At
normal
room temperature settings, most
evaporator coils are "heat-absorption under-loaded", due usually to
Supply-Air and Return-Air being at
the floor level and/or
inadequate CFM airflow through the indoor evaporator coil! Lint
plugged indoor coils are also a major problem! Also, unbalanced
heatload on evaporator coil circuits.
"A lot
of older
furnace air
handlers and duct systems, are not delivering
anywhere near the AC Unit's BTUH and SEER Ratings. This is primarily
due to inadequate cubic feet per minute (cfm) of a balanced air flow
through
the evaporator coil circuits, and/or dirty fins/coils and lint filled
blower wheel blades. Also,
improper location of supply diffusers and return air grills can
result in inefficient floor level recirculation of the cold conditioned
air, resulting in a lack of a proper heat load through the evaporator
coil.
An
unbalanced airflow through the evaporator coil (DX coil) circuits
can cause a large reduction in heat absorption capacity. The non heat
loaded vapor or ultra cold liquid will cause a TEV to shut down the
flow of refrigerant to the coil. Superheat charging will be inaccurate
when the coil is fed by flow rater pistons. Total BTUH capacity could
drop 15 to 30% or more. An 18000-BTUH unit losing 30% of design
capacity would be delivering only 12600-BTUH.
Thermostatic
Expansion
Valves (TEV
/ TXV) systems should be set
for a minimum 13-Degrees Superheat. A/C Trouble Shooting Chart New!
You
could rent a power sprayer with a long 90-degree sprayer wand as “it
must be in perfect
alignment with the fins or you will bend then.” Start with low pressure
and work up. Some power sprayers have water heaters and evaporator coil cleaner
can be added to the spray.
If possible loosen some
screws and raise the coil — placing a large cardboard, thin ply-board,
or large flat pan under it. Have someone use a wet-vac while you are
cleaning it. Use a flash light above the coil and a mirror under it to
make
certain you get all lint from between the fins cleared.
I would pull it and take
it
to a car wash, but you can not legally do that. Never use anything but
evaporator coil cleaner as some detergents contain oil based agents
that can insulate the coil and fins.
The blades on the squirrel
cage blower will also need to be thoroughly cleaned. Do not knock any
of the balancing weights off, or leave any dirt on a blade that will
unbalance the wheel.
The evaporator coil should
not have frost on it! It is DIRTY and/or has a LOW airflow heat load on
it! The lint and scum will be on the air intake side of the coil and up
between the fins. Use a good evaporator coil cleaning fluid. Check to
see if the blower wheel blades are dirty! Take the blower out and clean
the blower too.
Additionally,
always measure the temperature rise "split" off the
outside condenser coil as that will tell you how much heat it is
transferring outside.
----------
The
performance
of a conventional split system residential air conditioner is highly
dependent
on adequate air flow through a clean evaporator coil to achieve the
btuh
heat
absorption rating of the AC unit. The Air Conditioning Contractor's
Association
of America recommends selecting cooling equipment (Manual S) based on
its
stated sensible and latent performance (from Manual J), designing ducts
to accommodate the necessary air flow (Manual D) and adjusting air
handler
(motor HP if needed) fan motor speed to match and achieve their rated
btuh
loads.
Reference:
(Rutkowski and Healy, 1990; ACCA, 1995a,b,c). (0.05-IWC sizing returns
is better.)
As
I
view
it, the problem with this approach is that manufacturer's seldom
provide
blower curve charts to contractors, therefore service and installation
techs seldom check duct static pressures in the field to determine if
design
flow rates, --with a specific duct system is being achieved. All
furnaces and air handlers should have an external static pressure
blower-curve
line graph chart sticker on them for use my the AC technicians for use
to accurately assess and achieve the required CFM for a specific AC
unit
and its unique ductwork system.
Each
residence
will normally have an entirely different duct system, most
of which were never optimized for efficient cooling performance.
All furnaces and air
handlers
should
have a static pressure blower-curve line graph chart sticker on them
for
use my the AC technicians to use for accurately adjusting the required
CFM airflow for that residence's specific ductwork IWC pressures.
