As we move into the hottest months of the year, many home owners are rushing out to get air-conditioning systems to cool their house down.
Most consumers will be looking out for the ‘tick’ ratings on the systems they are looking at. But, are there other things you need to consider before forking out the cash for that brand new air-con system?
1. Installation Distance
Most of us live in HDB flats and wouldn’t usually consider the distance from air-con compressors to blower units a big issue, but you have to take into consideration the distance that the piping and trunkings have to travel between the two instead of the straight point A to point B distance.
Due to space limitations or interior décor, the distance between your compressor and blower unit might be farther than you expect.
Air-conditioning systems have optimal installation distances that range from 3m to 20m depending on the power rating of your compressor. The further they are apart, the less efficient. For example, a 25m installation will suffer roughly 3% to 5% performance loss compared to a 15m installation.
2. Compressor Location
While HDB flats have standard mounting locations for your outdoor compressor units. There are some things you need to know about the location of your compressors.
Your compressor should be mounted in a shaded and well ventilated area. While we cannot do much about the shade on the standardised mounting areas that HDB provides, you should still make sure your installers do not mount your compressors too close to the wall to ensure good ventilation.
The difference between a well-ventilated shaded mounting spot and an un-ventilated spot under direct sunlight could be as high as 5 to 10 degrees Celsius!
A 5-degree Celsius difference can easily translate to 20% more energy consumption to cool down your house at the same rate.
3. Blower Unit Location
The best location to place your indoor unit would be one that allows the cool air to hit you directly. Make sure there are no obstructions in the way and the cool air is well circulated.
You also need to take into consideration the effects of ‘heat walls’. These are exterior walls that are heated directly by the sun. These walls store and radiate heat throughout the day. So, if the cool air from your blower unit is not able to hit you directly, it will just cool down the room slowly. Even if the ambient temperature of the room is at 25 degrees Celsius, all you will feel is the heat being radiated by these ‘heat walls’.
Having direct air flow from your blower units reduces the sensation of heat we feel from these walls.
At the end of the day, your best option is still getting advice from professional air-conditioning specialists.
