Make Sure You Plan Routine Maintenance For Your Heat Pump Before It’s Too Late

Once the weather conditions begins to cool, it’s time for you to schedule a heat pump servicing. You should prepare your devices some time before wintertime arrives for a number of reasons.

Primary advantages of regular routine maintenance include:

• Conserving money: Yearly tune-ups are considerably less expensive than the repair or replacement service. Your system will be more cost-effective, which lowers your power bills.

• Make repairs or improvements: Have an experienced technician evaluate the condition of each and every element of the system and recommend any needed fixes or upgrades prior to winter. Cold temperatures cuts down on the efficiency of the heat pump. That’s because your internal coils need to start generating heat to add to the heat in the air, so it’s essential that they’re clean and in good shape.

Schedule a heat pump servicing by using a certified professional who'll perform a complete, comprehensive job of:

• Testing airflow: In accordance with Energy Star, over fifty percent of the heat pumps within the U.S. have substantial issues with low airflow and leaking ducts. Certified technicians will test ventilation with state-of-the-art instruments to uncover and correct any problems.

• Sizing and fixing ducts: Defective ducts makes it possible for as much as 30 % of one's treated air to leave before it gets to the intended area. Therefore, issues with your ductwork really need to be identified so you comprehend any performance problems and prepare for repairs should they be needed.

• Cleaning and replacing of filters: This should be done every 2 to 6 months, but particularly at the start of the heating time of year.

• Cleaning your system thoroughly: Every single component part ought to be properly cleaned out and cleared of all the dirt. That also includes the entire evaporator coil, condensate tray, outdoor coils, supply and returning registers, blower fan rotor blades as well as the space around the equipment.

• Examining the motor and belts: The inner parts should really be examined to ensure they are in very good repair with plenty amount of lubrication where it's required.

• Testing electrical and protective controls:  All of the controls and electrical wiring ought to be tested to ensure they are working properly and accurately.

To schedule heat pump maintenance for your home, contact your local Sandium heat pump specialist.  We provide expert HVAC service to the South Bay Area and surrounding areas.

Choosing The Right Heat Pump

By Matthew Inertia

Heat Pumps aren't a new technology, or even one which has recently undergone a scientific breakthrough which has catapulted them into the spot light! In fact, Heat Pumps have been around for many years. What has brought them back into the spot light is the increasing awareness of the way our lives have an impact on the environment and the ways we can change our homes to reduce this impact.

Heat Pumps offer today's home and business owners a sustainable alternative to gas, oil and electric heating; all of which use non-renewable fossil fuels to generate heat for the home. Instead of this, Heat Pumps use the natural heat which exists within the atmosphere and ground to generate the same heat. As a result we can now heat our home and water supply from a completely self-sufficient and an in-exhaustible supply of fuel!

So, how does a Heat Pump work? Well, the three main types of Heat Pump are: Air Source Heat Pumps Ground Source Heat Pumps Geothermal Heat Pumps

Lets break them down...

The Air Source Heat Pumps

The Air Source Heat Pump is possibly the hardest of the three to figure out. Basically, it steals heat from the air! That's it! In the opposite way to how a refrigerator steals heat from the interior of the fridge and expels it out of the back; an Air Source Heat Pump steals latent heat from the air outside your home, compresses it and transfers that heat to your water and central heating supply.

One question that I can hear everyone asking is "but what happens when its cold outside" -- which is the time when you really need a Heat Pump to work!? Well to explain that we need to think about the way particles behave. At Absolute Zero (-273.15°C or 0 Kelvin) a particle is perfectly still but when we start to increase the temperature the particle starts to vibrate, as we increase the temperature further the particle vibrates more and so on. This vibration is energy and it is this energy which can be used to create heat for your home. In fact, high quality Air Source Heat Pumps can extract perfectly usable heat from temperatures as low as -22°C.

The Ground Source Heat Pump

Boiling away under our feet is a furnace of molten rock so vast it is hard for our minds to comprehend! It is an almost infinite supply of energy and it is what our very existence depends on. Within this molten rock there is a huge amount of un-tapped heat energy and this is projected up through the Earth and into the ground we walk upon.

