DIRTY CEILINGS

By Dave Jones
Well, hey there everybody!  I’m a little bit late in writing this month’s exciting newsletter.  As I sit here, it’s the first day of SPRING!  Woo Hoo!  So, what goes along with spring?  Why, spring cleaning of course!  “So, Dave……What does that have to do with HVAC?” you’re thinking. Everybody is probably thinking were going to talk about duct cleaning.  But…. Nooooo.  The subject this month is actually a lot simpler: dirty ceilings.

You know you can always tell an HVAC guy – as soon as he walks into a store or restaurant, he starts looking up at the ceiling.  So, since we are ‘ceiling nerds’, we’ve all seen it: ceiling diffusers that are dirt-stained, and the dirt stains usually extend to the surrounding ceiling surface.  It’s ugly.  I don’t know about you, but I really hate to see it on a restaurant ceiling.

The first reaction from a non-hvac guy is “Wow, the filters need to be changed,” if they even notice at all.  Hopefully, those of us involved in HVAC business know that dirty or poorly functioning filters are not the only, or even the most common cause.  ASHRAE tests have shown that “smudging,” as we call the “deposition of dirt particles on the air outlet and surrounding surfaces,” is more likely to be generated from room activity rather than from dirty supply air.  The dirt gets stirred-up and suspended in the room air.  Then, it can be entrained (drawn) into the discharge of the ceiling diffuser. Additionally, ceiling diffusers with tumbling air patterns that contact the ceiling, similar to the Hart & Cooley #RENPS  

Perforated supply diffuser, or a linear slot diffuser like a Carrier #35BD, are more likely to generate smudging on the ceiling.  

Now, a register that blows the air angled away from the ceiling, like a Hart & Cooley #682 register, or a Shoemaker #HVD, will usually have a lot less staining of the ceiling.  

 

 

Dirt & dust can come from just about any source:  fuzz off of clothes, carpet fibers, durt off of peoples shoes, etc.  The amount of aerosol crud varies with the geography, season, weather, room furnishings, room construction, and activity.  Dust, carpet fibers, tobacco smoke, greasy fumes, lint, and pollen are common sources of ceiling stain crud.  The smallest particle sizes are the worst offenders.  Heavy foot traffic through a room will stir up the fine particles and keep them in suspended in the air. Most of the time, the crud particles are so small, you don’t even see them. Cooking, printing, and paper dust and are some more contributing activities to smudging.

One interesting example occurred in a new local food store near my home.  Dust from the coffee grinder produced an obvious brown blossom on the ceiling around the diffuser that was located above the grinder with nothing appearing on the more remote outlets, even though they were on the same air system.

How can we control (notice I didn’t say “eliminate”) smudging in susceptible areas?  A combination of keeping the air filters clean, frequent mopping and vacuuming of floors, and room air cleaners can all help.  But these ideas may not always be practical.  A careful selection and mounting of air diffusers will minimize dirt smudging, but recognize that we are addressing the symptoms, not the problem.
 

 

A ceiling diffuser with a beveled or stepdown margin like a Hart & Cooley #SRS, or a Shoemaker #100,  will help deflect the air in a slightly downward angle, keeping the air from contact with the ceiling and, hopefully, reduce the amount of dirty crud on the ceiling.
 

Another potential solution is to use a ‘panel’ style diffuser, similar to a Shoemaker #700DVD, or a Hart & Cooley #ART.  This style of diffuser still has some crud build-up.  But, the crud is easier to clean off since it’s on the metal panel and not on the rough ceiling surface.

 

 

 

 

 

What we are trying to do is prevent the entrained room air that suspends the dirt particles from reaching the ceiling surface where the forces of electrostatics, vapor pressure, direct impingement, and temperature difference cause the dirt to stick.  The (relatively) high velocity of the supply air stream creates a localized lower pressure that the room air-suspended dirt will want to flow toward.  As my wife likes to say, “Nature abhors a vacuum” (which she learned from me).  That’s another way of stating that air will flow from a region of high pressure to one at a lower pressure.  Keeping this supply jet off the ceiling surface can help reduce staining.

