Thread: What you wanted to know about Air conditioning but were afraid to ask

Originally Posted by Norton

Daikin is quite good as well..... have been known to explode. .....

Oh great, Norton.. so I have that to look forward to!

Originally Posted by parryhandy

its something to do with the circuit board where the indicator lights are

it might well be the circuit board lacquer protective layer melting off - if your electronics are getting that hot there in a further issue with ventilation or electronics fault

Should my condo aircon should like a Vickers aircraft from the 70's taking off ?

And if so how can I get my condo manager to get a technician in ?

Orrens
Sweat is... well, its fucking sweat isnt it.

Originally Posted by Orrens

And if so how can I get my condo manager to get a technician in ?

shag him

Originally Posted by parryhandy

Its some kind of jelly coating the circuit board which appears to be melting ? any ideas ?

Dot it with sri racha sauce and crochet a table mat?

Originally Posted by baldrick

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/da...470388694.html

how many cubic meters could I expect this to cool ? downstairs in a cement block house

and if I installed heavy curtians to cut off some of the downstairs area to keep the size useful , is it likely to work ? - the loungeroom , kitchen and stairwell are all connected and open , so I wans thinking to just curtian off the lounge

I expect it to be rather hot this summer

Baldrick, I just noticed this post.

We have an open plan downstairs and put in heavy curtains across the entrance to the stairway leading upstairs to try and seal off the downstairs and make the size manageable, exactly as you say. This proved to be a waste of time and despite a big aircon unit downstairs, with the kitchen, lounge etc all connected the area was just too big to efficiently cool. The irregular shape doesn't help either. We've used that aircon unit a handful of times in 12 years and now just rely on a combination of ceiling and pedestal fans with open windows to cool downstairs. We only use aircon occasionally in the upstairs bedrooms.

My plan is to eventually install insulation in the loft and put in air vents in the upstairs ceilings with ducting linking into one of those whirly roof vent things to hopefully create a through draught from downstairs up through the house. I've heard this can reduce the inside temperature by several degrees.

Originally Posted by baldrick

it might well be the circuit board lacquer protective layer melting off - if your electronics are getting that hot there in a further issue with ventilation or electronics fault

Balders may have that one right. Certainly looks like an overheat issue.

Originally Posted by Orrens

Should my condo aircon should like a Vickers aircraft from the 70's taking off ?

No, this can be due to compressor hard to start(power problem) lack of oil in compressor crankcase. liquid refrigerant in compressor at start up. faulty expansion device or faulty compressor. Bet you're sorry you asked.

And if so how can I get my condo manager to get a technician in ?

Orrens
Sweat is... well, its fucking sweat isnt it.

Originally Posted by baldrick

shag him

As usual good technical advice from Balders.

Originally Posted by Mendip

Baldrick, I just noticed this post.

We have an open plan downstairs and put in heavy curtains across the entrance to the stairway leading upstairs to try and seal off the downstairs and make the size manageable, exactly as you say. This proved to be a waste of time and despite a big aircon unit downstairs, with the kitchen, lounge etc all connected the area was just too big to efficiently cool. The irregular shape doesn't help either. We've used that aircon unit a handful of times in 12 years and now just rely on a combination of ceiling and pedestal fans with open windows to cool downstairs. We only use aircon occasionally in the upstairs bedrooms.

My plan is to eventually install insulation in the loft and put in air vents in the upstairs ceilings with ducting linking into one of those whirly roof vent things to hopefully create a through draught from downstairs up through the house. I've heard this can reduce the inside temperature by several degrees.

Vented ceiling above the stair well and whirly bird will create an updraft and help draw in cooler outside air to cool the house.

Try this website if you are looking for passive cooling ideas. It is from Oz where the climate varies from temperate to desert to tropical.

Passive cooling | YourHome

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

Vented ceiling above the stair well and whirly bird will create an updraft and help draw in cooler outside air to cool the house.

IMO & experience this just doesn't work in Thailand for most of the year! its 35c and humid outside today, if I open the windows what is going to happen to the cooler air inside the house?

When you are installing AC and selecting units you have to have a target temp in mind, living rooms etc I go for 26-28c depending on time of year, bedrooms 23 - 24c, obviously the sizing of AC has to be capable of handling these temps, I tend to "under size" some units for the areas where it will not be so cool, bedrooms need to have larger BTU units to achieve lower temps, after stating the bloody obvious, there is no need to put in AC that are capable of cooling way below what you will ever run them at!

^ Good point.

That's a shame as despite being so hot outside I was hoping that the draught created would help cool the house and make it fresher. In the hot season we have no cooler air inside the house to lose - it can be mid 30's downstairs before breakfast and be unbearably stuffy.

