The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
First Aid For The Ailing Houses
Even distribution of conditioned air calls for a system where a fan will circulate the air through a room or the entire house and where a return register brings the air back to the conditioner for retreatment. It must contain a filter to remove the dust and some method of thermostatic control to keep the temperature even throughout the area being cooled.
In winter, air passing through the conditioner is warmed and humidified; in summer, the air is cooled and some of its excess moisture is removed. Cleaning continues at all seasons by means of the filters, which are either replaced when clogged or are made for easy cleaning.
Two types of air-conditioning equipment are available. The window air conditioner, or single-room unit, is designed to be used in a window or wall, and to vent heated air from the motor and condenser to the outside. Most models also have provisions for drawing outside air through the coils and filters into the room. Many have a vent which exhausts room air to the outside at the same time.
The other type of air conditioner is the home conditioner, which is designed, usually through ducts, to cool an entire house at once. This type may be a separate unit, with its own ducts, especially where heating is done by a space heater, floor furnace, or hot-water system, or it may be a conversion unit to fit an existing forced warm-air furnace and use the present ductwork. A complete package unit with heating and cooling provisions is designed for replacing old furnaces or for installation in new homes.
FULL HOUSE AIR CONDITIONING
Installing the larger unit required to heat a full house is a job for the professional heating and air-conditioning contractor. But there are a number of things the home owner must recognize to be sure of getting the right job for his expenditure.
Estimating how much air conditioning is required for a house is not a job that may be done in the dealer's office. He must actually see the house and make measurements in order to determine what size and type of unit should be purchased. Such things as the amount of wall space facing south, the number of square feet of window space, the type of construction, insulation, and attic space will all make differences in the estimate for houses that may have the same number of square feet of space. A reputable dealer should be selected, and invited out to give an estimate on the amount of conditioning capacity that should be installed.
