Copper coils in some a/c units are corroding and the HVAC industry is on alert. The definitive cause is still being researched, but preliminary findings are pointing to sulfur-containing drywall manufactured overseas. According to the Associated Press, “Up to 65,000 homes in the Southeast and California, including 30,000 in Florida, could contain sulfur-emitting Chinese drywall.”
Despite a slow economy contributing to “declining demand” for R-22, there are still expected to be “some shortages” of the refrigerant as early as 2010. And there is the possibility of “more aggressive climate legislation” even as the HVACR industry moves to get HFCs regulated separately and perhaps less severely.
What are you going to do with all those R-22 units you’ve been installing and servicing? Those units could last for years to come. Well, the industry has come up with a number of refrigerants their manufacturers say can be retrofitted into existing R-22 systems.
Based on EPA estimates, the projected servicing needs in the United States for the air conditioning and refrigeration sector will face an imminent shortfall if the recycle and reclaim rate does not increase to 20 percent. Industry estimates for 2007 point to a reclaim rate of only 5-7 percent.
The biggest key in identifying the energy savings opportunity of variable-speed drives in HVAC systems is to understand the operating cycle of the system versus the heating and cooling needs actually required. Most HVAC systems are designed to keep the building cool on the very hottest days and warm on the very coldest days.
An extremely positive outcome of successful joint labor-management relationship is the impetus of the HVACR Service Technicians Training Center (STTC), located within the confines of the Headquarters of Enterprise Association of Steamfitters Local 638.
The trend towards quality control in HVAC installations might be opening up a new opportunity associated with the market, on both the residential side and the commercial-industrial side: the inspection professional.
Just when you thought our efficiency mandates were secure, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 would gut the federal preemption provisions, effectively allowing “any jurisdiction in the nation to enact its own energy policy through the use of prescriptive building codes,” said Stephen Yurek, president of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).
Are the rooftop units you install, service, and/or maintain ready for the summer? There isn’t a lot of work involved in the actual switching over of a rooftop unit from winter to summer use, but the units still call for attention.
It’s a hospital facility engineer’s nightmare: All the patient rooms and many key surgical suites of a health care building are served by a single vaneaxial fan. It was estimated it could take a week or more to remove and replace the unit in the event of a motor failure. What happened next is a blueprint for vastly improving airside plant reliability, while keeping the required air handler in service.
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