Choosing an Air Conditioner
Written by: Becky Turgeon
When choosing an air conditioning system for your home, Town & Country offers two main solutions. The first option, and the one most people think of, is a whole home cooling system. This system uses the current duct work to distribute cool air through the whole home.
The second option we offer is a mini split system. These systems have an outdoor unit as well as indoor units. The indoor units are placed where you want the cool air to be dispersed. These units offer the advantage of zoning and they don’t require duct work. That means that if your home uses a boiler and radiators for heat, you can take advantage of a mini split system to offer home cooling. Let’s explore these options a little deeper.
Whole Home Air Conditioning
As the name implies these units work to cool your complete home. This type of system is often referred to as central air conditioning. It consists of an outdoor unit and a coil that is usually installed above your furnace. Because these units use your furnace and your home’s duct work they are able to blow cool air throughout your whole home just like your furnace would blow warm air in the winter.
Advantages:
-Whole home is cooled
-Great cooling capacity
-Most cost effective solution
-Takes advantage of any air purification systems or filters that your home already has
-Good energy efficiency
-Efficiency can be further improved with a smart thermostat
Ductless Air Conditioning
These systems are often referred to as mini split systems because they consist of two main components. There is an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. The indoor unit is mounted on the wall of the room that you want cooled. It is usually controlled by a remote control. Each room that you want cooled has a separate indoor unit that allows you to have different temperatures in different rooms. So for example your children’s bedroom could be set at a different temperature than the primary bedroom. Or at night you could just cool your bedrooms for sleeping while allowing other rooms in the house to linger at warmer temperatures thus reducing the energy requirements.
Advantages:
-Ductwork is not required
-Selected rooms are cooled
-Quiet
-Allows more control over the climate of individual rooms
-Cool bedrooms at night while rest of house is allowed to sit at a warmer temperature.
How to Choose
The primary factor that will weigh pretty heavily in the decision of how to cool your home will be whether or not your home has duct work. However, you could still choose a mini split system if you wanted to create some zoning or if you have an area of your home that doesn’t have duct work like an addition that perhaps has infloor heating. Whatever your needs are, our team will take the time to help you make the decision that bests suits your situation. You can give us a call or use the link below to request a quote. We’re your local experts.
Aging in Place
Making your Home Safe and Comfortable as you Age
Author: Becky Turgeon
As we age we think about where we are going to live and what that space will look like. We think about whether we will be able to continue to live in our home. Will moving to a condo be a better fit? So, what can you do to make your current home or a new condo home more comfortable as you age? What can you add to make your daily life activities more manageable? What safety features can you introduce? What can you do to make life just a little bit easier and more comfortable and what does your local plumbing, heating and electrical shop have to do with that?
Let’s look at some of the activities of daily life:
- Showering
- Bathing
- Using the toilet
- Enjoying Indoor time
- Enjoying outdoor time
So what can we do to make these areas of your daily life a little bit more comfortable. Let’s tackle the bathroom first.
Showering / Bathing
Have you considered converting your current tub shower to a walk in shower. Walk in showers can feature no step access, non slip flooring, and moulded, folding, or portable seats, as well as multiple spray options. We’ve got some great options from Hytec . The addition of safety grab bars can create an added sense of security. The grab bars are mounted to withstand a proper amount of force and provide much more support than simply bracing yourself against a wall or using one of those suction mounted grab bars.
Alternate configuration with fold down seat (Image 2)
Tiled Shower with fold down seat and grab bars. (Image 3)
This walk in shower install replaced a previous tub/shower combination. This particular install used a shower curtain. Glass door options are also available.
And what about faucet handles? There are lots of great options for handles in your shower or on your sink that will make turning them on/off easier. Check out some options from Riobel Pro and Moen
Lever style faucets make turning them on and off a little easier. No more twisting on a tap.
