Your Air Conditioner and Indoor Air Quality Print

ELECTRICITY!  Naturally occuring.  An energy.  What creates that energy?  

Our guest is APS's Vice President Of Transmission & Distribution Jacob Tetlow. 

The history of electricity.  How did men harness it?  And when did men first discover it?  Rosie talks about its beginnings dating back to 600 BC and tells the story.

APS started in 1886 creating electricity using various steam and water driven sources.

Jaboc explains what is electricity and how its harnessed.

Jacob talks about his education to his position at APS and how he got his start. 

You don't have to be just an electrical engineer.  Mechanical and chemical engineers play a role.

Discussion on how many ways to manufacture electricity listing the various fuel sources in the mix.

Discussion on hydro electric energy and participation in a market to purchase the most efficient energy.

They can purchase power within 15 minutes after they determine demand.

Magnatism and gravity needed to create electricity by spinning.

The key is making the exact amount of electricity at the exact time needed by customers.

Talk about transmission lines and what amounts of megawatts are distributed.

Explains how sub stations work in receiving high voltage and electricity and distributing the correct current to your home.

Explains how we've gone from knob and tube, to 2 prong sockets and now to 3 prong.

The European electrical system is different from our system based on at 60 versus 50 hertz system.

What happens to electricity that hasn't been used?

John Eisenhower from Integrity Tree Service discusses the tree service scams that can occur after storm damage.

Discussion of tree 'end weight'.  Seed pods on branches add extra weight which can damage or uproot a tree in a storm or high wind.

Hybrid trees tend to grow fast and more common in landscape.  Proper pruning to reduce end weight can keep it from growing too big and heavy.

John's thoughts on trimming trees from the inside starting at the base.  Causes a lion tail effect.

John recommends a guideline to never take more than a third of the tree off when pruning.

Foliage/leaves are important to keep the bark from getting sunburn.  Leaves have a dual purpose.  Natural sunscreen and keeping the tree cool.

Myths and suggestions about using paint to protect citrus and other trees.

More sunburn suggestions:  tree wrap, burlap wrap and shade structures.

The TREE OF THE MONTH is the Vitex.  Also called the Chaste Tree and the Monks Pepper Tree.  John's favorite tree for its durability, low maintenance and have no natural pests!

Great story behind the name Monks Pepper Tree :)

amwua.org  American Municipal Water Usage Association.  CLICK HERE for the landscape info John mentioned.

More discussion on the Vitex tree.

John gives his tips to steaking your tree for support.

Rosie talks about home remodeling and things you need to know when chosing a remodeling company and some of the scams that could come with it.

Bob Ross of Lightning Busters talks about whole home surge protection.  Why its important and better protection than those surge protection power strips.  A complete lightning protection system for your home.

CALLER:  She has a SINGING TOILET in a modular home.  It sings everytime she flushes it!  Listen for yourself!

Jennifer gets on Rosie's Soapbox to warn folks about possible 'roof rats'.  Intimidating, possible shady roofing company representatives.  What you should NOT do when approached by them.

Back to the singing toilet caller with a solution.

CALLER:  Cinder block wall damage.  Top row of the wall is lose.  Suggest ways to repair it.

We talk about chlorine use by cities to treat and clean tap water.  Safe to drink, but sometimes can taste funny.  Discussion of point of use and point of entry to clean your water even more!

Rosie's APS topic of the week on spiked bills.

A real Singing Toilet!

Jennifer back on the soapbox to talk about scams.  Whether its roofing, storm damage repair, anything where you feel your being taken advantage of.

Derick and Kevin from Isleys Home Service join us for the topic of the month:  Air Conditioning!  How it can improve your indoor air quality.

They explain how air conditioning works and how it keeps you cool.  

Air conditioning removes heat and moisture/humidity.  It doesn't produce cold in a sense.

CALLER:  Looking at two different zoning systems.  He describes those systems involving dampers and on line control.  Wants an opinion on which one is the best.  Plus whats the best way to clean swamp cooler/evap cooler pads.  Rosie has important advice on that.

CALLER:  Has a mobile home with an older unit.  Curious to know what kind of temperature difference coming from the vent versus the outdoor temperature.

Discussion of a method to test A/C efficency called Delta-T

CALLER:  Wants suggestions on the best filters to use on their A/C system.

Follow up on best filters.   One of the best ways to improve air quality.  Replaced every 30 days.  Filters depends on your A/C system size and return air size.

Generally speaking, if the returns are properly sized, a 1 inch paper pleated filter works fine.  If the return air is too small and using a 1 inch filter you're starving the unit for air.  A cheaper filter works fine.

A proper filter changed regularly helps keep you air AND system clean.

CALLER:  Describes issues with the A/C when a tech came by to service it.  Ended up installing a new capacitor and wants to know from her story if she actually needed a new capacitor.

There's always a Rosie Certified contractor at your fingertips at rosieonthehouse.com

Including Isleys Home Service!

A whole home energy audit is a great way to find issues and take out the guesswork of fixing the problems.

Things to consider when looking into duct cleaning.

Talking about indoor air quality with Tony and Philip of Temperature Control Incorporated of Tucson

How does air conditioning works?  It starts with removing the heat outside.  

What technicians are seeing most of when they go on service calls.

Discussion on air filters and why its important to maintain them  for air quality.  The different types of filters including  electronic filtration.

Scheduled maintenance on your system every year.

Discussion of ultra violet light filtration.  What the light's function with the coil?

If the condensate pipe isn't dripping, there is a problem.  They explain why.

Another function of air quality is the duct work.  Leaks in the duct work brings in the contanmiants in the attic leading to dust.  

Discussion on a duct pressure test to detect leaks.  Fixing leaks with aeroseal.

Opinions on duct cleaning services and return air systems.

With properly sealed duct work, you could install a smaller A/C unit.  A heat/load calculation can determine that.  They discuss the procedure.

Some of the challenges for homes built with installed evap coolers.  

The growing cooling unit that's getting popular are 'mini-splits'.  Highly efficient.