Needless to say, it’s not an easy task to find the right balance. There are a few features every technician must consider: effectiveness, energy consumption, ecology, technology, affordability and design. When one of these factors is omitted, the air conditioner most likely won’t be successful on the market.

Although the revolutionary technology is still in its infancy, there are some interesting concepts that deserve attention. For example, the futuristic looking tree-shaped air conditioning system. Its idea is quite simple yet effective. Basically it uses the ground heat and the Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) system. The natural looking branches control the direction of airflow, spreading the filtered clean air within a wider range than with traditional air conditioners.

The next design is called “Fresco Di Lana” and it was developed by Laura Boffi. This air conditioning curtain is made from wool, which filters hot air and cools it as it enters the house. The water pump next to it keeps the curtain wet when desired, which supports its next function: an indoor vertical garden. It is meant to provide the perfect environmental conditions not only for you but also for plants you can grow in the ‘pockets’ of the wool.

One of the most futuristic designs was introduced in China and named Habitat 2020. This completely sustainable housing suggests dumping the old materials used for houses, and substituting them for highly sensitive skins that act as membranes between the outside and inside environment. So how will the air conditioning work in this case? Simply put, the outside air will enter the skin, travel through its numerous funnels, where it will be cooled, filtered and then evenly spread into the room. Moreover, the skin is also supposed to emit clean and CO2-free air from the building.

Last but not least is the simple design and compelling of H2O air conditioner that ended 3rd on the annual Panasonic Award. Who said that air conditioning can’t be a nice accessory for your house?

However, not every air conditioner meets the basic requirements and may be unsuitable for the office with regards to the size or functions. As employers are responsible for the health of their staff, it is important for them to choose the air conditioning carefully.

As we specialise in air conditioning maintenance and portable air conditioning, here are some valuable tips on how to choose the right air conditioner for your office.

Type
Portable, fitted, cooler, fan; there are many types you can pick from. The important thing you need to consider is how, where and for how long you want to use it. If you need a temporary cooling system, you can just hire one for a limited period and save money.

Size
Contrary to the common belief, bigger is not necessarily better. Oversized air conditioning unit may consume more energy than it actually needs, which will reflect on your next bill. Nevertheless, if the unit is too small it will not be able to cool the room properly. The best thing to do is to seek an advice of a specialist.

Maintenance
A lot of people neglect the maintenance and thus considerably shorten the air conditioning’s lifespan, not talking about increasing its consumption of energy. Professional maintenance not only saves you money but also makes sure the unit works well for longer period of time.

Around nineteen people have been linked with the outbreak and all have needed hospital treatment. A further four more cases have been invested, with two of the four – a 70-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman – having died.

All of the 10 companies with registered cooling towers and evaporative condensers across the Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney area have now been inspected.

Since the outbreak three of the companies have been served improvement notices. A further three premises with non registered cooling towers and/or evaporative condensers have also been identified and visited.

One company – who cannot be named – voluntarily shut down its cooling tower in order for it to be disinfected.

These series of cases are precautionary actions by Public Health Wales after microbiological results on samples taken from the cooling tower proved that legionella bacteria is there. This cooling tower has been confirmed to be operating in accordance with the Approved Code of Practice.

Cooling towers in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil were not operating in accordance with the Approved Code of Practice. Since this report, the tower has been cleaned and disinfected and is ready to start work again.

Environmental Health Officers working on the case have ensured local residents that samples have been taken from a number of sites to see where the legionella bacterium is present. At the moment not all of the results are in for each of the sites.

Further workplaces have been visited by the officers who are eager to find the source of the spreading bacteria.

Dr Gwen Lowe, head of the outbreak control team and consultant in communicable disease control for Public Health Wales, said, “Our investigations show that there is no single building visited by all the people linked to the outbreak. The sources, or source, are therefore likely to be industrial processes such as cooling towers.

“Environmental health officers and Health and Safety Executive officials have visited and checked all the registered cooling towers in the area under investigation. They have also visited unregistered cooling towers. These investigations continue.

