Articles for September 2016

New Fireplace Features To Look For

New Fireplace Features To Look ForFireplaces have a very long history. Their existence dates back from the prehistoric times. They were once used for heating a dwelling place, for heating water and for other domestic uses. But as time goes by, the use of a fireplace have become more modern. Modern fireplaces are now mainly used for creating a relaxing ambiance and for heating a room. New fireplace features like better heat efficiency are introduced in the new models. But there are also other important new fireplace features that you need to look for when you are purchasing one. It’s important that you need to understand these features, know how they work and how they can be beneficial to you.

Fireplace Fans

This is an important feature that you must look for in a modern fireplace. The purpose of having a fan inside a fireplace is not to produce more heat but to ensure that the heat being produced will reach the area where it’s needed. To be clear, putting a fan inside a fireplace doesn’t cause it to produce more heat. But it can help to ensure that more of the heat being produced actually reaches the space where it’s desired.  Fireplaces are usually installed in recessed alcoves with one of it sides exposed to the outside air. Installing a fireplace this way not only helps in reducing fire risk but it also allows the heat produced from the fireplace to reach interior areas in the house.

Fireplace fans and blowers will draw air from vents in the underside of the insert and then push that air out from the top, making sure that the heat is distributed evenly. Having fans in your fireplace will also improve the quality and circulation of the air inside a room.

Catalytic Converter

Fireplaces must also have a catalytic converter inside them. A catalytic converter is essential for reducing the amount of smoke coming out from your chimney. This also increases the heat being produced while reducing the amount of wood being burned in the process. However, not all fireplaces come with this important feature. With a catalytic converter you can use less wood while still getting a lot of heat which in turn helps you in saving money from buying too much wood as a fuel source for your fireplace.

These are only two of the most important new fireplace features that you need to look out for. These two are even more important if you are using your fireplace as your primary heat source. But if you have a reliable source of cheap firewood, then having one of these two features can still help you in saving money.

New Air Conditioning Technologies

Air Conditioning TechnologiesExperts from all over the world always look to improve the air conditioners in all kind of ways ever since they were invented. Different air conditioning technologies are introduced every year just to make the ACs to function more efficiently and properly.

Air conditioners of today are certainly more efficient than they were before. They have also become more affordable and have become a norm these days. As a result, there are now a lot of people who are using them in their home which leads to a lot of energy being used to keep people cool.

Here are some of the HVAC improvements and developing technologies that will change the way houses will be cooled in the future.

HVAC Improvements

Radiant chilled beams – this type of system will cool your home or building through natural transfer of heat and convection. This will involve the use of ceiling pipes that carries chilled water which will directly cool a particular space or area. However, mould and condensation can be a major concern for this type of system but this can be solved with the help of a dehumidifier. This system promises to use 15-20% lower energy than the conventional HVACs and also provides better efficiency for cooling.

Displacement Ventilation – this system makes use of the natural airflow to push the hot air upwards and remove it from the ceiling. This system improves the ventilation efficiency and air quality in comparison that the conventional HVACs have.

Developing Air Conditioning Technologies

These developing air conditioning technologies are still concepts at this stage, but once they become a reality, they will definitely change the way how air conditioners work.  Here are some of the developing technologies for air conditioners.

Sound-wave cooling – this technology makes use of the helium gas instead of a refrigerant. The cooling action will involve the use of a loudspeaker to turn electricity into sound waves, which will then pressurizes the gas and enables it to absorb the heat and release it outside.

Smart metals – this technology is still it its concept stage. The concept behind this technology is that it involves the use of shape memory alloys that have the ability to transform in response to applied stress. As the shape memory alloys transforms, they change shape and develop the ability to remove heat from a particular room.

As these air conditioning technologies are still developing, time will only tell when they become a norm in the near future. You can expect from these developing technologies to provide a cleaner and a more efficient cooling method for air conditioners in the future.