Can I Make My Air Conditioner More Efficient?

As energy costs begin to rise, most homeowners are concerned with the amount of energy they consume. It is becoming apparent that using less energy will affect our communities in a profound way. Finding effective solutions to reduce energy usage while increasing comfort is no doubt, a hot topic. There are a variety of ways to Go Green without breaking the bank. One of most reliable means is to enhance the quality of your HVAC equipment. This will reduce energy costs and make your system environmentally friendly (due to the regulation of chlorinated refrigerants). If you opt to replace your HVAC unit, there is a cutting edge system being implemented into various buildings in the Northeastern United States that is making a big difference in energy consumption and personal climate.

What's being referred to as the "Soothing Comfort System" (patented by Zooling Industries), is an innovative approach that could forever change split system HVAC installations. The Soothing Comfort System uses a plate type heat exchanger, installed on your supply trunk line after the A/C coil. The heat exchanger works by creating a super efficient phase change of the moisture content (relative humidity) in the air. To reduce humidity levels, the water vapor in the air needs to be condensed and removed. More energy is needed to remove this humidity as the moisture content in the air rises. Common air conditioning systems are designed to lower the indoor (sensible) temperature not to remove moisture. The addition of a heat exchanger, using pre-cooled air from the A/C coil, will recycle the sensible heat from the return air by transferring it directly to the supply air. The net effect - the cooling coil sees a substantially lower temperature from the return air thus decreasing the amount of energy needed to remove humidity from the air. In the meantime, the normally chilling supply air (usually in the mid 50簞F range) is warmed by the return air, creating a more comfortable space and reducing energy consumption.

If you decide to purchase a Soothing Comfort System you will enjoy a noticeable difference in your home. The Soothing Comfort System will remove at least 30% more moisture from the air in your home, increasing system capacity by 20% in humid climates and up to 40% in dryer climates. The resulting increase in system capacity will therefore enable the homeowner to install smaller HVAC systems in their homes, which will decrease energy consumption and lower monthly electric bills. For example: If you live an area with high humidity levels and live in an 1100 square foot home that utilizes a 3 ton air conditioner, your HVAC system consumes an estimated 1734 - 2217 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. If you were to retrofit your current system with the Soothing Comfort System, you could not only reduce your system capacity to 2.5 tons, but save 285 - 396 kilowatt hours per month. These reduced kilowatt hours would be in addition the savings earned by updating the SEER of your equipment.

Living with humid air is both an uncomfortable and inefficient way of life. These days, anything we can do to decrease our carbon foot print will benefit both our present and our future. If we act fast and take advantage of new innovations put forth by forward thinkers, such as the engineers at Zooling Industries, the possibilities are endless. We are heading in the right direction. It's obvious that changes to our way of life are coming. It's the small moves we make in our daily lives that will eventually lead us to the bigger ones.