High Performance HVAC Air Handlers Page 2
Air Handling Units
HVAC Air Handler (AHU) Quickpage jump links:
Cleaning Dirty Air Handling Unit Evaporator Coils - How to clean dirty air handler evaporator coils
Checking the Air handler Blower Motor - How to check the air handler blower motor and fan
Checking the Air Handler Condensate Lines - How to check the AHU condensation drain lines
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Cleaning the Air Handler Evaporator Coils
How to Clean the Air Handler Evaporator Coils
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The Air Handler pages offers residential and commercial HVAC advice and self maintenance tips with air handlers, air handling units, and ahu.
Again, it is recommended that an HVAC professional do this work. Make sure you read the High Performance HVAC disclaimer before proceeding. A professional will have all the proper HVAC tools to complete the HVAC repair or maintenance job quickly and efficiently. It does not matter what type of equipment you have. You can have a Trane, Goodman, York, Rheem, or Carrier HVAC system and it all needs to be maintained. If you decide to do it yourself make sure you follow the safety procedures as noted on the Air Handler Page about cutting power to the air handling unit before attempting to clean the evaporator coils. Once you have turned the power supply off to the air handler, open the air handler panel where the suction and liquid lines run into the air handling unit. Be very careful not to bend or crimp these lines or any lines in the air handlers. Another thing to avoid is the fins on the coils. Do not bend them. That would defeat the purpose of cleaning the coils because it will reduce the amount of air flowing across the coils. Plus the evaporator fins can cut you. Be careful. Check the air conditioner condensation drain line before you begin this procedure. See condensate drain section below for more information on this subject. Soak the air handling unit evaporator coil with a soap and water solution. Professionals use an industrial strength coil cleaner which may be available at some hardware stores. Let this solution soak for a few minutes and then take a rag and wipe as much dust off the surface of the evaporator coils as possible. Repeat these steps until the evaporator coils look clean. Take a flash light and look between the fins on the evaporator coils. The evaporator fin on the coil should appear to be clean. If not, soak the evaporator coils again and use a brush with light bristles to brush the evaporator coils. Remove as much dust, dirt, and debris as possible from the evaporator coil. Remember there are two sides to the coil and make sure both sides are clean. The side that will most likely be dirty will be the side where the return air flow comes from. If your evaporator coils are clean and the rest of your air handler components are operating normally you should have a nice cool summer inside your home no matter what the weather is outside.
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Checking the Air Handler Blower Motor
The air handler blower is comprised of different components in most units. It has an electric motor, a squirrel cage blower wheel, and a cage typically referred to as a squirrel cage. Some air handling units have belt driven motors and most have capacitors for the air handler electric motor and typically the only required HVAC maintenance on the blower is oiling the air handler blower motor if it has oil ports or checking the belt if you have a belt driven motor. Not all blower motors have oil ports. These blower motors use sealed bearings and never require oil. The air handler blower motors that do have oil ports usually have little plastic dust caps that can be removed so that oil can be applied.
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Checking the Air Handler Condensate Lines
Checking the air conditioning air handler condensate lines is especially important if your air handler is located in the attic. Since the air conditioner evaporator coil (inside the air handling unit) operates at a temperature less than dew point, it will condense the moisture from the air. This air handling unit coil is designed to allow the moisture to drip into an evaporator condesation pan. Most condensation pans have a 3/4 inch PVC line attached to them that allows the moisture to drain to the outside of the house. The PVC condensation drain line often becomes clogged with algae and muck and needs to be blown or flushed out from time to time. If your air handler is in an attic it should have a secondary pan to catch the water in case the primary condensation pan or condensation drain line gets clogged. Typical items that clog condensation lines are algae, muck, and trash like insulation from the attic. You can treat the the evaporator pan and condensation drain lines with algaecide that should work throughout the season. For double protection, I recommend that all secondary condensation pans have float switches installed. The float switch will cut the air handling unit off if the secondary condensation pan starts to over fill. This will save you from buying a ceiling from a condensation leak. Float switches can be installed by your local HVAC service company. Check to make sure that the air conditioner condensate line is not plugged by pouring water in the air conditioner condensation pan. If it drains fast then the line should be okay. If it drains slowly or not at all then the condensation drain line is plugged or beginning to plug. I often find the end of the line outside and take a hose and flush the line. You must be careful if you do this procedure. You can flood the condensation pan and cause water damage. This will clean the line in most cases. Additionally you can make sure that the condensation drain line has a downward slant to it. Sometimes people place things in the attic on the condensation drain lines and it won't drain. If you've checked all that and the condensation water still doesn't drain properly you need to call an HVAC professional. The HVAC professional should have all the necessary HVAC tools to blow the condensation line properly. All of these checks can be made by your local Heating and Air Conditioning HVAC company. Just call and ask for a spring tune up or an HVAC maintenance agreement. A little HVAC preventive maintenance on your HVAC system can save you a lot of money in the future. Take the time to have this HVAC maintenance done and save yourself from the expense and hardship that comes with HVAC breakdowns and HVAC component failure.
