Determining When to Replace Your Refrigerator

Determining When to Replace Your Refrigerator

A good refrigerator can last for years, but at some point all refrigerators begin to break down or become burdensome. The decision of whether or not to replace your old refrigerator rests on multiple factors, including the amount of disrepair, the environmental impact and your own personal needs.

Type of Refrigerator

Some types of refrigerators are more difficult and costly to repair than others. For instance, built-in refrigerators are usually less expensive to repair, but side-by-side refrigerators may be good candidates for replacement if they are well over five years old. Faulty bottom freezers should be repaired within seven years and considered for replacement after that. Faulty top freezers should usually be replaced if over seven years old.

Age

A typical refrigerator has a 10-20 year lifespan. The longer you have had your refrigerator, the greater the potential repair cost. If the refrigerator is less than eight years old, consider repair. If the refrigerator is more than 15 years old, consider replacement. If the fridge is between eight and 15 years old, you must take the other factors into consideration.

Energy Efficiency

Your refrigerator can cost you money in more ways than just repairs. You could be sucking up unnecessary power and facing high electric bills. A 10-year-old fridge uses twice the energy of a green-fridge. If you have an old refrigerator, you might want to invest in a green-refrigerator just to cut back on electricity usage and costs. This can, not only benefit your wallet, but the environment as well. The type of fridge also makes a difference in terms of energy usage. For example, manual defrost units consume less energy than automatic defrost units, if properly maintained, and units with top-mounted freezers typically use less energy than units with bottom freezers or side freezers.

The amount of damage to your current unit must also be considered. If you have several faulty parts or if the unit is simply old, it’s time to replace. If you still have an extended service plan or warranty in effect, always try to make a claim before getting rid of the fridge, but if you have had the unit for close to a decade or more, you most likely have no active warranties. If you still can’t decide, contact an appliance repair expert for an estimate. You can then determine whether the cost of repair would justify keeping your current unit or investing in a new one.

Centromac Refrigeration is an air-conditioning and refrigeration company offering installation, maintenance and repairs to all units. We have a fully equipped workshop that can handle complete repairs on equipment. Clients from as far away as Cape Town forward shell and tube heat exchangers to our premises for repair. On site repairs have also been done as far away as Cape Town.

Here at Centromac Refrigeration, we own all required equipment to facilitate professional advice on condition of, or repairs to refrigeration and air conditioning plants. This includes ultrasonic thickness testers, vibration meters, hi-vacuum pumps, vacuum gauges, refrigerant recovery units, “ice pots”for drying systems and removing air from low-pressure systems as well as the “normal” tools required.

Health Benefits of Air Conditioning

There are so many health benefits to air conditioning, particularly for those who live in hot climates like South Africa. Simply buying an air conditioner can make a huge positive difference on your health. Air conditioning can create a good, clean, healthy environment, and deal with problems like dust, allergies, and help those suffering from unbearable conditions to have a greatly enhanced standard of living.

Basic benefits of air conditioning
Air conditioning is one of the greatest innovations in healthy living environments. The people who get the most benefit from air conditioning in health terms are:

  • People with respiratory conditions.
  • People with allergies to airborne particulates.
  • People under temperature stress from the environment.
  • People living in areas subject to a lot of air quality issues.
  • People with limited mobility.
  • People who suffer from sinus, and similar infuriating conditions.

Your air, your health
Everybody is subject to basic environmental conditions which need management. Even people in excellent health can suffer from temperatures and the invisible airborne particles which are present in every building and human environment. Fumes, insecticides, and other problems need to be managed. Even basic odours are the symptoms of needing better air quality. A smell indicates chemically active particles in the air. These issues aren’t necessarily toxic, but they don’t do much for your breathing. A modern air conditioner can solve all of these problems.

Temperature and comfort
Fatigue can be caused by excessive heat or cold. You can get minor, but repetitive conditions like headaches, colds, discomfort, coughing, and other elusive symptoms. Temperature and humidity affect the bodily functions. Too much heat or cold can use up energy, quite rapidly in some cases. You can feel tired, and not be sure why. You can get dehydration from a low humidity environment, or from an environment which is too humid, which in-return makes you lose water as your body tries to adapt to the environment.