As the name suggests, a Ground Source Heat Pump uses coiled tubing, laid deep in the ground to extract the natural heat energy from the Earth. This heat is then compressed and transferred into the home as a usable form of heat for your central heating and water supply.

The Geothermal Heat Pump

A Geothermal Heat Pumps works in a similar way to a Ground Source Heat Pump; in that it extracts heat energy from the ground. But instead of burying a closed loop of piping within the ground Geothermal Heat Pumps make use of very deep bore holes which drill straight down into the Earth. Pipe systems can then be buried as near to the hotter depths as possible and in exactly the same way.

In Summary

The three varieties of Heat Pump are right for different situations and scenarios. But one fact rings true for all three... Once you have paid for the Heat Pump you will have an in-exhaustible supply of heat for your home for many, many, many years to come!

For more information on heat pumps please visit Sandium.Com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Inerti
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Home Heating System: Boost the Heat in a Cold Bedroom

By Don Ames

Homeowners know when they're cold and they know where their cold. They may not know how to light a pilot light, or air seal an attic floor, or balance a home heating system, but they know when they are cold. Bedrooms are often the coldest room in the house and most often people just live with it. Stick the kid in the cool bedroom, throw a couple extra blankets on the bed and tell them to finish their homework.

Dealing with a cool bedroom is frustrating. If you turn up the heat to warm the room, the rest of the house gets too warm. Shut all the heating registers except the bedroom and it puts too much back pressure on the furnace. Too often I see a household try to adjust the temperature of one room by closing heating registers in other rooms and soon they have half the registers in the house closed and the home heating system working overtime to satisfy the heating request at the thermostat.

Usually, the home heating system is designed by a professional Heating Contractor that went to HVAC school for several hours a week for a number of years. A Heating contractor must pass an apprentice program before he or she can even take the test for their journeyman license.

HVAC Education

During the educational phase of the heating and cooling training, they are taught how to do a heating load calculation on a home. They take the heating load and develop a designed heating system that includes furnace size, fan capacity, duct size, air flows, and register size. In other words, heating systems are designed to heat all rooms evenly and to work as a system with all registers open.

If you have one bedroom that is cooler than the rest of the house, one of two things has happened:

• The heating system was designed by a contractor that barely passed the test, or
• the heating system is broken.

Recently, I had a homeowner complain that they got very little air flow out of the heating register in their dining room. The dining room was cooler than other parts of the house. With a flow hood, I registered a 75% decrease of air flow at the register as compared to the register in the living room. I removed the register grill, took a flashlight and mirror and looked down the inside of the heating duct.

With the mirror to see around the initial elbow, I could see that a flow damper valve was installed in the heating duct. Further inspection showed that all the heating ducts in the home had a flow damper installed near the registers. The damper in the dining room was the only one that was closed most of the way. The homeowner was not aware that flow dampers were a part of the homes heating system.

Heating Duct Damper

Flow dampers are a bit unusual in my neck-of-the-woods, I don't see them very often. Flow dampers are added to a heating system to allow manual adjustment of the flow of air to the registers. With dampers, the flow of conditioned air can be balanced so warm and cool areas of the home can be eliminated. To keep from putting increased pressure on the furnace fan motor, when one damper is closed down another damper should be opened up.

Sometimes, I believe a heating contractor may throw in a bunch of flow dampers when he looses his pencil and can't be sure of how big to make the heating ducts or how many registers need to be in a room.

6 Ways to Boost the Heat in a Cold Bedroom.

Repair Heating Duct:
There is always the possibility that the duct system has a problem that can be fixed. Ducts can become partially or totally disconnected and flexible ducts can become pinched off or collapsed. This is the first and most important fix considering the cold bedroom. This fix will not only warm the bedroom, but also increase energy efficiency and energy savings.

The first step is the inspection of the duct leading from the plenum to the register to be sure it is securely connected. Also, look for holes, crimping, or collapsed areas. Heating ducts damaged by animals is also a possibility that you should be looking for.

Disconnected heating ducts can be reconnected, but damaged heating ducts most often need to be replaced as they are difficult to repair.

