ASHRAE 55: Beyond the standard of thermal comfort

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Thermal comfort isn’t really defined in opposition to thermal discomfort. The best definition of thermal comfort, which has been established by many studies, is hinged on its impact on one’s well-being and productivity.

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Thermal comfort can be achieved by setting air temperature, humidity, and air movement after a range prescribed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). As people vary greatly among themselves on their temperature preferences, ASHRAE compares the outcomes of psychological experiments to thermal analysis variables in determining the indoor thermal conditions that majority of the occupants would find acceptable. These conditions are outlined in the ASHRAE 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, the industry consensus on thermal comfort requirements for buildings. ASHRAE 55 is updated on a regular basis to accommodate any changes affecting thermal comfort and its sustainability in indoor environments.

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Thermal comfort within offices is important. According to ASHRAE 55, the recommended office temperature ranges from 68°F to 74°F in winter and 73°F to 79°F during summer months. It has been reported that 80 percent of occupants feel comfortable on such levels, but there are still those who find these inadequate. Additional procedures are required to meet the acceptable thermal comfort levels for all building occupants.



Ensure your family’s comfort and safety by having your cooling and heating systems regularly checked by Hobson Air specialists. Go to this website to request for a service.

Fun Fact: The first air conditioner

"The very first unit by Willis Carrier was not for temperature control, but for humidity control. You got cooling as a byproduct."

Source: Live Science, Science of Summer: How Does Air Conditioning Work?

What came before the AC

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Many inventors tinkered with modern strategies for keeping cool under the heat. But it was Willis Haviland Carrier’s invention called the 'Apparatus for Treating Air' (U.S. Pat# 808897) that proved the plausibility of manmade weather by controlling temperature and humidity, eventually earning him the title as the father of airconditioning. Carrier started an era of refined understanding of electrical systems through his Rational Psychrometric Formulae, which remains the basis for all the integral calculations in the airconditioning industry.


But the attempts to outsmart the weather before the AC came along also warrant attention. Practical strategies to stay cool existed at the dawn of the 20th century. People braved the hot weather with fans of all shapes and sizes. The Roman Emperor Elagabalus made his mark by warding off third-century summer by commanding 1000 slaves to fill his pleasure-garden with a mountain of snow.

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Fast forward to 1758, Benjamin Franklin and John Hadley discovered that the evaporation of liquids had a cooling effect. Michael Faraday discovered the same in 1820. By the 1830s, Dr. John Gorrie built an ice-making machine in a hospital in Florida. He then patented the idea in 1851 but financial struggles killed off his invention. In 1881, following an attempted assassination of President James Garfield, naval engineers created a makeshift cooling machine that used half a million pounds of ice to keep the injured president cool and comfortable. The machine failed in its mission.

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By the 1920s, residential cooling machines were invented, thanks to iconic aircon marque Carrier, which began the science of modern airconditioning for home use.



Hobson Air is among the many cooling and heating systems contractors which uphold Carrier’s science of modern air conditioning. Go here for more exciting discoveries in the airconditioning industry.

REPOST: Updating your cooling system is a smart investment

The average useful life expectancy of an air conditioning unit is 10 years. To keep it running efficiently, regular maintenance is a must. Chron tackles the importance of updating air conditioners below.

If you’re a seasoned homeowner, you know houses require a lot of upkeep. Experience also shows the best home projects offer a dual advantage: they add to your quality of life and to your home’s overall value. And if an improvement helps save money in the long run? That’s a triple win!

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Dave Borowski, spokesperson for Direct Energy Protection Plans, says updating your cooling system can offers these benefits: “The useful life expectancy of an air-conditioning unit is usually seven to 10 years — much like a car, it might keep running but not as efficiently. And professional maintenance can increase the product’s life expectancy, improve performance and help reduce the severity and frequency of breakdowns.” So if you do plan to update your home’s cooling system, here are tips to ensure that investment pays off:

Find a good contractor. Look for the best credentials, not the best price: “A questionable contractor can cut the cost, but he may also cut corners,” warns Borowski. A NATE certification (National Alliance for Technical Education) is one standard of quality. Referrals — from online sources, and from people who had AC units installed 10 years ago or 10 days ago — can tell you a lot about contractor’s workmanship over the short- and long-term. “The most important day in an air conditioner’s life is Day #1, when it’s installed,” notes Borowski. “If it’s not perfect then, it will never get better.”

Buy the highest efficiency unit that you can afford. Face it: Electric rates are not likely to go down. Spending a bit more for an energy-efficient unit can actually lead to long-term savings.

Ask about rebates. Many vendors seasonally bring out rebates to help boost sales; check with your contractor to see if there are good deals out there.
Make sure your ductwork is properly sized for your air conditioner. “Just because your ductwork is there – and has been there for 22 years – doesn’t mean it’s right,” explains Borowski. An improper fit means the unit won’t work as efficiently as it should. A good contractor will check this, but it never hurts to bring it up.