Long term benefits of air conditioning
Constant, repetitive stress on your body doesn’t do your immune system much good, either. Over long periods, the result is wearing down your resistance to these nuisance conditions, making you more vulnerable to infections. Long term air conditioning, on the other hand, also reduces stresses over a period of time, allowing full recovery, and ending the repetitive cycle of conditions. Installing a reliable air conditioning system can make the world’s difference.

Centromac Refrigeration is centrally situated to handle breakdown repairs in the whole of Gauteng. We have a fully equipped workshop that can handle complete repairs on equipment. Clients from as far away as Cape Town forward shell and tube heat exchangers to our premises for repair. On site repairs have also been done as far away as Cape Town.

We own all required equipment to facilitate professional advice on condition of, or repairs to refrigeration and air conditioning plants. This includes ultrasonic thickness testers, vibration meters, hi-vacuum pumps, vacuum gauges, refrigerant recovery units, “ice pots”for drying systems and removing air from low-pressure systems as well as the “normal” tools required.

Heating and Cooling Technology

You probably know all about the latest smartphones, tablets, and TVs as well as the newest updates in your favourite holidays. But, if someone asked you to name an improvement in HVAC technology in the last ten years for heating and cooling your home, there’s a good chance you wouldn’t be able to come up with anything.

However, if someone asked you if it’s better to know about things that cost you money or save you money, you’d probably pick saving money. With that in mind, take a few minutes to learn about the latest advances in HVAC technology that can slash your energy bills and open up room in your budget for those new gadgets.

Smart Thermostats
These days, there’s an app for everything, and your heating and cooling systems are no exceptions. The fact that you can save money by using a programmable thermostat to turn down the thermostat when you’re at work or sleeping is old news. Today, your thermostat can think for you.

Instead of programming a set schedule, you spend a few weeks telling your thermostat when you wake up, leave, and come back, and go to bed. After that, it automatically adjusts the temperature for you based on the day of week, time, and outside temperature.

You also don’t need to worry about coming home early to a hot house or forgetting to cancel the programming while you’re on vacation. Simply log on to your phone app from anywhere at any time to tell your thermostat where you are.

Variable Speed Blowers
One of the most common reasons people crank up their thermostats and let their energy bills rise is because they feel hot or cold when the HVAC system shuts off between cooling or heating cycles. Variable speed blowers help eliminate these temperature swings.

Instead of simply turning on and off, a variable speed blower runs at high speed when the home’s temperature needs to be changed and then slows down to a holding speed once the desired temperature is reached. This allows the thermostat to be set at a lower level and saves energy even though the overall running time may be longer.

Improved Heating and Cooling Efficiency
Not all furnaces and air conditioners are created equally. Just like different cars have different gas mileage, different HVAC systems use different amounts of energy to heat or cool a home.

Heating efficiency is measured by the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating (AFUE). It measures the amount of energy that is used by your furnace that is actually turned into heat. For example, an AFUE of 80% means that 80% of the energy a furnace uses is turned into heat and 20% of the energy is wasted.

For furnaces manufactured after September 2015, the Department of Energy mandates a minimum AFUE of between 80 to 84% depending on the fuel type and whether the furnace is designed for a mobile home or permanent structure. The Federal Trade Commission requires the efficiency rating to be displayed on the packaging so that you can compare models and calculate the energy savings from switching to a more expensive, but more efficient, furnace.

Cooling efficiency is measured by the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. It is calculated by dividing the annual cooling output of an air conditioner by its annual energy use. The higher the SEER rating, the more efficient the air conditioner.

Centromac Refrigeration have a fully equipped workshop that can handle complete repairs on equipment. Clients from as far away as Cape Town forward shell and tube heat exchangers to our premises for repair. On site repairs have also been done as far away as Cape Town.