One thing I really dislike about aircon is having to keep windows closed and shutting out the outside environment, it feels so claustrophobic. If the dogs bark at night I want to hear them and go down to find out why. In the daytime it's just nice to hear the birds chirping and stuff. I also constantly get aircon head if I sleep in aircon and feel lousy the next day.

^^ Thanks, I'll have to look into this and see what the options are.

The problem with undersizing units especially if the humidity is high is that the compressor capacity will be insufficient and it will labour under the latent load and draw excessive current. Whilst the design air off temperature will be around 14°C depending on air on coil temperature the latent load can vary to such an extent that the system cannot remove the moisture required to keep the room at a comfortable humidity which is the main source of the load. The warmer the temperature the lower the humidity required to be comfortable. Sizing to the design latent and sensible load is important. Undersizing and oversizing should be avoided for efficiency and unit longevity.

Using passive cooling is not as good in humid weather. The idea is to have sufficient air volume to evaporate the sweat and therefore make your body cooler. This can make you feel cooler by at least a few degrees even in days of high humidity.

Originally Posted by Mendip

^ Good point.

That's a shame as despite being so hot outside I was hoping that the draught created would help cool the house and make it fresher. In the hot season we have no cooler air inside the house to lose - it can be mid 30's downstairs before breakfast and be unbearably stuffy..

Mendip,

Can you not decide to section up your downstair by putting in stud walls or use Qcon as it'll not need to be structural?


EDIT

the whole large open plan thing works for Thais, not really well for whities who want to get cool in the hot season

As you already have installed the unit and you are happy with it. A few tips to make it operate better in the hot period.
Make sure the outdoor coil is clean and not blocked. Clean with compressed air if needed.
Hopefully the outdoor unit is shaded without impeding air flow. If not introduce some shade over the unit.
Trickle some water over the condenser fins. Only do it on those hot days as the fins can corrode if the atmosphere or water isn't clean if you use too often.
To save water you can have a makeshift tank and fill with the condensate water from the air conditioner. Make up a small water distributor so it trickles over the fins. You will achieve anything between 5% up to 20% increase in capacity, depending on the condenser coil temperature. Not too much water or the fan may draw it through to the electrics. It will also decrease the compressor power usage.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

. Make up a small water distributor so it trickles over the fins. You will achieve anything between 5% up to 20% increase in capacity, depending on the condenser coil temperature. Not too much water or the fan may draw it through to the electrics. It will also decrease the compressor power usage.

Hugh is there any reason why manufacturers don't build this into the design?

Yes. It costs money. In desert climates where the humidity can be very low, the amount of condensate water is negligible. There are many other cost saving measures. You can attach a heat exchanger to your outdoor unit and that feeds pre heated water into your hot water tank, which is all a hot water heat pump really is without the benefit of air conditioning.
Whilst the air con is operating you have to reject from the outdoor unit approximately 130% of the cooling capacity. E.G. if you have a 10 k/w cooling system you will produce about 13 k/w of waste heat during operation. There are units available in Thailand but the existing system obviously needs modification to include this.
Or you can get a solar powered air conditioner which will run off solar power through the day and mains at night. Gree make one.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

Or you can get a solar powered air conditioner which will run off solar power through the day and mains at night. Gree make one.

Hugh i saw a Solar one (Evo i think) when i was last over in one of the by Builders merchants. Would like to run the numbers on that so see the RIO period.

They dont all operate the same. Some have better systems than others so it does take a bit of research.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

Or you can get a solar powered air conditioner which will run off solar power through the day and mains at night. Gree make one.

Link please

And if there are any in the West.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

Link please And if there are any in the West.

Dave, where is west?

In the last 24 hours we’ve had one of them assuming that ‘dollars’ are obviously Australian dollars, now we’ve got another one reorienting the compass.

It’s a good job they were taken over there restrained in the cheap seats.

West is relative simpleton

why are split systems the norm now and what really happened to refrigerated units ?

I understand that the heat exchanger and compressor are now mounted in maybe a service friendly position , but I did like the refridgerated units which could take fresh air from outside and transport it to the room.

I had a job once where we had a full roll of the white filter material which was 2 meters in width and on a night shift I would lay it down in the storeroom and place the radio on a shelf beside it with predictable results

I am interested in any technical reason for using the split system VS a wall mounted refridgerated system - apart from the need to have a hole in the wall

Originally Posted by NamPikToot

West is relative simpleton

You really are on a tear, aren’t you.

So when someone in Tokyo refers to ‘the west’ they may be talking about Saudi Arabia?

...look good to me, which way are you facing now