Find an Air Conditioning Engineer you can trust in Much Wenlock.

Are you planning to install a new climate control in your home or property? If yes, then there are a number of things you’d have to consider before making a financial commitment and that’s related to air conditioning planning permission. It’s crucial to equip yourself with the facts so as to avoid any hiccups along the ways and end up with an AC system that works well and complies with all relevant air conditioning regulations. In this post, we’re going to give you a good insight into planning permission for air conditioning in homes. Let’s take a look!

In general, majority of small air conditioning installations do not need planning permission. In other words, you don’t have to submit a planning permission application to install an air conditioning system in your home or property – if you want to, simply go ahead with it. However, there’s a need to ensure that your external air conditioning units meet some regulations. These regulations include:

• It isn’t bigger than 0.6m3
• It’s over a metre from the boundaries of any property
• It’s more than a metre away from the edge of a flat roof
• It shouldn’t be fitted on a pitched roof

In addition, you’d have to ensure that there isn’t a wind turbine on the property. For a more accurate information, it’s more advisable to reach out to your local authority for advice on air conditioning planning permission before installing your air conditioning unit. They’re in a much better position to advise you on how to ensure that your air conditioning complies with the relevant regulations as well as whether or not you’ll need a planning permission.
 

If you’re looking to purchase and install an air conditioning system in your home or property, what immediately comes to mind is the type to invest in. When it comes to air conditioners, the available choices are numerous - from window units to central air conditioning, through-the-wall air conditioners, portable air conditioners, ductless split system, package terminal air conditioners, swamp coolers as well as geothermal cooling systems. In this post, we’re going to consider the various type of air conditioners in order to help you make the best decision moving forward. Let’s take a look!

• Window air conditioners. These are the most popular type of air conditioners which are typically mounted in a window. They possess an exhaust system which pushes hot air out the back and sides while the refrigerant cooling is pointed indoors.
• Central air conditioning. This is the most effective form of air conditioning if you happen to own a large home and want all rooms cooled at once.
• Portable air conditioners. Just like window air conditioners, these are self-contained air conditioning systems. In other words, portable air conditioners have all their essential components in one appliance just like in window air conditioning units.
• Through-the-wall air conditioners. These self-contained units that operates by bringing in warm air which is then exhausted while they send cool air back into the room ( similar to window air conditioners).
• Ductless split system air conditioners. Just like the name suggests, these are two-part air conditioners that are able to cool various areas within a home.
• Package terminal air conditioners. These are the type of air conditioners that are mostly used for cooling in commercial spaces like hospitals, hotels and the likes.
• Evaporative or “swamp” coolers. Although these aren’t as common as refrigerant air conditioners but they are just as effective. While conventional air conditioners make use of a refrigerant known as Freon, swamp coolers only incorporates air and water to function.

We all know how helpful air conditioning systems can be especially during the hot summer season which is great at making your home feel nothing less than an inferno. So if you have an AC system, you’d probably want to know if leaving it on will be cheaper and more efficient.

The short and simple answer to this question is yes, leaving your air conditioning system on will make make it cheaper and more efficient. This isn’t what you or many other people will have in mind though. Under no circumstances should you leave you air conditioning system on full blast 24/7. To make your air conditioning system more efficient by leaving it on has a right and wrong way you can go about it. Let’s have a look!

If you’d ever noticed, any time you turn your air conditioner off during a very a hot day, even if it’s for just a couple of hours, things tend to get thrown out of balance pretty quickly. When turned back on, your AC system will have to work even harder to restore the usual comfort levels in the room. When you abuse this dial in such a fashion, the AC system can only become more inefficient rather than making your home more comfortable quickly.

On the other hand, your AC system ( when tuned to the right settings) can help maintain the proper temperature and humidity balance within your home instead of turning it off while away. And upon getting back, you can simply turn down the thermostat a bit which helps you prevent the usual stagnant air that you’d be hit with when your return home (with the AC system turned off) that’ll have you racing for the dial.

Also referred to as Freon, the refrigerant “R22 is a commonly used chlordiflouromethane that’s usually incorporated in air conditioning systems as well as many other refrigeration applications. However, because of the evidence discovered which shows the gas can contribute to the damage of the ozone layer, the refrigerant has now been banned since Dec 31, 2009 as it became legally required that any system making use of R22 and became faulty must be replaced.

Generally, R22 owners in commercial applications are now responsible for checking for leaks, record keeping as well as labelling of equipment using this type of gas. Failure to comply with these directives can lead to hefty fines.

Existing refrigeration and air conditioning equipment that makes use of R22 can still be used. However, the owner of the equipment will be denied any rights to purchase extra tanks of gas that’ll keep the equipment running. In the event whereby an air conditioning system requires a complete recharge of the R22 refrigerant, according to the law, it’ll be considered obsolete and therefore will have to be replaced. What’s more? As the remaining supplies of R22 starts to decline, the price of getting the refrigerant is expected to skyrocket. As a result, do not be shocked if the cost of purchasing more R22 to keep your current equipment running outweighs the cost of replacing your existing equipment with a new and environmentally approved one.

