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Consumers normally count
on reducing their cooling cost when they buy a new central air
conditioning or heat pump system. For example, a consumer would
expect to save approximately 33% on their cooling* costs if
they replaced their older 9 SEER system with a 12 SEER. What
they are not told is that efficiency will degrade over time
and the savings they were counting on will begin to deteriorate.
American Standard's Allegiance® Air Conditioners and
Heritage(r) Heat Pumps provide retained efficiency because of
the design of American Standard's unique Spine Fin™ coil. |
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| Retained efficiency simply means the new air
conditioner or heat pump will provide the energy savings the
consumer counted on for a longer period of time. To measure
retained efficiency, two factors must be considered: the BTU/Watt
consumption of the unit, and the unit's capacity. When efficiency
is lost one or both of these factors is causing the loss. |
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The outdoor coil (condenser)
is designed to dissipate heat transferred from inside the home
and absorbed in the units refrigerant This refrigerant travels
through the condenser coil after it has absorbed the heat from
the conditioned space. Air is pulled through the condenser coil
by the outdoor fan completing the transfer of heat. If the coil
gets dirty or clogged, the heat transfer is not as effective. |
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| It's not something you can measure
overnight, but you could see gradually rising utility bills
and/or you might notice that it takes longer for the unit to
cool your home. |
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| Either a dirty coil, a damaged coil,
or a coil that has experienced loss of thermal contact between
the tube and fin. |
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| No. Most air conditioners or heat
pumps utilize plate fin coils where copper tubes are inserted
through rows of aluminum fins As the demand for efficiency has
increased, the design of these coils has called for more fins
that are positioned very close to each other. As air passes
through this type of coil, dirt tends to collect along the leading
edge of all those fins. Unfortunately, this is where most of
the heat transfer takes place. This phenomenon is called surface
loading. Surface loading can significantly reduce airflow and
coil performance as a mat of lint and dirt build up. The result
is reduced efficiency. Surface loading also has a negative effect
on the systems life expectancy as it elevates head pressure
and causes mechanical stress on the compressor and outdoor fan. |
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