Oil
furnaces
with large heat exchangers near the top of the furnace which then have
the evaporator coil installed at the top of the furnace may have
excessive
turbulence and back pressure elevating static pressures reducing air
flow.
This also eliminates the kinetic force of direct air velocity through
the
coil. Let's say you had 0.30-IWC of external static pressure without
evaporator
coil pressure drop and due to the large heat exchanger near the coil
add
0.20-IWC, the coil adds 0.30 IWC for a
total of 0.80 IWC (Inches Water Column)
. Check the static pressure with a wet evaporator coil then check the Unit's
Blower Curve Chart to see if you are getting 400 to 450-CFM per ton
of cooling with a wet coil, depending on the humidity removal needs. At
the tested static pressures, --does
your blower's motor horsepower and RPM deliver the required CFM of
airflow?
Additionally,
all air conditioning condenser manufacturers' should publish the CFM
and
normal temperature rise range across an upflow wraparound coil air
discharge condenser coil, so that the service tech's can measure the
total
latent and sensible heat absorbed by and transferred from the
evaporator
coil.
To
get the gross BTUH
Heatload the Evaporator (DX) Coil is absorbing (which includes both
latent, sensible heat) (
These
are ARI Formulas)
First,
determine the
Gross Rated BTUH the condenser is ejecting.
Condenser’s
Gross
Btuh = Condenser’s rated CFM
X’s
Temp Split
X’s 1.08
Brother’s
Example:
Heil, 1.5-ton, with 2-ton DX coil with a TEV
refrigerant control Rated at 18,400-BTUH, rated a 13-SEER
1400-cfm
X’s 13-temp
rise
X’s
1.08 = 19656-Gross BTUH heat ejected, subtract the 6,562.5-btuh motor
heat additive = only 13,093-NET BTUH transferred from the evaporator
(DX) Coil to the condenser! A loss of 6,307-btuh or over half a ton
loss, or over a one-third loss of heat transfer! A one ton condenser
would have done almost as much! As the rooms cool it is only a 12-F
temp-split or
11,582-btuh
output!The lack of an adequate DX coil heatload calls for a small one
ton condenser!
CONDENSER
TEMP-SPLITS - My Brother's Heil 12-SEER Condensing Unit
1.5-Ton - Rated
at
18,400-BTUH, Condenser fan CFM 1400
(Total Cond. Watts 2221 X's Power
Factors 0.85 X's= 1887 X's
* 3.413 = 6,443-BTUH Motor Heat additive +18400=
Motor Power "Rated Gross
Heat Ejection" is 24,843-BTUH / 1400= 17.7-F =
17.5-F Temp Rise Cond/Split.
His condenser only gets a 10 to 12 temp rise split, the evaporator
appears to be under heat-loaded or, an unbalanced heatload on
the DX coil's circuitry.
Brother Don’s
18,400-Btu/hr Heil central A/C
unit.
1400-cfm
(outdoor) condenser *Xs 1.08 *Xs
12-F split
= 18,144 minus
8,591-Btu/hr motor heat = 9,553-Btu/hr net Xs .80 sensible = 7,642
sensible 1,911
latent.
7642|1.08 * 16-F
indoor split =
a mere 442-cfm |
7642|1.08 * 17-F
indoor split
= 416-cfm [Supply and returns at floor level, I want 750 tyo 800-cfm!]
Also,
could be an unbalanced load on the evaporator circuits causing the TXV
to shut down the refrigerant flow; among other things.
The
probable cause is "
an
unbalanced airflow heatload through the
evaporator coil. "It's a (Thermo Pride OL 11 oil
furnace). Those oil
furnaces have a very large round heat exchanger that goes to near the
top
of the furnace, --due to a low basement ceiling the DX coil sets
perhaps illegally close to the heat exchanger causing a few of the
coil's circuits to be under heatloaded. Since the liquid refrigerant is
not completely evaporated it will cause the outlet line that the TEV
sensor bulb is on to be too cold and the TEV will shut-down the flow,
which greatly reduces the BTUH
capacity of the DX coil and the system. On piston refrigerant
control systems, they may flood back liquid which could damage the
compressor, unless the system is way under-charged.
