Central City Air

Majority Rules

In the overall vast experience with other companies' residential systems installation, it is interesting to look at the majority rules syndrome we deal with. These are the opinions of Central City Air's late owner, David Debien, and reflect his 25+ years of experience in the field.

The majority of air conditioning systems are not installed with the system design emphasizing humidity removal.
The majority of air conditioning systems are installed by residential contractors that do not understand why humidity has become a problem on any particular system they have installed in the last several years.
The majority of air conditioning contractors will not turn down a job when they are unsure of the exact problem and know they are only guessing at the solution.
The majority of air conditioning contractors are not dedicated to residential systems only.
The majority of air conditioning contractors or owners have had no college engineering behind them prior to being in the air conditioning business.
The majority of air conditioning technicians do not understand the psychometric chart and cannot plot an actual process that takes place in any particular system.
The majority of air conditioning contractors do not understand how SEER ratings are determined or how they are affected by high humidity conditions.
The majority of air-conditioned new homes in Houston do not have properly installed ductwork if it was built in the last 10 years.
The majority of air-conditioned new homes have air flow problems serious enough to need modifications or replacement before the house is 5 years old.
The majority of air conditioning systems installed today do not have the correctly sized refrigerant lines installed to ASHRAE standards.
The majority of air conditioning systems installed in Houston do not take advantage of the fact that hot air rises and cold air falls. This would be reflected by having the return air installed in the ceiling in addition to the floor.
The majority of air conditioning systems do not have multiple return air systems to more evenly distribute return air back to the system decreasing stratified air pockets.
The majority of air conditioning 2 speed systems are not installed correctly for balanced operation on both low and high speeds.
The majority of people do not need a rebate to make a proper decision with regard to selecting the right system for their home with current electric rates.
The majority of people when educated about the facts with regard to correct installation and design of the system will disregard a rebate in favor of a more expensive system that serves their exact needs.
The majority of any rebate comes from the customer who gave you the money to do a job. For example, the only source for any money to give any rebates is the customer who gives it to you and then expects something back.
The majority of the other contractors in Houston criticize our designs, but don't understand them. They tell the customer that designing a colder coil will cause major failure for their system.
The majority of the cooling coils are selected and designed to run above 45 degrees for high efficiency.
The majority of cooling systems can have a significant increase in humidity removal running a colder coil (35 degrees) over a warmer coil (45 degrees).
The majority of contractors who have criticized our design in the past are not copying any aspects of the designs, although that is beginning to change.
The majority of support we have received has not come from the electric utility company in listening to our approach as the correct way to install systems for this area. It has come from customers and word of mouth referrals.
The majority of all contractors design to get a rebate first and based on the SEER ratings and equate highest efficiency (SEER) with the best available comfort.
The majority of our design direction has been verified by a special report written on humidity removal by Lennox Industries. The engineers selected a humid application and analyzed how to approach the problem. Oh, by the way, the city they selected for analysis was Houston, Texas.
The majority of cooling coil manufacturers design their coil for maximum efficiency not maximum humidity removal.
The majority of homes systems installed for proper humidity removal will have a lower SEER. They do not have a higher electric bill than a conventional system with a higher SEER.
The majority of homes in Houston have mold and mildew problems in the average life of their cooling system.
The majority of homes in Houston installed with an extremely aggressive humidity removal system do not have mold or mildew problems in the average life of the system.
The majority of all consumers want to know much more than they do now about the comfort systems design and how they work before making a purchase.
The majority of new homebuyers will spend up to twice as much for a quality system in a home they will live in for the next 10 years if it is presented to them. It rarely is.
The majority of the market for new home installation is driven by low price.
The majority of the salesmen selling air conditioning do not understand what they are selling and can not explain the engineering behind any selection proposed to the customer.
The majority of customers are unhappy with the performance of their systems in some respect.
The majority of homes in Houston are not properly zoned when they are built.
The majority of homes in Houston are not designed with the driving force of energy efficiency and operation costs in mind.
The majority of systems installed today do not have an expansion valve control of the refrigerant cycle but all systems should have only and expansion valve.
The majority of furnaces installed in Houston in the last 10 years do not meet the requirements of the new law called the CURB ordinance. This ordinance changes the ASHRAE standard design for winter from the present 35 degrees to 20 degrees. You must be able to hold a 68-degree indoor temperature at 20 degree outdoor.
The majority of homes are comfortable with an indoor relative humidity of 50% to 55%.
The majority of homes will not provide the target humidity levels in the heat of summer at 76-degree design indoors.
The majority of homes will provide the target humidity levels in the heat of summer at 70-degree design indoors.
The majority of homes have humidity above 50% at 76 degrees with 12+ SEER systems installed to get a rebate.
The majority of people taking allergy medicine are going to the doctor to obtain the needed substances that allow them to live in their contaminated home environment.
The majority of the mold and mildew is generated by your air conditioning system not removing the humidity properly due to the design of the system.
The majority of the attics in Houston do not have state of the art ventilation systems.
The majority of the homes in Houston do not have the proper insulation levels.
The majority of the new homes have vapor barrier materials installed when no vapor barrier materials should be used at all.
The majority of the homes in Houston do not have state of the art vent skin exterior construction.
The majority of the new homes in the year 2000 will be required by law (the EPA) to have fresh air intake if air quality continues at its present rate of deterioration.
The majority of the duct cleaning of systems does little to eliminate the problem causing the ducts needing to be cleaned again and again.
The majority of the air conditioning technicians have little training before working on air conditioning systems.
The majority of the air conditioning technicians do not take courses every year to keep up with the changing conditions in the industry.
The majorities of the compressors that are declared defective go back to the manufacturer and are replaced when the problem was not the compressor.
The majority of air conditioning companies do not own their trucks, or pay by the hour and use subcontractors for the bulk of their work.
The majority of the companies do not properly analyze a problem and correctly eliminate the cause so that it does not occur again.
The majority of wholesalers do not have professional, trained people who understand the needs of the contractor and try to address them.
The majority of the companies will not put service first if they know that their profit will suffer.
The majority of people had no mold, mildew, or air quality problems prior to the 1973 energy crisis.
The majority of homes will have water damage to the home in some way over the life of the system due to improper installation and maintenance.
The majority of the air conditioning contractors sell only the lowest price systems and compete on the price level only.
The majority of new home contractors will now install vertical furnaces in the attic if it will lower installation costs even though a horizontal system should have been installed.
The majority of homes in Houston have central air conditioning installed.
The majority of all contractors are not truly qualified in every respect to install residential environmental systems that serve the exact needs of the homeowner today.

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