Compressor Failures

Typically, compressors die because something in the air conditioning or refrigeration system changes, which affects the compressor performance. For example, liquid slugging is a common cause of compressor failure, but the compressor doesn't cause this phenomenon. Motor burnout, another cause of premature death in a compressor, is also often caused by external factors. Therefore, when a technician replaces a compressor in the field, he must determine the root cause of the compressor failure. Too many times the root cause is not determined and the service replacement compressor will be doomed to death as well.

It is very important to determine and correct the cause of the failure. By using basic measurements of pressures, temperatures, amperage, etc. you will be able to pin point the issues and have an efficient reliable system.

Stay Away from Foil-Faced Bubble Wrap

This R-1 product can be used to make Halloween costumes, but should never be used as insulation

Posted on Mar 21 2014 by Martin Holladay, GBA Advisor

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/stay-away-foil-faced-bubble-wrap

Its R-value is dismally low.

Most brands of foil-faced bubble wrap are only 3/8 inch thick or less, and have an R-value of only 1.0 or 1.1. Since the product often costs more per square foot than 1-inch thick rigid foam rated at R-5, why would anyone use bubble wrap as insulation?
The R-value of foil-faced bubble wrap is so low that it has few, if any, advantages over rigid foam. Of course, the product’s foil facing can be used as a radiant barrier — but if you want a radiant barrier, cheaper products are available. (The bubble wrap layer is unnecessary, since it adds cost to the material without adding any useful thermal performance.)

Exaggerated R-value claims

Since the main benefit from foil-faced bubble wrap is due to its radiant-barrier facing, the product is basically worthless unless it faces an air space. A decade ago, when I was the editor of Energy Design Update, I noticed that many manufacturers of foil-faced bubble wrap were promoting their products for use under concrete slabs on grade. In this application, the shiny foil is clearly not facing an air space, so the exaggerated R-value claims made by bubble-wrap manufacturers were particularly outrageous. My article exposing the bubble-wrap scammers appeared in the September 2003 issue of EDU.
In that article, I reported that one manufacturer, WE International, made absurd claims about a thin (5/16-inch) product called Concrete Barrier rFoil. The manufacturer’s website boasted, “Concrete Barrier can serve three purposes underneath concrete: R-10 insulation, a vapor barrier and a radon barrier. … How does it compare to 2-inch foam board? It works just as well.”
Similarly, Insulation Solutions, the manufacturer of a 3/8-inch thick product called Insul-Tarp, claimed that the flexible tarp has an “R-value equivalent” rating of R-5 to R-10.
After these lies were publicized, three manufacturers wrote letters to EDU apologizing for the “oversights” and “typographical errors” that appeared on their websites.

Blurring the line between product R-values and assembly R-values

Many of the manufacturers and distributors that publish exaggerated R-values deliberately blur the bright legal line that separates product R-values from assembly R-values.
According to federal law, the R-value of an insulation product — for example, a piece of 1-inch thick polyisocyanurate — is the R-value of the insulation alone. That’s the R-value which insulation manufacturers are required to report on their packaging and in their advertising; the requirement is spelled out in the Federal R-Value Rule, a law that applies to manufacturers, retailers, and builders.
The R-value of a building assembly is something different. For example, if you build a wall with a layer of interior polyisocyanurate, followed by horizontal 1x4 strapping and drywall, the air space between the polyiso and the drywall has a measurable R-value. If you want to calculate the R-value of the entire wall assembly, you would need to calculate the R-value of the air space and add that R-value to the R-value of all the other layers. Once you’ve done that, you’ll know your wall assembly R-value.
Here’s the key point: polyiso manufacturers can’t claim the R-value of an air space in their labeling or advertising (unless the advertising makes a very clear distinction between the product R-value and the R-value of a hypothetical building assembly).