Centromac Refregeration own all required equipment to facilitate professional advice on condition of, or repairs to refrigeration and air conditioning plants. This includes ultrasonic thickness testers, vibration meters, hi-vacuum pumps, vacuum gauges, refrigerant recovery units, “ice pots”for drying systems and removing air from low-pressure systems as well as the “normal

Technological Advances in Air Conditioning

As it currently stands, technology is growing, improving and expanding at an astounding rate. Until recently, we haven’t had access to such advanced, intricate and exciting technologies that are forever improving and progressing. In order to keep up with today’s technological market, each product must be able to evolve and impress to new standards. This applies to a huge range of products from phones and computers to tills and kettles, cars and software to ovens and air conditioning. These advancements can be incredibly impressive and innovative but it’s always important to make them relatively simple and user friendly – particularly those products used by non-technicians such as you and me.

This article is going to talk about the surprising technological advances within the air conditioning industry and the benefits the competitiveness has had on the quality and variety of air conditioning products for us consumers.

Although the general discussion of air conditioning technologies doesn’t at first seem that enthralling, the air conditioning industry has in fact manufactured some incredibly complex and useful products that are guaranteed to grab the interest of even the most technologically apathetic amongst us. Here’s a list of some of the latest air conditioning technologies that we think are about either hit the big time or are the most exciting:

Money Saving It’s no secret nor surprise that people look for the most money efficient air conditioning units to have either in their homes or in their work space. These high efficiency systems are becoming some of the most popular air conditioning systems so the competition for producers and sellers is high. One example of these high efficiency air conditioning units is a gas VRF system which has high preliminary efficiency ratio with very low electrical consumption. These are particularly popular with complexes, large buildings or commercial buildings and hotels.

Retail Applications Retail application air conditioning units are designed specifically for return on investment. In a shop, comfort is key to keep customers staying longer and for coming back. Correct temperature is vital for a good customer experience which is why retail applications are designed to be able to execute the perfect temperature that is easily adjustable.

Pump-down System One issue that can occur with air condition units is break downs or leaks. Unfortunately, it can be hard to tell when such incidents are going to happen so a recent technological development is the unit being able to detect refrigerant leaks and telling the user as soon as it happens. This makes the problem easy to find and thus to solve before it becomes too much of an issue. This is a great way to give assurance to the user as well as other building occupiers and the environment.

Energy Saving We as a nation have never been more aware of energy saving and the environment than we are now which is how the demand for more environmentally friendly and energy saving air conditioning units has come about. These systems have a different fan, fan motor, compressor and heat exchanger structure than usual systems which results in high COP value. They also use a highly efficient R410A refrigerant which reduces CO2 emission.

Anti-Allergy The use of recycled air can be problematic for some people with allergies. This has been identified as a real problem which is why new systems have been produced which use Nano-technology where fine particles purify the air in the room. These systems work by effectively getting rid of airborne and adhesive micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses and mould.

Internet Control Internet control is a next generation system. These units are purposefully user friendly and mean that you can control your air conditioning unit from anywhere by using an Android or iOS smartphone, tablet, PC or anything else connecting to the internet.

These new and innovate technological advances in air conditioning are more user friendly, efficient and useful than ever before for either your home, business place or larger, commercial businesses. If you are looking to get your hands on new commercial or residential air conditioning, Centromac Refrigeration and Air conditioning Services specialises in great value, great quality an air-conditioning and refrigeration company offering installation, maintenance and repairs to all units, for all different types of situations and environments. At Centromac Refrigeration, we pride ourselves on the precision and professionalism we display when installing every aircon unit or system. We are now also proud to offer a unique solution to the corporate market by providing maintenance to all air-conditioning units on site. This extends the life expectancy and efficiency of the units and refrigeration systems.

Keeping Your HVAC Systems Working Efficiently

HVAC and air conditioning systems are integral in many homes and places of work, especially here in South Africa where temperatures often exceed comfortable levels during the summer time. Though with extended use and ageing, these appliances may start to give all kinds of trouble. They may operate too noisily or not at all, or could become ever more ineffective as time goes on. When this happens, it not only causes your units to consume more power, but can also lower the indoor air quality of your home, office or building. So, keep yours working as they should as time goes on by following these simple tips on keeping them in excellent working order.

