People who know #HVAC: is this level of dust on a blower wheel something I should be concerned about, and does it need anything more than blowing some compressed air and then vacuuming?
@chrisjrn The charge for a cleaning is to take apart the machine and clean it, then put it back together.
It's likely the "two star" cleaning also involves cleaning out the ductwork. These are things that you could probably handle yourself with a bit of ingenuity and a little time.
Big tax credits for these in Biden's big climate action law, the Inflation Reduction Act and more rolling out. Plus 25 states have their own incentives, so check yours.
No gas leaks, no oil deliveries, and
"magically efficient" - uses just a third or a quarter of the energy
Imagine what that does for your bills - and greenhouse gas emissions 🌳
Remember all that awful wildfire smoke? And how it was so bad that you could smell it indoors? Well, the wildfires are coming back. And we need changes to how indoor air is regulated so that we can protect our most vulnerable people from it.
The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers is looking to get the word out about the Clean Indoor Air Act. Click on the link to learn more and reach out to your MPP.
@Meanwhile_on_earth_One Yeah, I have to do a lot more research on how you do fix something like that. Maybe switch to non-central, mini split in the future with controls for each room.
Residential #HVAC engineering question: Is it typical for a household HVAC system in a hot, humid climate (Florida) to be "closed" in the thermodynamic/ volumetric sense? As in, no air exchange with the outside, air is simple recirculated, cooled, heated, and de-humidified as necessary? That is how my household's current system has been described to me, and my CO2 readings corroborate that. But that seems like a major indoor air quality #IAQ hazard.
There have been some updates done quietly, but UC continues to not mandate masking, not make creative accessible online options available by default, and not overhaul UC buildings to bring them up to ASHRAE Standard 241.
#HVAC peeps, thoughts? The contractor I chose (top local, highly regarded) did not tell me about the $1K CA rebate on #HeatPump conversions. (Unlike US tax credit, the CA $$ goes to contractor, not property owner. Ahem.) After receiving their estimate, I asked for the CA $$ and they said "Oh, we thought that was out of funds. We'll ck. By golly you're right & we will take that off yr bill." Work starts Wed. Now I wonder if they're honest. @ai6yr@cremevax@PaulWermer@ev_rider_j@Atlantis
Finally signed our #HVAC contract for a #heatpump! After changing our plans multiple times, we ended up with a way more reasonable price, with 5 heads total on 3 floors. Work will probably start this week? Excited!
As a Mechanical Engineer, it is surprisingly satisfying to design a ventilation system that doesn't need any ventilation equipment.
This is part of a natural ventilation system, with weatherproof security louvres backed with automatic Fire and Smoke Dampers.
The louvres allow outside air to come in during the summer to keep the space cool. During the winter the fire dampers are closed to stop too much cold air coming in and causing a condensation problem.
If the fire alarm goes off, the fire dampers automatically shut to stop fire escaping from the building.
Studying home #HVAC -replacement options and #IRA incentive$ in #California. Does anyone truly current (swidt) on #CAenergy initiatives think #HOMES and #HEEHRA rebates on #energyefficiency residential upgrades won't be available in 2024? (I am aware of – thx Mastodonians – the up to $2,000 federal tax credits already available for qualified heat pumps.) Boosts appreciated.
Please boost -- Mastofriends, can you point me to a primer on home furnace/AC replacement (PG&E electric, local supplier propane)? In foothills of #NevadaCountyCA, my low temps are 28F a few nights/winter. I need to learn quickly about IRA tax credits and energy-efficient techs. I need conclusions, not deep comprehension. Thanks so much. #energyefficient#HVAC Pic shows the hole in my (now red-tagged) heat exchanger (which served faithfully for possibly 30+ years)
As a primer on home furnace replacement, I'd recommend Electrify Now's fact sheets and recorded webinars. (You should get a heat pump, which will heat and cool your house, but which kind depends on your situation.)
Key: Find a local installer who knows the product line he's selling. I suspect there are several in your area. They'll also know about incentives.
Air source heatpumps are good to very low (-5 F or less), ground source even lower (more expensive installation costs). Efficiency suffers at low T, but they work. You might need a panel capacity upgrade, but there are 240V 15 amp systems . See https://discover.mitsubishicomfort.com for some examples ( I'm not advocating Mitsubishi, I just have looked at this site recently helping a friend decide)
Had another 1h30 meeting with our #HVAC people to make sure we had the right plan to be comfortable everywhere in the house, and run everything through (oh retrofits...).
Final plan will be six heads (down from seven) - two upstairs, three on the main floor and one in the basement - with the proper boxes so we can add an additional one upstairs if it's not enough.
We could go with less if we had a more open concept, but old houses were not big on open spaces 😅
It makes some sense to me why medical facilities are hesitant to upgrade indoor air quality - though the direct costs of upgrade are quite low, acknowledgment of the problem could lead to spiraling costs, and even liability. This is obviously not OK, but it makes sense.
Could someone explain to me why health insurers, who are presumably way LESS ambivalent about the health costs side of the equation, are not pressuring facilities to improve and reduce the insane levels of nosocomial infection we have due to foot-dragging?
This is actually a serious question - there has to be a reason, or we would already be hearing of this approach for IAQ advocates, etc., right?
Have to replace the furnace at my Dads place. Any #HVAC peeps? Wondering if we should go with a heat pump or furnace. Its a 800 sq ft home, one level, 2 bedrooms in south western Ontario. Thanks in advance. #Furnace#Heatpump
As part of my ongoing air-exchange-based #HVAC project, I have an outdoor air quality sensor from #AmbientWeather (no sponsorship, I bought it). It's battery/solar powered, and that's fine... except for the part where that doesn't work here in the winter.
But since it plugs in to charge and keeps working when plugged in, winner winner chicken dinner, right?
NO! Because first you have to take the bottom off the case, then the charge plug sticks directly out from the bottom facing down, like a goddamn Apple Magic Mouse.
I can't fix the mouse, but I can fix this, and I have made a printable tray and rack system to let you use it that way. Enjoy!
@moira Have you had good luck with the Ambient Weather PM25 device? We had a PurpleAir device but hasnt worked since I changed our wifi networks and now is an expensive paper weight it seems :(
I guess I never did an #introduction, so this seems like a good time to do one.
I'm Jenny. I am a huge geek who loves all things #STEM. I have been in #HVAC for 25+ years and have been luck to work at the intersection on data, marketing, and technology the whole time.
My passion is getting girls into stem and showing kids that engineering is everywhere. I'm a #nasa / #jpl Solar System Ambassador. I love technology, photography, AI, AR, rock climbing, my husband, and our 2 black labs.
If anyone with HVAC expertise knows the consequences of mixing refrigerants (R-22 and R-410A), please reach out to me. I think this maintenance guy just did a bad thing.
It's not the only bad thing, mind you. I'm documenting some other stuff.
@bedast the oils are imiscible and could react to form a non lubricating goo/foam. The different refrigerants also operate in different pressure ranges - r410a is two to three times higher than r22 and can damage/blow up equipment. The metering devices are also of differing sizes, so there will be capacity issues (if it runs.)
Now I feel like a proper home owner; we had to pay for a heating service at short notice as after a power on and off our boiler didn't come back. The solution was to replace its control board, so /something/ on here is broken. Technician reckoned a relay was the culprit. Don't think I have the energy to try and figure it out, but probably a cheap part that's not too hard to replace. Annoying when it's quicker to just replace the whole thing.
