[747]

I was watching this new construction show one morning when i woke up in a hotel called Michael holigan. He was showing the best Central AC units to go with in new contruction. He said if your willing to pay some money the best one is a water cooled central AC unit. He said its more up front cost put lower operating cost. He said something like If you take a hose water down the coils on a ac unit when running it will blow colder air. This is basically the way a water cooled AC unit works. Is he rite. Is that the best unit to go with if you can afford it. Does it have a lower operating cost?

 

[mdshunk]

Sure, these work great, and they're all around you and you don't even know it. Most of the ice machines on the top of soda fountains in fast food restaraunts have water cooled condensers. These are constantly bringing in a small stream of city water through the condenser heat exchanger and putting it down the drain. Most of the large chiller units that air condition large buildings have water cooled condensers. These units recycle the cooling water, pumping it to a "cooling tower" on the roof or beside the building to cool the water back down. In residential, we'd normally call these ground source heat pumps or geothermal heat pumps. The cooling water is normally recycled, by running the cooling water down a deep well or through lots of loops in the yard to cool the water back off. Some of these systems do not recycle the condenser cooling water. They are called "pump and dump" systems. They may pump the water out of one well, through the condenser, and dump it down another well. They may also pump it out of one side of a lake or pond, and dump it back it at another spot. People are also getting "free pool heat" from central air conditioners by running the swimming pool water through the condensing unit heat exchanger. This not only produces the air conditioning for the house, but can raise the pool water temperature by up to 20 degrees in most climates.

There's tons of options here. It's certainly not new, but Michael Holigan is a salesman first and foremost. Sell the sizzle, not the steak.

 

[HVAC Doc]

Nothing new since ground source heat pumps have been around for over 40 yrs. Efficiency has been increased but even 20 yr. old units most generally have SEER ratings over 14. Todays can hit 22 to 24 SEER.

 

[747]

no

I understand what a heat pump is that isn't what he was showing on that show. It was like a regular looking ca unit but it had a water line going to it. He said it cost for this home 2500 dollars and a regular unit for that size home would cost 1200 so its more upfront cost but cheaper operating when you get your electric bill in the mail. As far a heat pumps no go where i live because the winters are so cold in Northeast Illinois. But i thought that water cooled ca unit look awesome. :Thumbs:

 

[HVAC Doc]

Hmmm. Maybe he was talking about a Freus unit http://www.freus.com/index.html . Does that look like what he was referring to?

As far a heat pumps no go where i live because the winters are so cold in Northeast Illinois.

As far as an air to air unit, you are right. But a Ground Source or Geothermal unit like MD and I were talking is unaffected by air since it use the earth (which at certain depths is pretty constant in temp) as its transfer medium. Nothing sits outside in the elements so to speak.

 

[747]

Doc I think that is it. And I'm 99% sure that michael holigan is out of texas and they list texas as a address. I also do recall him saying something like a water cooled condensor. I bet that unit is 2500 dollars. :Thumbs: I don't really understand the title HVAC the reason why i guess heating venting and air conditioning. But that would mean no plumbing. My guy is a plumber who also does heating and air conditioning. But he is second generation meaning his father started the business back in the day and he had 2 sons and they now run it. The sons are both in there 50's so i guess they were trained old school before they came out with the title hvac. Does that make sense? :Thumbs:

 

[HVAC Doc]

You still find some companies that do all, guess it depends on the area and code requirements as well. Like here, either I would have to get a Master Plumbing license or employee a person who was a Master Plumber to do any plumbing work such as water heaters, etc. Even when we put in a boiler for a radiant system, we have to have a plumber do the city water hook up for us . And considering how far HVAC has progressed from the days of a Thermocouple and belt drive blower, I have a hard enough time keeping myself up-to-date (nevermind a shop of 16 employees) with the new technology without adding more things to my plate :cheesygri

 

[mdshunk]

The Frues unit is no different than a ground source heat pump. It's just getting it's cooling water from a different place, and it doesn't have a reversing valve to also make heat. Other than that, it's nothing new or different. I'm constantly amazed how a sales pitch can make relatively mundane and old technology seem new again.

 

[mdshunk]

I don't really understand the title HVAC the reason why i guess heating venting and air conditioning. But that would mean no plumbing. My guy is a plumber who also does heating and air conditioning.

I'm thinking about starting the:

M.D.Shunk Plumbin', Heatin', Air Condish-nin', Lecktrical, Sewer Cleanin', and Lawn Mowin' Service

I'm not sure if all that lettering would fit on the side of the truck or not. :cheesygri

Our motto would be "We do everything pretty good, I guess"

 

[747]

There is a guy in my town who is a electrician and he also does furnance work if its force air. But anyway my town that i live in now was small then new construction hit. There are alot of older homes that have steam furnances in them and hot water boilers. Like mine is hot water. So i guess you have to be plumber to fix those. Know that i think about it HVAC probably became popular once forced air took off. Which is pretty much all you see in new contruction unless you want to pay the price for hotwater heating and then more to run ducts for CA. I asked him how much to put CA in my house he said 5 or 6 thousand have to run ducts and everything he said best way would be in the attic. I figure no way window unit is way to go. Just bought new one a lowes 10,000 btu has auto cool and energy saver button and just program temp it turns on and :cheesygri off Automatically its pretty awesome. Also have small one in bedroom. Thats cheaper than 6,000 dollars. Also once you live with hotwater heat Forced air isn't going to cut it. :cheesygri