Green Blog

More and more people are discovering the benefits of a home air conditioning system, because prices have dropped in relation to to wages over recent years. However, most people’s approach is ‘out of sight, out of mind’. That is, until they get home from work on a sweltering hot summer’s afternoon and the air con does not work.

The most common cause of this is years of no maintenance. The only way that you will get the most from air conditioning systems, as with any mechanism, is to maintain it according to the manufacturer’s recommended schedule and get it checked over by a professional every two or three years, whatever the manual says. You cannot totally do away with the professional check up, but you can carry out the basic maintenance yourself, which will save you at least two years of charges.

Here then are my most essential basic air conditioning maintenance tips.

If you have a central air conditioner, wash or change the air filter roughly once a month during the hot weather season. This will help prolong the life of your air conditioning apparatus, increase its level of efficiency (thereby reducing running costs) and enhance the quality of the air in your home.

The two typical kinds of air filters are the washable steel mesh variety and the woven fibre glass kind which is not reusable. These filters slide into the ductwork or blower compartment. You can further improve the performance of your central air conditioner by clearing all the grass, bushes, flowers and picking up the debris from around the outside compressor box.

Furthermore, if the outdoor apparatus is ever in full sunlight when it is in use, put up a small structure like a simple lean-to over it to keep it in the shade. Then it will not have to work so hard. It will also keep the snow and rain out of it during the winter. Get both the internal and external units looked at by an expert every two years.

Other basic air conditioning maintenance tips are to take the ‘top’ off your blower unit before the start of the summer and grant it some attention. Gently remove the build-up of dust and grease on the blades of the fan, Then lightly oil the fan’s shaft and bearings so that it will turn more freely. If your fan or blower is belt driven, check the fan belt for wear and tear, tension and alignment. Correct as you would for a vehicle.

The motors on most recent blower units are totally sealed and self-lubricating, but the older ones have an oil reservoir which has to be refilled every year. Check that, clean the sump, if you have one and fill up with fresh oil.

You can also clean the coil, which is a loop of metal tubing. Vacuum it and then lightly clean it with a tooth brush and something like methylated spirits in order to degrease it. Mop up any spillage. All of these jobs can be applied to the outside unit too, because it too has a fan and a coil. Clean any cobwebs from the case’s vents too.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

If you are in the market for an air purifier then it is likely that you are worried about the quality of air in your home or office. This could be because of tobacco smoke, because you have pets, you suffer from an allergy or because you are worried about the amount of traffic or industrial pollution in your neighborhood.

Many people would choose to research and buy an air purifier on line and since you are reading this, you are most likely one of those people, as am I. However, there are many surfers who cannot shop online for various reasons - they may not have a credit or debit card or they may not trust sending their credit card data over the Internet. Whatever the reason, some people would rather to do their shopping in the mall.

If you prefer to purchase an air purifier from one of your local retail stores, you will have to look in stores in the categories of department stores, home stores, and home improvement stores. There is quite a bit of overlap in which products these different kinds of stores stock, but they are different categories if you want to look them up in Yellow Pages.

Home stores may be your best gamble if you are looking for air purifiers, but do not rule out the others too. You might also consider buying from a catalogue and having it delivered. I personally, like to shop in a hybrid form. I investigate on line and even send for brochures and leaflets so that I can get as much intelligence as I can.

Once I have the promotional material, I decide which three models would be the best for my circumstances and then I go on line again to get prices. I mark the leaflets with the best three prices I can find for each model and write down the URL of the stores selling them on a separate piece of paper. Then I go to the high street and talk knowledgeably with the shop assistants and barter the price down showing them my leaflets and brochures with the prices on as evidence. I never say where those prices came from. That is my secret.

This technique of shopping works well for more highly priced goods such as air purifiers and will ensure that you get a good deal on the air purifier that best suits you, because you will realize, while you are doing your inquiries that not all air purifiers can do the same job or even attempt to. There are horses for courses even in the field of domestic or office air purifiers.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with split air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

Air conditioners have always been popular, but they used to be pricey to buy and expensive to run. These days they are cheaper to buy. It is not so bad if you live somewhere where you need heating for three months and cooling for three months, but if you live somewhere where you have one unit or other running twenty-for hours a day, seven days a week, it is still expensive.

