Cooling Systems

These days, more and more people desire cooling in their houses. We have air conditioned offices, shops and cars, why not our house too ?

Before considering full Air Conditioning, you should spare a thought for the environment, and consider some other options; automation using Hometronic can make these greener options just as effective as aircon under most circumstances, and much cheaper to run.

For instance, if you have South-facing glazing, or a conservatory, fitting some automatic awnings or blinds to avoid overheating, perhaps with the addition of automated opening vents, is a far better option than fitting aircon. Using Hometronic, you can take the benefit of solar heat gain during the winter, to reduce your heating load, whilst in the summer months, using solar shading and natural ventilation can keep your house cool, with zero CO2 emissions.

If designing a new house, consider adopting Natural Ventilation techniques for the whole building. Natural Ventilation (sometimes called “passive”, because it uses no active elements like fans) relies on the “stack” effect, where warm air is more buoyant than cool air, and hence rises – like hot air from a fire rising up a chimney. If you can arrange a vertical path for airflow through the house, so that it can enter at low level, rise through the house, and exit at high level, you can both ventilate the house and cool it in hot weather.

Hometronic can control the opening of windows or vents at the entry and exit points, and can keep the house secure by automatically closing them when you’re away, if required.

Ceiling fans are an effective cooling measure common in continental Europe but rarely seen in the UK. Although they consume electrical power, they use far less than aircon, and can be effectively controlled by Hometronic.

If you have considered all the alternatives, and must have Air Conditioning, then Hometronic can ensure two key things; firstly that the heating and cooling systems are not running simultaneously (a very common problem where the control systems for heating and cooling are not interlocked). Secondly, that the cooling is only running when you actually need it, and is not left running accidentally when you leave the house.