Product distributors are violating federal law

Fortunately, most (but not all) manufacturers of foil-faced bubble wrap have removed the blatant lies from their websites. Instead, manufacturers tempt the unwary with vague promises; for example, they claim that their bubble wrap “has a high R-value” or that it “resists the transfer of heat.”
The scoff-law websites with the greatest number of lies about foil-faced bubble wrap are those maintained by distributors — including a few large corporations like Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and Amazon — rather than those maintained by manufacturers.
For example, Amazon claims that a type of foil-faced bubble wrap product manufactured by EcoFoil (“HVAC Duct Wrap Insulation”) has an R-value of R-8. But a careful reading of the manufacturer’s technical data sheet and the referenced ICC-ES Evaluation Report reveals that the R-8 value claim is based on an assembly that includes the R-value of a 2-inch air space.
Similarly, Ace Hardware is advertising Reflectix, an R-1 foil-faced bubble wrap product, with a blurb that claims that the product has “R-values ranging from R-3.7 to R-21.”
That’s a little like Starbucks saying that a cup of coffee is a satisfying meal — as long as you remember to accompany the coffee with a 12-inch submarine sandwich (not included).

Yes, a few manufacturers are still lying

Although the major manufacturers of foil-faced bubble wrap have (almost) cleaned up their act, there are still a few bad apples out there.
One bad apple is EcoFoil (a.k.a. rFoil, a.k.a. Covertech Fabricating). The EcoFoil website shamelessly describes the company’s duct wrap as an R-8 product, even though the R-8 claim is based on an assembly that includes an adjacent air space. The company also claims that “EcoFoil [foil-faced bubble wrap] under concrete insulation is superior to traditional, outdated forms of concrete floor insulation such as polystyrene or foam sheets.” This statement is false.
Elsewhere, EcoFoil claims that its 5/16-inch-thick bubble wrap product, which is called “Under Concrete Insulation,” has an R-value of R-3.8. It does not.
Another bad apple is Insulation4less, which retails a thin product called Prodex Total. On its website, the company states, “Prodex Total has a nominal thickness of 5 mm (13/64 inch) closed cell polyethylene foam covered on both sides with .0012 (00.03 mm) aluminum foil facing. ... R-value R-16 unaffected by humidity.”
Prodex may be unaffected by humidity — but it is seriously affected by gross exaggeration.
These are not examples of victimless crimes; there are victims. One victim is a blogger who reports using this sub-slab assembly: “In basement, install Insul-Tarp over crushed rock, single layer of wire mesh, and Wirsbro [hydronic] tubing, pour concrete (pump hose will go through stairwell hole).”
Unfortunately, Insul-Tarp has an R-value of R-2 or less. For years, however, the manufacturer of Insul-Tarp claimed that the product was rated at R-7 or more. The blogger who specified Insul-Tarp believed the false claims, which is why he wrote, “This is what the Insul-Tarp looks like. The exterior is some kind of tough fabric, then there are two layers of thin white foam, then a layer of bubble wrap. Hard to believe this can be equivalent of 2 inches of styrofoam.”
Indeed, it is hard to believe — so hard, in fact, that the Federal Trade Commission initiated court action that forced Meyer Enterprises, the manufacturer of Insul-Tarp, to stop making false claims. According to the FTC complaint, Meyer Enterprises “claimed Insul-Tarp’s R-value is 7.54, but in reality Insul-Tarp’s R-value could not be more than 2.”

Duct insulation scams

These days, most of the remaining confusion about foil-faced bubble wrap concerns duct insulation. As building codes ratchet up — many jurisdictions now require ducts to include R-8 insulation — manufacturers of bubble wrap have switched tactics. Instead of marketing their bubble wrap to concrete contractors, an increasing number of manufacturers are marketing bubble wrap to HVAC contractors as an easy-to-install duct insulation.
Online ads for “R-8 bubble wrap” lure unwary contractors into the marketers' net. Claims that bubble wrap can achieve R-4, R-6, or R-8 when used as duct insulation are based on a rarely attempted installation technique that requires contractors to install a series of spacers to maintain a consistent air space between the duct and the bubble wrap. This type of insulation is fussy and is unlikely to be durable. The manufacturers hardly care whether the assembly works, however, since they are basing their sales on obfuscations and contractors’ misunderstandings.
Few contractors bother to learn about the difference between product R-values and assembly R-values. A classic example of what’s going on at job sites around the country was described in a Q&A thread here at GBA: “Reflectix is still claiming R-4.2 for its bubble wrap, and my HVAC guy is hooked.”



