Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Carbon monoxide - One of the most common causes of accidental poisoning in the United States

Carbon monoxide is a gas that has no color, odor or taste, carbon monoxide bonds with the hemoglobin in the blood, displacing oxygen.

Common home appliances such as gas or oil furnaces, clothes dryers, ranges, space heaters and wood stoves produce carbon monoxide. Early stages of carbon monoxide poisoning can resemble food poisoning or influenza.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Symptoms may include:
• Headache
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Drowsiness
• Confusion
• Faster heart rate

Depending upon the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air and the length of exposure, the next stages can produce:
• Unconsciousness
• Convulsions
• Brain damage
• Death

Young children and pets may be the first to be affected.

If you think you have a carbon monoxide problem in your home:
• Contact your local fire department.
• Turn off the furnace or other appliance that could be causing the problem.
• Open doors and windows.
• Call your utility company or a licensed service technician and have the problem fixed before

restarting appliances.
Tips for Prevention
• Check flues, chimneys and vents often to make sure they are clear of snow, ice and other debris.
• Do not block the furnace air intake.
• Do not use a gas range or oven for home heating.
• Do not adjust pilot lights yourself.
• Do not leave a vehicle running inside a garage, and never leave the door between the house and garage open if the vehicle is running.
• Start snow blowers outside rather than inside a garage or storage shed.

What NOT to do when your Heater Fails
• Never use a gas range or oven for heating.
• Never use a charcoal grill or a barbecue grill indoors.
• Never use a portable gas camp stove indoors.
• Never use a generator inside your home, basement, or garage or near a window, door, or vent.

Does your high efficiency furnace or boiler stop working during extreme cold temperatures?

Condensing furnaces and boilers (typically greater than 90% efficient), produce water during the heating cycle. This slightly acidic water leaves the system via a drain pipe (condensate line). During extreme cold temperatures, this water can freeze inside of the drain pipes. When this occurs, it can cause minor flooding and/or cause your furnace to shut off entirely. This issue is more common when the appliance has been installed in an attic or when the condensate drain line has been installed in an exterior wall. If you suspect that this could be the reason your heater has stopped working you should check for any ice buildup in or around your heater’s vents and drain pipes.

Thawing Frozen Pipes

An electric hair dryer can be a useful tool to thaw frozen pipes. Simply direct the hot air towards the frozen pipe. If the frozen pipe is made of plastic, such as PVC, you should avoid overheating the pipe by taking short breaks that allow the plastic pipe to cool. An electric hair dryer may also be useful when pipes are frozen inside a wall. Of course, this method requires patience and short breaks to keep from overheating the wall surface and electric hair dryer are necessary.

Hot water can also be used to thaw frozen pipes when the pipes are accessible. In areas where water damage is not a concern, you can pour the hot water directly over the frozen pipe. In areas where water could cause damage, such as in an attic, you can dip a sponge or rag into the hot water and repeatedly wipe the outside surface of the pipe.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Benefits of a Builder Provided HVAC Design

Historically, Residential Builders have required that their HVAC Trade Partners provide their own HVAC design for each plan at no cost to the Builder. On the surface, this sounds like a very favorable arrangement for the Builder ... but is it? ConsultAir can show you how Residential Home Builders, HVAC Contractors and even the future Homeowner would all benefit from a Builder Provided HVAC Design.



Reduced Bidding Cost and Cycle Time for Prospective HVAC Trade Partner

Assuming that the HVAC Trade Partner you have selected is utilizing an industry recognized and typically mandatory design criteria to determine their final design, each proposal will require approximately 3 ½ to 5 ½ hours to complete. By utilizing a Builder Provided HVAC Design, the design process is completed prior to issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP). By eliminating the design element from the list of tasks that the HVAC Trade Partner must complete, the time required to produce a proposal is now reduced to one hour, a net reduction in cycle time of 350%. 

Example: You issue a Request for Pricing to five prospective HVAC Trade Partners for five separate plans.

Traditional Method - HVAC Trade Partner Provided Design 

Requires 112 ½ hours of design and estimating labor - *(4 ½ hours x 5 plans) x 5 Trade Partners = 112 ½ design and estimating hours 

Proposed Method - Builder Provided HVAC Design 

Requires 25 hours of estimating labor & no hours of design labor - *(1 hour x 5 plans) x 5 Trade Partners = 25 hours
The net reduction in required time and resources to your prospective HVAC Trade Partners is approximately 75 hours.




