It’s ALL about air flow…

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 16:45:17 +0000

…and that means ductwork.

Most AC companies are all about selling the latest super high SEER systems. Premium systems can be marked way up, and swapping out the two “boxes” (outdoor compressor unit and indoor blower unit) is pretty easy – a tech and a helper are in and out in just one day.

However, no system will perform anywhere near rated efficiency nor deliver comfort to every room if the ductwork is poorly sized and / or badly installed.

Achieving advertised performance demands ducts able to flow at least 400 cubic feet per minute (CFM) per ton of capacity. In other words, a typical home’s 3-4 ton system needs ducts able to move 1200-1600 CFM. We routinely measure systems delivering just 250-300 CFM per ton, and that works the system too hard, drives up energy bills, and starves rooms of needed air flow.

Would you buy a gallon of milk just half full from Publix? What if a carton holding 12 eggs had only 7? Would you buy a six pack of beer with two bottles missing? No, no, and no! of course not!. Yet, the typical new AC system tied to typical ductwork falls 30- 50% short of what the labels say it should do. It WILL, however, spin the JEA meter as fast or even faster than a system installed right. In school, a 50 or 60 percent score gets a D or F grade, as well it should.

We don’t just sell two new boxes. We measure and prove performance, air flow to each and every room, for lasting comfort and satisfaction.

Here in Florida, every new home includes a free sauna!

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 16:44:15 +0000

Really? Really! If you doubt that, poke your head up into your attic on any sunny afternoon…it’s HOT up there.

Why does that matter? Because in Florida we do a really crazy thing – we take the coldest air in the whole house, the 55*F air expensively cooled by the central air system…

…and stick it into a maze of poorly insulated tubes (ducts), most of which are up in the hot attic, up to 140*F all summer long.

Does it work? well, sort of…

On a hot day, the AC runs and runs and runs, and all the while those ducts up in the attic pick up heat since they all run through the free sauna. The system runs and runs, and the electricity meter runs and runs, and every month all summer, big power bills arrive like clockwork.

The average attic ducted AC system wastes 1/3 of its total power just overcoming the fact that its ducts are in the free hot sauna.What can be done about that? The best thing would be to rescue the cold air ducts from the hot sauna attic. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to get the ducts out of the attic and still cool the house. There is simply no place to put the ducts other than in the attic after the house is built.

The next best thing we can do is to kill the sauna. We can do that by spraying special insulation, called spray foam, under the roof deck. Foaming and sealing the attic cuts the summer high temperature from 140+ to just 80-85. That greatly reduces cooling losses to the attic. The AC system can then be much smaller, costing less to buy, install and run. As an added bonus, houses with foamed attics leak far less air outside, keeping indoor air cleaner, cooler and drier. Ask us how we can foam your attic, shrink your AC, make your home quieter, drier, and more comfortable!

News Articles

It’s ALL about air flow…

Here in Florida, every new home includes a free sauna!