Reply:
Portable air conditioners are useful if you want to cool a single room. They also come in handy if you are a tenant living in an apartment with no A/C.
Capacity is limited so the room would have to be small, don’t expect it to cool very much area and keep the room closed to improved performance.
They usually require you to have either a window open in such a way that a small hose or duct has access to the outside air for heat rejection — or — they require a doorway so part of the equipment can expel the heat.
One other type is a split system with flexible hose pipes between two parts of equipment, same situation here requiring outside access.
Portable A/C fill a gap in the market for flexible small capacity machines. They tend to be expensive when you see what you get (capacity) but for sheer flexibility they are ok.
Recommend DeLonghi if you have them where you live.

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Question
The seller of the house had the deck builder encase the unit in a crate-like box to match the deck and hide the unit. The unit has about 6-8 inches of clearance but I am worried there may be some air restriction. Should I ditch this covering? A/C works fine but I did have to recently replace a couple of burnt out wires. Could this crate thing be the cause?

Reply:
You are correct in suspecting the operation of your air conditioner is being hindered by the restriction imposed by the covering. No air conditioner should be covered in such a way as to restrict the airflow.
You will find that by removing the cover that your unit will operate more efficiently during higher ambient temperatures, which is when you want it to.
Aesthetics is the only reason someone would do this to an air conditioner with little or no thought to the machines ability to perform it’s function.
As for the burnt wiring, The sheathing on the wire can sustain much higher temperatures than that caused by the enclosed A/C unit. It is unlikely that the box covering has caused the problem. Burnt wiring is usually the result of a ‘hot’ connection where the connection point of the wire is loose.

Question:
I have already installed Central Air into my home, but the job wasn’t finished. I need to know how to crack the lines to let the freon into the house or whatever else I might need. Any help?

Reply:
If you try to do the job yourself you will eventually have to get someone who knows what they are doing to finish off anyway.
It is usual for an installation to stop before completion, if you ran out of money and that is why you are considering doing it yourself you had better wait until the funds are available.
As previously mentioned, if you attempt to do it yourself there is a high likelihood you will either do some damage to the system or it will not work anywhere near it’s capability.
Finally, if you do not install it correctly you will invalidate any manufacturers warranty for the machine. It has to be installed by a qualified and licensed installer.

Question:
Lately my central air hasn’t been working very well. It is constantly running and we have to keep the thermostat turned down to 55 or below to ensure the house stays cool. (My parents live near me and they keep their thermostat around 65). Needless to say, it is always running. Well, today it stopped altogether. When I turn the air on, I can hear the outside unit kick on, but absolutely no air comes through the vents. Any ideas on what it might be and if it is something I can fix myself. My dad said it sounds like the duct is disconnected or something. Any help is appreciated, as I really want to resolve this issue, possibly without the help of expensive contractors. I also really hate to sweat. Thanks.

Reply:
Either your indoor fan motor has burnt out or the relay serving the fan motor is faulty. Either of these requires an A/C technician.
If your ductwork has blown off the indoor unit ( which can happen ) then you need to check in your ceiling space fro this possibility. If you have a zoned system, one of the damper motors could be stuck in the closed position.
My guess is that the fan motor has burnt out as this is usually the problem from what you describe here.
Good luck finding a competent A/C mechanic this time of year ( mid summer ).
Note: if you are having to set your t/stat at 55 and 65 respectively you have machines that are either too small (capacity wise) for your home or there could be a refrigerant leak which causes the machine to be ineffective. They are probably running flat out trying to reach set point, causing your electricity bill to be needlessly high….just a thought.

Before you make any final decision do your homework. Get facts and a clear understanding of products so that you can ask questions and make an informed decision about a unit. There are many online sites that have valuable information about home heating and air conditioning systems such as Consumer Guide (www.consumerguide.com), Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov) and American Council for Energy Efficient Economy (www.aceee.org).

Visit the EnergyStar site (www.energystar.gov) to find out how to pick the right system for your home. Talk to several different professional installers to get information and estimates. Today places like Home Depot and Sears install heating and air conditioning systems. Talk with family and friends who may have had systems recently installed.
To learn more about Home Heating & Air Conditioning please visit www.easy-hvac.com
Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Olivia

Some air conditioning systems are incorporated into the heating system, some are not. There are various types of air conditioning systems. The simpler well known ones are air conditioning units such as window air conditioning units, wall mounted air conditioning systems and free standing portable systems.

Today most homes have what is called a split-system. The evaporator coil is inside and the cooling system, which contains the condenser and compressor is outside. They are connected by refrigerant lines running between them.

If you have an older home and are considering making an upgrade to your present air conditioning and heating system you will probably notice a savings of up to 40% if you’re replacing a unit that is 10 years old. You may actually find if you have an older system that you don’t necessarily need the newest top of the line model to get better cooling and heating. Today’s systems are so superior to older ones you’ll notice a difference even if you buy a newer lower end system. One thing you’ll notice immediately is that the compressor is much quieter. You’ll also notice the air coming out of the ductwork is much cooler.

Gas and oil furnace heated homes generally feel warmer then homes with older electric heat pumps. You’ll find electric heat pumps in warmer areas of the country. They were a great idea for use in the south where temps stay generally warm but their use slowly crept up the east coast to areas where they don’t work as well due to the colder winter temperatures.

Heat pumps work by pulling “warm” air from the outside, warming it and circulating it through the house via use of ducts. Electric baseboard heating is easy to install, but can be very costly to run, especially with the price of electric today. Electric heating doesn’t use ductwork like a furnace or heat pump. You can keep each room at a specific temperature as baseboards have individual control.

There are various types of home heating and air conditioning systems. The type you have in your home is most likely based on the age of your home and the part of the country in which you live. Especially if you buy an older, existing home.

Gas and oil furnaces have been around a long time. A furnace draws air through duct systems in the home where it is heated in the furnace and returned back to the home through the duct system.