Month: September 2020

What Are Zone Control Systems?

Written by acshvac on September 24, 2020. Posted in Uncategorized. No Comments on What Are Zone Control Systems?

Some like it hot!

Others, not so much.

If you have a large home with multiple stories or a large household with family members who prefer different temperatures, consider installing a zone control system.

A zone control system—or zoning—only provides the necessary cooling or heating that each zone in your Arizona home needs at the time. It not only adds to the comfort level of your home but can also lower your energy bills.

At ACS Air Conditioning Services, we always look for ways to improve the comfort, health, and safety of homes and businesses in Tucson and surrounding areas. Your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is a significant purchase—a big part of our job is to help ensure you get the maximum value from this investment.

How Do Zone Control Systems Work?

To create a zone control system, our experts will place dampers in the ductwork that distributes hot or cold air throughout your Tucson home. Each zone you create is equipped with a thermostat that connects to a central control panel. When you adjust the thermostats in each zone, the control panel opens or closes dampers to distribute hot or cold air where needed.

Working with our team, you create the size and location of each zone throughout your home or business. You can turn one room into a zone, or an entire floor. The zones should be areas that either have different temperature requirements or have specific areas that have had trouble maintaining temperature compared to the rest of a zone.

Whatever you decide, you can count on ACS Air Conditioning Services to help you achieve the most comfort in your home that comes with a zone control system.

Zoning Options

Installing a zone control is a money saver since it lessens the load on your HVAC system. Your furnace or air conditioner no longer has to struggle to heat or cool every room in your home. Here are some ideal zoning situations:

Homes with rooms that are hardly used
Home with concrete slab foundations, large windows, or high ceilings
Finished rooms in the attic or basement
Homes with multiple floors or intricate floor plans

Reducing the stress on your HVAC equipment extends the service life of your entire system. It also lowers your monthly utility bills. According to the US Department Department of Energy (DOE), heating and cooling your home accounts for upwards of 40 percent of your energy costs.

How do I know if I need a zone system?

Most homes can benefit from a zone control system. If your home has any areas that are uncomfortable compared to the rest of the home or you have different temperature requirements throughout your home, this system may help.

Larger homes with multiple systems also see huge benefits from a zone control system because there is no reason to heat or cool the home to a comfort level when some areas are not being used. Only maintaining a comfort level in occupied rooms can generate huge energy savings.

Many programable thermostats also have WiFi features so you can monitor and adjust the heating or cooling in the home; only the necessary energy is being used when no one is at home, or when people are only using certain rooms at certain times of the day.

These are significant utility savings that can occur while also increasing your home comfort! You will save money and make everyone in your home happy!

What If I Close Off Vents?

Our customers will occasionally ask if they can achieve the same result simply by adjusting the slats on the air vent covers. The answer is no.

Closing or partially opening a vent restricts the amount of air that exits the ductwork—but does not cause an air conditioner or furnace to produce less cold or hot air. By comparison, the zone control system not only redistributes airflow by operating dampers but also controls your HVAC equipment, signaling it when to run and when to stop. This eliminates unnecessary energy expenses.

Using air vents as a substitute for zone control may also contribute to air leakage and low airflow, among other problems. Those adjustable slats over air vents are designed to direct the flow of air into a room, not block it entirely.

Call Your Zone Control Experts Today!

Schedule an appointment today to learn if a zoning system can benefit your Tucson, AZ, business or home. At ACS Air Conditioning Services, we take great pride in building longterm relationships with our customers. We want to earn the chance to be your trusted source for all your heating and cooling needs. Call 520-230-5668 or request service online today to learn more about zone control systems and other services.

How Environmental Issues Can Affect Your AC

Written by acshvac on September 16, 2020. Posted in Uncategorized. No Comments on How Environmental Issues Can Affect Your AC

When you’re looking at how your air conditioner works, it can depend on a wide variety of factors. Most people realize that the brand you select, the size, the features, and the efficiency rating all play a role in how well an air conditioner will cool your Tucson home.

However, many environmental issues also play a significant part in not only your air conditioner’s performance but contribute to potential problems you may face. Our team of experts at ACS Air Conditioning Services wants to help increase your awareness of some of these environmental factors.

Size and Layout of Your Home

It’s very important to select the right-sized air conditioner for your Arizona home. Some people use a quick-and-dirty square-foot calculation to determine the size of a new air conditioner. However, you should also take into affect the size, layout, and design of your home.

For instance, many homes have high ceilings and open floor plans. This can result in a cooling challenge on the hottest days. You may want to use the volume of your home to perform sizing calculations.

In addition, the placement of ceiling fans or other air-circulation systems may also affect how well your air conditioner distributes cooled air.

Family Size and Schedules

Another factor in your air conditioner performance is how often you use your cooling system. This can vary depending on how large of a family you have and how often they are home.

For example, if you have a large family who spends a lot of time in your home, you’ll be working your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system much harder than if you are a single person who travels a great deal for your job.

Presences of Pets

More and more families today have a pet or multiple animals living inside their home. If you are a pet owner, you know how frequently you must clean your floors and furniture, especially if your dogs or cats shed a great deal.

In this case, be sure to change your HVAC air filter more frequently, because your pets will be contributing more hair and dander to your indoor air. In addition, be aware that pet hair can easily clog up air conditioner drains.

Smoking

If you smoke inside your home, this will also affect your air conditioner’s performance. You’ll want to be more diligent about changing your air filters and may want to consider investing in a higher-quality air filtration system to remove the added particulates.

According to the American Lung Association, about 7,000 different chemicals are produced when someone smokes. This not only affects your indoor air quality but can contribute to the deterioration of your air conditioning system.

Tar and nicotine are sticky and, therefore, can attract more dust and dirt to adhere to the inside components of your air conditioner. You’ll either want to clean these components more regularly or have one of our ACS Air Conditioning Services professionals inspect and service your air conditioner frequently. Improving your air conditioning maintenance and air filtration system can also reduce the number of chemicals constantly circulated inside your home.

Climate and Humidity

There’s obviously a significant difference in how often and hard your air conditioner will work when you compare homes in the northern colder climates against those in the hot southern ones. In addition, there’s a difference between those locales with very humid weather and those that have hot, dry weather.

If you live in one of the warmer climates, it will be more important to schedule regular maintenance before the hottest weather hits to ensure your air conditioner is performing at its peak.

In addition, if you experience high humidity levels, you may want to use a dehumidifier to take some of the burden off your air conditioning system. Although most air conditioners are designed to reduce humidity, in extremely humid climates, it may be difficult to keep up.

Contact ACS Air Conditioning Services Today

If you are in the market for a new air conditioning system or need to repair an existing system, turn to ACS Air Conditioning Services in Tucson, AZ. Our trained experts are well versed in all major makes and models and can provide you with reliable, high quality assistance and service. Call 520-230-5668 or contact us online today.