Find an Air Conditioning Engineer you can trust in Tenterden.

Are you planning to install a new climate control in your home or property? If yes, then there are a number of things you’d have to consider before making a financial commitment and that’s related to air conditioning planning permission. It’s crucial to equip yourself with the facts so as to avoid any hiccups along the ways and end up with an AC system that works well and complies with all relevant air conditioning regulations. In this post, we’re going to give you a good insight into planning permission for air conditioning in homes. Let’s take a look!

In general, majority of small air conditioning installations do not need planning permission. In other words, you don’t have to submit a planning permission application to install an air conditioning system in your home or property – if you want to, simply go ahead with it. However, there’s a need to ensure that your external air conditioning units meet some regulations. These regulations include:

• It isn’t bigger than 0.6m3
• It’s over a metre from the boundaries of any property
• It’s more than a metre away from the edge of a flat roof
• It shouldn’t be fitted on a pitched roof

In addition, you’d have to ensure that there isn’t a wind turbine on the property. For a more accurate information, it’s more advisable to reach out to your local authority for advice on air conditioning planning permission before installing your air conditioning unit. They’re in a much better position to advise you on how to ensure that your air conditioning complies with the relevant regulations as well as whether or not you’ll need a planning permission.
 

As the summer months draw nearer, you get better accustomed to the ambient noise produced by your air conditioning system which is constantly in operation to keep your home cool and comfortable for both you and your loved ones. During this period, it’s absolutely normal to expect a spike in your energy bill and wish to know how you can limit the expenses without having to sacrifice your home’s temperature. In this guide, we’re going to consider some of the major ways you can save energy in your home without having to sacrifice your air conditioning system. Let’s take a look!

1. Reduce phantom loads. This is an electronic appliance that still makes use of energy even when turned off and not in operation. These phantom loads are actually everywhere in your home but you just don’t know that the television, toaster or even your phone’s charger continue to suck electricity when they’re not in use.
2. Incorporate more energy-efficient appliances. Before making a purchase, ensure that the appliance has the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Label as they use 10 to 15 percent less energy than their counterparts.
3. Change out your light bulbs. The older your incandescent light bulb gets, the more energy it consumes. You can cut cost by reglarly changing them out.
4. Install a programmable thermostat. With such a device, you can adjust your home’s temperature to your schedule and needs to cover for the time when you would not be home.
5. Use fan. A cooling fan can significantly lower the cost of running an AC system.
6. Seal all air leaks. Blocking all air leaks in your home is a great way to ensure energy is well maximized
7. Make your windows more efficient.
8. Enhance you insulation
9. Conduct a regular servicing of your AC unit
10. Setting the air conditioning temperature higher at night

With heating and cooling bills making up more than 50 percent of one’s overall utility expenses as reported by the Department of Energy, you’d probably want to know some ways in which in you can improve the efficiency of your air conditioning system. With the warmer months just around the corner, now is the best time to get started. Not only will you be able to improve the air conditioning efficiency in your home, but you’d also be able to save some money on cooling and heating bills. In this article, we’re going to consider the top 5 tips you can implement to get your air conditioning system running efficiently and at its maximum. Let’s take a look!

• Ensure that around your outdoor condenser unit is clean. When clean and free of debris, your outdoor unit is able to function at its best. This can be done by yourself just by watching a couple of videos, however you’ll need a professional whenever a more thorough and in depth cleaning required.
• Vacuum indoor vents and keep vents unblocked. In order to ensure there’s an uninterrupted airflow from your system, there’s a need to vacuum dust as well as form of debris away from the indoor vents. You should also keep items such as furniture and blinds away from obstructing the vents.
• Increase your thermostat by a number of degrees. Generally, adjusting temperature 5 to 8 degrees can go a long way to help you save some money.
• Keep lamps and other heat producing appliances away from the thermostat. Having heat producing appliance will only inform the thermostat that the air in the room needs extra cooling. This will make the system run longer and use up more electricity.
• Keep the curtains and blinds closed. This is to prevent the heat of the outside coming in and vice versa.

Air conditioning filters can get dirty over time, especially through heavy use. This can have a major impact on how efficient a unit is, increasing how much energy it uses and reducing how effective it is.

This is why it’s a good idea to service your air conditioning system regularly. Part of this should involve checking, cleaning and replacing your filters, to help your units run as efficiently as possible.

If you’re looking to purchase and install an air conditioning system in your home or property, what immediately comes to mind is the type to invest in. When it comes to air conditioners, the available choices are numerous - from window units to central air conditioning, through-the-wall air conditioners, portable air conditioners, ductless split system, package terminal air conditioners, swamp coolers as well as geothermal cooling systems. In this post, we’re going to consider the various type of air conditioners in order to help you make the best decision moving forward. Let’s take a look!

