The Best of Extra Edition: Feb. 16, 2015
The NEWS’ Extra Edition page is home to hundreds of online-exclusive service and maintenance, technical, and business-management articles. Here are some of the best.
Alternatives for Dehumidification in Commercial Buildings
Controlling humidity in commercial buildings used to be a difficult undertaking that was best accomplished by overcooling the supply air to increase moisture removal, then reheating the overcooled air to the desired temperature. This was a huge waste of energy. While gas desiccant systems were a viable alternative, they were relatively costly. The advent in recent years of alternative dehumidification technologies has made the dehumidification process far more energy efficient and affordable.
Energy Efficiency Pays
Getting the most efficiency for the least cost requires careful attention throughout the design and construction process. Most energy-efficient homes have dozens of little improvements that individually add little to construction costs, yet, together, yield big savings. Many energy features offer additional benefits, such as increased comfort, reduced noise, greater fire safety, and improved building durability. Energy-efficient homes also have less condensation, which protects framing, windows, and finish materials.
Determining Airflow Using a Voltmeter and Ammeter
Measuring airflow has always been one of the more difficult and time-consuming tasks a service person does. In fact, it is not generally done because it is too time-consuming, requires special tools, and is not always so easy to do. In addition, airflow measurement is not usually taught to service people unless they are going to specialize in air balancing. Nevertheless, knowing the airflow in cfm can be useful to troubleshooters.
Btu Buddy 16: Troubleshooting a Water-cooled Condenser
The dispatcher has notified Bob that a motel owner called and said the 50-ton chiller serving his motel is shutting off and the high-pressure control must be reset to get it to run again. Then, it will only run for a short while and shut off again. Bob arrived at the job with some doubt in his mind because it’s a strange job to him and he’s never worked on a water-cooled unit. Since it is shutting down because of high pressure, he knows he should check the part of the system that rejects heat — the cooling tower.
Publication date: 2/16/2015
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