Joshua explaining PSC, ECM, and variable speed air handlers, furnaces, and blower motors. Also explaining gas valves, compressors, and other ratings.
Hopefully this helps when looking over options of your next HVAC purchase. Heat pumps, furnaces, and air handlers can get complicated with their ratings. It’s hard to compare apples to apples sometimes when companies use different verbiage. Watch this video to explain better.
Griffin Air is a HVAC contractor in Hartfield Virginia. Visit GriffinAir.net for more information.

Variable-Speed ECM multi-speed multi-stage all these different terms. What do they all mean? We're going to talk about that right now: hey guys, Joshua Griffin here serving the middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck want to do a video, because we've actually gotten questions about it and wanted to just kind of run through a couple things that I hope will make Sense and might make a difference in the decision to buy your next heating and air conditioning system so essentially wanted to break this down into a couple of different. You know sections if you will, and that is because a lot of times when we are talking about you, know different options for your heating and air conditioning system. There's different.

You know ratings and, and things like that, and so just kind of wanted that go through just a bird's-eye view of what all those different ratings mean, what they ultimately add up to and whether or not it really should make a difference in your decision and for Your next, you know, purchase so just kind of wanted to go through a couple things for starters: let's talk about blower motors air handlers, furnaces and things like that, and essentially what they all boil down to when you are looking at, you know a proposal whether it Be from us or from another company, essentially they're, going to kind of go through some different options. Hopefully, we always offer multiple options and hopefully, if you're getting other quotes - or you know looking at another company they're giving you a couple different options, and so those options could include a couple different things when it comes to the Laure motor. So i'm going to try to to consolidate that you know hopefully and make it a whole lot more sense and looking at it, you know you know through a narrow lens here for starters, in the old days we had well, you know what and again there's different Verbage, so I'm gon na try to to break them up into three different sections. You know so the first one would be you know back in the old days we had what would be considered today.

We would call that a single stage system, single stage, blower motor single stage, furnace or or air handler, and essentially what that means is. It has a PSC motor, okay and there's either a one or there one or off, there's no in between there's. You know it's either running at a hundred percent capacity or it's running at zero. It's all you know, and so you, basically there was never any in-between it.

You know drew maximum amount of amps when it turned on and work was off. There was never any in-between when it reached temperature. As long as you didn't have the setting on the thermostat turn all in the fan would turn off and it would stop you know. So there was never any between today.

We would call that a single stage system. It's probably one of the more and less efficient models. If you will you're looking at an air handler or, for instance, a single stage PSC motor trying to think of some other Burbidge for that. But essentially that is you know a single stage system.
That's either on or off, and so you know you probably don't even care, but just so I get this right. Psc stands or permanent passive motor. So so you know we're going to talk about ECM motors in a moment and that stands for electronically commutation motor again, that probably doesn't matter a whole lot. But again, as I said, PSC motor single stage system single stage, motor single-stage fan all that stuff.

It's all under the same umbrella at all, pretty much means the same thing, and it really just means either on or it's off no in between moving on to what I would call the second option and all of this so again, there's three. First, one at the PFC you see the stage ECM motors, which would be the next step up, essentially all as they are again they're different purposes. Some up companies may call it you because they all like to have their cute little marketing, pretending like they are offering something that the next guy's not and ultimately it's a lot of times. It's the same thing they're just marketing it either better or a different way or, however, you want to look at it but P.

An ECM motor is a multi-stage motor. Sometimes there's multiple speeds and the reason that's important is you might have a system that may run in one speed for one mode, another speed and another mode or so on, and so the octave thought process is that, let's say you have an AC on motor. That has four different speeds, sometimes there's more than that sometimes there's times, but let's just say for there's a lot of in between, so it could be either running up the very tip-top. You know speed in this mode next mode, it might be running out a little bit of a lower speed, drawing less energy, drawing less amperage lower electric bill.

That's the thought process and, as I understand it, during the making of this video right now, it's 2019. You can still get your hands on, or at least where I'm at in the USA in Virginia, you can still get your hands on some single stage, stuff, there's actually a lot of it. You know single stage air handlers single stage and then pull one off PFC motors, all that good stuff, and so during the making of this video. All that stuff is still here but, as I understand it in the next year or two, they are moving.

Maybe, by the time you're watching this video they're moving towards ECM being the minimum that it has to have a speed for a ECM motor furnace air handler whatever the verbage is and that next step up, if you will and that'll become the minimum, you know standard And finally, the third or the best option today would be what they call variable speed. It's kind of you know a couple years ago: variable speed, blower motors fans, air handlers, furnaces variable, speed, stuff was kind of the cat's meow it's getting the where it's more of the standard, we're seeing it more more wordy, but seeing folks go with a variable speed. Motor with you know, even the standard basic install, some energy savings there and essentially variable-speed there's. You know different ways: they're marketing it they could be calling it.
You know who knows what they're calling at different companies call it different things. There's some variable speed motors that are, you know, there's a lot of in-betweens. You know these are all steps and there's the absolute top speed it can ramp up to that and then there's you know a lot of in-between running it at times of percentage of what the capability or the capacity of that system can run, and the idea is, If it doesn't need to run at a hundred percent capacity, then it doesn't - and you know instead of this constant one and off spikes and energy there's a lot of in between some systems will just barely come one and then just slowly start to ramp up to Save energy and so on. There's not that jolt that constant all type of feel and then you know a lot of them will kind of explain it, and I must like this.

