FAQ's
Clean Air
I thought pollution was outside. Why should I be worried about my air indoors?
What kinds of things are in my home air that might be affecting my family's health and comfort?
What does Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) mean?
I keep my home very clean. Could the air in my home still not be clean?
What can Trane do to help make my home's air cleaner?
Daikin
Who is Daikin?
What makes Daikin different?
Why is Daikin's VRV-S system unique?
Miscellaneous
What is a SEER rating and how does it impact my energy costs?
What do all those rating numbers mean?
I need a new outdoor unit, but my indoor unit works fine. What are the advantages of replacing my whole system at the same time?
How much will my new air conditioning system cost?
Will anything help control the humidity in my house?
What is a load calculation and why is it so important?
Clean Air
I thought pollution was outside. Why should I be worried about my air indoors?
We spend 90% of our time every day indoors. Plus, today's efficient, airtight homes are excellent at conserving energy, but that also makes them better at trapping potentially irritating particles inside the home. With the rising number of people who suffer from allergies and asthma, indoor air quality has become more and more important to our general health and well-being.
What kinds of things are in my home air that might be affecting my family's health and comfort?
A wide range of particulate matter can be in your home's air, including:
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What does Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) mean?
Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is recognized by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a fair and objective measure of various air cleaner technologies. CADR provides the number of cubic feet of clean air a unit delivers each minute. A higher CADR means a greater amount of clean air is being delivered to your home.
I keep my home very clean. Could the air in my home still not be clean?
Yes. Consider that the average home generates 40 pounds of dust for every 1500 square feet of space. While regular home cleaning is an excellent measure to reduce exposure to irritants and pollutants, it's simply impossible to remove enough of the material by hand to make your home's air as comfortable as it can be.
What can Trane do to help make my home's air cleaner?
The best thing you can do is to remove as many of the particles from your home's air as you can. That's why they've introduced the revolutionary TRANE CleanEffects air filtration system. It works as part of your total home comfort system to remove up to an industry-leading 99.98% of the airborne allergens from your home's filtered air. There is no other system you can buy that matches the effectiveness of TRANE CleanEffects.
Daikin
Who is Daikin?
For over 80 years, Daikin has been an innovator in providing residential, commercial and industrial air conditioning systems. Daikin has entered the North American market to expand on their global presence, which includes Europe, Asia and South America. Daikin combines state of the art technology with aesthetically pleasing design to bring the consumer a system that will provide Absolute Comfort.
What makes Diakin different?
Daikin is unique because it manufactures both air conditioning systems and refrigerants.
Why is Daikin's VRV-S system unique?
Daikin's VRV-S system utilizes an intelligent inverter-driven compressor. This allows the outdoor unit to vary its output based on the heating or cooling demands of the indoor zones it controls. The result is precise temperatures for the rooms it controls.
Miscellaneous
What is a SEER rating and how does it impact my energy costs?
SEER means Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. Like its "MPG" counterpart in the automotive industry, the SEER gives an indication of the performance efficiency of the system. The higher the SEER, the more efficient the unit. And, the more efficient the unit, the lower the operating costs.
Experts at the Trane Home Comfort Institute say that by purchasing a system with a high SEER, you'll use less energy to cool your house, resulting in lower electric bills. In many cases, these savings are enough to partially or fully offset the cost of the new equipment within a few years.
What do all those ratings numbers mean?
The federal government requires all air conditioning and heating equipment to be rated for efficiency. The higher the rating, the more efficient the model.
Gas furnaces are rated for AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency). This defines the amount of heat used to warm your home from the burned fuel. A 90% furnace will use 90% of the available heat to heat your home. 10% of the heat is vented outdoors. Many older gas furnaces are only 60% efficient. The other 40% is vented outdoors. You can see that a new high-efficiency furnace will require much less fuel to heat your home.
For air conditioning, the rating is SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). This rating is based on general design criteria such as the compressor and outdoor coil. SEER ratings are for comparison purposes only, so that homeowners will know how they can compare different brands of products with similar efficiency ratings. The rating for the outdoor unit will reference a general efficiency range, such as a 14 SEER. The actual efficiency rating for a specific system will depend on the combination of the outdoor unit and the indoor coil. These ratings are available from your dealer and the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute's Energy Guide. A variable-speed indoor blower unit will increase the efficiency rating of the system, as well.
Heat pumps are rated by SEER for cooling efficiency and by HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) for heating efficiency. As with other ratings, the higher the HSPF, the less energy it will take to warm your home.
I need a new outdoor unit, but my indoor unit works fine. What are the advantages of replacing my whole system at the same time?
We recommend that you replace the indoor coil or air handler when replacing the outdoor unit. Both of these components are integral to the closed refrigerant loop and there will be no test data available for the new combination to establish the expected capacity or decrease efficiency, and you may be faced in the near future with replacing the indoor unit after it fails and having to pay to have the closed refrigerant system opened again. It would be expensive and be another opportunity for contamination. You end up paying more. If your whole system is replaced, you will be less likely to need service in the near future.
How much will my new air conditioning system cost?
That depends. There are many factors that must be considered. These include:
- The efficiency of the equipment
- The size of your home
- Is the ductwork installed and in good condition?
- Do you need a thermostat or electronic air cleaner?
In most cases, replacing your whole system, including both indoor and outdoor components, will result in a more efficient, longer-lasting system but will cost a little more. Please contact KG's Air Conditioning & Heating for equipment recommendations and your total investment based on a load calculation performed on your home.
Will anything help control the humidity in my house?
Humidity is a problem in many areas. The best way to control excessive humidity is to have a system that runs longer at lower speeds. Variable-speed air-handling equipment runs at very low speeds, which keeps th air circulating against the cooling coil and removes much more moisture than conventional systems. At these low speeds, the variable-speed motor uses much less electricity than conventional motors.
Trane's two-stage XL19i outdoor air conditioning unit will operate at a low speed, removing more moisture and allowing greater comfort than a single-stage air conditioning unit. Trane's variable-speed indoor blower units also have Comfort-R Enhanced Mode that runs a very cold coil and enables the blower to slowly ramp up and down. This will wring-out extra moisture from the indoor air.
What is a load calculation and why is it so important?
A load calculation determines what the proper size system is for your specific home. Completed by us, it factors in a number of criteria used to determine what size components you should include as part of your total comfort system, things like square footage, number of windows, and year-round weather concerns.
A load calculation is important so that your system operates at maximum efficiency with optimal performance. Most homes have systems that are oversized, so you end up paying more than you should to heat and cool your home. Also, systems that are improperly sized tend to cycle too quickly or too slowly, and that can lead to maintenance problems, uneven temperatures, and an inability to control humidity. A properly sized system based on a correct load calculation can help ensure you enjoy long-lasting, reliable comfort whatever the season.