However, the luxury that they impart to your life is remarkable. But, the thing to remember is that air conditioners, like all pieces of equipment, do need servicing. That is, the actual moving parts, lubricants and other fluids need to be checked professionally every two years (or whatever it says in your instruction manual). There are other parts though that need to be checked much more frequently than that - maybe even monthly.

The good news is that you can carry out this maintenance yourself. I am talking about the filter. All good, modern air conditioning units come with an in-built filter. It depends on the sophistication of your air conditioner, what its filter can trap, but most will filter small particles such as pollen and traffic pollution out of the air it is circulating in the room.

These filters have to be cleaned or replaced fairly regularly and you will have to check your air conditioner’s handbook to find out what you can do. Often, it will say that they can be scrubbed two or three times with either soapy water and a tooth brush or vacuumed clean. After that they have to be replaced, in order for the unit to be completely effective.

If you need to replace your air filter, you may find the following hints helpful.

The best place to start is either the main dealer for your make of air conditioner, the people you purchased it from or the people that installed it for you. At least, you know you can trust them, even if it is only a matter of ‘better the devil you know’. Many of the stores that stock other brands of air conditioner may stock filters for your sort as a sideline too.

You are already making use of the Internet, so that is another good place to check for current prices and bargains, before you go traipsing around town. ‘Fore-warned is fore-armed’, as they say. You can utilize the price knowledge you acquire from your Internet surfing as a bargaining tool to get the best price locally.

If that does not work or you simply cannot be bothered, order on line and your air conditioner filter will be with you in a couple of day anyway. By the way, as with vacuum cleaner bags, it is normally better to buy several at a time. For example, if you know that they will survive three washes, then each filter will last four months. Why not buy three and be done with it for a year?

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

If you live in a hot country, or even one that merely has hot summers, it is just lovely to be able to sit in your home without sweltering. In particular at night as being too hot can prevent you from getting a decent night’s rest. Likewise, when you are at work. We all know the pleasure of walking into a cool, air conditioned building, like a bank on a hot summer’s day.

Total air conditioning like this used to be the prerogative of office blocks and the very wealthy, but it is becoming more general now. In fact, if you already have ducting all the way through your house to be used in association with a central heating system, a total air conditioning system could cost as little as $4,000.

I know that $4,000 is not an insignificant amount, but if you do not have the ducting already, you can add another $3,000 to $4,000. These figures relate to a typical three or four bedroomed house or apartment.

A total air conditioning system like this will usually be adequate for seven rooms in one or two zones, which could be two small bungalows next door to each other or a house and a garage or shed. One good point about total air conditioning is that the whole house or just the ground floor can be cooled at the same time so that you can walk around the house as you normally would.

This is in direct disparity with split systems which only cool one room - every time you go out of the room, you let cool air out and warm air in, which makes the air conditioning system work more and costs you more money.

Total air conditioning has other less well-known features too. It reduces the humidity in a room or house by drying the air as it is returned to the unit for cooling and advanced units have filters with additional functions. The more sophisticated the system, the more germs, bacteria and other substances (like pollen) the built-in filter will do away with.

Because these filters can get rid of airborne substances they can significantly reduce a person’s affliction from allergies. Good air filtration can help asthma and hay fever sufferers very much, if the filters are kept clean.

In general, a total air conditioning system is divided into two major components - an outdoor condenser and compressor and an indoor evaporator in an air circulating system. The air circulation, or air handling system filters and dehumidifies the cooled air, and delivers it, via ductwork, to several rooms. Total air conditioning is frequently much quieter than split air conditioners, because the noise of the latter’s compressor is so much closer to where the cool air is needed.

It is much better to take the ducting into account at the design stage of a new house as part of its heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, but it can be added later. A good HVAC system should be designed to supply adequate cooling, heating, and ventilation, taking into account such factors as the size of the building, the efficiency of its insulation and the regional climate.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with central air conditioning systems. If you are interested in Home Air Conditioning Systems, please click through to our site.