• Window air conditioners. These are the most popular type of air conditioners which are typically mounted in a window. They possess an exhaust system which pushes hot air out the back and sides while the refrigerant cooling is pointed indoors.
• Central air conditioning. This is the most effective form of air conditioning if you happen to own a large home and want all rooms cooled at once.
• Portable air conditioners. Just like window air conditioners, these are self-contained air conditioning systems. In other words, portable air conditioners have all their essential components in one appliance just like in window air conditioning units.
• Through-the-wall air conditioners. These self-contained units that operates by bringing in warm air which is then exhausted while they send cool air back into the room ( similar to window air conditioners).
• Ductless split system air conditioners. Just like the name suggests, these are two-part air conditioners that are able to cool various areas within a home.
• Package terminal air conditioners. These are the type of air conditioners that are mostly used for cooling in commercial spaces like hospitals, hotels and the likes.
• Evaporative or “swamp” coolers. Although these aren’t as common as refrigerant air conditioners but they are just as effective. While conventional air conditioners make use of a refrigerant known as Freon, swamp coolers only incorporates air and water to function.

We all know how helpful air conditioning systems can be especially during the hot summer season which is great at making your home feel nothing less than an inferno. So if you have an AC system, you’d probably want to know if leaving it on will be cheaper and more efficient.

The short and simple answer to this question is yes, leaving your air conditioning system on will make make it cheaper and more efficient. This isn’t what you or many other people will have in mind though. Under no circumstances should you leave you air conditioning system on full blast 24/7. To make your air conditioning system more efficient by leaving it on has a right and wrong way you can go about it. Let’s have a look!

If you’d ever noticed, any time you turn your air conditioner off during a very a hot day, even if it’s for just a couple of hours, things tend to get thrown out of balance pretty quickly. When turned back on, your AC system will have to work even harder to restore the usual comfort levels in the room. When you abuse this dial in such a fashion, the AC system can only become more inefficient rather than making your home more comfortable quickly.

On the other hand, your AC system ( when tuned to the right settings) can help maintain the proper temperature and humidity balance within your home instead of turning it off while away. And upon getting back, you can simply turn down the thermostat a bit which helps you prevent the usual stagnant air that you’d be hit with when your return home (with the AC system turned off) that’ll have you racing for the dial.

As the name suggests, these are air conditioning units that are specifically designed to be installed indoors. Unlike the conventional air conditioning system which involves installing a rather unattractive box on the outside of the building, internal air conditioning units are full fledged AC system which doesn’t involve having to make penetrations through the external walls. This could be as a result of the weather proof nature of the building or any other exterior skin features which acts as a restriction and makes the installation of a traditional air conditioning unit on the outside of your building simply illogical.

So how exactly does internal air conditioning units work? Well, most systems features the following components:

• The fan coil or room unit which is retrofitted high up on the interior wall of the room in question. Although, it can also be fitted into existing fittings as a concealed ducted unit during a refurbishment which makes it look a lot more attractive than the first option.
• The refrigeration pipe work then runs from the unit hidden behind the walls or ceilings, to the condenser box. The condenser box is usually the part that goes outside. However, it’s still installed inside the systems, mostly in a concealed space such as under the kitchen counter.

The benefits of installing internal air conditioning systems include the following:

• They are smart systems which is fully controllable with WiFi
• They filter the air, sucking dust, pollutants as well as other allergens from your building
• They most possesses some exciting features like the blackout technology as well as the i-Feel temperature control
• They’re just as effective in cooling and dehumidifying as any traditional air conditioning system.

With summer fast approaching, most business owners are getting ready to battle the great heat that often comes with it. One of the most important tasks would be to make sure that the commercial HVAC system is in top condition to run efficiently and smoothly through to help lessen or cancel out the effect of the summer’s heat in the work environment. Air conditioning systems when not properly maintained can take up to 30 percent energy which is capable of sending your utility bills through the roof during the season that calls for a heavy usage. In this post, we’re going to consider some top tips you can implement to prepare your commercial unit for summer air conditioning. Let’s take a look!

• Filter cleaning and maintenance. When the filter is clogged the cooling is decrease and more energy is consumed (implying higher electricity bills) as the unit works harder to have your work environment cooled. The filter accumulate dust, dirt and other particles pretty easily which also affects the indoor air quality since they’ll get pushed out with the cool air distributed. Therefore, there’s a need to ensure that the filters are washed regularly and also changed (at least once a month during summer).
• Air flow leaks and obstructions. If the blower components aren’t properly adjusted, this can lead to a 15 percent drop in the system’s efficiency. Also, gaps and obstructions in duct work can lower air flow in the HVAC unit. Therefore, you’ll need to check the ducts and connectors for loose spots or damages, also check walls, doors and windows for cracks and leaks which can allow the outside warmth to draft in and the cool air to flow out.