| Chicago Heating and Air Conditioning Contractors |
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The HVAC industry is a worldwide enterprise, with career opportunities including operation and maintenance, system design and construction, equipment manufacturing and sales, and in education and research. The HVAC industry had been historically regulated by the manufacturers of HVAC equipment, but Regulating and Standards organizations such as ASHRAE, SMACNA, ACCA, Uniform Mechanical Code, International Mechanical Code, and AMCA have been established to support the industry and encourage high standards and achievement. Heating and cooling are 2 of the most important concepts of home ownership. In fact, heating & cooling systems are major factors for those looking to purchase homes, and are a critical part of living comfortably in a home. You may frequently hear the term "HVAC," which is used to describe home heating and cooling systems. The acronym stands for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning–which are the 3 primary functions of a home system. They control air temperature and humidity, and maintain the quality of the air in the home.
At A Custom Heating and Air Conditioning we believe the heating system that is in your Chicago home is much more than a heating system...it is your environment. Gas Burning FurnacesGas or fuel burning furnaces all work on the same basic principle. The fuel is burned inside an enclosed metal container (generally referred to as a fire box or heat exchanger). The exhaust gases (including carbon monoxide) are vented to the exterior of the building. The burning of the fuel warms the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger, now hot, radiates the heat into the air in the living area. This heated air is circulated by gravity or pumped through the living area with a fan. Gravity FurnacesThese will usually be found in older Chicago homes. They include floor and wall furnaces and some ducted furnaces that are generally in a basement. The term gravity referrers to the fact that the furnace has no blower to move the heated air around the room. They rely on the fact that heated (less dense) air rises and the cooler (more dense) air falls to circulate the heat. This is not a very efficient way to heat a house and generally will be used as a room heater. Electric FurnacesNot the best way to heat your Chicago home. Expensive to operate. They can make your electric meter spin like a top. They work like those old bathroom electric coil heaters except that they are enclosed in a box with a blower forcing the cold air across them heating the air for the living area. Radiant HeatRadiant heating does not dehumidify the air, so in winter, room humidity is is more ideal. Unlike forced hot air, radiant heat will not dry out breathing passages or furniture. With no fans or blowers, radiant is dust-free, so it's also cleaner. Virus particles, bacteria and pet dander fall to the floor instead of circulating constantly in the air, so your family will stay healthier in winter. Because radiant heating warms the occupants rather than the room, people find they are comfortable at temperature settings several degrees lower than with conventional heating systems. Lower temperature settings mean lower fuel costs. You can learn more about floor warming and floor heating in our article center. BoilersSpace heating energy costs account for roughly 25-30 percent of the total energy costs for a typical commercial building in the Chicago area. High-efficiency boilers can reduce heating costs by 10 percent and in many cases by as much as 20 to 30 percent. Energy EfficiencyIn fact, a boiler replacement that reduces gas consumption by 20 percent could save about five to 10 cents per square foot annually. The dividing line between these efficiency ranges is based on the boilers ability to withstand condensing flue gases. Condensing flue gases, which occur in high-efficiency boilers, require special design considerations to tolerate the corrosive effects of the condensate. Boiler efficiency is defined as how much of the heating value of the fuel is being converted to useful heat. Condensing boilers absorb more heat from combustion gases, allowing the water vapor to condense and therefore providing increased efficiency. Any hydrocarbon fuel burned in a boiler, whether it is propane, natural gas, or fuel oil, produces water vapor during the combustion process. Fire tube and water tubeBoilers use water to absorb heat from a burned fuel/air mixture. Boilers can produce steam or hot water. The two most common types of boilers are fire tube and water tube. Fire tube boilers typically consist of a series of straight tubes that are housed inside a water-filled outer shell. As hot gas flows through the tubes it heats the water that surrounds the tubes. Water tube boilers are designed to circulate hot combustion gases around the outside of a large number of water-filled tubes. Newer boilers have tubes with complex and diverse bends and fins to maximize the heat transfer area. Because the water/steam pressure is confined inside the tubes, water tube boilers can be fabricated in larger capacities than fire tube boilers and are often preferred for higher-pressure steam applications. We at 123 remodleing are all about air – cool air, warm air, clean air. As a Chicago leader in air conditioning systems, services and solutions, we control the comfort of the air for people in homes and many suburbs as well.
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