If you’re taking the time to examine luxury baby bedding, then it’s likely due to your being concerned about the quality of your baby’s sleep. However, when speaking of bedding, what floats your boat may sink another’s battleship, and it’s not like your baby can just say “Hey, this bedding sucks”, leaving you to do your best guessing at which luxury bedding he may like. Although product descriptions and the overall feel of your hand on the bedding both are certainly important, you’ll have to also mix a bit of intuition to get the best effect.

Allergies

Allergies can be a sneaky problem when it comes to kids, especially babies. The effects can be extremely dangerous and, the worst part is, you can’t know that baby is affected by them until there’s a problem. After installing new luxury bed linens, be sure to watch very carefully for anything from breathing problems to a minor rash. One possible solution is to try to get something made from the same company or made with the same materials as your own luxury bedding, assuming baby hasn’t had a reaction to that. Unfortunately, this is not an exact science since you can never tell all of the materials in a luxury bed linen, and the same manufacturer might use different dye from one set to another. Just be sure to watch very closely for any sort of reaction as luxury baby bedding is bound to contain materials that your baby has never encountered.

Considering The Cost

Luckily, luxury baby bedding is typically pretty reasonable compared to an adult luxury bedding set. There are two main reasons for this. First, it takes a lot less material to manufacture luxury baby bedding, for obvious reasons. Second, manufacturers and resellers of luxury bedding ensembles know that, when it comes to buying, you’re far more likely to spend more money on your own luxury bed sheets than your kids’, as opposed to the other way around. Be careful buying discount luxury bedding, however. These companies know that the buyer is not going to actively use the product, and sometimes label low quality products as luxury baby bedding in hopes that the buyer will never notice the difference.

Finding It

If you’re a stickler about everything matching, you may want to look at things like luxury baby bedding before you decide on a theme for baby’s room. You can paint the walls to match just about any bedding, but you might not be able to find luxury baby bedding to match a strangely painted room. However, if you have your heart set on a particular theme or color, you can probably find matching luxury bed linens online.

Annoyed Baby

Even babies have quirks, and there are going to be certain textures and materials that irritate them. What might feel like luxurious bedding to your hands could very well feel like sandpaper to your baby. If baby cries as soon as he’s put into his crib, you might want to consider swapping the bedding out. Although you may not necessarily agree, your baby may be just fine with cheap bedding. After all, having luxury baby bedding is pretty pointless if it makes your baby miserable.

Want to learn more about luxury bed linens? Check out Luxury Bedding Info.

Unless you’re an aquarium hobbyist or own a water purification system that uses carbon, the idea of activated carbon in HEPA air purifiers probably seems strange to you. Even if the concept isn’t completely foreign, most still don’t know exactly what activated carbon actually does.

What Does Activated Carbon Do In A HEPA Air Purifier?

The first time most people encounter activated carbon is in choosing HEPA air purifiers. When most customers begin searching for air purifiers, generally due to allergies or asthma, they really have no idea how they work. As they are further educated about HEPA air purifiers, however, they will learn that odors and chemicals are the cause of the vast majority of their respiratory problems. Most quality HEPA air purifiers are designed to take care of not only allergens, but also the odors and chemicals in the air as well.

Was Active Carbon Used Before HEPA Air Purifiers?

Oddly enough, we humans have been using activated carbon to filter water for a long time; as long as two centuries. Way back then, they already knew of activated carbon’s great absorption qualities. Beginning in the early 1900’s, activated carbon was produced and sold commercially in the form of a powder. Only used to remove taste or smell from water or color from sugar, we really didn’t know at that point exactly what all it could do for us. Once World War I was in full swing, it was discovered that it could be used in gas masks for protecting our soldiers from the chemical agents in the air. The soldiers also used it, as did their ancestors, for water purification. By this point, commercial activated carbon had evolved from powder form to a granular form, which was the beginning of activated carbon being used in even more other ways.

