The warm weather is back and that means that your air conditioner is probably working hard to keep you cool and comfortable. Did you know that certain parts of your air conditioning system are prone to collecting dust and dirt? One of these areas is your ductwork. Duct cleaning is recommended every few years. If it doesn’t, dust and dirt will build up and this will impact the efficiency of your cooling system. Our team of experts at Specialty Heating & Cooling is experienced in duct cleaning!
Did You Know? Toxins
COMMON HOUSEHOLD TOXINS
As published by the S.T.O.P The Poison Foundation.
AIR FRESHNERS:
Most air freshners interfere with your ability to smell by coating your nasal passages with an oil film, or by releasing a nerve-deadening agent. Known toxic chemicals found in air freshner are: Formaldehyde: highly toxic, known carcinogen. Phenol: when phenol touches your skin it can cause it to swell, burn, peel, and break out in hives. Can cause cold sweats, convulsions, circulatory collapse, coma and even death.
AMMONIA:
It is very volatile chemical; it is very damaging to your eyes, respiratory tract and skin.
BLEACH:
It is a strong corrosive. It will irritate or burn the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. It will cause pulmonary edema or vomiting and coma if ingested. Warning: never mix bleach with ammonia it may cause fumes which can be deadly.
CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY SHAMPOO:
Most formulas are designed to over power the stain itself, they accomplish the task but not without using highly toxic substances. Some may include: Perchlorethylene: Known carcinogen; can cause liver, kidney and nervous system damage. Ammonium Hydroxide: Corrosive, extremely irritable to eyes, skin and respiratory passages.
DISHWASHER DETERGENTS:
Most products contain chlorine in a dry form that is highly concentarted. #1 cause of child poisonings, according to poison control centers.
DRAIN CLEANERS:
Most drain cleaners contain lye, hydrochloric acid and trichloroethylene. Lye: Caustic burns skin and eyes, if ingested will damage the esophagus and stomach. Hydrochloric acid: Corrosive, eye and skin irritant, damage kidneys, liver and digestive tract.
FURNITURE POLISH:
Petroleum distillates: Highly flammable, can cause skin and lung cancer. Phenol ( See Air Freshners, Phenol). Nitrobenzene: Easily absorbed through the skin, extremely toxic.
MOLD AND MILDEW CLEANERS:
Sodium hypochlorite: Corrosive irritates or burns skin and eyes, causes fluid in the lungs, which can lead to coma and death! Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. Irritant to eyes, nose, throat, and skin. May cause nausea, headache, nosebleeds, dizziness, memory loss and shortness of breath.
OVEN CLEANER:
Sodium Hydroxide (Lye): Caustic; Strong irritant, burns to both skin and eyes. inhibits reflexes, will cause severe tissue damage if swallowed.
ANTIBACTERIAL CLEANERS:
Triclosan: Absorbtion through the skin can be tied to liver damage.
LAUNDRY ROOM PRODUCTS:
Sodium or calcium hypocrite: Highly corrosive irritates or burns skin, eyes or respiratory tract. Linear alkyl ate sulphonate: Absorbed through the skin. Known liver damaging agent. Sodium Tripolyphosphate: Irritates skin and mucous membranes, causes vomiting. Easily absorbed through the skin from clothes.
TOILET BOWL CLEANERS:
Hydrocloric acid: Highly corrosive, irritant to both skin and eyes. Damages kidneys and liver. Hypochlorite bleach: Corrosive irritates or burns eyes, skin and respiratory tract. May cause pulmonary edema, vomiting or coma if ingested. Contact with other chemicals may cause chlorine fumes, which may be fatal.
PESTICIDES:
Most pesticides have ingredients that affect the nervous system of insects. imagine what these extremely poisonous chemicals do to your body, or your baby’s body. Dimplylate: Better known as Diazinon, extremely toxic. impairs the central nervous system. Chlorinate hydrocarbons: Suspected carcinogen and mutantagen. Accumulates in food and in fatty tissue. Will attach the nervous system. organophosphates: Toxic and poisonous. If you can smell it, your lungs are absorbing it.
LICE SHAMPOO:
Especially vulnerable are children. Lindane: inhalation, ingestion, or absorbtion through the skin may cause vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, and circulatory collapse. May cause liver damage, stillbirths, birth defects and cancer.
CAR WASH AND POLISH:
Petroleum Distillates: Associated with skin and lung cancer, irritant to skin, eyes, nose and lungs. Entry into the lungs may cause fatal pulmonary edema , most marked Danger – Harmful or Fatal.
MAKE SURE YOU READ THE LABELS!
DANGER – Harmful or Fatal if absorbed by or through the skin, ingested, or inhaled. One taste to a teaspoon can be FATAL to an adult!
WARNING – Harmful or Fatal if absorbed by or through the skin, ingested, or inhaled. One teaspoon to an ounce can be FATAL to an adult!