Get a programmable thermostat. The newest versions let you monitor the AC right from a smart phone: “With the Comfort Sentry ThermostatTM, you can control the temperatures and set schedules to fit household needs,” says Borowski. To save energy — and energy dollars — you can raise the temperature during daytime hours when no one is home, and have things cool down automatically by 5 p.m. “Or suppose you’re at the airport, ready to go on vacation, and suddenly realize, ‘Ugh, I forgot to turn the thermostat off! It’s going to be cooling the house for two weeks while we’re on a cruise.’ Now, all you’ve got to do is go to your smart phone and put the thermostat in ‘vacation’ mode. Running the AC when you’re gone is equivalent to running ceiling fans when you’re gone!”

Check the service options. Even the best-installed air conditioner can break down; find out when your contractor does warranty service. “Some only do it Monday through Friday, 9 to 5,” says Borowski. “Imagine if your air conditioner breaks down at 5:15 on a Friday, and your contractor says he’ll be happy to help you Monday morning! Make sure you’ve got someone who stands behind his work and will perform warranty service 24/7. If not, you’ve got the wrong contractor.”

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The air conditioning and heating specialists at Comfort Experts perform preventive maintenance checks, service of existing equipment, installation of new equipment, and cost-benefits analysis. To know the right time to update or replace an air conditioning unit, read here.

Pets need air conditioners, too

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When the air conditioning unit of a Chicago animal welfare center was stolen, about a hundred cats and dogs were put in danger. The temperature at the time of the robbery was approaching 80 degrees and it was an unsafe heat for many animals to be exposed to. The meager funding that was allocated for the animals’ food and medicine had to be used just to stabilize the units. The incident was a proof of the importance of air conditioners to pets.

Dogs and cats may suffer from heat strokes and heat exhaustion when the environment is too hot. Unlike humans, they cannot expel too much body heat. They only pant and release sweat through their noses and foot pads. When they fail to expel heat effectively, their internal body temperature rises. At a body temperature of 106 degrees, they suffer from damaged brain and body organs. In extreme cases, they die.

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The cold air circulation that air conditioners provide can greatly help furry pets regulate their body temperature, especially during summer days when heat waves strike. The cool environment of air-conditioned rooms is also beneficial for more heat-sensitive dogs, including the obese, the ill, and the short-nosed breeds, like pugs and bulldogs.

There may be other ways that dogs and cats regulate their body temperature, but getting help from air conditioners is still one of the safest means. Enjoying cool air inside their owners’ homes, they do not have to wander outdoors and risk being attacked by other animals or impounded by animal control officers. As domesticated animals, they have lost many of their survival skills in the harsh environment and have evolved to share the benefits of technology with their human companions.

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AC Genius, an air conditioning contractor in Texas, can install complete heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. To get more information on the benefit of air conditioning units, follow this blog.

Ways to save energy when room air conditioning is a must

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Air conditioning is a necessity in hot weather. The unit helps people stay cool and protected from heat-related illness and death. However, there are those who are unresolved in buying an air conditioner because of the need to save money and energy.

If both air conditioning and energy conservation are a must, here are tips to consider:

1. Buy an air conditioner with ENERGY STAR label.

An air conditioner with an ENERGY STAR seal means that the appliance uses less energy, saving its user money, and helps protect the environment—as determined by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.

2. Choose the right type of air conditioner.

When buying a room air conditioner, choose a unit with an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of 10.0 or above. This will cut the air conditioning energy costs in half. Window and portable units, which cool room instead of a whole building, also use less than 50 percent energy compared to central units.



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3. Use the air conditioner properly.

To conserve energy, close the window and outside doors when turning the unit on. Also keep the unit clean to make it run efficiently. Clogged filters make the air conditioner work harder, which adds to higher electricity consumption.

5. Get an energy-conservation analysis

An energy-conservation analysis can determine the home’s energy consumption and the money that goes into using these energies. Air conditioning and heating contractors, like Hobson Air and Service Experts, conduct energy-conservation analysis at the request of clients.

Following these energy-conservation tips will help people save money and energy without depriving themselves of the comfort and protection that air conditioning provides.



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This webpage explains how an energy-conservation analysis works.

Legionella: The bacteria that inhabits cooling towers

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Legionella is a type of bacterium that causes the respiratory illness called legionellosis.


Legionella dwells in natural water systems, but thrives more in hot and artificial water systems. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention explains that the heated water of cooling towers of air conditioning systems provides an ideal environment for Legionella growth. Accom News adds that the bacteria “is most active when the temperature of the water is between 20° and 45° and there is sufficient nutrient to support growth and multiplication.”



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When people breathe in water droplets that contain legionella, they can be infected with legionellosis. In 1976 in Philadelphia, there was an outbreak of the disease when the American Legion convention members got infected due to contaminated cooling towers. Legionnaire’s disease, a form of legionellosis, was coined after this outbreak.


To prevent legionella from thriving in the cooling towers of air conditioning systems, regular inspection and cleaning must be observed. Both cooling tower manufacturers and companies that have cooling towers must follow strict maintenance guidelines. Companies can also seek the services of air conditioning and heating contractors like Comfort Experts and Quality Cooling and Heating, which conduct air quality analysis to make sure that there is no legionella in the air.



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How does an air quality analysis work? Find out by vising this website.