What The Word “Activated” Means

So, what is “activated” carbon, and is there such a thing as non-activated carbon? The heat used in “activating” the carbon drives the impurities out of the carbon itself, leaving places for the impurities of the water or air or whatever it is the carbon is filtering to reside. In a way, carbon can act sort of like a sponge, only instead of squeezing out its contents, one heats it out. Once the activated carbon is full, it can be reactivated by re-heating it, though this is considered to be impractical and dangerous. Non-activated carbon would basically be carbon that has stuff in it already, such as soot or charcoal.

Different Types Of Activated Carbon

There are a variety of types of activated carbon, and it is described in a variety of ways, but generally activated carbon includes a wide range of amorphous carbon-based materials. These materials have a high degree of porosity (lots of holes) and a relatively large surface area. Basically, this means it has excellent absorbent characteristics. These absorbent characteristics are why activated carbon works so well filtering air and water both.

Want to learn more about the HEPA Air Purifier? Check out HEPA Air Purifiers Info.

There’s no limit to the products that refer to themselves as HEPA, or HEPA-type. You can find everything from HEPA air conditioner filters to HEPA vacuum cleaners, usually just by wandering around your local big box retail store. Since so many manufacturers use the term, it can be hard for many to know exactly what it is they should be aiming for when they buy a HEPA air purifier. The following should help you decide if Hunter HEPA air purifiers are right for you.

A Quick Background Of Hunter

Hunter has actually been around for a long time. In fact, even though they make their living on products that require electricity, they’ve been around since before electricity was a household thing. Way back in 1886, they go their start by inventing a water-driven ceiling fan. It doesn’t get much more innovative than that. Nowadays, Hunter is a fairly well known name in electric ceiling fans, as well as thermostats. They also manufacturer air purifiers and humidifiers.

How Does Hunter Compare On Prices?

Hunter HEPA air purifiers come in three different flavors. The older line, HEPAtech, are the cheapest air purifiers that you’re likely to find. Although they’re no longer manufactured, you can still find them new at various retailers. If an inexpensive HEPA air purifier that carries a known name is the main goal, then the HEPAtech line should be your target. Just like any other HEPA filter air purifiers, purchasing and changing the filters is mandatory. Replacement filters directly from Hunter are cheap, and often come as packs. The currently manufactured series, dubbed QuietFlo, are aggressively priced as well.

Is The Hunter A True HEPA Air Purifier?

Excepting the old HEPAtech purifiers, Hunter’s machines all use a true HEPA air purifier. The fact that they are true indicates that they will filter at least 99.7% of those air particles that have been shown to be the most dangerous. HEPA air purifiers without the “true” label aren’t held to specific standards, which means they could, theoretically, not filter air in any way. That doesn’t mean every HEPA-type machine is total trash, but you’re totally dependent on the quality control of the manufacturer.

How Does Hunter Stand Out From The Crowd?

Hunter HEPA air purifiers stand out in a couple of ways. First, there’s the low price. Like mentioned earlier, if you compare a Hunter HEPA air purifier with a similar device from a competitor, the Hunter will likely be less expensive. The other obvious difference are the features. Although not the most cutting edge, Hunter does include most of the tried and true features, and their models are quite scalable. For instance, in the current QuietFlo series, you have more than a dozen models to choose from, differentiated mostly by the feature sets, meaning you won’t have to pay for what you’re not going to use. Can we say that Hunter makes the best HEPA air purifier out there? When it comes to value, probably.

Still not sure that a Hunter HEPA air purifier is for you? Visit HEPA Air Purifiers Info for answers to all of your questions.

If you’re looking at ionic air purifiers, then you’ve certainly seen the Ionic Pro air purifier. Even if you’re not looking to buy one, you’ve probably seen the Ionic Pro Ionic Air Purifier on TV at some point. They seem to have taken the infomercial crown from The Sharper Image, at least when it comes to ionic air purifiers. You’ve probably also seen all the negative publicity that has assailed the Ionic Breeze air purifiers, and are wondering if the same applies to this newer player.

Who Manufactures The Pro Air Purifier?