Insulate your Building with Care
Insulation has a large part to play in the effectiveness of your HVAC systems and air conditioning units. This is because up to 80% of the facility’s heat will escape through the ceilings since hot air rises (making heating difficult in the cold months), while the baking sun and outside temperatures warm your property in the summer months. Insulation, which locks temperatures in indoor areas, will ensure that your systems don’t need to overcompensate to keep your living and working spaces temperate; effectively lessening your power expenses significantly.

Conduct Regular Indoor Air Quality Tests
As time goes on your HVAC and air-con units will get bogged down with dust and debris. As this happens, it will undermine the effectiveness of your unit while also lowering the quality of the air indoors, which may lead to ailments and allergies. So be sure to have a technician test the quality of your indoor air at regular intervals to ensure that your unit is working as it should.

Keep your Units Properly Maintained
Many of the components in your HVAC and air conditioning systems will take strain after extensive use, and will underperform as a result. This might put pressure on your other components or render your unit ineffective. Because of this, it is important to have your unit maintained annually at the very least, otherwise you may find yourself paying for expensive replacements.

Always use The Services of an Experienced Technician
Whenever servicing, maintaining or installing a new HVAC or air conditioner, it is important to source the skillset of experienced and trained technicians. All of these processes are fairly complicated and have little room for errors. So avoid additional expenses by making sure a professional does it right the first time.

Contact Centromac Refrigeration for Details
If you would like to know more about our services and products related to cooling systems, contact a representative from Centromac Refrigeration today, or visit our website for further information.

How to Tell if your Air Conditioning Unit Needs Replacing

In these summer months the pressure is on to ensure that your air conditioning units are doing their best to keep you, your family and your visitors cool and comfortable in the sweltering heat. And while they are generally built to last, the, like all other appliances, will eventually take damages from a number of sources, whether it be old-age, accidents or weathering. When this happens, don’t let your temper heat up alongside the room temperature, rather stay prepared in the event of a failure by keeping an eye out for these signs of failure.

The AC is too Warm or too Weak
A commonly experienced problem with air conditioners is that once they begin to give trouble, they produce cold air more effectively. When this situation gets dire enough, the unit will eventually only produce hot air. Since you purchased the unit to keep things cool, this should be enough of a reason to search for professional repairs or replacements; but if functionality and comfort aren’t enough for you, a warm AC during operations could point to far more serious problems with its integrity, particularly where the compressor is concerned.

There is Something Wrong with the Thermostat
The thermostat on your AC unit is responsible for maintaining optimal temperatures. Though when it stops working, it can have some negative effects on your AC. If may fun for too short a period of time before shutting off, not shut off at all, or worse, could refuse to power on since the thermostat instructs it as to how hard it should work to cool the room. So if yours is broken, it should be replaced or repaired by a professional immediately.

It is Making Too Much Noise
When it comes to mechanical and electrical appliances, any sounds that are out of the ordinary are generally an ill-omen. If for instance you should hear clunking, scraping or knocking, there is a good chance that some of the inner components are lose. Extended operation in this condition will likely lead to further damages, or could even render the AC unit dangerous to use. Other operational issues could come from contaminants in the vents, which if not handled immediately, will spread bacteria and allergens throughout your home.

You’re Getting Tired of Doing Repairs
If you find yourself doing repairs all too frequently (every few months or so), then perhaps it is time to stop feeding money to your chosen repair crew and actually invest in a new AC unit. It may seem like a hefty investment from the outset, but when you consider what you are spending on frequent repairs, and the cost to your power bills of running an ineffective machine; the new AC unit will quickly pay for itself.

Contact Centromac Refrigeration to Learn More
If you would like to know more about how we can assist you with air conditioning installations and repairs in South Africa, contact a representative from Centromac Refrigeration today, or visit our website for details.

How an air conditioner works.