Check for a Damper:
The sneaky heating contractor may have placed a damper in the heating duct and kept it a pretty good secret. Look and feel inside the duct by removing the register cover. Also, remove insulation from the outside of the duct, especially near the register and check for the telling signs of a damper. A metal rod with a small handle and a few anchor screws indicate a damper inside. Open the damper and your cool room problems maybe over.

Balance Room Pressure With a Cross Over Duct:
Now we need to talk about room pressure and balloons. Crack the bedroom door open about an inch, turn the furnace on and see if the pressure builds up in the room and closes the door.

The heating system is a circle of air. Air is heated in the furnace, pushed through the heating ducts into a room and then sucked by the same furnace, out of the room, back through the return air duct to the furnace. If the air in the room cannot get back to the furnace, the room builds air pressure, like a balloon, which restricts the flow of conditioned air into the room in the first place.

With an increase of pressure in the bedroom, the conditioned air is forced through a different duct and into an adjoining room.

To fix the potential problem, many homes have cross over ducts installed in the ceiling or over the door that allow the air in the room to get back into the hallway even when the door is closed. In some larger, higher priced homes, they may have eliminated the room pressure problem by installing a return air register in every room.

To balance the room pressure and stop this problem, the two most used repairs are installing a cross over duct through the wall over the door or simply cutting the bottom of the door off so there is a wider gap between the door and the carpet.

Increase the Size of the Duct:
Maybe the Heating Contractor ran out of 8 inch ducting so he decided 6 inch was close enough. There is a real possibility that the back bedroom is cool because the heating duct system was not engineered correctly. When this happens, the best fix is to correct the mistake and replace the duct with a larger one. If the home is fairly new and the Contractor is still around, you might get this done as a freebee.

In this way, the cool room will get a larger share of the air coming from the furnace. This repair can still be a do-it-yourself'er if your willing. Heating duct material, both ridged and flex, can be purchased at your favorite home store. Some zip ties, a few sheet metal screws, a sharp knife and a pair of tin snips should do the trick.

If the heating duct size is simply too small to service the room, besides replacing the duct with a larger one, the only other fix that might work is installing a booster fan in the duct or adding a complete second duct and register.

Duct Booster Fan
Place a baffle in the heating plenum:
This adjustment can be very effective - especially in a manufactured home. A section of the main heating trunk ( the plenum ) needs to be opened up so a metal baffle or shield can be placed in the main trunk line that will direct more air into the heating duct that goes to the cold room. This is a very effective way to grab more of the conditioned air that passes down the main heating trunk and direct it in the direction you want it go. This is an inexpensive and permanent fix that works very well.

Install a Booster Fan in the Duct:
This $30 part won't create more heat, but it will pull more heat to the cool room. The booster fan should be installed as close to the offending room as possible and can be wired directly back to the furnace fan so the booster fan will run each time the furnace comes on. Installing it can be a pain. A section of round metal duct either needs to be dropped down or added to the system. Be sure the duct system is air sealed or this added fan will pull unconditioned air into the system and lower your energy efficiency.

I know dealing with a cold spot in your home can be a frustrating ordeal. Hopefully I have provided some solutions to the problem that will work for you and your home. The home heating system was designed to provide the comfort you are expecting and deserve and, with a little T.L.C., will provide years of energy efficient service.

If you live in the South Bay Area of California and you are dealing with cold spots in your house- please visit Sandium.Com to schedule a visit with one of our technicians. 

by Don Ames, a home energy auditor that is your host at http://www.detectenergy.com and the publisher of the eNewsletter, the Energy Spy Insider.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Ames

Choosing The Right Home Heating Solution To Meet Your Family Needs

By Mike S Williams

As the climate starts to cool down we all start to be aware of the coldness and consider purchasing warmer attire and heating our home to stay comfortable and healthy. You'll note I mentioned the word "healthy," because reduced home heating can adversely have an effect on a person's physical condition, particularly if he or she already has a respiratory health condition.

Children and the elderly are often more at risk when a simple chill develops into a more dangerous health condition. For that reason alone, effective house heating is essential. It not only keeps us warm and comfortable, it can also help to keep us healthy.

There are several types of house heating systems to choose from, and not every system will match every home. The kind of heating you select will depend on the needs of your family. Any assessment will need to take into account several factors.

