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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-05-17, Page 27THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1989. PAGE 27. Home heating technician answers questions BY R. FORD McLEAN HOME HEATING TECHNICIAN WISE ENERGY CENTRE, CLINTON “The operating pitch diameters of the motor and fan pulleys do not produce the required RPM, which in turn reduces your CFM.” [“Par­ don me?”] Is this the way you feel, after having a problem with your fur­ nace, or after a hot summer’s day when your air conditioner won’t keep you cool? I can understand your frustra­ tion. I will try in this short article to answer some of the questions you may have about heating or cooling. Where to start ... how about at the beginning? We require some place to contain the heat, or the removal of heat (called cooling) a house, etc. Walls, ceilings and floors, if properly insulated, will control the loss of heat. Sometimes we think if we add some more Canada Pink to the ceiling we will solve the problem. This is not always so. A ceiling, in this area of 43° North Latitude, will lose 41.9 BTU’s (a unit of measure­ ment for heating and cooling) per square foot per hour. By adding three and a half inches of fiberglass batt we reduce that loss to 6.2 BTU/H. And at six inches or R-19 we lose 3.7 BTU/H and at 10 inches or R-30 we only lose 2.3 BTU/H. Insulation is very important, but sometimes we put it in the wrong places. For example, a basement wall above the ground level with no insulation will lose 35.7 BTU/H per square foot. By placing one inch only, of polystrene from the floor to one foot below ground level we reduce the loss to 10.1 BTU/H, a good investment when heating or cooling. Each area of the house will lose or gain heat depending on insula­ tion, type of walls, and type and direction of windows or doors. Do you have a basement? Are your heating ducts run through an unconditioned crawl space or over a garage? To find out what amount of heat you are losing or gaining, it is best to have a heat loss/gain done on your house to be able to decide what heating or cooling require­ ment your property has. At this point you can then make some intelligent decisions regarding your heating/cooling requirements. “Is my furnace large enough for my house?” My fuel bills are too high. A number of years ago, when fuel was relatively inexpensive, the industry felt that if big was good, bigger was better. Not so. Once you have a heat/loss gain done on your house, your heating/ cooling equipment should be matched as closely as possible to that size. If it is too small, it will run loo Dianne Dobie ELITE DOMESTIC SERVICES Residential & Commercial Cleaning - weekly maid service - spring cleaning - window washing - house sitting FULLY BONDED & INSURED 524-5170 "Satisfaction Guaranteed" long, and burning too much fuel while trying to heat or cool the property. This is not only expensive from a fuel cost but also shortens the life of the equipment. If it is too large, it will heat or cool the property too quickly caus­ ing other problems. A furnace which is too large will heat to the height of the thermostat without heating all the air to that same temperature. When the thormostat is satisfied it shuts the furnace off, Because the furnace was itself very hot, most of this heat is then lost to the house up the chimney or through other areas. The air which was not heated sufficiently settles around the thermostat, lighting the furnace again, causing the problem to re-occur. In the case of cooling with equipment too large, we cool the air quickly but do not remove the humidity. Because the air is full of moisture we are still uncomfort­ able. The ideal equipment will pro­ duce slightly more heat than we are losing as economically as possible, and in the case of cooling, remove the heat and moisture to allow us to be comfortable. “My furnace can’t be large enough because it blows cold air on This is a common complaint. The furnaces we use today tend to produce heat slowly - for the reasons mentioned above. They also generally have larger fan motors, which move more air ( we need more air movement for cool­ ing) and may, as well, be operating at higher speeds. Many furnace manufacturers are supplying fan motors with two, three and even four speeds. Be­ cause we do not produce as much heat as quickly, and because the motors on our fans are larger and moving faster, the air coming from the vent feels cool. It does not produce the blast of hot air we are used to. We may also be running our fan motors continuously. This means that the fan is running even when the furnace isn’t. If the fan is running on a slower speed for continuous operation, your heating and cooling bills will probably be lower. The reason for this is because hot or cool air will not be sitting in one location (hot at ceiling, cool near floor) but will be used by being moved and mixed with other air. This will allow your heating or cooling equipment to run less frequently. What is the solution? Some­ times, all we do or need to do is move that easy chair slightly so that the air does not blow on us. Slowing the speed of the fan may also