HVAC Round Rock professionals specialize in creating desired air environments for homes and businesses. They help clients choose the right units for their specific needs and budgets.
Asking the right questions before selecting an HVAC contractor can save homeowners time and money. Learn about basic HVAC systems to understand which components are best for your home or business.
An HVAC system is a crucial component of modern living. In summers, it can keep you cool and relaxed; in winters, it keeps you warm and cozy. But the world of HVAC is complex. Many different components work together to regulate temperatures, humidity levels and air quality. Understanding the basics can help ensure your system is running smoothly.
HVAC systems use a variety of technologies to achieve their objectives, but most are designed with three basic goals in mind:
Heating units raise indoor temperatures; cooling systems remove heat and humidity; and ventilation systems disperse conditioned air throughout the building. Some systems may incorporate all of these features into a single unit, while others are split into separate components that serve specific functions.
A basic system can include a furnace, heat pump, air conditioner and ductwork. Furnaces use gas, oil or electricity to produce heat; heat pumps use electric power to transfer thermal energy from one space to another; and air conditioners use the refrigeration cycle to absorb heat and release it as cooled air.
Ductwork is the network of pipes that distributes conditioned air to each space in a building. It can be a key feature of central HVAC systems, and it can also be used in smaller buildings with ductless split systems. Ductwork often includes fans and blowers that create a specific level of air pressure inside each room, which can be useful in hospitals to create positive-pressure rooms that prevent infectious patients from contaminating other areas.
All of these systems must be properly maintained to provide optimal performance and longevity. That requires regular tune-ups and other maintenance activities such as cleaning or replacing the air filter. Keeping up with routine maintenance can also reduce energy costs and extend the life of your equipment.
Air Conditioners
When it comes to HVAC systems, air conditioning is one of the components that focuses on cooling indoor air. This is why some contractors or builders might use the terms AC and HVAC interchangeably, but they actually refer to two different things. The air conditioning part of an HVAC system chills refrigerant and blows cold air through vents in a home or business. An HVAC system might also include a furnace, which heats air and pushes warm air through vents.
To cool the air, an HVAC system relies on a process known as refrigerant cycle. Refrigerant is a liquid that turns into a hot vapor in the compressor unit, which is located inside your outdoor air conditioner (also called a heat pump). When it becomes a hot vapor, the refrigerant moves through a condenser coil, which transfers the heat to outside air. The refrigerant then turns back into a liquid in the evaporator coil, where it absorbs cooler air to cool your space.
The cooled air is then passed through ductwork to various rooms and spaces in the building. The blower fan then forces the conditioned air through a heat exchanger, which warms it up before being released through the vents. An energy-efficient model can help keep heating costs down by regulating the compressor speed to minimise power consumption.
Wagner offers a comprehensive line of air conditioning solutions to meet the cooling needs of Southwestern homeowners and businesses. Our ductless mini-splits and central air conditioning units are engineered to deliver optimal performance, comfort, and efficiency, while prioritising environmentally responsible technologies. Contact us today to learn more about our green air conditioning options. We look forward to helping you achieve your ideal climate control experience.
Furnaces
Furnaces are one of the oldest types of heating systems in use today for both residential and commercial homes. Modern furnaces burn natural gas, propane or electricity to generate and distribute heat. They come in a variety of models, each with its own characteristics, costs and efficiency ratings.
Furnaces operate using a blower that moves heated air throughout your home. This air is pulled into the furnace through ductwork and passes over a filter, which removes dust and debris before entering a heat exchanger where it’s warmed. The blower then circulates this clean, heated air to your home’s ductwork and throughout the house, keeping your home comfortable.
A thermostat monitors the temperature of your home and switches the furnace on and off as needed to maintain a set target temperature. The thermostat also tracks your heating and cooling usage, which helps you track energy consumption and efficiency.
The type of fuel your furnace uses will also have an impact on how efficiently it runs. For example, a gas furnace will be more efficient than an electric one. If your furnace has an AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) rating of 90%, it means that it converts 90 percent of the fossil fuel it burns into usable heat for your home, while the other 10 percent escapes up the chimney and elsewhere.
The strength of your furnace is determined by the amount of heat it needs to supply to your home, as measured in BTUs (British thermal units). Depending on the size of your home and how much you need from your furnace, it’s possible that your home could benefit from switching to a boiler instead. A professional HVAC contractor can help you decide which type of heating system is best for your Portland home.
Heat Pumps
With cooling now a necessity around the world for both comfort and climate resilience, millions of homes are turning to heat pumps as double-duty HVAC machines that provide heating in winter and air conditioning in summer. These all-electric appliances are more efficient than traditional furnaces and also cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from home heating.
Most people are familiar with a ductless air-conditioning system, but few realize that the ductwork and equipment can work with a centralized heat pump as well. In a house with existing ductwork, a ducted heat pump is a great choice for homeowners who want to reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint.
A heat pump looks very similar to an air conditioner, but it has a copper coil inside that, when operating in heating mode, moves the heat from your home into the air outside. In cooling mode, the heat pump simply switches to reverse that operation so that it extracts warmth from the air and blows it into your home.
The technology behind a heat pump is very complex, but the upshot is that it uses much less electricity than traditional systems, and often provides savings on both heating and cooling. In fact, a heat pump can produce three to four times as much energy for every unit of electricity it consumes, compared to a gas boiler that converts just a fraction of its fuel to usable heat.
A key advantage of heat pumps is that, since they are all-electric, they can be used with a wide variety of different energy sources, including solar panels. This gives builders the flexibility to build all-electric homes that are protected from volatile fossil fuel prices. And, since heat pumps offer both heating and cooling in one machine, they are an excellent solution for new houses that need to be prepared for a warming climate.
Ductwork
Often overlooked and taken for granted, your home’s ductwork does two major things: transport expended air to your HVAC system and bring back that conditioned air. Like the circulatory system in our bodies, efficient ductwork is key to keeping your indoor environment comfortable throughout the year.
A ductwork system consists of a network of rigid metal tubes that are typically hidden behind walls and ceilings. Usually made of sheet metal, ducts can also be constructed of fiberglass or other modern materials. Rigid ducts are more common and tend to be rectangular in shape, although some systems use flexible ducts in situations where there isn’t room for a trunk duct. In both cases, the ducts are connected by fittings known as takeoffs. These allow a required change in size from one size to another and help balance airflow and pressure.
Ducts carry conditioned air into rooms via supply vents, and they carry stale return air back to the plenum for recirculation. To prevent dirt and dust from being pulled into the system and circulated throughout your home, it is important to have your ductwork professionally evaluated and cleaned on a regular basis.
When ducts are poorly designed, the airflow they create will be unbalanced and inefficient, leading to hot and cold spots and uneven temperatures in your home. Our experts are trained to design and install ductwork that is both efficient and effective, helping your HVAC setup work at its best. We use advanced CAD-quality design software that saves time, enhances accuracy, and elevates our professionalism in designing your ductwork layout. In addition, we can make a variety of ductwork modifications, including adding a larger return air vent, replacing a duct section, rerouting a duct, and installing a new duct.