The only remedy to these misunderstandings is the drumbeat of education. To stop these scams, energy experts need to educate building inspectors as well as contractors.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/stay-away-foil-faced-bubble-wrap

The HVAC Business Doctor^®: Your P&L Statement

With One Quick Look,
You Can Diagnose Problems
with Labor, Materials & Pricing

Watch a quick video at http://www.gotempstar.com/go/index.asp?id=1913

By Wayne AtkinsThe HVAC Business Doctor^® 

How often do you look at your Profit & Loss statement? Do you know what to look for? Here's an easy idea to help you make a quick diagnosis of your company's health.

First, what do you sell? You sell two items--labor and materials. You sell them on two types of jobs--installation jobs and service jobs.

Start with cost of materials on installation jobs. To see how you're doing with the cost of materials, add up all of the equipment and materials you use on installation jobs. Divide that number by your total installation sales.

Full lines contractor (both residential new construction and retrofit jobs): Your business is in good health if your cost of materials is around 35 to 40 percent, maybe up to 45 percent.

Retrofit contractor: Your cost of materials should be slightly higher--40 to 45 percent, maybe as high as 50 percent.

Next, look at your labor cost on installation jobs. Take the total cost of installation labor and divide it by total installation sales.

Full lines contractor: Your labor cost should be 15 to 20 percent.

Retrofit contractor: Your labor should be less than 15 percent.

If one of your percentages is too high:

• You're not estimating enough time for your installers,
• Your installers are not producing enough, or
• You aren't pricing your jobs high enough.
  

Now, examine your costs on service jobs.

First, service materials. Add up all of your service materials, including parts and accessories, and divide them by total service sales. Your materials cost should be 15 to 20 percent.

• If your number is lower than 15 percent: Your technicians aren't selling enough parts and accessories.
• If your cost is higher than 20 percent: It could mean that your technicians aren't billing for all the parts they use.

Finally, service labor. If you use a flat rate system, your cost of labor should be 25 percent or less. If you use a time and materials system, your labor cost should be 35 percent or more.

So, how's your business doing on labor and materials? Are you making enough money? It only takes a couple of minutes to find out.

Remember, you can't fix a problem if you don't know you have one.

---

About Wayne Atkins:Wayne has worked with thousands of HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical contractors throughout the United States to help them develop more profitable businesses. He  has accumulated over 25 years of experience. Since 1993 Wayne has worked independently with contractors both as a consultant and as a group trainer. Wayne’s expertise includes: Financial Management, P&L Statement review, Cash Flow Management, Credit & Collections, Budgeting and Planning, a custom Installation Net Profit Pricing System, Residential and Commercial Marketing, Residential Sales, Organization Planning, Installation Production Management and all aspects of Service Departments.

http://www.gotempstar.com/go/index.asp?id=1913

You Say You Want A Revolution?

By Butch Welsch

Simple Thermostats Are Morphing in Ways We Never Imagined
The cooling season has begun and contractors across the nation are gearing up for what mete-Orologists predict is going to be a hot summer. Temperature gains will depend widely on the region of the country a contractor does business in, but according to sources like The Weather Channel and The Farmers’ Almanac, there should be plenty of a/c demand to go around.