“We have no evidence that the cooling tower is served with a prohibition notice is linked to any cases of legionnaires’ disease. We also have no evidence that the cooling tower which was voluntarily closed on Saturday is linked to any case of Legionnaires’ disease.”

If you are looking to implement air conditioning units into your company or need air conditioning service and maintenance for your systems, visit Airconco.com today, the UK’s leading aircon installers.

Any car purchased before the 1990′s was installed with a air conditioning unit most likely powered by Freon (R-12). The company were ideal in giving drivers a comfortable environment and even better at releasing greenhouse gases that were harmful to the ozone layer. So in the mid 1990′s GM’s switched to a less harmful R-134a.

The R-134a quickly became more popular but still emits greenhouse gases into the envrionment that don’t break down very quickly. The refirgerant has an atmospheric life of more than 13 years which gives it a global warming potential (GWP) rating over 1,400.

So through a partnership with Honeywell the new GM air conditioning unit will use HFO-1234yf a chemical that breaks down much faster in the air than a R134a. And instead of 13 years the chemical breaks down in 11 days making the GWP 4, which is 99.7 per cent lower than R-134a.

The greener air conditioning system will be used in 2013 editions of the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models in the US. The new air con system will not only hit EPA’s new motor vehicle greenhouse gas regulations for 2016, but it will also set the standards for car companies around the globe.

1. Crack your windows, and crank up the fan

Fan systems are most effective when combined with a source of fresh, cool air. For most car owners, that means a slightly opened window. Don’t open it all the way if it’s warm outside – just crack the window and let a small amount of fresh air enter the car.

2. Store ice in the car

Unfortunately, it’s not quite as easy as popping down to the supermarket and dumping ice cubes in the car. By storing a container full of ice next to your car’s ventilation system, you’ll be able to cool and humidify the air without worrying about excess gas usage. This old-fashioned air conditioning method was popular in Arizona in the mid 20th century.

3. Apply window tints

Tinted windows don’t actively cool your car, but they do cut down on the amount of sunlight that can enter. By decreasing the transparency of your windows, you’ll let less light enter the car and quickly lower the overall temperature. Be careful – some country’s ban tinted windows, or apply limits to the transparency level of the glass.

And no air conditioning maintenance costs going forward…

The CIBSE are leading a campaign to force the new Government to tackle the woeful level of compliance and to ensure air conditioning units run efficiently. Their campaign is backed by the UK Green Building Council, BRE Global, the Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association and the British Institute of Facilities Management and has already got the support of over 300 industry signatories – and of course, everyone here at Airconco.

Non-compliance with the Energy Performance in Buildings regs and the F-Gas regs is at an all-time low and the campaign argues that this is costing both the industry and the environment and an air conditioning service overhaul throughout the country is necessary.

CIBSE President Elect Rob Manning said: “The campaign aims to bring together the many voices of frustration and concern to form one united call for action. We need to raise the issue of non-compliance up the government agenda and promote the benefits of increasing compliance rates.

“Non-compliance has real costs; it costs the environment, it will cost the UK any chance of meeting the emissions targets and it costs non complying companies who are missing out on a real opportunity to increase their profits.”

In fact, in excess of 2 million UK motorists (7 per cent) have had an accident, near miss, or momentarily lost control of their car as a result of sneezing while driving, whilst almost 60% have, at some point, looked away from the road to search for a tissue. But did you know that air conditioning can help?

According to Kwik-Fit, a car’s air conditioning system can provide a defence against pollen, but to be effective the system needs an air conditioning service regularly and the pollen filter changed at least once a year, even more so if the car is often parked under trees.

“All too often, air conditioning units are ignored from one summer to the next,” says David White, customer services director at Kwik-Fit, “But air-con is most efficient if it’s used frequently and serviced regularly.

“As the weather gets warmer, motorists quickly realise that their air-con isn’t functioning as well as it could. But if you’re a hay fever sufferer with a fit of the sneezes, the incentive to have your system serviced is even greater – the benefits aren’t to be sniffed at.”

While officials were upset by the extent of the damage, they were optimistic about the books’ recovery efforts. Water damage to most of the texts was relatively limited, with most books able to be restored and recovered by local experts.

