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Unlike most
new appliances, a heater and air conditioner is not a finished
product from the manufacturer. The installing contractor is the
final
builder of your system. And the salesman for that contractor is
often the guy that designs it. Sadly, what often happens is that the
salesman will design based on quick rules of thumb. A lot of
salesmen don't even know how to perform
Manual J & D calculations.
High Performance Heating & Air is different. Every system I do is
designed and installed for your specific needs. While the average salesman might spend five or ten minutes "spec'ing out"
your system, a real design process can take hours of work before the
first piece of equipment is ordered. Often there are a great many
decisions to be made and I like getting you involved in that
process.Do your homework
before you get bids and you'll discover that my claim of being
different is more than words.
Links
Galore:
The following are some of the
links that I've found. Keep in
mind that these "watchdogs" often need watching themselves. Not all
the information they provide is accurate. Commentary to that effect
is given next to each link.
Right Sized Air Conditioners
This article published by the EPA covers why a bigger air
conditioner is not always better. It should be understood that the
dehumidification mentioned in the article is not much of an issue in
Contra Costa County. However, our lack of humidity presents the
opportunity to make your AC perform like one that's the next size up
at very little extra cost.
Bigger is Not Better: Sizing Air Conditioners Properly
This is a much more in-depth look at the ins and outs of sizing an
air conditioner. It's a very good read for those who want to
understand the nuts and bolts of system sizing.
HVAC-Talk.com
This forum is frequented by home owners and HVAC tradesmen alike.
You can register and post your own questions. As with any forum, the
thoughts expressed there can be witty and insightful or exactly the
opposite. Proceed with a skeptical eye.
about.com on
heating & cooling repair
about.com on
cooling & heating
about.com is a good resource on a great many things. However, they
are too large for me to have reviewed all their articles.
Popular Mechanics on central air conditioners
Popular Mechanics on
heating and cooling systems
Two good primers on furnaces and air conditioners. The articles are
old but they have some very nice illustrations.
Tips and Secrets To Buying A New Heating & Cooling System
The is an excellent article that reinforces much of what I say on
this site. I have a tiny disagreement with their assessment of what
a blower door test can do. But it's not relevant to your HVAC
purchasing decision. High Performance Heating & Air is not a member
of the Comfort Institute.
How To Identify A Good Heating and Cooling Contractor
Again this is an excellent article overall. However, while it is not
the focus of this particular article I disagree strongly with the
emphasis placed on supposed cures for allegedly poor indoor air
quality. The
editorial on duct cleaning addresses some of those indoor air
quality issues in great detail.
The
FAQs page adds a lot more to this mix. The first question
on how an HVAC system works is especially relevant if you want to
understand such things. And my
guide to new equipment installation is the mother load.
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