Toileting
Let’s face it, sitting down onto the toilet and getting up from the toilet absolutely gets more difficult as we age. Did you know there are toilets that are specifically designed to make them easier to use. The technical terminology is an ADA Toilet. ADA stands for Americans with Disability Act. ( I know, we’re in Canada but that’s the standard manufacturers typically use. The Accessible Canada Act or ACA, or Bill C-81 is the Canadian equivalent. As a Canadian contractor we follow B651-18 National Standard of Canada Accessible Design for the Buillt Environment.) Regardless of terminology the type of toilet we are talking about here has a minimum seat height of 17 inches (~43 cm) and a maximum of 19 inches (~48 cm). Standard height toilets are typically 14-15 inches in height. Elongated seats vs rounded seats can also be found to be more comfortable. Check out this link to an ADA toilet option from Contrac
Something that is also becoming more common in homes is a toilet with a bidet seat. We offer a number of choices. This link is for our Kohler options.
Enjoying Indoor Time
As we age we may find that we spend a little more time indoors, especially during winter. In order to make your indoor space more comfortable and safer consider some of the following options that we can assist you with.
Lighting
We’re an electrical shop. We can absolutely help you with lighting your home to not only increase comfort but also increase safety. Things to consider for safety might be night lighting, stairway lighting, or outdoor lighting. Things to consider for comfort might be the type of lighting you use. For example you might want to upgrade to LED pot lights, you might want to wire in better bedside lighting for reading, or maybe your garage needs better lighting because you have converted it to a hobby workshop.
Home Automation
Home automation can definitely add a lot of ease to your home as you age. Really we could have a whole blog on all the different types of comforts that home automation can bring to your home. Some options include:
- Ecobee Smart Thermostats, Smart Doorbells, and Security sensors
- Caseta Smart Dimmers and Switches
- RadioRA 3 by Lutron: Whole Home Lighting Control Systems
Heating / Cooling
As we age we spend more time in our homes. Let’s make your home air more comfortable. That might include looking at zoning your home. Want your bedroom cooler than or warmer than a secondary bedroom? Tired of cooling your whole home when really what you want is just a cooler kitchen for cooking in the summer and cooler bedrooms for sleeping in? You may want to consider a ductless cooling system. ( Daikin Multi Zone Ductless) Or maybe you want your energy bills to be lower. Ask us about high efficiency furnace and air conditioner options. Want better humidity, cleaner air, and an overall better heating and cooling system? We’re experts at that!
Our lineup of products to perfect your air includes:
Enjoying Outdoor Time
Lighting
Adding walkway lighting and accent lighting to your home can not only make it safer, it can make it more enjoyable. Need some new wiring for your backyard lighting or some new lighting options for walkways, entryways or alley garages, we’ve got a team of professional electricians who can get that done. Town & Country is also an authorized dealer for Gemstone Lights . This permanent, professionally installed lighting system will light up your home in ways you never thought possible. Lights are completely customizable using an app on your phone. You can change the colour and patterns in so many ways that you will always have your home lit up just right no matter the holiday or occasion. Christmas themes, sports themes, or simply elegant architectural themes, your home will be the prettiest on the block and you can change the lighting colour and theme from any where you have cell phone service or a connection to wifi.
Heating
Outdoor heating? Yeah it sounds sort of ridiculous but maybe you have a 3 season sunroom or a screened room or even a sheltered patio or deck that you would like to be able to enjoy for a little longer through the year. As we age we often have more time for things like sitting on our patios enjoying a good book or visiting with family or friends. We have natural gas as well as electrical options for heating these spaces. Check out Schwank . And of course we also have options for your garage, because getting into a cold car just isn’t that much fun in the winter no matter what your age is. We commonly use Reznor or Lennox units for garage heat. Heating your garage can also make it a lot more useful as an all season workshop or hobby area for whatever retirement project you have in mind.