Ionic Pro, LLC makes and distributes the Ionic Pro Air Purifier. There is no other company involved. The Ionic Pro air purifier was, until quite recently, one of those products that could only be had by calling that 1-800 number and talking to those operators who are standing by. However, they’ve now made it to the shelves of various department stores, including the vaunted Wal-Mart. Now, you can see the fact that this is a company based solely on making ionic air purifiers in one of two ways. Being dedicated to only one product, the Ionic Pro Air Purifier in various sizes, it seems logical that quality control would be simple. However, having a company so small, and so centered on one product, seems like a recipe for disappearing into the night, taking warranties and spare parts with them.

Comparing With The Ionic Breeze Air Purifier

The Ionic Breeze Air Purifier is pretty similar to the Ionic Pro air purifiers, and they share the same advantages. The shape and design of the unit itself is the only real difference between them. The Ionic Pro Compact Air Purifier is nothing but a smaller version of the big boys, just like The Sharper Image offers. Generally, however, the Ionic Pro is cheaper. Since ionic air purifiers aren’t exactly rocket science, and The Sharper Image is notorious for being rather expensive anyway, it’s probably safe to say that going cheap won’t be a big problem, here.

Comparing With HEPA Air Purifiers

It’s not as simple as you might think, comparing HEPA air purifiers to ionic air purifiers. Although they’re not quite as efficient, ionic air purifiers do basically the same job as a true HEPA air purifier. They use only a minimum of electricity, and are designed to run full time to compensate for the lower efficiency. Once the machine starts making a little buzzing noise, the bar that gathers all the junk has to be wiped off, but there’s never any filters to change. The filter itself is usually a HEPA air purifier’s biggest limitation. They are governed by the size of the holes in the filters, which is where air is forced through, blocking things that are not just air. Those air particles that are the most important for any air purifier to stop are 99.7% removed in a true HEPA air purifier. There is no such guarantee or standard when it comes to HEPA-type air purifiers, though. With ionic air purifiers, though, the biggest limitation is the air flow. While HEPA-type air purifiers can only filter what can’t pass through whatever size holes are in their filters, the ionic purifiers will eventually catch anything that’s attracted to that magnetized bar. This is important information to use when comparing the two. One disadvantage to an ionic air purifier is that it will only filter particles that 1 micron or bigger. The most dangerous and hardest to filter particles are 0.3 micron, and that’s what true HEPA air purifiers stop nearly 100% of.

The Ionic Pro Compact Air Purifier Compared To Other Ionic Pro Air Purifiers

The differences between the various ionic air purifiers offered by Ionic Pro, LLC aren’t generally feature related. Capacity is the biggest difference between them. In small offices and rooms in your home, the Ionic Pro Compact Air Purifier is a good buy. It does lack the “Medium” speed on its fan, utilizing a Lo and High only, although I have no idea why you wouldn’t want it on high. At about half the price of the standard unit, it may even make sense to purchase an Ionic Pro Compact Air Purifier for each side of a regular sized room, instead of one standard unit.

Want to learn more about the ionic air purifier? Visit Ionic Air Purifier Info.

HEPA is a term that can be found on all sorts of products lately. A cursory examination of your local department store will reveal HEPA filters for air conditioner units, HEPA vacuum cleaner filters and, of course, HEPA filter air purifiers, among many others. The consumer is left wondering exactly what HEPA means, though. Let’s take a look at HEPA air purifiers to get an understanding of what the term means.

Why Is HEPA Screaming At Me?

HEPA is written in caps because it’s an acronym, like DARE or MADD. The acronym stands for “high efficiency particulate absorbing”. Or, alternately, it could mean “high efficiency particulate arrestance”, which is basically the same thing. In everyday English, HEPA air purifiers either stop or absorb particles of matter that are way too small for the human eye to detect.

How Do Humans Benefit From HEPA Air Purifiers?

As many of these particles come from manufactured sources, our respiratory systems often take exception to their presence. We will sometimes notice these particles as allergens or odors, but not always. In all too many situations, or bodies have no way of recognizing these particles, leaving them to wreak havoc with our bodies. This is why having something either stop or absorb these tiny particles can be such a boon to our health.