help. Heating and cooling equipment is, with a heat loss/gain, designed to keep your house comfortable for you. It is recommended for heating that we keep our thermostats near 68°F. up to 72°F., and with cooling between 75°F. and 70°F., no lower. If we are in and out of the house the thermostat should be set at approximately 10°F. below the outside temperature. We will then be comfortable when inside but not suffer that great blast of heat and moisture when we go outside. “I have just remodelled my house”, or “I have a new home and now have moisture problems in my basement in the summer and winter, and around my windows in the winter.” To prevent moisture from leav­ ing the house and getting into our insulation, and causing its effec­ tiveness to be reduced (wet insula­ tion does not insulate), we have been improving our vapor barrier. This is a layer of plastic sealed between the drywall, etc. and the insulation. This vapor barrier is sealed around doors, windows, electrical outlets, etc. It keeps the moisture in the house. It is kind of like living in a plastic bag. This may also cause other pro­ blems such as unpleasant odors from bathrooms, kitchens, bed­ rooms or areas where moisture is allowed to accumulate inside the house. To solve this odor problem, we must remove the unpleasant odors and bring in fresh air without losing the heat or cool we have already produced at an expense. To solve the problem of the moisture, we must move this moisture-laden air away from where it is causing the problem, remove the moisture and bring in dryer air. Air at a given tempera­ ture will hold a specific amount of moisture. This is called relative humidity. When the air is as full of moisture as it can get, we are said to have 100 per cent relative, humidity. As the temperature drops or the air gets cooler, as it does in your basement in the summer and winter or around your windows in the winter the air will not hold as much moisture and is condensed or squeezed out onto these colder surfaces. Moisture, as we know, causes problems with wood and other materials. Bacteria grows in moist areas. “We have mildew and odors, etc.’’ This problem sometimes seems to be exaggerated without a duct system for moving air, as we have with baseboard or radiant heat. The problem may be solved by bringing in a small amount of cold, dry air from outside in the winter, heating it in our furnace and allowing it to absorb this excess moisture. The solutions may require more expensive measures such as an air movement system, ductwork and/or a mechanical heat exchange ventilation system. “I am warm enough with my present system but my heating bills are too high”. Your heating system may be too large or you may be able to use a less expensive heating fuel. You may also be able to upgrade your present furnace to add a small amount of additional heating where it is needed, upgrade the delivery method, install a more efficient furnace or change to more econo­ mical fuel. One or more of these may be the solution to your problem. There are a number of heating and cooling systems which are readily available on the market. For heating, your options vary. Base­ board heaters, which can be sup­ plied in the right sizes for indivi­ dual rooms, are relatively inexpen­ sive to install if you have sufficient amperage. You can heat individual rooms or areas with them. They also have separate thermostats so that you may have different tem­ peratures in different areas. They are relatively expensive to operate. They give very little or no air movement. They don’t require a duct system so do not lend them­ selves to a central air conditioning system. An electric furnace with duct work is again relatively inexpensive to install if you have the amperage. I Got a Tree You Can Lean on I TREE mendous The Tree Mover John Gibson IbIuJj RR2 Seaforth C ^27---------------------------------nok iwomendous bus-: 519-233-3300 Res.: 519-357-2782 The Tree Mover 9 Years Experience TREES •BOUGHT •SOLD •TRANSPLANTED Hundreds of trees of various species to choose from Call the Tree Mover Today... They are fairly expensive to oper ate but very clean. Because of th' duct work they will accept a centra air system. Propane can be burned in a ga furnace by changing the nozzle, standard gas, a mid-efficient gas both requiring chimneys, or a hig efficiency gas furnace, not requir ing a chimney may be used. The most expensive method ol heating your home at present ir this area is a standard furnace with propane. This can be reduced considerably when a high efficienc' furnace is installed. The higher th< efficiency the greater the cost ol purchase. These units, because o the duct work, will also accep central air. There are two types of oil furnaces. The standard and th< high efficiency, or Riello type burner. To heat a home with oil generally costs slightly less than electricity. Wood furnaces are also available and they may be used in conjunc­ tion with other types of fuel; for example, a wood/oil combination furnace. These will also accept central air but special care must be exercised if it is to be used. Continued on page 28 They have thousands of successful transplants to their credit