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Entries for March, 2009

Air Source Heat Pumps & Domestic Heating

mattinertia asked: A big favourite with the green crowd are air source heat pumps. The concept behind an air source heat pump is simple to grasp however the technology behind them is devilishly complicated!Firstly, air source heat pumps can extract heat for domestic purposes from outside air at temperatures which would seem completely devoid of [...]

Heat Pumps - General Overview

Dave Marx asked: Heat Pumps - general overview and descriptionHeat pumps are part of every day life these days. You might not always recognize a heat pump when you see one, but at this moment, heat pumps are working hard in your home, making life more enjoyable.While tooling around the house, you may turn on [...]

Metal Casting Furnaces and Metal Casting Furnace Types Described

Kent Kelin asked: There are several types of casting furnaces which include Electric Arc furnaces, Blast furnaces, Cornwall Iron Furnace, etc. Here’s a quick review of some of them.Electric Arc Furnace: This furnace can be described as a furnace heating charged materials by the way of an electric arc. These furnaces exist in all the [...]

Why Portable Air Conditioners Make Sense

Susan Slobac asked: Portable air conditioners make a lot of sense for a variety of reasons. Let’s say you live in an apartment or a rental unit. You will not want to invest in a permanent air conditioning system because you will not be able to take it with you when the day comes that [...]

How can I get my downstairs gas furnace to kick in quicker when I increase degrees on the thermostat?

Les K asked: When I wake up in the morning the temperature in the house may show 69 degrees on the thermostat. I increase the thermostat to 74 degrees to get some heat. It never comes on. I switch the fan from auto to on and then back and it may [...]

my air conditioner smells really bad, how do i clean it?

jessr2386 asked: my air conditioner STINKS. it is a window unit. i live on the 4th floor of a building in the middle of a city and have no access to a yard or any outdoor area. the only suggestion for cleaning it i have found on the internet is to hose it off. how [...]

What Determines Heat Pump Prices?

David Karlson asked:  Before you look at heat pump prices, you should have an idea of exactly what these devices can do. It is a machine, which moves heat from one location to another. These devices have the ability to either heat or cool an area. Most use the air as their source of heat. [...]

Why is my air conditioner still freezing after I changed the filter?

maria asked: I forgot to change the filter of my air conditioner unit for a whole year (whoops!) and just thought about it the other day, at which time I opened it up and found that the whole thing, although running fine, was frozen over and dripping all over the floor. I let it [...]

The Lowdown on Mini Split Heat Pumps

Martin Applebaum asked: Mini split heat pumps will make very good retrofit additions to houses with the “non-ducted” heating systems, like radiant panels, hydronic, and space heaters. They can as well be a very good choice for the room additions, where installing or extending ductwork is not possible.Just like the standard air source heat pumps, [...]

Is the Best Heat Pump a Good Choice?

David Karlson asked: The heat pump is an air conditioner, which can heat and cool your house. One simple explanation is that the best heat pump will extract heat that is found in air or ground outside your home and will transfer that heat in your house in its place. Under the exact conditions it [...]