You know constant ramping up and down of speeds and the hope and dream is, you know a lot of systems right now. They will almost some of them. Twenty can even learn your home and what it'll do is it'll, learn based on the load and how long it takes it. It takes it to reach temperature and things like that, and it will actually learn to you know if it's this temperature outside and this temperature inside and how long it you know all that stuff and instead of this constant one off one of the system coming off.

While that gets up instead, it will, you know, come one and you know reach temperature, and then you know, maybe at like 30 percent or 40 percent or whatever and just run at a constant lower. Instead of this point awful and off it just run constantly and not and and all you know all day, multiple hours just running constantly but will actually in the end, save you money on your electric bill because there's never any spikes in energy and you know it'll, You know, draw a lot less electricity, so hopefully that makes sense, but that's kind of in a nutshell. You know your three options again, they're gon na you know they they all mark in two different ways. They act like they're, offering something that someone else isn't.

Oh no, we have a multi-speed this or that or we have you know, there's all these different hands. We have this type of system and it's so efficient. Essentially, if you're talking about the blower speed, whether it be an air handler furnace and you can pretty much wrap all the options, technologies and one of those three categories for the most part, let's go through a couple, others so moving on. Sometimes, when you're talking about a furnace, there's other things to take in consideration when it comes to the furnace itself, and the next thing I'm gon na go over is the gas valve itself, because I have seen folks get all kind of confused over well, it's a Two-Stage blower and it's a Visser that valve and just what does all this means so essentially, I think I can make this really easy.
If you listen to everything I just said about, blower motors gas valves are still very similar. The older valves were single stage valves. They were either open or closed completely open, completely closed a two-stage valve. It is what it sounds like it's Tuesday, so I don't even have 30 stages a multi-stage foul.

But again, if you're talking about say a two-stage mouth there's you know there's a single stage. It might only open at you know 70 % capacity or whatever capacity it opens at and then the second stage would be full. Oh fully open fully blowing that flame and so on, and then now they have what's called modulating, vowels or some foraging, and they may call something differently. But that kind of just like the variable speed motor has a lot of in between the 100 % capacity.

And you know all there's a lot of in-between there with the modulating, vowels and and it'll learn the load and what it needs to run at to save you gas, so that's kind of gas valves in a nutshell. Next there's tons of videos on just this phrase. Topic alone, and that is seer ratings. I'm not gon na get into all that because there's their seer ratings, there's ER ratings, there's HS PF ratings, there's all kinds of different ratings.

Ultimately, for the most part on most of those ratings, they don't. Actually, you know, I think, there's some confusion out there where so here sort of like when you buy a car, it will have a certain amount of gas mileage and they kind of expect the same. You know the same deal when they're looking at C arrays or ER ratings, or things like that, and I think, though, the main takeaway that I would say would be that when you're looking at those ratings that it's hard but now I'm not saying it's impossible. But it's it's harder to nail down you as the consumer to nail down what each seer number translates to dollar-wise when you're talking about you know savings, but ultimately the higher that number the more efficient the system is.

Seer has stands for: seasonal energy efficiency ratio. Again, there's probably hundreds of YouTube videos. I think I might have even did one a couple years ago that just talks about seer alone - and you know I'm not gon na get it again say any more about that, because that's not what this video is about. I'm trying to create some clarity, one when you're seeing different verbage or you know we have competitors that will call you know.

Instead of calling a TCM motor, they might call it a multi-stage amount of blower or whatever it is. Their reviews answer verbage we're trying to make this. You know so that's kind of seer again, if you want more information about that. Hundreds of videos under the website just talk about seer ratings and things like that.
You know in a nutshell. Next, let's talk about compressors, compressors or outdoor units or air conditioners heat pumps, all that all that stuff is still referring to the outdoor unit. All those units have a compressor inside of it, or at least 99 % of them. I think a few of the brands years ago, we're kind of doing some beauty things, but ultimately, nine times out of ten, your outdoor unit will be where the compressor is located and there's again there different stages, different types of compressors, and I think again, if you Watched my whole little spiel about the blower motors blower motors and compressors are kind of the same there's a single stage, just like the old days or going on and off there's multi stage, compressors, some of them to stage some of them three stage, the more stages.

The idea is, you know if they can run at a lower stage or a lower capacity and still cool your home, then it'll do that and and then finally there's inverter, compressors or variable compressors, and that's that same idea, the same thought process. There's different technologies out there on how to accomplish that. There's some systems that are not that complicated that are able to kind of go. You know do that in between and then there's some systems out there that are very complicated and the idea is, you know, like a communicating system like you're talking about a touchscreen or American sand or platinum series.

