An article in the Indoor Comfort News states; On Jan. 4th the U.S. E.P.A. published a proposed rule titled " Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: The reductions being proposed by the EPA are significant-ranging from 11% to 47% per year over the period 2012-2014. And , these proposed reductions are in addition to the 10% annual reductions already built into the 2009 rule.
So there it is that is why R-22 is going up so high in price. I'm sure if you want more info. on this you can go to the EPA web site.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
EPA Vs Thermal Cool
Wow, The EPA has accelerated their time table on the phase out of R-22. Starting 2010 the restrictions started on production of R-22. R-22 is the refrigerant that is used in most home air conditioners. The EPA started their caps on production in 2010. Manufactures could not produce more than what they produced in the year 2000. (I think) It is to drop 10% every year there after till it is phased out. January 2012 The EPA decided the step it up and go to 45% this year. What does that mean? The cost of R-22 jumped up 100% in cost. It will be a big shock this summer when people need to have their AC serviced and it cost 300 to dollars for R-22.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Summer Is Over
Yes, summer came and left about that fast. We didn't have a very hot summer at all. Things have not changed much with the economy in the last few months. But good news is that Venstar has a new Thermostat out. It has a nice screen and is fully programable. You can load your own pictures and have a nice slide show on your wall. Up to a hundred pictures. You can check it out at venstar.com
Monday, May 2, 2011
Summer is getting close.
Summer is just around the corner and it will be 100 degrees. So have your Air Conditioner check and serviced before it is busy and you have to wait. If you are a do it your self kind of person then get out and wash the unit and change the filter. Oil the motors. Check all the electrical connections. Clean the condensate drain. Do this and you should not have problems this summer.
If you are not the type that will service your unit then call us Thermal Cool Inc. and we will take care of it for you. That is if your in the Riverside area of Southern California. We will go to some far away places but you have to pay the air fare. I like Hawaii.
www.thermalcool.com
If you are not the type that will service your unit then call us Thermal Cool Inc. and we will take care of it for you. That is if your in the Riverside area of Southern California. We will go to some far away places but you have to pay the air fare. I like Hawaii.
www.thermalcool.com
Monday, April 4, 2011
What does it all mean
It means that you will pay more for the same thing. Only now you know that it is the right unit for your house. Other factors have driven the cost of air conditioning equipment to rise. The cost of raw materials, copper. aluminium and steel have all gone up. That with Government regulations, insurance cost, gas cost, and labor cost all going up have caused that replacement unit that cost $2,000.00 dollars 5 years ago now cost $5,000.00 dollars.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
What size do I need
The size will depend on how efficient your house is. If you are having a new house built then you will have a set of plans and title 24. Title 24 is part of the building code and it is a set of regulations that tell you what you can put in your structure.IE; insulation windows, lights, etc; etc; etc;. You get the idea. The other thing it tells you is the size of the heater and air conditioner you will use.
I think this is a good time to explain how Air Conditioning works. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/how_it_works/air_conditioner.html This link will give you more info if needed. but in simple terms, it removes heat inside your house and moves it to outside. This is why they make you put in double pane windows. insulate your walls and attic and build an air tight envelope. It is all for slowing down the heat that is conducting (moving) through your ceiling and walls into your house. Lets face it, if you didn't have stucco and drywall your house would never cool. In the fifty's and sixty's that is all you had. In the seventy they started using insulation and started down sizing the units. with the cost of electricity this is a good thing.
Now here is the problem as I see it.All things being equal. Using a rule of thumb to size your air conditioning needs will till you that a 1600 square foot house will need a 3 ton unit. You do the title 24 calculation and it will till you that you only need a 2 3/4 ton, the thing is you have to buy a 2 1/2 or a 3 ton unit. So you spent $800.00 to $1500.00 dollars to use the same unit you would have before the requirement.
I know that is not always the way it goes but I would say it is more often that not. I also know that a three ton unit in Palm Springs will not produce the same cooling as in Monterey but the sizing for your area and the design temperatures will change.
If you have questions or commits you can e-mail me at dcouch@thermalcool.com
I think this is a good time to explain how Air Conditioning works. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/how_it_works/air_conditioner.html This link will give you more info if needed. but in simple terms, it removes heat inside your house and moves it to outside. This is why they make you put in double pane windows. insulate your walls and attic and build an air tight envelope. It is all for slowing down the heat that is conducting (moving) through your ceiling and walls into your house. Lets face it, if you didn't have stucco and drywall your house would never cool. In the fifty's and sixty's that is all you had. In the seventy they started using insulation and started down sizing the units. with the cost of electricity this is a good thing.
Now here is the problem as I see it.All things being equal. Using a rule of thumb to size your air conditioning needs will till you that a 1600 square foot house will need a 3 ton unit. You do the title 24 calculation and it will till you that you only need a 2 3/4 ton, the thing is you have to buy a 2 1/2 or a 3 ton unit. So you spent $800.00 to $1500.00 dollars to use the same unit you would have before the requirement.
I know that is not always the way it goes but I would say it is more often that not. I also know that a three ton unit in Palm Springs will not produce the same cooling as in Monterey but the sizing for your area and the design temperatures will change.
If you have questions or commits you can e-mail me at dcouch@thermalcool.com
Monday, February 7, 2011
Getting a Permit
What is required? I have briefly discussed what is required from most city's in California. Depending on where you live depends on what is required. In some county's to replace your AC you pay a permit fee. Somewhere around $100.00. Inside the city limits, you may pay $500.00. You will be required to submit a load calculation, duct leakage certification, and even a drawing. For more information on load calculations go to http://www.acca.org/ It will take from 2 hours to 16 hours to do a load calculation an a home depending on the size on the home. Most homes will take 6 to 8 hours from start to finish. You have to get all the information from the house then input it into a computer to get the load.
Why is this required? Will the way we (contractors) would size a system for a house, in the 60's was to stand out side on the curb and hold your hand up and how ever many fingers it took to cover the house is how many tons you needed, the 70's and 80's for some reason we started using 400 sq. ft per ton. 1200 sq ft home = 3 tons of air it was easy and if your not sure if that would cool add a ton. Electricity was cheap. Then the 90's came and things started to change, the utility's started running out of electricity and it was not cheap to build power plants, so what do they do, REGULATE... All our usage. They say that we have been putting in to big of units. Energy Star and rebates were invented. Buy energy Star and save money. It did get some momentum but not enough, so the government steps in.
This is why it takes weeks to get a permit and why it makes that $1500.00 unit that sits outside cost $3,000.00.
No matter which side of the fence your on contractors are stuck in the middle trying to make a living. It cost the consumer and it cost the contractor, and the government they just keep regulating.
Why is this required? Will the way we (contractors) would size a system for a house, in the 60's was to stand out side on the curb and hold your hand up and how ever many fingers it took to cover the house is how many tons you needed, the 70's and 80's for some reason we started using 400 sq. ft per ton. 1200 sq ft home = 3 tons of air it was easy and if your not sure if that would cool add a ton. Electricity was cheap. Then the 90's came and things started to change, the utility's started running out of electricity and it was not cheap to build power plants, so what do they do, REGULATE... All our usage. They say that we have been putting in to big of units. Energy Star and rebates were invented. Buy energy Star and save money. It did get some momentum but not enough, so the government steps in.
This is why it takes weeks to get a permit and why it makes that $1500.00 unit that sits outside cost $3,000.00.
No matter which side of the fence your on contractors are stuck in the middle trying to make a living. It cost the consumer and it cost the contractor, and the government they just keep regulating.
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