In depth HVAC information:********
*By the time it (HVAC refrigerant) reaches the end of the coils it should have absorbed enough heat to change it from a liquid to a vapor*. What are the reasons why the coil wouldn't absorb enough heat to change the state of the refrigerant?
- Dirty Filters
- Dirty Coils
- Collapsed Duct
- Too many supply vents closed off
- A bad blower
The bottom line is airflow. There must be the proper amount of airflow across the coils for your system to operate efficiently. Take this one step further. If you have one of the aforementioned problems listed above and the refrigerant remains a liquid, what happens? Refrigerant leaving the evaporator is on a non-stop trip to the compressor. It is important that the refrigerant has changed from a liquid to a vapor before it reaches the compressor. Click here to see an example of the refrigeration cycle. Liquid doesn't compress and can cause major problems if it reaches the compressor. It's called liquid slugging and can cause irreparable damage to the compressor.
HVAC Variable Speed Motors
Today's technology, while being more expensive to purchase up front, can pay for itself over time in energy savings by increasing efficiency. Variable speed blower motors not only increase the efficiency but they also increase your comfort. Conventional HVAC systems are designed to maintain comfort based on a peak load of 95 degrees Fahrenheit out side temperature with 75 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 percent relative humidity inside. That means that even when the temperature outside is 80 degrees Fahrenheit the system will still operate full blast as if it were 95 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Imagine you had a car that only did one speed. Sure it would get you there but how efficient would it be? Both Trane and Carrier HVAC systems have specifically designed systems with variable speed blowers for greater efficiency and humidity removal. Other manufacturers have followed their lead.
Variable speed motors (technically called ECM or Electronically Commutated Motor) along with two-stage compressors and multi-stage furnaces offer better control and efficiency by helping your system run at the speed it needs to run at to meet the current load demand. Temperatures are even and the equipment cycles per hour are reduced. In both the summer and winter the motor runs at a lower speed until the demand increases and then it ramps up to meet that higher demand. It only runs or consumes enough energy to meet the current demand. Other benefits to having variable speed motors are:
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- Soft-start capabilities
- Quieter operation (research indicates up to 50 percent less noise than conventional blowers).
- Better humidity control which adds increased comfort in the summer
- On higher SEER condensing units, variable speed motors are used for the condenser fan motor.
- When used in conjunction with multi-stage furnaces AFUE ratings increase.
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Different manufacturers offer different options with available speeds and control of the variable speed motor. It is important to compare when shopping for new equipment. Use High Performance HVAC links page to see the different options available from different manufacturers. Variable speed motors used with other high efficiency options is definitely worth the extra cost at installation. It will pay for itself by saving you money in energy costs over the long term. Again, remember that you can have the best, most efficient HVAC machine any manufacturuer can design but if your duct work is sub-standard and leaking you're losing the efficiency you gained by having the best system installed. Duct work deficiencies are probably the most overlooked problems with an air conditioning and heating HVAC system. Before you spend a bunch of money having the best HVAC system installed, check the duct work to see if it can be improved.
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