HVAC

Last Updated on Monday, 21 September 2009 13:55

In 1994 I was working for a meat plant that bought packaged beef, and sold special cuts. One piece of equipment I hated was the Jaccarder. This was a machine that had a chain conveyer and two heads with needles about 15" long. There was a holding block at the top, and a guide block at the point of penetration to keep the needles aligned and straight. There were 2 heads, and each head had about 120 needles. The heads could be removed from the machine. When we first got the machine, we would soak the heads overnight, and the clean up crew would spray them down in the morning before being installed back into the machine that worked fine. After a while, the machine was consistently failing its USDA inspection because the needles weren't getting clean. This is what we had to do:

Each night, we would have the clean up crew spray the heads down to remove all the blood from that day, and then we would take them into the shop and remove the needles from the heads, and place them into a tub with hot dishwater. The holding and guide blocks would have to be cleaned and sprayed down thoroughly to remove all the grime that got pushed into the tiny holes. Each needle would have to be scrubbed with a greenie, and then rinsed and pushed back into the blocks. This process took approximately one hour of daily maintenance just to pass the USDA inspection to keep it on the floor, and in service.

 

Written by Bob Reichardt

October 13, 2009

The Air-conditioning Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) hosted a joint press conference with leading environmental and energy efficiency advocacy groups to formally sign an unprecedented agreement that would establish regionalized efficiency standards on 20 residential split system air conditioners and gas furnaces.

The agreement is intended to head off a Department of Energy rulemaking on these products set to be proposed later this year. The AHRI agreement establishes the basis for three regions along state lines.

# The first would be all states north of the 5,000 heating degree day (HDD) line with an unchanged split system air conditioning standard at 13 SEER and a higher gas furnace standard of 90% AFUE.
# A southeastern region with states east of New Mexico and south of the 5,000 HDD line would have a residential split system air conditioning standard of 14 SEER and gas furnace standard of 80% AFUE.
# A southwestern region consisting of California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico would also have a gas furnace standard of 80% AFUE, but would have multiple efficiency standards on split system air conditioners of 14 SEER, 12.2 EER on systems less than 45,000 Btu/h and 14 SEER, 11.7 EER on systems greater than 45,000 Btu/h and less than 65,000 Btu/h.

Last Updated on Monday, 21 September 2009 13:55

Many educational institutions including trade schools, junior colleges, and even online universities provide six month to two-year training programs for HVAC certification. While there are thousands of traditional colleges and universities that provide this training, online courses seem to be gaining popularity.

Online HVAC training provides the student with the ability to study at his or her own pace, and allows them to choose which HVAC classes they are going to take at which time. Online courses typically cost much less than traditional colleges, universities and trade schools as well.

Other advantages of pursuing an online HVAC education include the different types of support that online learning programs offer. There are typically forums, blogs and other means of communicating with others who are taking the same courses as well as instructors.

While studying HVAC, students take courses related to equipment design, temperature control, equipment construction, electronics and the basics of installation, and repair and maintenance. These courses can all be studied at home, although there may be a period of on the job training required for many employers, just to ensure that the student understands the basics.

 

Last Updated on Monday, 21 September 2009 13:55

As the owner of a very successful duct cleaning business as well as a seasoned technician I am often asked by our customers if we are qualified to clean their furnace/AC system and my response is this...

The cleaning that a duct cleaner can do on your furnace/AC only consists of cleaning the components that the air moves through, However, the law is very clear in this matter and states that Duct Cleaning companies may only clean these conveyance components while they remain in tact and they may never be removed or altered in any way whatsoever.

With that being said you should also note that a reputable Duct Cleaning company should be equipped with several unique cleaning tools that will enable them to a good job of cleaning the conveyance components while leaving them in place.

I feel it is my duty as a professional to inform homeowners that what a duct cleaner does on your HVAC system is no substitute for what a certified Heating/Air Conditioning Tech (HVAC Tech) will do on the system when it comes to doing a tune up and diagnostics

The law is very strict when it comes down to what a Duct Cleaner can and cannot do on an HVAC system

 

Last Updated on Monday, 21 September 2009 13:54

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set strict standards for regulating and monitoring a refrigerant leak. The Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocols were both created to establish similar environmental standards internationally. These regulations include protocols for repairing refrigerant leaks or disposing of systems within a certain timeframe.

Refrigerant gases are those used in climate control in commercial and business facilities such as warehouses, stores and office buildings. The refrigerants used in commercial heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) or regular air conditioning (AC) units include hydrofluorocarbons (HCFCs), chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) and perfluorocarbon (PFCs).

HCFCs are used instead of CFCs which are known to destroy the ozone layer of the upper atmosphere. HCFCs do not have any of the organic chemicals chlorine or bromine, but they still do have a possibility of causing ozone depletion. These refrigerant gases are not only considered Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) but many of them also have very high Global Warming Potential ratios which results in their detailed tracking, monitoring, and reporting related to their Global Warming effects.