Aboutjohn t. borgman Expertise I work days, so I can only answer early in the day or later in the evening, I live in Oregon. I have been so good at all the other area's of hvac, I am probably the only hvac guy that does not know oil. ( lol ) I am very well versed in gas, electric and heat pumps and will only answer residential applications. I have been known the past decade or so, by my employers as the guy you send when no one can figure it out. Trouble shooting is my special. I understand the physics behind air flow, refrigerants and electricity. I understand programmable t-stats, zone controls, economizers, fossil fuel kits and the engineering thought process in the wiring and construction of residential equipment
Experience I was lucky enough to start in this field over 25 years ago as an installer, for a company that installed the best duct systems I have ever seen, even to this day. The best ,as far as understanding the way air really flows through a duct system, from the return air to the very last supply register . They also had great pride and the duct work was put in, not only to last 50 years, but to look exceptional. Then as I started doing service work, I was again fortunate that I found a 3 year engineering class being put on be a man that was the educational director for the Entire united states for a society called " the Refrigeration Service Engineering Society " And for the next 3 years I schooled at night and practiced what I learned during the day, a great advantage over schooling and then trying to remember it years later.. Versed in duct design manual J heat gain/loss calculations. Also experience in wine rooms and indoor swimming pool hvac & humidity controls
Publications I have 2 inventions that have gone through the process and been recorded at the National Institute of Standards and Technology from start to finish and thus been invited to national innovation workshops by the dept. of Commerce and the dept. of Energy. They are waste heat recovery devices that N.I.S.T approved as valid and am currently looking for marketing partners to get this product into the hands of consumers and make a BIG difference in Energy savings for every Household and Eatery and take a big bite in the the peak hours power consumption that face our Utilities companies.
Education/Credentials factory training in Lennox ,Rheem, Ruud ,Trane, Tempstar ,Carrier, Day&Night, Payne, Bryant, Coleman, Intertherm, Ultra boilers, Unico, Mitsubishi,Sanyo, Taylor, Nicewonger, . Associates degree in Refrigeration Engineering. Certified with Energy Department, Check-me Program, have N.A.T.E. certifications in gas, a/c & heat pump. Teach and apprentice at every company I work at.
I have a general question about cost control in a 2 level house. I live in Arizona and currently we are experiencing temperatures of 115F. I wondered how I should set my dual zone temperatures (we normally like temps of 73F) and we work nights at the weekend (just to make it more complicated!) So I was thinking that I could program our upstairs zone to cool during the day and maintain 80F at night on the weekend (and viceversa during the week) - my question is will doing a similar thing downstairs make any cost saving or am I just making it complicated for myself? Our electricity provider bill is about $360 per month and they are estimating the 76% of the bill is related to cooling. We do have ceiling fans in the main bedroom and the family room - in case that info helps.
Answer Alex,
The first thing you should consider is a tstat controlled power attic fan, if you have an attic. If you do at 115 outdoors it is probably 160 to 170 in the attic, driving the heat through the ceiling. An attic fan exhausts that heat and pulls in the 115, big difference in your bill for much less money.
It is the humidity that is the issue with your theory. If it is low, your system will start lowering the sensible heat ( what we feel on our skin ) but if it is high, your system will run for hours, removing it, before you feel the temp drop.
My suggestion is somewhere in the middle. Go ahead and let it get warmer when no one is there, say 78. Then set your program to have it at your comfort level an hour after you get home. You will come in out of the extreme heat and it will feel great at 78 and cooling. Then as your body gets used to the cooler temp and before THAT temp is too hot, it will have removed moisture and start to drop the sensible heat.
A power exhaust fan is a couple hundred at home depot and can be cut into a gable end and just an hour for an electrician. Would probably pay for itself the first month at those temps.
Remember to keep all vents open and filter spotless clean for max efficiency and you might try leaving the fan switch on the tstats in the on position during peak heating and cooling periods.