• How much you are ready to spend on installation
• The age of your house
• Your home dimensions
• How many rooms you want to warm
• Whether your home is adequately insulated (after all, it might be sensible to start by remedying heat loss via walls, doors, windows and floors to begin with).
• How long you want the heating to operate for (will you have it turned on all day, or would you just turn it on when you arrive home?)
• Do you want instantaneous heat?
• Will you be looking for all-night heating or just at certain times?
• How environmentally friendly do you want your heating to be?
• How cost-effective does it need to be?
• How easy should the heating system be to operate and maintain (do you want to chop logs?)
• How safe do you want it to be (do you have children at home?)

Yes, there are countless things to contemplate when deciding on the best home heating system for your family. Now let's look at some of the numerous options available.

First of all, if you have an older home with a fireplace you may want to get the smokestack swept and burn coal or logs to be warm. Open fires are nice to sit in front of, but they have disadvantages also. They necessitate regular cleaning and somebody will have to chop the wood, or transfer the coal inside. Are you happy using fossil fuels, or would you want something more environmentally friendly?

Some folk install modern heating systems to wedge neatly into the space occupied by an old fireplace. It is worthwhile noting that some heating systems give off fumes, smoke, and/or dry out the air. I can still think of the kerosene vapors from the heater my Mum used when I was a child.

Is under floor heating worthwhile considering?

Under floor heating is now more popular particularly with those constructing or renovating homes. The setup requires a boiler to heat hot water which can then be circulated to radiators, baseboard units, or to radiant heating tubes placed underneath the floor.

Under floor heating warms rooms from the ground up and is generally very efficient to operate. Under floor heating is also hidden and won't take up any space. The systems are generally better operated at a low consistent heat, rather than switching them on and off to produce bursts of heat.

Are other systems worthwhile considering?

Some home owners choose gas fires, or electric plug-in heaters, but they can be costly to operate and are not essentially the most economical way to heat your home. Portable heaters can be very hazardous if they tip over or come in contact with furniture, furnishings, curtains, or garments. Accidents do happen.

Central heating is one more possibility. You really need to decide how many rooms you want to heat and if you want a consistent heat in each room.

What do you need to do before purchasing a home heating system?

First of all, don't simply rush out and purchase a new radiator for your home, as is might prove to really uneconomical and inadequate. Nevertheless, if you are just renting a home or apartment, then a portable electric fire might be a short-term heating solution.

Find out about the numerous heating options and the benefits and disadvantages of each system. You'll then be well-informed to make a good decision on the most appropriate system for your circumstances.

You'll want to debate the preliminary installation price tag with the ongoing expenses of running each system. You will want to look at the efficiency of each heat system in terms of heating output and heating loss.

House heating is not cheap, and purchasing the cheapest may prove to be a false economy. Some systems cost you more upfront, but end up being cheaper in the long-term.

I personally like a home that is warmed equally rather than all the heat being focused in just a solitary room or on one wall. Under floor heating systems can be more pricey (but not always), but they distribute the heat equally throughout a home from the floor up. That's why I personally fancy water underfloor heating.

After doing your exploration you'll then be well-versed enough to contact some established heating specialists to chat about options and prices. Knowledge is power, so you'll be able to ask the right questions and select the right heating solution for your home.

To set up a visit with a professional to determine the best heating solution for you and your family please visit Sandium.Com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_S_William
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Heat Pumps

By Alison Cole

A heat pump is an electric cooling and heating system used to compress and decompress gas to heat or cool a house. This mechanical device pumps heat from a cooler to a warmer location and can extract heat from air, water or the earth. Heat pumps functions like an air conditioner in the summer and an electric furnace in the winter, thus encompassing both a heating and cooling unit in one device. The COP, or coefficient of performance, which calculates the ratio of heat output to electric power consumption, measures the performance of a heat pump.

Heat pumps are the most resourceful form of electric heating in moderate climates, and cool a house by collecting the heat inside the house and effectively pumping it outside. There are three types of heat pumps that one can install: air-to-air, water source and ground source. Heat pumps can collect heat from air, water or ground and can utilize the same to heat or cool your home. When installing a heat pump at home, one should consider using an energy-efficient heat pump system, keeping in mind the climate of the region.

