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I love travelling and seeing new places.

This past summer I went out west and explored the mountains and many historical monuments.

I was in my glory taking pictures. The weather there was unpredictable. It would be warmer near lower elevation and then once we went up to higher elevation it would be thirty degrees and snowing! It was bizarre but pretty cool. I wouldn’t mind visiting out west again and exploring more. However I would not stay at the same hotel again. The hotel that I stayed at was quite comfortable and their services were great. Unfortunately the air conditioning unit in the room was so loud at night. There were some nights where I couldn’t sleep because the noise was bothering me. I wanted to research as to why this particular unit was so loud. According to my research it stated that the individual packaged unit that is mounted near the window are one of the cheaper options that hotels choose. Because these units are so cheap, the maintenance in them are very high. Almost all hotels, except for hotels with an actual HVAC system, house PTAC’s (Portable Terminal Air Conditioner). Even though its cost efficient for hotels to go with a PTAC because it’s cheaper from the start, in the long run hotels will spend more money on repairing and replacing. If a HVAC system is used some energy can be saved. The next time I book my room out west, I will ask the front desk what kind of air conditioning unit that they use, and pay a bit extra to sleep better at night.

quality hvac

I love to go home when I get breaks from school. I love being greeted at my front door by my dog and smelling my mom’s homemade cooking. My dad greets me with his big bear hugs and I occasionally get picked on from my sister. Nevertheless, going home is the best. Especially when it’s around the holidays. My mom always has different smelling candles lit based on the holiday. What I also like about being home is sleeping in my big queen bed compared to the small twin bed in my dorm. I like being comforted in the winter by a pellet stove but I do miss cranking the heat through my thermostat back at school. My dad doesn’t like to have the heat turned up very high because he likes to preserve energy. What my house does have on its HVAC system that it doesn’t have on the HVAC system at my dorm is a humidifier and dehumidifier. It can be controlled on thermostat to control the humidity even in the wintertime. Our sunroom can get pretty warm when it’s a sunny day and when the pellet stove is running in there. If it gets too humid, the dehumidifier turns on to balance the humidity. However when it’s very cold outside and the air is dry inside, the humidifier will turn on. According to research, there should be about fifty percent of humidity in your home to balance good air quality. My parents are pleased with the addition to their HVAC system. They have it checked periodically with their HVAC system.

ac filter

Have you ever been to a little league hockey game? If you have I’m sure you will understand why I like sitting underneath the large infrared heating tubes.

Many ice skating facilities use these to keep the spectators warm and it almost feels like I am on a tropical vacation while I’m sitting there. My son and my daughter both played hockey for years when they were younger and I would always arrive early so I could get my favorite seats to watch their games. If I arrive too late to see through already taken because many people realized quickly that those were the best seats in the house. The coach always thought that I was just a diligent parent and wanted to make sure that my children arrived in plenty of time to practice but that was definitely not the case. I would drop them off at the locker room and then head up to get my coffee and snacks and take my place to watch the game. I rarely left my seat at all except to check on my kids if something happened. sometimes I wish I had that type of heating at my house in my sitting room because I would be much more comfortable during the long Winter months if I could snuggle up underneath one of those heating tubes. I know that this is not a practical application for a typical home so I would never actually install them. If you haven’t been to an ice skating arena before and give the chance to go make sure you look up to see where they are located because you will certainly be more comfortable sitting near them.

air quality systems

Most people do not bother to put any sort of heat in an attached garage.

• This is because the car and some storage things are there and these are not affected by varying temperatures.

Plus, if the garage is attached to the house it seldom drops to below freezing due to the transference of residual heat from the house itself. In our case we had a large attic space above the garage and in order to use it we needed some sort of climate control. During the summer months we simply used fans and vents to eliminate the excess heat, but during the winter we needed a form of heat that was cost effective and didn’t require ductwork. The forced air system in the house was not large enough to connect to the additional space so we wanted something totally separate. We consulted with our HVAC dealer and he suggested that we look into some sort of radiant heating system. As it is an attic space he said that if we installed electric baseboard heating it would be best. We would just have to position the items in there so that they were not blocking the registers. He also said that if we preferred we could use infrared radiant tube heaters that would be installed along the ceiling if we didn’t want to worry about blocking the heat source. We were glad to hear that we had so many options available and decided to go with the baseboard registers. Now we have the ability to store more things safely and not worry about the temperature in the attic no matter what season it is.

air filter

While on vacation with friends my daughter caught a terrible cold.

I am sure that she feels it is due to the weather but I think it is from too much partying and not enough sleep.

Her resistance was down and the virus caught hold of her. Anyway, I was concerned about another thing that happened on her trip as well. The cottage that they rented had checked out when I looked into the amenities. It was fully furnished, had a monitored security system and could sleep everyone comfortably. It even had WiFi and cable. I felt that it was a great place for three young ladies to spend a couple of weeks at the beach before returning to college. Seeing as it was the end of summer they didn’t expect for the night time temperatures to drop into the lower fifties. I knew that the cottage had air conditioning but I never thought to ask if it had heat as well. On the first night they were there I got a call from my daughter saying that they couldn’t find a way to turn on the heat. There wasn’t even a thermostat because the air conditioners in the place were all portable ones. I thought surely there must be some sort of heat installed so I called the owner. He said that the cottage was closed up after Labor Day and only reopened after Memorial Day. this meant that they never had any heat source installed because it was vacant during the colder months. I was shocked and told my daughter to go by a couple of electric heaters in the bedrooms. I can understand why they would not want to go the expense of installing heat but they should have supplied those for guest just in case.

