list and you may discover a variety of energy issues in you home. While performing your audit, mark off the checklist for areas you have inspected and problems you have discovered. You will use this later to determine your required energy efficiency upgrades and perform a total energy home improvement.

Air Leaks are a major cause of energy loss.

Window-Mounted Air Conditioner

First write down a list of the very obvious air leaks. The potential energy savings from eliminating blatant air leaks in a home may range from 5 to 30% per year. Examine closely for interior air leaks, such as gaps along the baseboard or edge of your flooring installation. Take a look where the walls and ceiling join. Check to see if air can flow through these joints.

There are a number of common places for air movement and energy losses. These will be discovered in many homes that were built during periods when energy issues were not a real factor in construction.

Electrical outlets and switch plates traditionally have not been sealed but current energy costs make this a worthwhile investment and the labour is minimal. Be sure to follow proper safety procedures around electrical connections. Look for tight mouldings around windows and if possible try to determine if insulation was placed between the framing and walls.

Check all baseboards for drafts or air spaces. Ensure that the weather stripping around doors is in good condition and creates a proper seal. Determine that fireplace dampers have been properly installed and operate properly for peak efficiency.

Check the fit and insulation around attic entrances. Check wall or window-mounted air conditioners for air tight installation. Be sure to check for gaps around pipes and wires, electrical outlets, foundation seals, and mail slots. Check to see if the caulking and weather stripping have been applied effectively. There should be no gaps or cracks.

Inspect windows and doors for air leaks. Check that panes and frames are all tight and free of movement. Movement indicates potential air leaks. If you can see daylight around a door or window frame it goes without saying that you are leaking air. You can usually seal these leaks with caulking or weather stripping. Inspect your storm windows. New energy efficient storm windows will pay for themselves very quickly. You may also wish to consider replacing your current windows and doors with energy efficient products.

Conducting a Leak Test

Close all exterior doors, windows, and fireplace flues. Turn off all heating appliances such as gas burning furnaces and water heaters. Turn on any exhaust fans, heating cooling fans and bathroom fans. Use a large window fan to suck the air from one room to another. You can use incense sticks or your damp hand to detect air movement. If you use incense sticks, moving air will cause the smoke to waver, and if you use your damp hand, any drafts will feel cool to your hand.

Exterior Inspection Check Points

Check all outside corners, siding and chimney joints, points where the foundation and the bottom of exterior brick or siding meet. As you have done inside, caulk holes or openings for faucets, pipes, electric outlets, and wiring. Search for cracks and holes in the mortar, foundation, and siding, and seal them with a quality caulking. Check the exterior caulking around doors and windows. Ensure exterior storm doors and interior doors seal tightly.

Ensure proper house air flow systems operate efficiently so that air feeds for heating and cooling are operating efficiently.

Check that attic access areas are insulated, weather stripped, and close up securely. Inside the attic, seal any gaps at ductwork and pipe openings with an expanding foam caulk or some other permanent sealant.

Try to check behind drywall to see if there is a vapour barrier beneath the attic insulation. The vapour barrier might be tarpaper, Kraft paper attached to fibreglass batts, or a plastic sheet. If vapour barriers are absent and installation of new vapour barrier is not practical, you might consider painting the interior ceilings with vapour barrier paint. This reduces the amount of water vapour that can pass through the ceiling.Ensure that the attic vents are not blocked by insulation. You also should seal any electrical boxes in the ceiling with flexible caulk and cover the entire attic floor with at least the current recommended amount of insulation.

Check Basement areas

In unheated basements, you should have insulation under the living area flooring. There should also be insulation at the top of the foundation wall and first floor perimeter. Your water heater, hot water pipes, and furnace ducts should all be insulated.

Heating and Cooling Equipment

Heating and cooling equipment should be inspected annually. With forced-air furnaces, check your filters and replace them as needed. Generally, you should change them about once every month or two, especially during periods of high usage. If the unit is more than 15 years old, you should consider replacing your system with one of the newer, energy-efficient units. This is another cost effective improvement that will also increase the value of your home.

Insulate any ducts or pipes that travel through unheated spaces.

Lighting

Energy for lighting accounts for about 10% of your electric bill. Changing all your light bulbs to the newer energy saving light bulbs will save you a surprising amount on your energy bill. Your electric utility may offer rebates or other incentives for purchasing energy-efficient lamps.

Do It Yourself Home Energy Audits

When selecting your air conditioner you have many options to choose from. When you first start narrowing down the brand line you want to purchase from you will have a big division to find your way through - you can either choose to buy from a dedicated air conditioning manufacturer or you can choose to buy from a larger technology and equipment company which also produces internal climate solutions. If you decide to buy from a larger, more generalized company you should consider checking out Fujitsu Air Conditioning.