The Thermostat Revolution
If you haven’t noticed, there is a revolution going on in our industry.This revolution has to do with that little device that hangs on the wall that used to be called a thermostat.For those old-timers like me, that device was typically round and it did one of three things; it turned on the furnace, turned on the air conditioner, and/or turned on the blower.They were simple to operate, as they say even a child could do it. Then came the programmable thermostat, which allowed the homeowner to set the temperatures in his home based on his lifestyle. As an aside, we have avoided selling programmable thermostats to customers unless they specifically requested them. The reason is that we found that those not familiar with the programmable stat, more often than not, would require an extra service call because the programming was off cycle. But all of that was before the thermostat revolution came to be.

Now, as you can see just from looking through the pages of this publication, we have devices on the wall that do much more than just the relatively simple things that the old stats did. We have devices that will allow us to operate our furnaces and air conditioners from our phones, regardless of where we are located.On a personal note, I am not able to utilize this function because, while I could undoubtedly save some operating costs by adjusting our home stat from my office, the divorce costs would far exceed any savings.

Technical Technology
Some current stats have methods of communicating with the furnace and air conditioner to provide information regarding possible service issues while others can adjust to outdoor temperatures and humidity, and cycle the equipment as necessary to provide, in theory, the maximum amount of comfort.
The features provided by these new devices definitely can provide some positive benefits to the homeowner who properly utilizes them.And, of course, using them properly is not necessarily a given. How many of us really use all of the functions provided by our new cell phones? While it’s likely that some homeowners will use many of the features available on these devices, after the newness has worn off, I suspect many will just utilize them to control the equipment for which they were intended.

None of the above really addresses the revolution that is coming. It appears that in the near future, the device we used to call a thermostat will be designed to provide control of all or nearly all of the electrical components in the home. It doesn't take too much imagination for us to see a device that will control the HVAC equipment, allow programming of televisions and DVRs, control all of the Lights in the home, set the security system, and probably dozens of other things that I’m not creative enough to imagine. It is entirely possible that this device and system will be connected into the home computer system in some manner to allow even more functions to be performed. Certainly as a precursor to this thought is the startling purchase of the Nest Thermostat by Google. Something is definitely in the works tying these components
together. One manufacturer has indicated that they are concerned that the security industry will also get involved in selling some type of device. That manufacturer feels there is going to be a real battle to see who — that is, whose device — is going to control the home.

Equip Your Troops
I believe it is clear that we are just at the beginning of this revolution, and it is likely that the changes and improvements in these devices are going to be released nearly as frequently as new cell phones enter the market. There is both a challenge and an opportunity for us as contractors in this revolution. Obviously, the opportunity provides us with the chance to sell a higher margin piece of equipment to hopefully improve our bottom lines. The challenges are several. First, we have to make sure that our technicians are trained in the operation of these new devices. This will require constant training as the devices are upgraded. The other challenge is that we need to make sure that we, as HVAC contractors, are the ones providing the device and, therefore, controlling the home.

The thermostat revolution is certainly here, and we aren't going to stop it. We just need to make sure we are at the forefront of utilizing this new opportunity and that we conquer the challenges it presents.

http://digital.bnpmedia.com/article/You_Say_You_Want_A_Revolution%3F/1659567/201...

HVAC Industry Trends and Arzel’s Response to Them

Posted by Brittany Yeager on Mar 05, 2014 @ 03:17 PM

Like every other industry and business concept, the HVAC industry has its ebbs, its flows, and its trends. In the past year or so, a couple different trends have floated to top of the list:

1)      The Green Initiative

I can already hear the groans pouring forth. Aren’t we done with “going green?” Hasn’t that been run into the ground yet? Yes and no. While the terms are more worn out than five-year-old socks that have been converted into wash rags for your car, the concept still stands solid. I don’t think any of us would say we are tired of making this planet a healthier and cleaner place for ourselves and future generations; and the HVAC industry has found out that they can do their part as well.

Arzel’s answer: the Evergreen system. It uses 30-50% less electricity than PSC motors. This makes for clean comfort as well as happy homeowners when they get those lower utility bills.