ac filter

When I was attending trade school they tried to prepare us for any given scenario we may come across as HVAC technicians. I paid attention and felt I had a pretty good grasp on the responsibilities of the job. The hands on models we had in the classroom were helpful but no match for the troubleshooting problem I faced on the first day of my new job. As a new technician we learned about the modern technology and computer programing that goes into newer systems. We did not learn about units that were forty years old, such as the one I encountered at the old house downtown where I was sent. It seemed more like working on an old car than working on a furnace. There weren’t any control panels to be reprogramed or a wifi connection to troubleshoot. I only saw a large, basically mechanical unit that only had simple wiring. The parts were old and seemed so basic that I couldn’t even imagine how to troubleshoot it to diagnose what was wrong. With all the education I had and even the apprenticeship I went through I have to admit that I still had a lot to learn. I called in for another technician to be sent out to help. I need someone with a lot more experience to help me out and teach me how to work on older model HVAC systems. Many of these older systems still function well and if maintained they can me more reliable than those that depend on computer boards to operate. Additionally homeowners are not always willing to upgrade to new technology. They prepared us for the future of HVAC technology but they really need to add a course on older and existing ones too.

ductwork

When you think about the captains of industry with regards to HVAC systems, names like General Electric, Frigidaire, Westinghouse, and Carrier come to mind.

These companies virtually launched the HVAC industry into what it is today.

If not for the inventors who worked for these companies back in the day, we would not have the modern units we have today. Refrigeration and air conditioning units, although much less efficient and way more cumbersome, that were developed all those years ago were the gateway to our modern systems. If you were to ask your grandparents or older relatives, I can almost guarantee that they had a system made by one of these companies. Today, there are many more companies out there that specialize in highly efficient and more streamlined units. If you are looking to purchase a new system or upgrade and existing one, you should definitely check out the reliability of the whatever brand you choose. Many of them are made overseas or by a subsidiary of those older companies. If you want something that is made here in the United States, you will need to look beyond the brand name as well. Many of the known companies have outsourced production to foreign countries to cut down on production costs, while some lesser known brands many be made in the USA. You can easily find this information by doing an online search or simply speak to your trusted HVAC dealer and they can point you in the right direction too. Many companies, even foreign ones, produce quality products so you really need to do your research ahead of time before investing.

air purification

I was watching one of those history programs the other day and I was astounded at the truly archaic way they used to look at safety.

• This program centered on the mining industry in the South and how many people lost their lives each year working in those mines.

If you had a family member working, twelve hours shift, deep in those shafts, you never knew if they were coming home at the end of the day. This was due to the huge pockets of toxic gases that hid deep in the shafts that could be opened up at any moment. Because many of these shafts ran hundreds of feet underground, there was no way to evacuate them quickly in the even of one of the pockets being breached. I always thought it was an old wives tale that they used a bird in a cage, but, it turns out that they really did. The bird’s respiratory system was so delicate that even the smallest about of toxic gas would be lethal. If the bird stopped “chirping” they knew it was time to get out. Thankfully, with the emergence of more modern HVAC and ventilation systems, many lives have been saved. Now, in modern mining operations, huge ventilation and evacuation systems are in place to circulate fresh air throughout these underground shafts. Alarm systems are in place to increase or decrease this circulation to ensure the safety of those workers. I am sure that I would still never want to work at such a labor intensive job, but, I am glad that those who choose to are safer and don’t have to depend on a bird to know if they are safe anymore.

air vent

Did you ever imagine how life must have been during the years following the Great Depression? Everyone’s lives were turned upside down and most people, even those that had been wealthy, were in need of new ways to make money.

By the middle of the 1930’s, many new industries had come about and employed people in new factories.

One of those industries that came from those hard times was the increase in HVAC companies. With the invention of commercial air conditioning there was a high demand for this comfort improving equipment. People were tired of sacrificing everything and wanted luxury wherever they could afford it. Many theaters, stores, and even workplaces now invested in air conditioning to attract patrons. A night out in an air conditioned restaurant, followed by a show at the theater was considered something really special. Many people did not have the ability to have this luxury in their home for many years after that, however, with the industrial revolution gave way to that becoming more affordable too. By the mid 1940’s, post war families had money to spend and it became more popular than ever. Today, many can’t imagine that air conditioning was considered such a treat to have. We just assume that everyone has it in their home as a standard appliance. We take many things for granted now that, back on the 30’s and 40’s, people only dreamed of. Between our forms of transportation, the appliances in our homes that can’t imagine living without, and even the amount of expendable income we have, we certainly have it better these days.

energy saving help

She did tell me that they had been taking extra precautions so as not to have any germs or contamination in any of the rooms.

I recently had to have minor surgery. I went in to the pre-op area I was surprised by the fact that is wasn’t freezing like most hospitals are. I thought it was unusual but thought that maybe if just felt that way because I was nervous about the upcoming procedure. I even refused the socks and blanket that I normally would have welcomed. As I was waiting, my daughter, who was with me that day was allowed to come back and sit with me. She too commented on how warm it was. I decided not to worry about it but when I awoke in recovery, I had to ask about the unusual temperature. I knew that most hospitals kept the temperature down to prevent the spread of germs and I was worried about the warmth in the room. The nurse that was tending to me tried to say that it was just the effects of the anesthesia that was making me feel that way. I knew that wasn’t it because I had felt warm beforehand too. When I pressed about the situation she finally admitted that there was a problem with the HVAC system and that technicians were working on it. She did tell me that they had been taking extra precautions so as not to have any germs or contamination in any of the rooms. I guess that explained the smell of bleach that I had noticed more often in the waiting area too. All of this made me very happy that I was having a same day procedure and could return home to my own surroundings. At least there, I was in control of the cleanliness and temperature.

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