Your home air conditioners job is to move heat from inside your home to the outside, thereby cooling you and your home. Air conditioners pull the heat out of the air and they blow cool air into your home. The air is cooled by when it is blown over a set of cold pipes called an evaporator coil. This works just like the cooling that happens when water evaporates from your skin. The evaporator coil is filled with a particular fluid called a refrigerant, which changes from a liquid to a gas as it absorbs heat from the air. The refrigerant is pumped outside the house to another coil where it gives up its heat and changes back into a liquid. This exterior coil is called the condenser because the refrigerant is condensing from a gas back to a fluid just like moisture on a cold glass. The pump, called a compressor, is used to move the refrigerant between the two coils and to change the force of the refrigerant so that the entire refrigerant evaporates or condenses in the appropriate coils.

The energy to get all of this running is used by the motor that runs the compressor. The entire system will generally give about three times the cooling energy that the compressor uses. This odd little detail happens because the changing of refrigerant from a liquid to a gas and back again lets the system move much more energy than the compressor uses.

Nearly every air conditioning system has a filter upstream of the evaporator coil. This can be in the return grille or in special slots in the duct system and can be furry-looking or a folded paper filter. This filter removes particles from the air stream to both keep the air conditioning system clean and to remove particles from the air for a cleaner and cooler conditioned area.

As the filter does its job, it gets weighed down with more and more particles. This in fact has the effect of making it more efficient, but it also increases resistance and reducing airflow.

When this happens, it is time to change the filter. How long it will take to happen depends on how dirty the air is and how big the filter is. If you choose not to change the filter, the air flow will go down, and the system will not perform well. Not only that, but if the filter is too dirty, it starts to become a source or air pollution itself. If you were to take the filter out entirely, you would solve the low air flow problem, but this victory would be short lived. The particles that the filter would have taken out will now build up on your evaporator coil and eventually cause it to fail. A new filter is a lot cheaper than having to replace the coil later on as well.

For a proper functioning and cool air space get an air conditioner and live life at your own temperature. For an affordable and well designed air conditioners go to Centromac Refrigeration.

Valuable Benefits Of Server Room Air Conditioners

Portable units can be placed wherever they are needed most, providing the luxury of precise humidity control. Electronic devices require a steady level of humidity for proper functioning. Both high and low humidity levels can impede them on the long run.

That means you can strategically plant them around the room wherever it’s hottest. It’s very simple to add an additional portable AC unit if needed. Even when central cooling is unavailable, your portable AC remains safe and operational.

Use it during the day and night without the need to turn on building-wide cooling systems. This could save you a considerable amount of money in energy costs. You can easily change the temperature settings directly on the unit based on seasonal temperatures and other factors. Cooling systems is a great way to have precise and quick processor-based temperature control, to keep your IT equipment at the right temperature, always.

Portable air conditioners operate as dehumidifiers; Servers need low humidity levels in order to prevent moisture damage, another important component to operating a safe server room. Portable AC units provide necessary ventilation to server rooms. Designed for 24hours, 7 days a week, 365 days continuous operation. Precision air conditioners, show better air distribution, that moves more air volume at higher speeds than standard AC’s. That also means that there are less airborne particles due to the AC. Room air conditioners are designed to be used for a few hours.

You can increase ventilation by adding a drop ceiling vent kit that connects to the exhaust port of the AC and then to an outflow air vent near the ceiling. Precision air conditioners are made to manage high levels of heat while comfort and standard air conditioners are designed to manage latent heat; this also prevents the possibility that a portable AC will add additional heat to the room.

Centromatic Refrigeration offer a wide variety of services, for all your needs and wants, Centromatic refrigeration has it all; bring a chill to your hot days with a cooling system of your choice.

What is a Heat Exchanger?

Simply said, a heat exchanger is a machine that transfers hear from one medium to another. A hydraulic oil cooler removes heat from boiling hot oil by using chilly air or water. Alternatively, swimming pool heat exchangers use hot water from a boiler in order to heat the pool water. Heat is then transferred by conduction through the exchanger which isolates the mediums being used. A shell and tube heat exchanger carries fluids through the tubes, whereas an air-cooled heat exchanger passes cold air through fins to cool the liquid.

