Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Different Kinds of Air Conditioning

If there is one thing that is a necessity these days in the hot summer temperatures is a way of keeping cool indoors, especially at night when you are trying to sleep. If you live in a hot climate of have very hot summers, you will know how hard it can be trying to get to sleep when you are sweating in excessive heat. The solution for many is an air conditioning system of some kind. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the more usual options for keeping cool inside when its hot outside.

Whole House Coolers


Whole house systems are large and expensive both to purchase and install as well as to run. The running costs of large systems has reached such heights as to deter many from co0nsidering this option.

Smaller individual room fixed air conditioning units are more popular because you only need to fit as many units as you really need. Bedrooms and the living room are the main recipients of these units which fix to an external wall in the room and connect to a venting unit on the outside wall. These units still cost money to run and if you have several units running at the same time, the power consumption can be considerable.

Portable Coolers


You can also buy individual portable air conditioners which as mobile units that you can move from room to room as you go. These represent a lower fuel usage because you only run one or two units at any one time depending upon how many people live in your home and how many rooms are occupied at the same time.

Here is an excellent article that is well worth reading up on how to save money on air conditioning. The article details the many benefits, uses and provides a wealth of resources if this type of air cooler interests you.

Evaporation Coolers


You can also get evaporating cooling units which extract moisture from the air in a room and reuse it to cool the air that it blows out. These are cheaper still to run and they do not have any harmful CFC refrigerant gasses to worry about.

Whichever kind of system you end up choosing to go with, you need to evaluate the overall costs of buying, installing and running your system from year to year, You will have to factor in the regular increase in the cost of power as prices are never going to go down!

Friday, 1 February 2013

Sunpentown SF-609 Evaporative Air Cooler Review

If you're looking for a powerful portable air cooling solution that won't cost you the earth, this is it. Swamp coolers are perfect for people living in areas with low humidity as they provide you with a cool air solution that uses far less power than its equivalent air conditioning unit at a price that will pleasantly surprise you.

Important: Before you buy this unit, you need to be aware that if you live in a high humidity climate, the effectiveness of this cooler is greatly reduced.

If you don't know what an evaporative air cooler is or how it works, then please read our article: What is a Swamp Cooler? which covers the basics and highlights where they work best and where they don't. In short, they do not work well and even not at all in humid conditions.

So if the place that you live has humidity levels above 50% or so, I would advise you to choose an air conditioner instead of an evaporative cooler.

Benefits:


This great air cooler is extremely powerful for its size and for the cost when compared to portable air conditioners. It has three running speeds, remote control operation, an ionizer for helping to purify the air with a nylon and photocatalystic filter and comes with a large 2.5 gallon (10 liter) water reservoir.

It is highly portable and lightweight to make it easy to move from room to room and there is no need to vent to the outside. This unit does not produce hot exhaust air, unlike equivalent air conditioners.

That means you can put it wherever you need it, switch it on and enjoy a blast of cold air that is capable of reducing the air temperature by as much as 30 degrees!

 The Sunpentown SF-609 is quiet when running and has settings for direct cooling and a "swing" setting to move cold air out in multiple directions for a wider spray. The large water holder means you don't have to refill it more than once a day.

Cleaning and Maintenance


As long as you read the instructions before you get started, you will have no problems keeping things running smoothly and keeping the unit clean. It's important to remember that when cleaning the wick that you do not use water and that you do it in direct sunlight.

If you follow the maker's instructions you will have no problems with bad odors as some people complain about because they didn't follow the instructions!

Want to Buy the Sunpentown SF-609 Evaporative Air Cooler?


After checking around several online stores, it became pretty obvious that the best place to buy this unit from in terms of price, after sales service and free shipping is Amazon. Please Note: THis model is currently unavailable and as a courtesy to my readers I have removed the live link to the product page.

This unit does what it says it will do, which is to cool the air in dry, hot climates. It comes ready assembled so you don't have any hassle--just add water, plug it in and enjoy!

PS: I know that button above says "Buy Now", but you can click it just to take a look to find out more. Naturally, you do not have to buy it if you don't want to!