Daikin Inverter Technology
Daikin offers their heating and cooling systems with Inverter Technology? What does that mean? Inverter (variable speed) HVAC systems are an energy saving technology that helps to reduce wasted operation in HVAC systems. Temperature is adjusted by changing the motor speed rather than turning the motor on then turning it off. Your comfort is maintained and your system operates at an energy conserving level. A simple analogy is comparing how your car performs in stop and go traffic versus cruising at highway speed making small adjustments to road conditions. Inverter technology allows your furnace to cruise along efficiently. Temperature is adjusted by changing motor speed and maintaining your comfort while operating at an energy conserving level. Inverter technology not only saves you money on your energy bills but helps prevent temperature swings in your home. You will feel the difference. Daikin inverter systems are also engineered to achieve lower operating sound levels. Finally the increased efficiency of the inverter technology system will reduce wear and tear on your HVAC system and therefore contributes to longevity and durability.
Check out Daikin here!
Contact Us Today!
Continuous Fan Operation
Definite advantages can be obtained by providing continuous fan operation, particularly with the use of Fresh-Air Ventilation Systems, Energy Efficient Air Cleaners and Power Humidifiers. Today’s new and efficient motors can save you hundreds of dollars while providing better indoor air quality. Keeping your furnace fan running in the summer months can enhance home comfort, by circulating the air in your home. You’ll feel cooler and more comfortable.
Air Conditioner Maintenance
- After turning the power off to the unit, rinse outdoor coil annually with a garden hose to remove dust, grass cuttings, etc.
- Check unit operation annually. Do not wait until you need cool air! Annual maintenance is recommended.
Notes:
- It is recommended that the thermostat be set no lower than 21ºC (70ºF) for cooling. Below this temperature, ice could form on the indoor coil, possibly resulting in damage to the equipment.
- If ice forms on the connectors going into the indoor coil or outdoor unit, turn the equipment off and call for service immediately!
- In cooling mode, do not lower temperature setting on the thermostat unless the outdoor unit has been off for five minutes. The breaker will probably trip or a fuse may blow if you turn it on too soon.
Eliminating Hot or Cold Spots at Home
The most common solution is to run the furnace fan on a continuous basis. A furnace with a variable ECM motor is the best choice for this.
You can also work on adjusting the registers or diffusers in the home. Start with restricting the flow through the registers in the rooms which are warmer than the others.
Does the Air Conditioner Sit on a Pad or a Bracket?
It really depends on the location of the condenser unit.
It is preferable to mount the unit on brackets attached to the foundation. This will eliminate any strain on the line sets due to movement of the ground around the foundation. Call us to discuss if this option is right for your installation.
Noise Levels of Our Air Conditioner Units
The outside noise that comes from the condenser is 64 to 74 decibels (dB).
A hair dryer at three meters is 80 dB. The interior noise of the average car at 100km is 70 dB.
Our equipment suppliers offer the quietest air conditioner units available. Call us to discuss different units that are available.
I Have Two Furnaces, Do I Need Two Air Conditioner Units?
Tell us where the comfort issue is and at what time. Is it during dinner? At bedtime? If it is at bedtime and all the bedrooms are upstairs – it really might be possible to provide cooling only to that floor.
Troubleshooting Your Furnace or Air Conditioner
Please check the following before calling us for service. These are problems that homeowners tend to overlook and are not covered by warranty.
Step 1: Is your thermostat set to the correct function?
Step 2: Has the power to the furnace been shut off?
- Electrical panel breaker
- Power switch located close to furnace of high in the basement stairwell
- Ensure the furnace fan door is on properly
Step 3: Is the filter clean? A dirty filter will eventually cause service problems and drastically decrease efficiency of both the furnace and air conditioner.
Step 4: High-efficiency furnaces have a System 636 PVC vent pipe which terminates on the side of home or through the roof. Ensure this is not blocked by debris, snow or ice.
If you cannot locate the problem by following these steps and require service, take note of the furnace model and serial number and call us.