There are various types of heat exchangers, the three main types are:

Shell and Tube: These heat exchangers consist of many small tubes located within a cylindrical shell. The tubes are placed into the cylinder using tube bundles or “tube stack” which may either have fixed plates or a floating tube stack that allows the tube bundle to expand and absorb with varying heat conditions and allows the tube bundle to be removed easily for maintenance and servicing.

Plate Type: Plate type heat exchangers operate in a similar way as the shell and tube heat exchangers, using a range of stacked plates other than tubes. Plate heat exchangers are commonly brazed or gasketed depending on application and the fluids used. Their solid stainless-steel construction makes an ideal choice for using with food and beverage processing or refrigerants.

Air Cooled: These heat exchangers are usually used in vehicles or mobile applications when no permanent cool water source is available. Cool air is given either by an air flow or fan caused by the movement of the vehicle.

Why do Heat Exchanger operations fail? The most common type of failure in heat exchangers is oil and water mixing. The probable causes for this is either O-ring failure or the tube splitting. Before purchasing heat exchangers, ensure that the supplier is aware of the temperatures and pressures used. Usually a seal kit is all that is required to solve the problem, but it is important to check temperatures before the heat exchanger is purchased.

Looking for a heat exchanger to best suite your needs? Centromac Refrigeration specialises in heat exchangers as well as ancillary equipment, air conditioning and more. Visit our website for more information today!

The Benefits of Regular Aircon Maintenance

Maintaining the air conditioner is beneficial for everyone in your home. With a clean air conditioner, you can also help to increase its efficiency as well. Another benefit is that the indoor air quality will be able to improve. This can make the time you spend in the home more enjoyable and pleasant for everyone in the family. A clean air conditioner can help improve the circulation of the air throughout your home as it operates. It is important to have it regularly maintained. We can inspect the system for any parts that might be starting to wear out and need replacing soon. Without regular inspections, the air conditioner could break down at an unexpected and inconvenient time. If you are unsure how often the air conditioner should be checked, contact us. We can help to figure a schedule that is beneficial for the system.

Improving your Indoor Air Quality
To help get the best air quality possible for your home, you will have to rely on the air conditioning system. This helps to circulate the cool air through your home in the summer. All the parts and components will have to operate at top efficiency when they run. If a part becomes damaged, it can cause the air conditioner to run poorly. The system should be cleaned because contaminants such as pollen, dander, and dust can clog the system. The air filters are designed to capture these pollutants from the air in your home. Over time the filter will become clogged and will need to be replaced. Without a filter, the dirt, dust, and other pollutants can circulate back into the air of your home again. Without clean air, it can increase your chance of allergies and other respiratory issues. If you or a family member suffers from asthma or allergies, it is recommended to have the air conditioner maintained on a regular basis. This can help to provide the cleanest air possible.

Helps to prolong the life of the System
By keeping the air conditioning system as clean as possible you can also help to improve the life of the system. Parts that have been cleaned and maintained will last longer than parts that are ignored. The system will run easier and smoother. It is always best to notice an issue at the first signs. This can help to save time, stress, and a costly repair bill. If the issue is ignored, it can result in further damage being done to the air conditioner. Improving the monthly energy costs Another benefit of regular maintenance is that the monthly energy bills can decrease as well. Inspections can help to ensure that the parts are operating efficiently. If you are not sure if the system is the best it can be, make sure to contact us. We can check the air conditioner, as well as other parts of the air conditioning system. This can help to improve the comfort level in your home, as well as saving on each cooling bill.

Centromac Refrigeration is centrally situated to handle breakdown repairs in the whole of Gauteng and Cape Town. We have a fully equipped workshop that can handle complete repairs on equipment. On-site repairs have also been done. Centromac Refrigeration own all required equipment to facilitate professional advice on the condition of or repairs to refrigeration and air conditioning plants. This includes ultrasonic thickness testers, vibration meters, hi-vacuum pumps, vacuum gauges, refrigerant recovery units, “ice pots” for drying systems and removing air from low-pressure systems as well as the “normal” tools required.

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Telephone Number:011 397 1024

Cell Number:082 802 0785

Email Address:johan@centromac.co.za

 

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