Join us for a pancake breakfast on Tuesday the 25th while we have the oil changed in your vacuum pump. All for free and only at Winair. See the picture below for more details. Please RSVP to Martha so we can make sure to have you a pancake on the griddle!
Reprinted from The Air Conditioning / Heating / Refrigeration NEWS. July 11, 2011
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears to be aggressively auditing the refrigerant record keeping of HVACR contractors in the South.
The NEWS has been receiving reports of the effort in Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi, although it is unclear as to how many contractors are being audited.
One distributor from that region did say that he has received “numerous calls” in recent weeks from contractors who have been visited by the EPA. Another distributor from that region said contractor customers have told him they are being audited by the EPA and need to produce records of their refrigerant recovery/reclaim activities.
There were also indications that some distributors have also been visited and counter sales people were asked about the supply house reclaim program.
When contacted by The NEWS, the EPA would only say that it “cannot discuss ongoing cases, but continues to perform inspections, respond to tips, and take enforcement action as resources allow.”
The recent record keeping audits by the EPA are the most significant actions by the federal agency within the HVACR industry since 2004 when the EPA moved against the Dominick’s supermarket chain for illegal venting of HCFC-22. That resulted in an $85,000 fine and the shuttering of three stores and major overhaul of three others.
But the most recent actions are focused on contractors rather than an end user and deal with record keeping rather than venting.
It is unclear if the EPA will eventually issue a formal statement regarding the ongoing audits as it did with the Dominick’s case. The fine and resolution in the supermarket sector led to the EPA and the Food Marketing Institute proactively launching the GreenChill initiative, which encourages environmental and efficiency improvements within stores and accords recognition for those efforts.
Like the issue of venting, the record keeping falls under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act.
According to a portion of record keeping requirements:
“Technicians servicing appliances that contain 50 or more pounds of refrigerant must provide the owner with an invoice that indicates the amount of refrigerant added to the appliance. Technicians must also keep a copy of their proof of certification at their place of business.
“Owners or operators of appliances that contain 50 or more pounds of refrigerant must keep servicing records documenting the date and type of service, as well as the quantity of refrigerant added.”
Publication date: 07/11/2011
The following information is taken from Tech Talk TT-15 dated May 2005, which was written by Dave Fetters and edited by Keith Page. The information is still valuable today and worth repeating. This and other archive issues of Tech Talk contain useful and easy-to-understand technical knowledge, and can be found on the Hart & Cooley web site.
Each year during the summer season, we receive calls about moisture forming on the faces of our T-bar diffusers or on adjacent T-bars and dripping into the space below. In the industry this is commonly called “sweating.” Moisture that drips into an occupied space is annoying, and will eventually cause rust to form on steel diffuser faces and adjacent T-bars. Sweating occurs more in southern states that border the coasts or in parts of the country that experience high humidity levels as a regular occurrence. Business activities that rely on people coming and going, like fast-food restaurants, seem to be the most susceptible. The doors are regularly opened, allowing the hot, humid outside air to sneak in. This begs for the air-conditioning system to run longer and colder, trying to maintain a reasonable inside temperature. Sweating occurs on diffusers when warm, moist room air contacts the cold diffuser face through aspiration (drawn by suction) and the supply air temperature is at or below the dew point temperature. Dew point is the temperature at which condensation (moisture formation) begins to take place. Most of us have walked outdoors on a warm and humid summer day carrying a cold drink. It doesn’t take long before the outside of the glass becomes wet. Moisture is condensing from the air onto the colder surface of the glass. The same thing is happening at the ceiling diffuser. Moisture can also form on the cold back panel of a T-bar diffuser if the temperature in the ceiling space is hot and humid. This moisture often runs down to the T-bar edges and drips from there. This can be minimized or prevented by using our insulated-backed models, such as the FPD3-R6. In an HVAC system, the occurrence of sweating on a diffuser or T-bar is the symptom of a system problem. Removing a rusty, dripping diffuser and replacing it with an aluminum model will not make the problem go away. The aluminum diffuser will sweat; it just won’t rust. The problem is that the supply air temperature is lower than it should be for the current conditions of temperature and humidity. Banks and similar public buildings are other examples of spaces where sweating occurs because of the high volume of walk- n traffic and the number of times the door opens, letting in hot, humid outside air. What can be done to minimize sweating in an existing system? One of the keys is to decrease the temperature difference between the room air and the supply air. Doing this while still meeting the load requirements demands an increase in CFM on the appliance. If the air- conditioning unit is cycling, switch to constant running. Look for restricted return airflow because of undersized returns or dirty filters. Are the coils clean? If the unit is shut down at night, consider running at partial load to prevent high humidity and room temperatures at start-up in the morning. Is there excess outside air mixing with the return air? We don’t claim to be experts in system troubleshooting and problem solving; therefore, we recommend seeking guidance from a qualified HVAC contractor to solve a sweating problem. We address the issue because the sweating displays itself first on our diffusers, giving a false impression that the diffuser is at fault, when in reality any piece of metal (or plastic!!) put in place there will sweat.
