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Why does refrigerant R410a matter?

Air conditioning system's now run on two type of gas,R410a and R407c with much older systems running on R22 which was phased out in manufacture in 2004. R410a is 40% more efficient than the older gases, it also is non ozone depleting and is easy to acquire where older gases are being phased out. R407c is a non-chlorine based refrigerant refrigerant but it still has greenhouse properties, it will be available until 2015. Air conditioning and refrigeration equipment is almost completely CFC and HCFC refrigerants, mainly running on isotropic blends.

Air to water heat pumps

A recent development is the air to water air source heat pump. These systems collect heat from the outside ambient air and transfer it via a heat exchanger to the water. These systems can literally replace a fosil fuel boiler with the water transfer heat exchanger  mounted where the old boiler was sited and the outdoor on a wall bracket outside. Air to water air source heat pump system's now run on various types of refrigerant gas including R410a, R407c, R417A and R744 (CO2)  with much older systems. R744 air source units operate at a output temperature of +65DegC which seem to make them the best of the bunch. R417A is a replacement gas for R22 and generally produces temperatures of around 50DegC. With all these types of air source systems excluding the R744 system a booster electric heater is required to push the temperature beyond 65DegC. The main manufactures involved in the air source heat pump market are Daikin's Altherma, Sanyo CO2 unit, and Hitachi Yutacki and Aqua-Free systems and Mitsubishi Electric Ecodan.

Office air conditioning

When having air conditioning installed in a office it is worth buying a quality unit. Cheaper units lack control features that more commercial air conditioning systems have as standard. For example a 24Hr timer so when your office is not occupied, the air conditioning is not running costing you money. Quality systems have superior mode settings for heat / cool / fan / dehumidify / auto. Cheap systems lack automatic feature which lets you set the temperature and the unit will change between heat and cool automatically. Most commercial air conditioning systems have 3 years warranty and because they have a higher coefficient they usually have a ECA listing (air conditioning heatpumps only).

Bedroom air conditioning

If you are thinking about buying air conditioning for your bedroom it is advised to purchase a unit with a low noise Db on the indoor unit. Whisper quiet is considered to be 25 Db and a quiet office 40 Db. This is a important factor to take into account. Some manufactures have made great efforts to reduce noise on the indoor air conditioning unit.
  
Home air conditioning units

Air conditioning for home use can vary in price considerably depending on the type of unit you decide on. If you are looking to have a totally concealed air conditioning system for a larger area or entire floor area, then you will require a ducted system or cassette air conditioning unit. These units require a void of around 300mm above the ceiling. They can be more costly to buy but provide an unobtrusive way of conditioning any environment. For spot cooling an area such as a bedroom or lounge, wall mount units work out to be a effective and cost effective way. As in the bedroom advice, noise is worth taking into account.

Using Energy efficient inverter air conditioning.

The latest air conditioning system's are some of the most efficient ways to heat or cool an area. It is worth taking into account the C.O.P of a unit. The higher it is the more efficient it is. If a unit has a C.O.P of 3.8, then this mean that it will achieve 3.8kW output from a input of only 1kW. This reduces electricity usage.

Fixed speed or Inverter air conditioning?

Inverter air conditioners are not new to the air conditioning industry having been around for +10 years now. The technology has now been miniaturised and manufacturing costs have fallen to make the technology more affordable for the air conditioning industry. An inverter air conditioning system controls the compressor electronically by altering the hertz (frequency).  i.e - if the area to be air conditioned requires 50% power of the air conditioners compressor as it is close to reaching desired temperature, the invert will reduce the frequency to 25Hz (UK  50hertz ) thus running the air conditioner compressor at 50% without a need to shut the air conditioner compressor off. It makes for a air conditioner with close control on temperature and reduces electrical requirements by in some cases 60% as there is no inductive load.

ECA Tax allowance for commercial clients