How Is a HEPA Air Purifier Different From Other Air Purifiers?

Some air purifiers are not as effective as others. Most anyone who rates air purifiers go by what is called the HEPA standard. This is because HEPA air purifiers are widely known to be the best at filtering air, and have been for a while now. HEPA filter air purifiers are so vaunted because they stop air particles that are 0.3 micrometers in diameter. There is a purpose behind the focus on that specific particle size. The human body’s respiratory system have a hard time stopping that particular size, and they are the most dangerous to us, moreso than particles both larger and smaller.

What’s The Difference Between A HEPA-Type And A HEPA Air Purifier?

A true HEPA air purifier is held to certain standards. Chief among these standards is the ability to filter at least 99.7% of all 0.3 micron particles that pass through the machine. This is an extremely lofty standard, and you can expect to pay a premium for this ability. Generally speaking, HEPA air purifiers are not cheap. A HEPA-type air purifier, however, is a completely different animal. It’s important to realize that there is absolutely no standard whatsoever that a HEPA-type air purifier must pass. A machine with this designation could be anything from a less effective, less expensive alternative to a completely useless piece of junk. Also, be wary of putting too much trust in HEPA air purifier reviews. The best HEPA air purifier will not only produce clean smelling air, but it will also remove particulates that are not detectable with human senses alone.

Want more information about HEPA air purifiers? Check out HEPA Air Purifiers Info!

When shopping for a HEPA air purifier, you’ll often see products labeled as a “True” HEPA air purifier. This can be confusing because, if there’s a true, then there must be a false, right? There are a few different things that True HEPA air purifiers are comparing to, but none of them will be labeled as false or sub-standard, of course. It’s up to you, the consumer, to know the difference, and know if it affects you. Let’s take a look at the True HEPA Air Purifier, and see what they are comparing to.

Differences! True HEPA Air Purifiers Have Them

Even though they are HEPA air purifiers, if they do not say “True” or possible “Absolute” HEPA air purifier, they are not the same thing. When HEPA air purifiers are advertising effectiveness as stated by such government agencies as the EPA and OSHA, they are generally the true type even if not specifically stated on the packaging. Regardless of the other air purifiers on the market, institutions such as hospitals and laboratories are such sensitive areas that they only use true HEPA air purifiers.

True HEPA Air Purifiers Stop Particles Of DOOM

One of the main things that a true HEPA air purifier must be able to do is filter at least 97% of 0.3 micron particles. This may sound like so much technical jargon, but it’s actually quite important. 0.3 micron particles are the hardest size for filters to stop, including those particles that are even smaller. Not only that, but they are small enough to very easily bypass the human body’s natural defenses and enter the respiratory system, causing all sorts of maladies. Suddenly 0.3 micron particles sound a little less nerdy, and a bit more deadly. If you’re interested in how small 0.3 microns actually is, compare it to a human hair. A human hair can be anywhere from 70 to 100 microns in thickness.

Best When Dirty! True HEPA Air Purifies Actually Work Better When Dirty

This part of our discussion is where you will see both the main difference between true HEPA air purifiers and others and also where the terms “Absolute” and “True” become one and the same. Designed to be more effective dirty than when clean, the absolute filtration system’s trapped particles will actually increase the power of the true HEPA air purifier’s filtration. Very simple in reality, the explanation is that the spaces for the the air to pass becomes smaller as the dirt builds up.

Is There A Way To Tell If A HEPA Air Purifier Is True?

The easiest way to tell is if the product is advertising that it is a true HEPA air purifier. There are also HEPA-type air purifiers which really have no exact standards to which they are held in regards to how tightly they filter the air. If the packaging says neither “true HEPA” or “HEPA-type”, then look for the efficiency ratings. If it doesn’t filter at least 97% of the all important 0.3 micron particles, then it’s not a true HEPA air purifier.

Still not sure that a HEPA air purifier is for you? Visit HEPA Air Purifiers Info for answers to all of your questions.