CAUTION – Harmful or Fatal if absorbed by or through the skin, ingested, or inhaled. One ounce to a pint can be FATAL to an adult!
* Warning labels required by the US EPA, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances
RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAN HELP…
- Carrier Infinity Air Purifier
- UV Lights
- HRV – Heat Recovery Ventilator
- Properly Sized Heating & Cooling Equipment
Geothermal Information
Ground source heat pump technology is the wave of the future, but the concept isn’t new at all. In fact, Lord Kelvin developed the concept of the heat pump in 1852. In the late 1940’s, Robert C. Webber, a cellar inventor, was experimenting with his deep freezer. He dropped the temperature in the freezer and touched the outlet pipe and almost burned his hand. He realized heat was being thrown away, so he ran outlets from his freezer to his boilers and provided his family with more hot water than they could use! There was still wasted heat, so he piped hot water through a coil and used a small fan to distribute heat through the house to save coal. Mr. Webber was so pleased with the results that he decided to build a full size heat pump to generate heat for the entire home. Mr. Webber also came up with the idea to pump heat from underground, where the temperature doesn’t vary much throughout the year. Copper tubing was placed in the ground and Freon gas ran through the tubing to gather the ground heat. The gas was condensed in the cellar, gave off its heat and forced the expanded gas to go through the ground coil to pick up another load. Air was moved by a fan and distributed into the home. The next year, Mr. Webber sold his old coal furnace.
In the forties, the heat pump was known for its superior efficiency. The efficiency was especially useful in the seventies. The Arab oil embargo awakened conservation awareness and geothermal launched interest in energy conservation despite cheap energy prices. That is when Dr. James Bose, professor at Oklahoma State University, came across the heat pump concept in an old engineering text. Dr. Bose used the ideas to help a homeowner whose heat pump was dumping scalding water into his pool. Dr. Bose fashioned the heat pump to circulate the water through the pipes instead of dumping the water into the pool. This was the beginning of the new era in geothermal systems. Dr. Bose returned to Oklahoma State University and began to develop his idea. Since then, Oklahoma has become the center of ground source heat pump research and development. The International Ground Source Heat Pump Association was formed in Oklahoma, and is based on the campus of Oklahoma State University, where Dr. Bose severs as executive director.
Green Solutions
Geothermal Heat Pumps – The Earth Saves You Money
Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) are a relatively new technology that can save homeowners money. These ground-source heat pumps use the natural heat storage capacity of the earth or ground water to provide energy efficient heating and cooling. Geothermal heat pumps should not be confused with air-source heat pumps that rely on heated air.
Geothermal heat pumps use the relatively constant temperature of the ground or water several feet below the earth’s surface as source of heating and cooling. Geothermal heat pumps are appropriate for retrofit or new homes, where both heating and cooling are desired. In addition to heating and cooling, geothermal heat pumps can provide domestic hot water. They can be used for virtually any size home or lot in any region of the U.S.
A geothermal heat pump system consists of indoor heat pump equipment, a ground loop, and a flow center to connect the indoor and outdoor equipment. The heat pump equipment works like a reversible refrigerator by removing heat from one location and depositing it in another location. The ground loop, which is invisible after installation, allows the exchange of heat between the earth and the heat pump.
Geothermal heat pumps can be open- or closed-loop. Open-loop systems draw well water for use as the heat source or heat sink, and after use, return the well water to a drainage field or another well. Closed-loop or earth-coupled systems use a water and antifreeze solution, circulated in a ground loop of pipe to extract heat from the earth.
Ground loops can be installed in a vertical well or a horizontal loop. Vertical wells are usually more expensive and used where space is limited. The length of loop pipe required will vary with soil type, loop configuration, and system capacity. Loop length can range from 250 to 1,000 feet per ton of capacity.
Special heat pump features can include variable speed blowers and multiple-speed compressors. These features can improve comfort and efficiency in areas where heating and cooling loads are quite different. Add-on features include the capability to produce hot water.
Superheaters can be added to supplement the production of domestic hot water when there is a demand for space heating or cooling. These devices make use of excess heat during the cooling cycle and use some of the heat during the heating cycle to supplement hot water production. Dedicated water heaters can be added which operate whenever there is a demand for hot water.
Geothermal heating can be more efficient than electric resistance heating. These systems are also typically more efficient than gas or oil-fired heating systems. They are more energy efficient than air-source heat pumps because they draw heat from, or release heat to, the earth, which has moderate temperatures year round, rather than to the air (which is generally colder in winter and warmer in summer than the earth, resulting in less effective heat transfer).
3 Signs Your AC Needs Repair
Summer is on its way and temperatures are slowly beginning to climb into the 80s and 90s. Is your air conditioner ready to tackle the heat? Hot temperatures mean that your air conditioner should be working well so you can stay comfortable. If it isn’t, that could mean costly AC repair. The last thing you want to happen on a hot day is have your air conditioner break down, so in order to avoid problems with your system, schedule your AC repair appointment in advance.
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