Employees and volunteers were within the affected rooms within hours, those on the scene report, handling the texts and ensuring that they weren’t further damaged. Keeping in line with standard procedure for damaged books, all affected copies were wrapped up and placed in a freezer – designed to prevent further damage to the moist pages.

While the point of fault has been located – a humidifier in the building’s public storage area – it’s prompted more than just a swift replacement. Officials are investing in a new humidity and air conditioning service system for the building, designed to keep the books at an ideal temperature and free or risk.

Allergies, reactions, and ill-effects caused by airplane air conditioning are relatively common, with many passengers experiencing dry breathing passages or a common cold during their holiday. Most aircraft air conditioners are fitted with large filtration systems, ensuring the ash and grit won’t pass through into the cabin, but a number of passengers are still concerned.

The potential risks don’t seem to be limited to those inside the cabin, either. Pilots are concerned about emergency landings which could be caused by the ash. As grit and dust enters the plane’s air conditioning system – a system also responsible for regulating cabin air pressure – pilots may be required to switch air conditioning off to ensure passengers are kept safe.

While relatively inconsequential for local flights, international flights and long-haul carriers may need to land in order to clear out the dust and carry out air conditioning maintenance. With many British air travellers still stranded overseas, news of health risks from airlines certainly aren’t coming as welcome news.

For other cities, it’s a dry, arid heat – the type of temperature that makes concentration impossible and physical exertion a dream. Whether you fight it with a cool drink or a day huddled in front of the air conditioner is anyone’s guess – these days aren’t comfortable, and there’s no doubt about it.

We’ve found six truly devastating heat waves and hot weather events, each located in a different part of the world. From Chicago to Shanghai; Melbourne to Buenos Aires, these six heat waves brought sudden heat, devastating commercial effects, and potentially lethal disruption to the globe. Fans of a good old air conditioning service best close their eyes, but tanning gurus and hot weather fanatics will love these extreme heat waves.

1. The 2003 French Heat Wave

Source: http://tinyurl.com/39oezhb

France’s 2003 heat wave was one of the most economically and socially devastating events in recent history. With almost the entire European continent affected by record temperatures and severe drought, a number of crop failures and agricultural setbacks pushed South and Central Europe’s countries into a spin.

However, few countries were hurt more than France. With over 30,000 deaths throughout Europe and multi-billion dollar financial damage, the heat wave’s epicenter was located directly above France’s central region. Temperatures were dangerously high from Paris all the way to Marseilles, with some cities experiencing heat well above 40ºC – a major change from France’s relatively temperate central conditions.

2. The Great Depression ‘Dust Bowl’ Years

Source: http://tinyurl.com/3ys4anr

The 1930s weren’t a great time to be American. There was the Great Depression – a sever economic downturn in the wake of some short-sighted financial decisions. There was also the ultra-cold winter of 1935 – one of the coldest and most disruptive on record. Finally, there was the the North American heat wave – one of the most extreme climate events in history, and a major source of health and financial woes at one of the United States’ worst points.

Piece it all together and you’re left with a fairly nasty decade. Unfortunately, the 1930s weren’t the best decade to experience a heat wave – air conditioning had yet to be invented, and due to the ongoing depression, most public buildings had severely reduced service and operating budgets. Besides sweating it out 24/7, most of the United States’ population were struggling to piece things together financially.

3. Southeast Australia’s Six-Day Fire and Sun Wave

Source: http://tinyurl.com/2wqyjwg

Australia’s international reputation may paint it as the ‘warm’ continent, but in reality its southern corners can see some pretty extreme cool points during the year. From Melbourne to Adelaide; Hobart to ACT, Australia’s southern points experience a cool winter and relatively Spartan summer temperatures, with daytime temperatures rarely exceeding 30ºC.

It’s amazing then, that the region’s temperatures saw such a surge in early 2009. Record high temperatures – well above 40ºC in some cities, and over 46ºC in Melbourne – saw the giant country’s southern areas turn into an arid desert overnight. Following severe fires in the area surrounding Melbourne, the state of Victoria was put under alert – residents sat inside their houses watching the sky fill with drifting smoke.

>>> Part Two