Replacing a compressor is neither simple for a technician nor inexpensive for the customer. Before replacing a compressor, a technician needs to ensure that it is truly defective. Unfortunately, sometimes good compressors get replaced as a result of a misdiagnosed problem.
As part of a renovation plan, Florida State College at Jacksonville researched a number of upgrade scenarios for its chiller plant. Initial recommendations for a conventional chiller failed to meet budget and energy-savings requirements. During the re-evaluation process, the college team visited Flagler College to see a chiller actually using the compressors.
Ask any fashionista and she’ll tell you her outfit is nothing without accessories. The winners in The NEWS’ eighth annual Dealer Design Awards’ Components and Accessories category know this to be true too, but they aren’t dealing in cheap jewelry and ridiculous shoes.
We all create our own individual histories every day. At the same time, we become part of a larger history. With that in mind, we asked a few industry colleagues what the most significant changes were that they have witnessed in the HVACR industry.
Bob got a call to go to a convention center where the air conditioning system was not working. It was a 75-ton unit with one compressor. The system was many years old, but had been functioning fine, until now. After checking out the unit, an ohm check showed 0 resistance to ground.
Actually, frost on the suction line only indicates that at the location where the frost is present, the suction line piping is below the dew point temperature of the surrounding ambient air and at or below 32°F. That’s it. It is neither an indication of a properly operating system nor a system defect.
ComStar International has made several announcements related to hydrocarbon refrigerants. ComStar said that it and its China JV company will begin offering compressors for HC-441a; Energy Star testing of R-441a for residential refrigerators is ongoing; and ComStar is licensed as the exclusive U.S. manufacturer and distributor of R-441a.
Emerson Climate Technologies Inc. has announced its entrance into the European refrigerated trailer market segment through collaboration with Carrier Transicold, a unit of Carrier Corp. Emerson’s Copeland Scroll compressor is part of the new Vector™ 1550 trailer refrigeration unit by Carrier.
Bob has been sent on a service call where the customer is complaining about her power bill. She thinks that the heat pump may be the problem. Her power bill is much higher than last year. She explained this to Bob and he started by asking a question, “Does the auxiliary heat light come on very often on your thermostat?”
As a host of pressures - from demanding consumers to stringent regulations to rising energy costs - continue to bear down on the industry, compressor manufacturers are reiterating that energy efficiency is the best response to these issues.