Improving Air Conditioning and Heat Pump efficiency

My next unit will be a geothermal heat pump. I have known people with them that have cut their energy bills by over

50% in the hot summer.

For a conventional A/C or heat pump, home or car, take a look at a product called ICE-32. It works, immediately lowering A/C temps or raising wintertime heat pump vent outlet temp. It's basically a lubricant. It also quiets noisy compressors and purports to lengthen their service life. I've used it on two houses and all our cars. It works.

We don't sell it where I work, but we used to.

Oh boy, hope you keep the threads separate. That is a mean crowd of people on alt.hvac that seem to think they are entitled to the contents of your wallet for knowing very little.

Just out of curiousity, what kind of climate do you have?

Wes

On alt.hvac not too great.

Where this house is, there are about 3000 heating and 3000 cooling degree days assuming a 55 degree balance point. So pretty moderate climate.

Dan

I ran into a bunch of those losers on news:alt.dodge.trucks a few years ago. What they are afraid of is that if people ever found out they could do 99% of the work themselves, at least half the HVAC installers would be out of work.

I had one give me all kinds of hell wen I went to a wholesaler to buy a bunch of fiberglass duct board. I had to change the coolant at a UHF TV station. The descaler Tyglos had to be pumped through the system at full operating temperature, but couldn't be run through the Klystrons. I made bypass assemblies for the klystrons, then used the duct board to block all but a narrow notch below the water chiller. I bypassed the pump controls and used a propane fueled salamander heater was used to bring the water up to temperature for an hour, then flushed the system, twice. Then I did the same for the second system.

The idiot HVAC guy first told me it couldn't work, then told me I wasn't qualified to do it. The wholesaler told me they wouldn't sell to anyone without a HVAC license, so i smiled and said, No problem. I'll have Claude mention your company name on his show tomorrow, and that you refuse to deal with his Christian TV station. I asked the installer that was hassling me if he wanted to be mentioned too. Gee, he even loaded the truck for me. ;-)

The problem with your numbers is a good portion of the people out there can't screw in a light bulb without instructions,but yet you think they should run wire, braze line sets, and run ductwork? 3/4th's of installing HVAC equipment is simply monkey work. The other 1/4 of the job is where many people screw up, including many people in the trade. Sizing equipment, sizing dust, properly evacuating a line set before charging, mechanical codes, building codes... I can go on.

You may be able to do this job properly, but how many people can? I know guys in the trade that can not do it right!!

Same goes with other home repairs, or automobile repair. What you or I may find simple, and a mind numbing repair, the next guy may not have a clue where to start. Also the great majority of people can not do air conditioning work themselves, it is against Federal EPA laws. If you want to go through the testing required, go for it. not worth it in my mind to install one system. I have been on service calls where people have tried to repair their own furnaces, then called us to do it right. When I get there I wonder why the house has not burned down, or why the family has not died from carbon monoxide poisoning.. Greg

You are right. Lots of people can not do the job properly. And I really don't want to do the work as much as figure out what I want done and whether it is worth doing. I also want to be able to figure out if someone is competent. I am not sure that passing the EPA test means you are qualified to design a system, but it might mean you are qualified to do the installation. It does mean that you are willing to study, but maybe only the minimum to get licensed.

So far no help from alt.hvac and all I asked for was recommendations on books.

Dan

I watched a Dirty Jobs where they were using wells instead of a field. Dropped a loop of plastic pipe down the bore hole and filled it with grout. Looked way easier than digging a bunch of trench lines . Karl

Please do. I didn't say that everyone could. The characters I had to deal with perceived that scenario. There are people who can't do a damn thing but invest. OTOH, there are people in the trades who can't do a damn thing right. I've seen too many of them on job sites. The lower the grade of their work, the more they worry about a homeowner trying to do his own work.

I had an air conditioning problem in a TV station's control room. It had given them fits for the two years they had been in their new building. The contractor was there about once a month with another lame idea when I was hired. They finally brought some 'experts' from the A/C manufacturer and still couldn't understand why the 10 ton AC system barely kicked on, but the equipment was overheating and failing. The air temperature was 55 degrees inside the tiny equipment room, but the idiots had all the vents at the ceiling, above the racks. They had never heard of stratification. When I told them the cold air supply had to be at the floor level I was called an idiot, and worse. I mentioned computer rooms with all the A/C supplied under the raised floor and was told, No one wastes their time doing that crap anymore! I told them to prove me wrong, so they finally dropped a piece of flex from air supply the ceiling, between the cabling and to about 6" above the floor. Within five minutes, the equipment was cold to the touch.

IOW, not all 'professionals', are. It is the same in any profession.

Lots of different ways to do it. That is why I want to learn more. The best website that I have found is

enough data to design a system, but enough that I understand how much I do not know.

Dan

That piece of paper that says AAS, BS, BA, MA, MS, PHD, JD is just a statement that someone met minimum standards from a school with varying standards compared to other schools and leaves out mention that daddy or mommy is an alumni that has a big check book.

As far as trades, two things must be gathered. Documented time in the profession and passing a state license examination. Sounds like your state has an easy test.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

check book.

And lots of con men. They like the warm climate, and the fact that no matter what you do, they can't take your home to pay your debts. that is, other than property taxes. that is while well known corporate criminals buy a multi million dollar home in Florida, before they are convicted.