Reduced Bidding Cost and Cycle Time for the Builder 

Let’s consider the amount of time and the number of separate interactions that it typically takes for you to:
Ø  Accurately communicate your HVAC specifications to your prospective HVAC Trade Partner.
Ø  Gain a working understanding and adequate level of comfort for the quality of their unique design.
Ø  Get the prospective HVAC Trade Partner to merge and adjust as much of their design into the design that is currently being used by your existing or past HVAC Trade Partner.


Is this a familiar discussion?

Builder: “You are a half a ton too big”.

HVAC Trade Partner: “I’m not sure where you are getting your equipment sizing from, but my calculations are correct.”

Builder: “But we’ve been building this plan for years without any problem.”
HVAC Trade Partner: “If I change the equipment size, will you take responsibility for any issues that may arise?”


Keep in mind that the amount of time and the number of these interactions grow exponentially based on the number of prospective HVAC Trade Partners that you issue a request for pricing to.
When you use a Builder Provided HVAC Design, the majority of these interactions are completely eliminated and the number of hours required to determine which HVAC Trade Partner will be awarded your work is substantially decreased.



 
Improved Installation Efficiencies
A quality HVAC contractor will have to install an HVAC system in a specific plan at least 2 times before they are able to solidify their duct design and material & labor take-offs. By utilizing a Builder Provided Design, the majority of the HVAC Contractor’s “learning curve” is eliminated. The Builder Provided Design has already taken into account most of the field conditions that aren’t always apparent on the architectural drawings, including the coordination of chase and “TJI” joist duct openings as well as equipment locations.




Reduced Risk of Errors and Omissions in the Original Estimate

If an HVAC Contractor has the benefit of a quality and proven design, the likelihood of incurring additional costs not captured in the original material, equipment and/or labor estimate are substantially reduced.




Improved Customer Satisfaction & Reduced Warranty Exposure to the Builder & HVAC Contractor

Utilizing one proven design will substantially reduce the number of HVAC related warranty inconveniences for your customer as well as reduce warranty costs for the Builder and HVAC Trade Partner.




Improved Marketability

As you know, the full potential of many of the energy efficiency features that you build into your homes can only be achieved when combined with a professionally and properly designed HVAC system.
By utilizing a Builder Provided HVAC Design, you will be giving your sales team an opportunity to not only educate your prospective home buyers about how your unique approach to the design of your HVAC systems will benefit them, but when presented properly, your prospective homebuyers will then be armed with a great topic for discussion as they continue their search for their new home by visiting with the sales teams of other builders in your area.




A comprehensive Builder Provided HVAC Design should consist of:
ü Room-By-Room Manual J Load Calculation
ü Manual D Duct Design
ü Manual S Equipment Size Selection
ü 11x17 Mechanical Drawings (to scale)
ü Detailed HVAC Scope of Work and Specifications
ü Option Details and Design
ü Standardized RFP Response Form for the HVAC Contractor to enter the base house and itemized option prices.




A Builder Provided HVAC Design is a true “Win/Win/Win” for the Builder, HVAC Trade Partner and the future Home Owner.

Friday, July 27, 2012

11 Tips for Proper Manual J Calculations for Geothermal Contractors

In many states, it is now a requirement to perform a manual J calculation to pull a permit for any HVAC job. If you are a general contractor or geothermal installer it will pay to do your own Manual J calculations because so much of the job depends upon accurate loads.  Continue reading to learn the 11 tips to creating the best Manual J calculations for your job.