Thermo Pride could
install airflow turning vanes just above the heat exchanger to funnel
the air directly into the DX coil, instead of most of the airflow
hitting the bottom of the DX's
drain pan causing extreme
turbulence back-pressure
and an imbalanced DX coil circuitry heatload! This will cause a
dramatic drop in the design capacity of the system. Checking the
condenser-split, as outlined below, will reveal whether you are within
5 or 10% of design capacity!
These
are
ballpark figures. Unit owners can just check the
outdoor condenser split and call a tech if it is not within a
ballpark of say 15% of design. The Tech will have to be experienced and
sharp to locate the cause or multiple causes of the capacity deficiency.
Do
your own figuring
based on this
formula. Motor BTU/hr additive = Watts X's PF x's 3.413 for Btu/Watts
additive added to rated BTUH, divided by condenser fan CFM X's 1.08
=
condenser Temp-Split. Get
the Motor Power
Factors (PF) of the compressor and fan motor from the manufacturers.
(A 0.80 factor could be close.)Some of the temp-split figures need
correcting, will do ASAP. Most Splits rounded off.
CONDENSER
TEMP-SPLITS - Comfortmaker® 12-SEER units - used 0.80
Motor Power Factors
1.5
T 18,400 17
Split Cond.
CFM
1400
WATTS 2222
2-Ton
24,800
24-F Temp-S Cond. CFM 1400 WATTS
2659
2.5-T
30,200
21-F Temp-S Cond. CFM 2000 WATTS
3404
3-Ton
35,600
18-F Temp-S Cond. CFM 2800
WATTS
4117
3.5 T
42,500 21-F Temp-S Cond. CFM
2800 WATTS
4554
4-Ton
48,500
19.5-F Split Cond. CFM
3400 WATTS
4761
5-Ton
59,000
25-F Temp-S Cond. CFM 3400
WATTS
6969
The
chart split listed above is at Condenser Design conditions: Indoor
Return Air 80-F dry bulb 67-F Wet Bulb or 50% Relative Humidity as you
go up to 99% RH the condenser split could increase by up to 6-F; down
as much as 4-F at a low humidity of 55-F Wet Bulb. We are only
trying
to get a figure to go by for a comparison.

http://www.udarrell.com/air_return_latent_condenser_split.jpg
IE Browser's Click
for Graph
Page 618,
Refrigeration Air-Conditioning (ARI) Second Edition, C
1987
Those lower SEER
units had
higher condenser splits than 12-SEER and
higher units.
Sorry, I defiled
the graph,
90-db outdoor, 80-db indoors with 67 wet
bulb/50%RH represents the condenser splits shown above.
Typical matched units from
major manufacturers have Sensible Heat
Ratios (SHR) in the 68% to 80% range (or 32% to 20% Latent) when it is
95-F outside and 75-F with
50% relative humidity inside. Proper mixing of the air and proper
distribution to individual rooms
is critical for comfort.
When new
condensers and
Evaporator-coils "are installed on older air handlers" the new,
or old,
evaporator coils are usually under heat-loaded. (Always, check
voltage and amp draw!)
The
Base Spec sheets
12-SEER
part no. 421 41 33301 03, Feb 2001. These are the Comfortmaker®
units, which are nearly identical to Heil® units. I used
the first rating on each tonnage class. While the "Performance Cooling
Data" is listed at a 95-F outside ambient temperature, you
can adjust the indoor airflow to get the Nominal BTUH Rating at the
customer's normal indoor stat' temp' setting and the most outside
temperature/degree
operating hours.
Take
the "listed watts" of the compressor and Condenser fan and multiply
that wattage by 0.85 X's 3.413
to get the BTUH heat
additive of the
motor then add the listed BTUH of the condenser to it, and then divide
by the condenser fan's CFM.
By
using
the various units' "base specification sheet data" from the
dealer,
you can determine if it is operating near its BTUH capacity rating. Some packaged units run a very
high condenser discharge CFM airflow!