The Fujistu General Company

Window-Mounted Air Conditioner

The Fujitsu company is a very large, internationally based company which primarily focuses on IT solutions. They are best known for their PC and telecommunications work and excel at microelectronics. Yet they also have a very effective and well developed line of Fujitsi air conditioners and humidity control products which take advantage of their tech expertise to provide high-end internal climate control solutions.

Some benefits you can expect to experience with Fujitsu air conditioning include:

Quality Assurance: Millions of Fujitsu air conditioning units have been sold and used over 35 years on the market. Customized Comfort: Fujitsu air conditioning products provide the option of precisely zoned internal climate control. Convenience: These high tech air conditioners were designed for fast installation which doesn't require any form of ductwork. Cash Savings: Certain Fujitsu air conditioning systems are eligible for huge homeowner's rebates upon installation.

A Full Fujitsu Air Conditioning System

With Fujitsu you have the option of installing a single air conditioner or the option of installing a full system to provide precise and individualized climate control for every room in your home or business. Considering a few points (the fact different people have different temperature preferences, the fact different rooms hold heat differently, etc.) getting a system for your entire property makes the most sense for the majority of people.

These whole-property systems utilize a combination of 2-8 internal conditioning units and one larger outdoor unit to provide the maximum convenience, customization and power for your property's internal climate. With Fujitsu's Halcyon Hybrid Flex Inverter Systems you will experience truly high end air conditioning.

Because Fujitsu is a prominent microtech company you won't feel surprised to learn their systems utilize a few modern conveniences including:

A high 23-SEER energy efficiency rating. Whisper quiet operation. Dynamic output to match fluctuating needs. Remote control operation.

While they might be pricier than your standard window-mounted air conditioning system Fujitsu provides you with a truly 21st century option for maintaining your home's internal climate.

Fujitsu Air Conditioning: A 21st Century Approach to Internal Climate Control

The first thing you should know is that HVAC is an abbreviation for Heating, Ventillation and Air Conditioning. This kind of device is a one piece unit that provides all your heating and cooling needs. The are two different types of systems available, local and central or local. With a central system, all your heating needs are provided from one unit, whether it is a boiler or a furnace. Heated air, steam or water is then circulated through duct work or pipes throughout your home, and these systems can be either forced air or radiant heat.

Radiant HVAC systems transfer heat from water or steam, which is then circulated through your house by heat exchangers or radiators. The radiator transfers that heat directly into the room not by 'radiation,' but by convection. This is actually caused by internal movements of the heated water or steam, heat that is directly emitted by a hot surface is radiant. Forced air heating is created by the heat exchanger itself getting hot, then air is forced through this and then throughout the house.

Window-Mounted Air Conditioner

In the case of the air conditioning part of the HVAC system, usually this is the same as forced air heating, but in this case, instead of it being passed through a heat exchange, it flows through a coolant exchanger instead. The cool air still flows through the same duct work, it is just cold air instead of hot. Because of the heat that is produced during this cooling process, the air conditioning part is usually located on the outside of your home, close to the furnace.

Local HVAC systems can be space heaters, wood or other fuel burning stoves, and window mounted air conditioners. They can only heat or cool one area, like a room, possibly two, and are not able to flow through the entire house. The other differences between the two are that with a central unit, a single thermostat controls the whole system, while local units are usually controlled individually. Ventilation is also an important part of either system. Ventilation removes a variety of different contaminants from your home, whether it is smoke, odors, bacteria, or even moisture, as well as filtering incoming air from airborne particles as well. There are specified building code requirements for flow exchanges, depending on what part of the house they are located.

Picking the right HVAC system is something you really need to sit down with your wife and think about. There are many different makes and models, both for central as well as local systems. You really have to think about the kind of system will work best for your home. A local system can be more difficult to maintain, since there are more components that make up the system, where a central HVAC is comprised of just two different units. One of the things that you have to do with central systems is make sure that the ducts are clear periodically, to maximize efficiency.

It may be cheaper in the long run to go with a central HVAC system. While they may have greater initial costs, they work better and last longer with proper care and maintenance. Make sure that you purchase your unit with the highest EnergyStar rating that your budget allows for.

Choosing the Best HVAC System For Your Home

Portable air conditioner, as the name suggests is a small AC which can be easily carried across from one place to another and hence could be used for purpose of lowering the temperatures at a number of different locations on any given single day. This machine is an ideal option for people who either work from home or who operate their business from a small office.

Portable air conditioners have many advantages over their window-mounted counterparts due to which they are extremely popular and sought after. One of the major benefits of using a portable AC is that it saves the user the hassle and the trouble involved with mounting and installation which is inevitably the case with window mounted units and central ACs. In addition, since this appliance is energy efficient, its usage leads to lower electricity bills and effective utilization of energy. These parameters can be achieved by using the functional settings to adjust the temperature and selecting a portable air-conditioner in accordance with its cooling capacity.