2) User-Friendly Technology

Everyone today is driven by the latest gadgets and gizmos, but they still want it to be easy to use. What good is technology if we can’t figure out how to use it? That kind of defeats the purpose, right? The same concept applies to home heating and cooling systems. A homeowner doesn’t want to have to call his or her contractor in the fear of messing something up every single time he or she wants to change the temperature settings in the home. What homeowners want is a system where they can walk over to the thermostat, push that little button, and get exactly what they were trying to get.

Arzel’s answer: any of our systems. All of the Arzel zoning systems are compatible with whatever thermostat the homeowner is comfortable with, so they can make their home as high-tech or low-tech as they would like.

http://www.arzelzoning.com/blog/hvac-industry-trends-and-arzels-response-to-them 

Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps

Panasonic: Your Best Choice in Ductless Split Air Conditioning and Heat Pump Systems

Panasonic's Ductless Split Air Conditioner and Heat Pump products offer a wide range of versatile solutions for cooling and heating requirements for single or multiple rooms.

The Indoor unit (evaporator) is mounted inside the room. Enclosed in a handsome space saving cabinet, it is connected to the outdoor unit (condenser) via refrigerant lines and inter-unit wiring through a 3-1/2" opening in the wall. Since no ductwork is required, installation is simple, fast and efficient.

The indoor unit has been uniquely designed to provide whisper quiet operation while delivering comfort throughout the room(s).

Panasonic Ductless Split Systems bring together sleek styling in wall, duct or ceiling mounted systems, with whisper-quiet operations, quality and reliability you can count on.

Since the launch of Ductless Split in 1983, after 30 years of renovation and experience, Panasonic is adding new Deluxe Wall Mount "EXTERIOS" series, the most highly efficient in the ductless industry, in the product lineup. Again, Panasonic is moving forward, leaving the others behind.

THE AEROPAK

TSI is selling the AeroPak Thru-The-Wall (Modular) Package Units.

The AeroPak modular design will allso the equipment to be upgraded for future energy standard, without the need for complete equipmnet replacement.  The AeroPak™ series units are a compact Thru-The-Wall heating and cooling unit. The AeroPak allows each tenant or condo owner to have complete control of their comfort needs. 

Engineers or Architects that specify the AeroPak know they are selecting a product with the highest performance, rigidity and reliability, without sacrificing the property appearance or budgets.

The AeroPak can be specified in 3 combinations:

1. APG-Series Gas Heating / Electric Cooling
2. APE-Series Electric Heating / Electric Cooling
3. APH-Series Heat Pump

Features:

• 9.0 EER Cooling Efficiency or Higher
• Completely Self-Contained Heating & Cooling Package
• No Outside Condensing Units
• No External Refrigerant Lines
• No Separate Cooling Coil
• No Separate Venting System
• Pre Wired & Pre Charged
• Individually Metered & Controlled
• Easy Service Access
• Internal Vent System (Direct Vent)

Refrigerant System:

• R410A Refrigerant
• High Efficiency Compressor
• Advanced Coil Design

Heat Exchanger:

• Standard Aluminized Nickel / Titanium Enhanced Steel Heat Exchanger (APG Series)
• 5 Kw / 7.5 Kw / 10 Kw / 15 Kw Electric Heaters (APE / APH Series)
• Field Switchable (Slide Out) Heat Options (All AP-Series)

Cabinet:

• Fully Insulated Cabinet for Quiet Operation
• 20 Gauge Metal For Durability
• Powder Coated Panels For Superior Corrosion Protection
• Heavy Gauge Stainless Steel Condensate Pan & Fitting
• CNC Punched Safety Screen With Powder Coat
• Corrosive Resistant Hardware

Blower:

• Energy Efficient Motors
• Over Sized Direct Drive Blower For Quiet Operation

Controls:

• Color Coded Wire For Easy Service
• High / Low Pressure Switches
• Fuse Protected On 24V Circuit

Installation:

• Easy To Install And Service
• Louver Mounts Flush To The Outside Wall
• Slide-Out Cooling Chassis

http://www.aerosysinc.com/aeropak.php