Some "Condenser Makes" will have
different
temp-splits. The 2-ton 10-SEER, Janitrol; GMC; Goodman; with the U-29
E-Coil
delivers less btuh, or 23000-btuh, I subtracted a reasonable amount
from
the total of the wattage and come up with 19 to 20-F temp-split. That
is
"if" its CFM is 1400, --get the figures on the "different Makes." The
figures
are used to provide an idea of what the condenser temp-split should be
for
use by the unit's owner and the service tech.
When
the CFM
of the condenser
is
known the temperature rise data equation can be applied to provide a
guide
to the actual heat transfer by the evaporator coil to the outdoor
condenser
coil. (I prefer 425 to 450-cfm/ton dry coil.)
--------------------
Simple
Formula to use:
The air moving fan law
formulae:
Fan
delivery in cfm
varies
directly
as to the rpm fan speed:
- cfm2
-new =
(rpm2 /
rpm1) *X cfm1
= cfm2 -new
Finding
the
New
Static Pressure:
- SP2
new = (rpm2 / rpm1)2
*X SP1 = SP2
-new
Required fan
blower motor
horsepower
(hp) varies as to the cube of the rpm or cfm:
hp2 -new =
(rpm2/rpm1)3
*x hp1
= hp2 -new
There
ought
to be a code
requiring
every manufacturer of an airhandler or furnace to provide capped taps
ahead
of the evaporator coil and ahead of the blower for easy static pressure
testing access.
Solving the
Mysteries of ESP
- External Static Pressure
ESP
is the static
pressure "external to the
air handler." This
is the
reading that manufacturers' refer to in their fan performance data
& is usually taken prior to the entry to the evaporator coil.
Bacharach
says:
Take your measurements on both the
Return and Supply Plenums of the furnace, as
it was shipped from the manufacturer (including the filter).
This means that if it was a gas or oil
fired furnace, the
measurement would NOT include the AC coil. If a heat pump is
being tested, the coil would be
included.
Drill two holes large enough to insert
the static pressure
tip, one on the
supply side and one on the return. Pressure measurements are then
taken at
each location. The measurement on the return side will be
negative with a
positive reading on the supply but you disregard the positive/negative
and just
add the two numbers together.
Once the ESP has been determined, look at
the fan curve for
that particular
blower and determine the CFM from that chart.
If the air
flow is
not per
manufacturers' recommendations, it is near impossible to get the
refrigerant
charge correct.
If
you leave out
the area
up to & including the A-Coil where does that leave you? The area to
the
coil & including the coil can represent major Static Pressure
problems!
Read
the static
pressure
in fractions of an inch on the gauge on the supply side and return
side. Using separate pos+ neg- tests, Use a (+)
sign
before
the positive or supply side reading to show where it was taken, and a
(-)
sign before the negative or return side reading. Disregard the positive
and negative signs before the pressures and add them together to
determine
the total resistance the fan has to overcome. For example a +.40" and a
-.30" equals a total static pressure reading of .70" I.W.C. Make needed
changes to keep it within .50-IWC, if possible!
Record
the pressure readings on a diagnostic report or on your service ticket.
Write the pressures on the cooling coil plenum sticker for future
reference
and use. Any future changes in static pressure reveals a change in the
system that should be addressed.
Keep
the
ESP, taken before air enters E-Coil (below .50"), and Total SP (taken
after blower & before blower), as low
as possible to keep the blower horsepower
low
and yet deliver the required CFM and E-Coil BTUH heat load. (Darrell)
(Air
Conditioning
and Refrigeration News, 1989). "Any
assessment
of refrigerant charge when the air flow rate is outside the stated
350 to 450-cfm/ton
wet coil range-—will be invalid."
The air
flow
produced by an air handler is governed by the indoor unit's fan
performance
characteristics against the duct and other system components frictional
air flow resistance. The blower fan curve is typically available as
tabular
data or graph. If test and balance data on duct air flow and external
static
pressure is available before the evaporator coil (positive) and before
the blower (negative) in the return air stream it will give you the
Total duct system (TSP) External Static Pressure.
Keeping the Total SP low is critical to the HP performance required and
amp draw of the blower motor.
Add
the negative to the positive unless your gauge does this for
you
by taking the two test readings at once.
The two
curves
can be plotted against each other to determine the system operating
point
and the corresponding cfm of achieved air flow. The operating point,
where
the fan curve intersects with the duct system pressure resistance
curve.
