Be Cool: All About High-Velocity Air Conditioning

Cool Down With Class: All About High-Velocity Air Conditioning

With summer in full swing, many of us have found ourselves fighting with worn-out HVAC systems. Or you may have spent the last several years sweating through summers and saving money to afford a new HVAC system. What would you say if we told you there’s a system that’s so small it can run through your walls and that will save you money on your electric bills every month?

High-velocity air conditioning systems are a great option to consider if you’re having a new HVAC system installed. Read on to learn more about this style of air conditioner and the benefits it could bring to your home.

What Is High-Velocity Air Conditioning?

High-velocity air conditioning systems are a great alternative to traditional HVAC systems. Like traditional systems, high-velocity HVACs pump hot or cold air from an outside heat pump or compressor through ducts and into the home. However, these systems are much more flexible – quite literally – than their traditional cousins.

Where traditional system ducts are anywhere between 4 and 41 inches in diameter, high-velocity ducts are just two inches across. They are also flexible and can be worked into just about any tight spot without compromising the function of the system. And whereas traditional vents are around a foot wide, high-velocity vents are round and only five inches in diameter.

How They Cycle

So how is it possible that a system can use such small ducts and vents and still manage to effectively heat and cool an entire house? The short answer is through pressure; high-velocity systems push air through the ducts with much more force than a normal system. This helps the air in your room to circulate more quickly, heating or cooling it faster.

Traditional HVAC air handlers turn on and off as needed to keep the room temperature at whatever setting the thermostat is on. But high-velocity systems run the air handler continuously to keep the air cycling and to keep the pressure up within the system. The compressor or heat pump turns off and on to supply the air handler with hot or cold air as needed to adjust the temperature.

Ease of Installation

One of the big draws of a high-velocity air conditioning system is how easy it is to install. Many people with older homes struggle to retrofit traditional HVAC systems into their houses. There may not be a great option for where to run ductwork and install vents, especially if the home isn’t on a basement or crawl space and is more than one story.

But high-velocity system ducts are so small that they can fit in almost anywhere, including inside walls. Because the ducts are flexible and sealed with gaskets, extra bends don’t cause them any trouble. You can run these ducts anywhere there’s a gap and get hot or cold air where you need it to go.

Noise Level

Some of you may have balked when we said the air handler on high-velocity systems runs all the time. Many of us who have lived in houses with noisy HVAC systems dread the sound of that fan kicking on. But don’t worry – running high-velocity air handlers isn’t the same as running a normal HVAC air handler.

High-velocity air conditioning systems run off a motor that’s between ¼ and ¾ horsepower. That small a motor creates very little noise, and all the air that comes out of it gets blown through a high-grade HEPA filter. This means that your system will be very quiet, not to mention producing extremely clean air.

Efficiency

You may also wonder how a high-velocity system can possibly be efficient when it runs the air handler all the time. Surely, you may say, running even a motor that small around the clock wastes energy, right? But what would you say if we told you a high-velocity system could actually save you money on power bills every month?

Because your new high-velocity system runs all the time, it actually keeps a more consistent temperature in your home. This means it has to do less work to change the temperature since the changes are much smaller. While your air handler does run all the time, the compressor or heat pump doesn’t have to, which saves you a lot of money.

Costs of a High-Velocity System

So if these systems are smaller, easier to fit into tight spaces, quieter, and more efficient than traditional systems, surely they must be more expensive, right? After all, there must be some reason they aren’t the gold standard for home air conditioning systems. But you might be surprised to learn that high-velocity systems actually cost about the same as traditional systems.

Not only will a high-velocity system cost about the same as a traditional system, but you could also save money by installing it yourself. Traditional HVAC systems are too complicated for an amateur to install on their own. But high-velocity systems are simple enough that you could feasibly install these systems on your own!

Learn More About High-Velocity Air Conditioning

High-velocity air conditioning systems are a fantastic alternative to traditional systems, especially if you live in an unusual house. The ducts are smaller and flexible enough to handle the tightest spaces with no problem. And even though the air handler on these systems does run all the time, it keeps your home at a consistent enough temperature that it’s actually more efficient.

If you’d like to learn more about high-velocity air conditioning systems, check out the rest of our site at Service Express Heating and Air Conditioning. We provide peace of mind with service agreements starting at just $132 a year! Contact us today and discover why the Better Business Bureau has named us an accredited business.

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