As R22 is gradually being phased out, there are new ozone friendly alternatives which are being introduced into the refrigerant market. Out of these alternatives, the most common one is the R410A, which is purely a combination of hydrofluorocarbons which does not deplete the ozone layer.

When it comes to getting an air conditioning unit for your room, one of the greatest mistakes you can possibly make is purchasing and installing the wrong size in your personal space. In the event whereby you happen to go for an AC unit that’s too small, it won’t be powerful enough to cool your room as you would like. However, when you go ahead to select an oversized AC unit, your room would be cooled relatively quick but will leave the air in your room with excess humidity and consume more electricity as it’s going to cycle on and off which will ultimately cost you more money. As a result, it’s always a smart move to calculate the right air conditioning size for your room before making any financial commitment. In this post, we’re going to consider how you can determine the appropriate unit size for your space. Let’s take a look!

• Take the measurement of the room’s square footage using a tape measure. If the room isn’t rectangular or square in shape, simply divide the room in section comprising both squares and triangles which you can measure.
• Calculate the room’s square footage. For a square or rectangle, simply multiply the length by the width. However if your room is in another shape, you can determine the square footage of the triangular sections by multiplying 0.5 by length and width, and the sum each of the sections.
• Determine the cooling capacity required for the room in question which is measured in British Terminal Units (BTUs)/hour. For more information to determine the BTUs needed depending on your room size, simply visit the United States Department for Energy Star.

If you want to guarantee the comfort of those inside your work environment, getting a commercial HVAC system should be a top priority. And if you already have one installed, knowing the best time to have it replaced rather than repaired will go a long way to save you some huge bucks. For instance, an air conditioning system that’s old and malfunctioning is best replaced due to the fact that all the components are probably weak and can only keep generating series of faults till it finally breaks down beyond repair. When evaluating your air conditioning unit, there are some factors that you’ll need to take into account to save yourself some money and headaches. Let’s take a look!

• Age. If your commercial HVAC system is within 15 to 20 years old and starting to look like a giant rust attached to your building, then its probably time to get a replacement. Also when old, most commercial air con systems are usually much less efficient and will consume more energy which implies higher energy bills.
• Wear and tear. If your system has experienced a significant amount of wear and tear, then its probably not heating or cooling as efficiently as it used to. Depending on the product’s quality as well as the level of maintenance many commercial HVAC system would be overdue for an upgrade by the time they’re about 15 years old.
• Malfunctions. When it comes to heating and cooling systems, some issues are quite easy to fix or resolve while others ( such as a broken furnace fan or refrigerant problems) should be best left to the experts. However, if the malfunctions are becoming more often or serious enough, then you should probably consider getting an upgrade.

In several parts of the UK, air conditioning systems are a must especially in the warmer summer months. Fortunately, if your AC system isn’t functioning the way it’s supposed to, suffers frequent system breakdowns when overworked mostly during the hot summer days or perhaps you’re just tired of just having to manage with window units, the latest air conditioning units offers both features and performance that’s superior to the earlier models. And as you would have expected, each facet comes with a cost.

There are a number of factors that can determine the cost of an air conditioning unit. Out of all these factors, the size of your home happens to be the most significant factor that influences an air conditioning unit’s cost. Air conditioning systems are measured in tons, which is a measure of the amount of heat they’re able to remove from a home within an hour. As a rule of thumb, you’ll require about 1 ton of cooling per 500 to 600 square feet. Unfortunately, the square footage alone can’t be used to determine the tonnage. Other factors that’ll also play a significant role includes the efficiency of your most preferred AC unit, how well the home is insulated as well as the thermal nature of your home. On the average, a new air conditioning system for an average home should be within the range of £1000 to £3000 for a unit as well as the installation costs which can vary largely depending on the condition of your ducts. These figures may seem quite expensive, but when the hot summer days come, you’d be glad to have had one installed in your home.

As the summer months draw nearer, you get better accustomed to the ambient noise produced by your air conditioning system which is constantly in operation to keep your home cool and comfortable for both you and your loved ones. During this period, it’s absolutely normal to expect a spike in your energy bill and wish to know how you can limit the expenses without having to sacrifice your home’s temperature. In this guide, we’re going to consider some of the major ways you can save energy in your home without having to sacrifice your air conditioning system. Let’s take a look!

1. Reduce phantom loads. This is an electronic appliance that still makes use of energy even when turned off and not in operation. These phantom loads are actually everywhere in your home but you just don’t know that the television, toaster or even your phone’s charger continue to suck electricity when they’re not in use.
2. Incorporate more energy-efficient appliances. Before making a purchase, ensure that the appliance has the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Label as they use 10 to 15 percent less energy than their counterparts.
3. Change out your light bulbs. The older your incandescent light bulb gets, the more energy it consumes. You can cut cost by reglarly changing them out.
4. Install a programmable thermostat. With such a device, you can adjust your home’s temperature to your schedule and needs to cover for the time when you would not be home.
5. Use fan. A cooling fan can significantly lower the cost of running an AC system.
6. Seal all air leaks. Blocking all air leaks in your home is a great way to ensure energy is well maximized
7. Make your windows more efficient.
8. Enhance you insulation
9. Conduct a regular servicing of your AC unit
10. Setting the air conditioning temperature higher at night