I know that you know carrier has their infinity line, lion has their evolution line, and so, when you're Don and all their different brands, they have their IQ drive. There's multiple different brands out there, but essentially what they're talking about is a communicating system where you know the indoor unit can talk to the outdoor unit using pulses. The thermostat can talk to all of it. You can almost kind of run Diagnostics just off of the thermostat.

They don't even call them thermostats. They call them controllers because shoot they're, just they're almost like a computer hanging on the wall. It's it's crazy that the things that, though some of those thermostats, can do so again, pressors three categories, one an off multistage variable, speed or inverter or whatever verbage. They call i'm of us done with this video.

Hopefully, you've got some information out of it. Just going to touch on a couple last things, there's there's also a fu or a fue ratings, and that is the rating that basically, that you know it refers back to the furnace and the gas that's being front. Fueled and and AFUE stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency, essentially again the higher that number, the more that the more efficient it is, and the idea is, if it's let's say it's an 80 % AFUE rated furnace. What they say is that means that 80 % of the fuel that's being fueled into that furnace, is being burnt and you're losing 20 % of that capacity.
Rebecca cool out of your flue, the lower efficiency models will have a metal flew because it's going to stay hot, you don't even want to touch it. Unless it's a double-walled or B vent pipe, it could be very hot and then, as the as the efficiencies go up on that say like a 90 95 and so on plus percentage furnace. You know the flue pipe like a plastic of some tight and inside of that and will actually bring back down great out of the cars. So again, so you know that number is essentially the higher that number the more efficient it is at burning the fuel.

That's in it, so that's pretty much it again. There's other ratings out there that I'm not going to talk about in this video, but I think that, ultimately, as long as you understand that there's all kinds of different bourbon jizz out there that companies are using not just contractors but the manufacturers are using to. You know just kind of you know market their product and make it better or sound better than the next guy. But ultimately you know as far as the technologies themselves, that's kind of a nutshell as you're comparing products.

What you know the different Burbage is mean and all that good stuff is you're making her decision. I think, ultimately, if you're looking at a proposal as we speak and you're trying to decide what makes sense for your home. Obviously I can't answer that every room is different. Every customer is looking for something different, I'm sure the more efficient the system is, the you know the lower your electric bill is more happier it'll, be whether or not you get you're saving your back.

You know there's another topic: houses created equal, but I will say this: you know this this all this is this time goes on and more technologies come out. You know by the time you might be watching this video. There might be something that has come out that I didn't even know about when I made this video and I think ultimately, I think that the point that I want to make is, I think, there's more to it when you're making your decision than just simply saying. Oh well, this systems less efficient or more efficient than that system, and you know what is the price of each and things like that.

Well, I think that you know some brands are better than other others. So, just because brand you know Brand X and brand Y are both saying that there are a certain amount of seer and they're both offering an inverter compressor or the or the Rope offering whatever it is that they're offering? Let's just say that they're both offering similar things that doesn't necessarily mean they're created equal. I think there's many variables out there when you're, considering what makes this for your home, where the system's may make least immediate Ducks other variables like hearts, availability in the future. Why does your contractor sell the brand that they sell? You know, and I can't answer that I'm not going to tell you.
No, I'm not sure. I know why I saw what I saw, but you know that doesn't mean that every contractor uses the same thought process. I did hire, obviously they don't because they some sell brands that I don't sell and I think ultimately, that you got to make a decision on. You know all those variables other things that you might consider our price of the parts you know just because a variable speed motor is more efficient, guess what it costs more than a PSC motor goes to.

If and when it goes bad. You know they do things. Just like windshield wipers on a car things go bad, especially when they're not taking care of there's another variable to consider. Oh, how well are you gon na take care of this equipment? You sure you want to buy the Cadillac and never have it serviced.

Never have the oil change. It's just amazing to me how many folks don't service their equipment and then, of course, they want a cheap bill when it comes time to repair it. You know anyway, that's a whole another topic, but you just there's many variables as you're. Considering all this - and I think that you know - hopefully I was able to shed some light one as you're, comparing different brands or different.

You know different models or whatever kind of what they all mean. What makes sense for your so anyway, you're still watching this. I know that was a lot. Hopefully it helped you and if you're still watching this, we would love to earn your business check us out check out our reviews.

Our phone number is easy to remember. 50/50 air. Our website, I personally for this day, have put everything on our website and everything you see on the website ever picture just about that was taken. It was either taken by either me or one of my guys.

Every piece of information that's on there was either written by me personally, or it was information that I was able to get safe from the manufacturer, and I read it and made sure it made sense what I wanted to be on our website. All of that stuff. It's WWF Internet phone numbers; 50/50, air, NATO, four, five; oh five, zero, two, four, seven fifty-fifty air and yeah we'd love to earn your business. Thank you.

You.

One thought on “Air handler/furnace types and speeds. other hvac efficiency measurements.”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars LUTY says:

    Why do you put music with a narrative video?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.