For instance, air source heat pumps are a good option for mild and moderate climate regions, and ground source or geothermal heat pumps are efficient in climates with similar heating and cooling loads. The most common types of heat pumps are the air-source and ground-source heat pumps. Although ground source heat pumps are more expensive to install, they are more efficient and less noisy.

However, to make heat pumps work efficiently, they should be installed properly, and one should choose the right sized pump that can fulfill the heating and cooling demands of the house. While selecting a heat pump one should buy a device with a higher Heating Seasonal Performance Factor, or HSPF. The pumps should also be fitted with demand-defrost control, which minimizes the defrost cycles and reduces supplementary and heat pump energy use.

Heat pumps are much more cost-effective then other conventional heating devices, and are also becoming more commonly used to heat swimming pools, and hot water for household use.

To learn more about heat pumps please visit Sandium.Com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alison_Cole

Energy 101: Geothermal Heat Pumps

To learn more about Geothermal Heat Pumps please visit Sandium.Com

Greenspeed Fact or Fiction

The Infinity® 20 heat pump with Greenspeed intelligence offers ultra-high efficiency heating and cooling in one product, and it helps reduce your utility bills year round.


To learn more visit Sandium.Com

Air Conditioners & Heat Pumps Installation -- Sandium

Carrier High Efficiency Heat Pump

Carrier® High Efficiency Heat Pump with Greenspeed™ Intelligence Named One of the "Hot 50 Products of 2012" by GreenBuilder Magazine

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, May 17, 2012 – The Carrier® Infinity® 20 heat pump with Greenspeed™ intelligence was recently voted one of “The Hot 50 Products of 2012” by GreenBuilder magazine, a leading North American residential building industry publication. The GreenBuilder panel of judges selected the Carrier heat pump product based on its overall impact, innovation and reliability. Carrier, the world’s leader in high technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions, is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

Introduced in 2011, the Infinity heat pump with Greenspeed intelligence has an HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) efficiency rating up to 13, making it the highest heating efficiency ducted, air source heat pump on the market. The Infinity heat pump delivers up to 69 percent higher heating efficiency in the three-ton size.

“Carrier is proud that the Infinity 20 heat pump with Greenspeed intelligence has been named one of ‘The Hot 50 Products of 2012’ by GreenBuilder magazine” said Matt Nuijens, Carrier brand manager. “As a company committed to sustainability, Carrier continually improves on the performance and efficiency of its products. It is a tremendous honor to have this new heat pump included as one of the 50 building products that raise the bar a little higher in the industry.”

The Infinity 20 heat pump with Greenspeed intelligence was one of four HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) products to receive the “Hot 50 Products of 2012” designation from GreenBuildermagazine.

“One of the many innovative features of the Infinity 20 heat pump is its ability to provide warmer air at the register when outdoor temperatures fall into the teens,” said Rob Lambert, Carrier product manager and application engineer. “Under similar conditions, standard heat pumps may deliver cooler air at the register when outdoor temperatures decline. The Infinity 20 heat pump is one of the highest efficiency air source heat pumps built with consumer comfort in mind.”

When installed as part of a complete Infinity system, the new heat pump adjusts its output within a range of 40 to 100 percent of capacity to match the heating or cooling requirements of a home. This innovation is made possible by pairing the superior communication ability of Carrier Greenspeed intelligence with a Copeland Scroll® variable -speed compressor from Emerson Climate Technologies, optimized specifically for this heat pump.

With cooling efficiencies of up to 20.5 SEER and variable-speed compressor technology, this new heat pump is also ideal for superior cooling and dehumidification in regions with warmer temperatures and high humidity.

For more information on the Infinity 20 heat pump with Greenspeed intelligence or additional Carrier products and services, call 1-800-CARRIER or go to www.carrier.com.

About Carrier

Carrier is the world’s leader in high technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions. Carrier experts provide sustainable solutions, integrating energy-efficient products, building controls, and energy services for residential, commercial, retail, transport and foodservice customers. Founded by the inventor of modern air conditioning, Carrier improves the world around us through engineered innovation and environmental stewardship. Carrier is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp., a leading provider to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. Visit www.carrier.com for more information.

To learn more about the Carrier products we carry please visit Sandium.Com