We asked John Walsh, a Heatspring Instructor with 40 years of experience in the HVAC industry, to offer some tips and code guidance for contractors interested in learning more about doing their own heat loss calculations.
John’s 5 Tips to Perform a Manual J Calculation:
  1. Verify that the correct outdoor design temperatures are used for the heating and cooling load calculations, and that they are consistent with values in Table 1A of ACCA Manual J.
  2. Verify that the correct indoor design temperatures are used based on IECC Section 302.1 of the 2006 and 2009 IECC.
  3. Verify that the building geometry and glass area match what is shown on the plans and compliance documentation. Glazing orientation is important to verify for cooling load calculations but has no effect on heat loss calculations.
  4. Verify that the levels of efficiency shown in the load calculations are consistent with the energy code compliance documentation. Insulation R-values, glazing U-factor, and SHGC are important to confirm.
  5. Verify that the make, model number, and equipment size is specified on the plans or compliance.
John’s 6 Field Inspection tips:
  1. Verify the make and model numbers for the heating and cooling systems installed for the building, and compare that to system specified on the building plans or documentation.
  2. Verify that the system has the same output capacity, and the same level of efficiency as specified in the plans (If a different system is specified).
  3. Require the responsible party to verify that the systems installed comply with the IECC (If a larger system, or an additional system, is installed).
  4. Verify that the efficiency levels of insulation and windows (U-factors and SHGC) meet or exceed the levels that are called out on the plans or documentation. Levels that are too low can cause the system to be undersized. If cooling is installed, verify that the glazing area and orientation is installed per the approved building plans.
  5. Verify that the energy features of the house are installed by the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
  6. Verify that the refrigerant charge level was tested by the installer.
John’s review of Residential Heating and Cooling Load Calculation Requirements: Code Notes [2006 and 2009 IRC, 2006 and 2009 IECC ]
Mechanical systems in residential construction are commonly oversized which increases installation costs, wastes energy, and reduces comfort and moisture control. Properly sized equipment will last longer, provide greater comfort, reduce noise, and save homeowners money. [Editors note: this is especially true for geothermal heat pump systems] Yet builders and code officials are uncertain as to how to evaluate such calculations to make sure they meet the intent of the code and the sizing methodology approved in the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA)
The 2006 and 2009 IECC require sizing calculations be performed on every home–by referencing IRC Section M1401.3. Section M1401.3 requires heating and cooling systems be sized to ACCA Manual J – Eighth Addition or other approved heating and cooling load calculations. The ACCA sizing methodology has sufficient built-in safety factors to accommodate most conditioning needs. Therefore, it is important to follow all instructions in Manual J, use precise area measurements, and specific data.Heating and cooling loads can be determined using a whole-house approach, or by performing a room-by-room load calculation. The room-by-room approach provides the information needed to determine the number of cubic feet per minute (cfm) of conditioned air needed to satisfy the heating and cooling load for the room. This information can, then, be used to determine the duct size necessary to deliver heating and cooling for the space. [ Editors note: See the 4 steps to designing geothermal to see where these steps comes into play when designing a system ]
The IECC regulates the indoor design temperature for use in performing load calculations. The IECC specifies that the maximum heating indoor temperature shall be 72°F, and the minimum cooling temperature shall be 75°F. Table IA of ACCA Manual J requires that the outdoor winter and summer design temperatures be based on the 99 percent value for winter, and 1 percent value for summer. To select the appropriate system, based on the heating and cooling load calculations, IRC Section M1401.3 requires that ACCA Manual S be used to size equipment. Excessively oversized equipment causes short-cycling, and creates unnecessary stress on the equipment. Also, larger systems require larger duct sizes, increasing the installation cost. In areas where humidity is an issue, an oversized system will degrade the humidity control. A properly sized system will run almost continuously at design conditions, and provide the proper level of dehumidification during the cooling season.
Code Citations*
  • 2006 and 2009 IRC M1401.3 Sizing Heating and cooling equipment shall be sized based on building loads calculated in accordance with ACCA Manual J or other approved heating and cooling calculation methodologies.
  • 2006 and 2009 IECC 403.6 Equipment Sizing Heating and cooling equipment shall be sized in accordance with Section M1401.3 of the International Residential Code.
  • 2006 and 2009 IECC Section 302.1 Interior design conditions. The interior design temperatures used for heating and cooling load calculations shall be a maximum of 72° (22°C) for heating and a minimum of 75°F (24°C) for cooling.
  • 2009 IRC Section M1401.3 Sizing Heating and cooling equipment shall be sized in accordance with ACCA Manual S based on building loads calculated in accordance with ACCA Manual J or other approved heating and cooling calculation methodologies.
References
  • Copyright, 2009, International Code Council , Inc. Falls Church, Virginia. 2009 International Energy Conservation Code; 2009 International Residential Code. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved.
  • Copyright, 2006, International Code Council , Inc. Falls Church, Virginia. 2006 International Energy Conservation Code; 2006 International Residential Code. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved

Article courtesy of Chris Williams