Window-Mounted Air Conditioner

The working principle of portable air conditioners is different from the one applied in case of central air conditioner because the cooling effect is achieved by displacing the hot air and replacing it with cool air without the use of an exhaust much to the comfort of the occupants of the room. However, this appliance has its drawbacks as well namely the immense noise emitted by it while functioning and the excess moisture released by it.

Having decided to buy a portable air conditioner, there are certain guidelines which should be kept in mind by the buyer while selecting the right model for personal use. Since this appliance is manufactured by a number of companies it is imperative for the buyer to select a brand which is not only reputed and safe but offers a good warranty as well. It is equally essential to select a model which is perfect for one's needs in the sense that not only should it conform to the technical specifications and be energy efficient but should also be suitable for the location in which it is going to be used.

Portable Air Conditioner - It is a Need

Burglars will always go after the easiest target. Not necessarily the biggest house on the block--but the easiest one to break into. Burglars like dark houses, and they like to get in fast. If your house is well-lit or takes more than five minutes to break into, chances are they'll go elsewhere. If you want to make your house less inviting to burglars, here's how to do it.

Keep the lights on. It's a good idea to invest in security lighting. If your home or yard is kept lit at night, it's a definite burglar deterrent. When lighting your home, it's important not to make it blaze so brightly it bothers the neighbors--but a downlight over your garage and front doors, uplights beneath windows, and a few well-placed outdoor lamps in the yard can go a long way towards discouraging most break-ins.

Window-Mounted Air Conditioner

Get a good home security system. The best home security systems have an alarm that automatically alerts the police. Motion detectors are useful to install in your yard--turn them on before you go to bed at night so they don't go off when you and your family are outside during the day.

Have a thick door with a deadbolt. Your door should be in good repair. It should fit its frame well, with no chinks and no soft or rotting wood in the frame. The best lock in the world won't keep a burglar out if your door isn't strong as well. You should have a deadbolt--never rely on those doorknob locks. Get a peephole, preferably a wide-angle one, installed in your door. It's much safer than using a chain--strong burglars can break those chains and push you aside to get in.

If you have a garage, this also applies to the door that leads from it to the inside of your house. Garage doors are often flimsy, with cheap locks. Make sure the door that goes into your house from your garage is just as strong as your outside-access doors, with the same strong deadbolts and peephole.

If you have sliding glass doors, you've probably noticed the locks are weak. Don't depend on a stick set in the door channel. Go to your local hardware store and see what they have for strong locks for these doors.

Don't make it obvious you're away. When you go away on holiday, don't close your blinds any more than you usually do. Have the post office hold all mail and packages so it doesn't collect outside your door. Ask a friend to collect hand-delivered circulars from your doorstep. If you're going to be gone for longer than a week, pay someone you trust to mow your lawn or shovel your driveway.

Many people install timers on the lights in their homes, and set them to go on and off at appropriate times to make it look like you're home. There are lots of other ways to do this as well, like installing motion-sensitive lights outside of your house and putting your radio and TV on a timer so that they go on and off, as well.

Get a home security safe. If you have anything especially valuable in your house--jewelry or important documents, for example--protect them with a home security safe. These can go a long way toward protecting your peace of mind, as well as your belongings.

Don't show off tempting items. Open your blinds and look in your windows--from the street as well as from your yard. Can you see a television, a computer, stereo equipment, or any other valuables from your windows? If so, you may be advertising to burglars without knowing it. Make sure nobody from outside can see any valuable objects in your house. Also, don't leave anything outside in your yard that can be carried off--it makes too tempting a target for even casual thieves.

Watch your windows. Make sure your windows are strong and in good repair--including the frames. In addition, it's a bad idea to put a window-mounted air conditioner in a window on the ground floor--these can be easy to push out. It's a good idea to trim shrubs and trees near windows, as these can provide cover for burglars.

Careful with your keys. Don't keep your keys on a ring with your home address anywhere on it. And don't hide an extra key under the doormat, in that flowerpot by the door, or anywhere else outside. You may think you've found the perfect hiding place, but most burglars know where to look. Think about getting a key safe.

Contact your local police. Often, the police will send someone to assess your house and recommend the steps you should take to make your home safer. This is a good thing to do anytime you move into a new house, or if there have been robberies at other homes in your area recently.

Keep your house from being a tempting target. Don't help burglars rob you by keeping your house dark at night, keeping expensive items by the window, or neglecting your windows and doors. Follow these simple tips, and your home will be much less inviting to criminals--and much safer.

Don't Be a Target: Nine Simple Home Security Tips