Since often there are three or more speeds available to the blowers,
there
are a corresponding number of operating points.
Field-Tests
on 70 AC systems in Arizona discovered that "as found" EER was 40%
lower than rated (Kuenzi, 1988).
A
field evaluation in North Carolina concluded that three of ten examined
air conditioning systems had low evaporator air flow (Neal, 1987) and
seven
of the random sample had improper refrigerant charge.
A
detailed
study of 37 existing installations for Southern California Edison found
an average evaporator flow rate of 300 cfm/ton; 80%
of the systems were below the 350 cfm/ton level
(Proctor et al., 1995). In this study,
repairs
were effected to increase flow. This involved opening or enlarging
grills,
replacing dirty filters, cleaning evaporator coil and increasing blower
speed. The average post-repair flow rate
increased
to 322 cfm/ton. The study also noted that HVAC contractor's techs who
had
been previously called out to the homes had
not identified or solved the actual problems with the systems!
Similar
research
was conducted by the same firm for utilities to examine new air
conditioner
installations. Testing of 37 new residential AC systems for Nevada
Power
Company in the Las Vegas area found an average flow of 345 cfm/ton
(Blasnik
et al., 1995a). Half of the units were
below 350 cfm/ton and 30% were below 300 cfm/ton. Similarly,
the average measured flow in 28 new installations tested for Arizona
Public
Service Company was 344 cfm/ton with more than half the unit below
350
cfm per ton (Blasnik et al., 1995b). Testing of ten new
installations
for Southern California Edison averaged only 319 cfm/ton, with
all
but one unit below the 350 cfm/ton action level (Blasnik et al., 1995c).
(Dry
climates
use up to 450-cfm per ton 'wet coil' of rated cooling! Darrell)
In
nearly
all cases, the new system had air handlers that were capable of
delivering
the necessary cfm. However, manometer measurements revealed high
external
static pressure of the duct system (averaging
0.584 in. wc. or 145 Pa). Undersized
returns and filters were identified as the main culprits responsible
for
the low air flows.
Average
air flows for all three groups of 27
tested
homes ranged from 130-CFM to 510-CFM Per
Ton
with an average
of only 270 CFM/Ton. Air
flow should be between
350 and 450-cfm per ton of cooling or per 12,000-btuh of cooling.
270-CFM/TON
would cost you a fortune, along with shortened compressor life!
Performance
Assessment
Several recurring
factors were found to account for the inadequate flows:
There
ought to
be a code
requiring
every manufacturer of an airhandler or furnace to provide capped taps
ahead
of the evaporator coil and ahead of the blower for easy static pressure
testing access.
For
the
supply
and return
ducts
& for filter size try using 2 CFM per sq. in. (1000 cfm = 500 sq.
in.
A 20" X 25" filter is 500-sq.in., this helps reduce the air velocity
and
pressure drop through the filtering media.
A
Hart
&
Cooley seminar
suggests
using 0.08 for supply and 0.06 return. What do you use and why? It may
be better to use 0.05 for both! You can always adjust to lower RPM
which
will reduce the needed HP to move the same CFM of air through the
cooling
coil.
Measure
the
actual Return Air
ducting
to determine if it equals or exceeds the Supply Air measurements.
Oversizing the Return Air Filter Areas and a mild over
sizing the (RA) duct area will help insure adequate airflow delivery
through
the cooling coil, reducing required blower motor rpm and horsepower.
Every
manufacturer should
furnish
blower curve charts with their units and also put them on the Internet
for
service
tech's to download and print. Also, air conditioning codes should be
updated
in respect to proper sizing of the duct work which must include all the
pressure inducing factors when sizing the supply and return ducts.
Also, illustrate best furnace to evaporator coil transitions,
especially on oil furnaces!
Proper
duct
sizing and
location
is important. To achieve a proper evaporator heat absorption load
levels
with a floor level SA/RA system, depending on humidity load levels an
increase
to 475-CFM per ton of cooling capacity may be necessary.
Before
you make all the recheck tests, it is very important that your
condenser
coil and evaporator coil and indoor blower wheel be squeaky clean.