There is in fact, quite a bit of history behind heating and cooling systems. In fact, cooling can be traced to Roman times when wealthy households had aqueducts that ran through the walls of their houses cooling the air. They also had what was called a hypocaust system. This system allowed air heated up by a furnace to travel through passageways under floors and into rooms through using pipelines. Swedes, all the way back in the 18th century were the first to integrate hot water for heating. In England, the British set up the first steam heating units into buildings in the 1800s. Air conditioning made its debut in the 20th century.
Forced air systems, radiant systems and gravity systems are the 3 primary categories of central heating systems. Hot water, steam or electrical elements located in walls, in the ceiling or under flooring distribute heat in a radiant system. Thermodynamic properties cause hot air to rise and subsequently, disperse heat to the spaces above with a gravity system. Fans are utilized to blow heated air through a system of ducts in a forced air system. The majority of modern-day buildings and homes utilize forced air systems.
The most common forced air cooling systems are refrigerated air and heat pumps. Chilled coils utilizing electrical power and basic principles of refrigeration are vital to refrigerated air systems.
The chilled air is then blown through ducts and vents to the appropriate room by the use of an electric fan. Heat pumps work in a very different way. They work by pushing hot air within a building to the outside through electric fans. This process can operate in reverse when the need for heat develops.
Air conditioner and geothermal central heating units are becoming increasingly popular. The cool thing about geothermal units is that instead of relying on outside air, the geothermal units rely on the temperature of the planet. A system of tubes that are buried as much as 9 feet into the ground are relied upon. Among the most significant draws of geothermal cooling and heating units is they can be extremely cost effective since they utilize absolutely no fossil fuels Air Conditioning Repairs Dallas TX .
The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating, otherwise called SEER, was developed by the Air Conditioning, heating and Refrigeration Institute AHRI. All new central air conditioners are given a SEER rating. The federal government in 1992, began establishing SEER ratings. In 2006, the minimum SEER rating was raised from 10 to 13. As 2009 approached, most air conditioner manufacturers were producing units that had SEER ratings of up to 24. This suggested the units were 75 % more efficient that units produced less than 10 years prior. Overall, there has been a remarkable improvement to the efficiencies and life expectancy of HVAC systems across the board.