| By :
Nick Messe
You've purchased an older home for its unique charm and one of a kind beauty. But as the weather becomes warmer and the inside of the house is hot and humid, the house might not seem quite as charming. The answer is air conditioning. But can a 150 year old home have an air conditioning unit retrofitted? The answer is yes. Though it might be more difficult and take some ingenuity in some situations, it can be done. Many know the basic process of an air conditioning system. A special chemical gas, called a refrigerant, is forced through a compressor, squeezing the cool refrigerant gas into a hot gas with high pressure. The hot gas is then sent through condenser coils located outside the home. The heat created by the compression is released to the outside air with the assistance of radiator fins attached to the condenser coils. The hot gas begins to cool substantially as it goes through the condenser coils. After going through the condenser coils, the hot gas is forced through a small opening into a series of evaporator coils, cooling the hot refrigerant into a cool gas. The coils of the evaporator are attached to fins, like the condenser unit to aid in the heat exchange.. During this process, warmer air from inside the home is drawn into the unit, blowing the warm air over the evaporator coils, cooling the air. In a window unit, the compressor and condenser units are located in portion of a unit sitting outside the window, facing the outside. The evaporator coils are on the portion of the unit inside the home. With a central air unit, the compressor and condenser are separate units, located outside the house. The evaporator unit is attached to the furnace, taking advantage of a home's duct system to deliver the cool air through the home, while returning warmer air through the cold air return. In new home construction, nearly all use a central heating system with duct work built into the home upon construction. Even if the home did not have a central air unit installed upon construction, installation of central air is relatively easy, since duct work is already in place. Walls and floors are left undisturbed. If your home has a central heating system with duct work, retrofitting a central air conditioning unit to your older home is basically the same as for newer home construction. The compressor unit is placed outside the home, while the evaporator unit is usually attached to the duct work through the furnace. At this point it should be noted that older homes are generally not as well insulated or as energy efficient as newer homes. Often, insulation is missing from walls, attics may have insufficient insulation, and windows may be leaky. That is why it is important to have a heat gain calculation performed by your heating contractor, or HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning) contractor. The heat gain calculation does not merely take into account square footage or cubic footage of the home to be cooled, but also considers the amount of insulation, the number and size of windows, and how the sun affects home. This calculation will help determine the type and size of unit you may need. If your home uses radiators without duct work, or does not have a central heating system, the job may be more difficult, but can be done. If duct work must be installed, it may double the cost of the system. This is a rule of thumb, and it is best to discuss this with your contractor. Though this may seem expensive, remember, an air conditioning system is a long term investment that is projected to last for years.
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