Wonder why the Omni Solar Vent™ looks different than any other Solar powered attic vent? Well, it is by design. Our highly trained engineers created a unique design that is not only functional but one that looks good on the roof. It’s design makes it impossible for birds or other pests to get into the attic through our vent. More importantly, it directs hot air and moisture away from your roof deck.
This is from South Carolina but laws like this might be coming our way.
New law targets metal sales | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC – News, Sports, Entertainment.
BY DAVID MACDOUGALL
Friday, August 12, 2011A state law that takes effect next week will make it illegal to transport, sell or buy scrap metal without a permit.
“Copper thefts have plagued the state of South Carolina and all other states for a long time,” Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said as he announced the new requirements.
“I am hopeful this will put some pressure on, and help us to identify, the bigger players,” he said.
Under the new law, scrap metal sellers and recyclers must have permits from their local sheriff to legally sell or buy copper, aluminum and catalytic converters. For sellers, it also will be illegal to transport the metal without the permit.
To buy, metal recyclers must make a copy of a seller’s permit. They also must record information on each sale, including the seller’s photograph and license plate number, the date and amount paid, and a description of the metal.
The law also bars cash for copper as well as for catalytic converters, which are increasingly stolen for the metals inside. Payments must be by check, providing further record of the transaction.
Cannon said the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association worked with legislators and metal recyclers to come up with a bill that would be effective. Many of the requirements placed upon the metal recyclers are similar to those now in place for pawn shop operators, Cannon said.
Most of the state’s 46 sheriffs, including Cannon, already are issuing permits for scrap copper sales to gear up for the law that takes effect Wednesday, said state Sheriff’s Association Director Jeff Moore.
The legislation was signed into law by Gov. Nikki Haley on June 17 and it provides for three types of permits, two for the public and one for metal recyclers.
For the person who occasionally has to transport scrap metal, a 48-hour temporary permit can be obtained by calling the Sheriff’s Office.
For those who plan on transporting and selling copper or other nonferrous metals over a period of a year, a one-year permit is available by going to the Sheriff’s Office in the county of residence.
There is no fee for either of those permits.
Metal recyclers, those who buy scrap metal, must obtain a $200 buyer’s permit. They are to be renewed every two years.
The law also requires that purchasers operate from a fixed location, and that they refuse to buy copper, catalytic converters or other nonferrous metals from anyone who does not display a permit to transport and sell the metal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
There are a few things you can do to improve the efficiency of your home air conditioning system. One thing in particular is to upgrade your old thermostat to a programmable one. Most of the time the cost of upgrading is too high for people to make the switch, but with the help of their power company, a new programmable thermostat might cost less than you think.
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Copper theft leaves air conditioning units completely destroyed, requiring home and business owners to replace expensive equipment for a fraction of the cost worth of copper. The average homeowner loss is $5,000-$6,000. For commercial spaces with much larger square footage the cost is often substantially higher and can cost up $30,000 or more!
Saving money is important to everyone in today’s economy. Why risk losing your hard-earned money to random copper theft? Protect your investment with our rugged and affordable A/C cages.
We just received notice about an upcoming price increase.
The following OEM categories will be impacted by a Sept 1 price update.
Electronic control boards up 2-3%
Electrical controls up 11-15%
Fan & blowers up 2-3%
Valves up 1-2%
Blower assemblies up 1-3%
Fan timers up 2-3%
Copeland hermetic compressors up 3-7%
Control boxes up 2-3%
There have been some requests for Technical Information on Zebra’s line of surge protection devices. Two of these devices, the VZPRO (for “standard” ECM motors) and the X13PR (for the “X-Motor” class) work to protect these expensive Variable Speed Motors from damage by “dirty” input power. This dirty power can be in the form of spikes, surges, and other transient voltages, as well as lightning strikes nearby.
Since the control modules for these motors include delicate electronics and processors, it is vital to insure that input power does not exceed nameplate recommendations – even for a moment – or some of the electronics may be permanently damaged, rendering the module useless.
General Electric Company’s Motor Division (now GENTEQ Corporation), who has manufactured the vast majority of these motors, strongly recommends additional surge protection in situations where there might be surges, spikes or transient voltages. As most of the Technicians who service these motors have come to learn, this is a serious problem virtually everywhere. You can read about some of the options they have recommended at their dealer website: http://www.thedealertoolbox.com/files/Additional_Line_Transient_Protection.pdf None of the suggestions listed there are as convenient, protective, and economical as Zebra’s VZPRO and X13PR series of protectors.
My motor says it has built-in protection. Why do I need this product? Variable Speed Motors often have some protection built in to the control module. No motor tested has protection as good as that found in the VZPRO or X13PR. Also, what do you do if the threshold voltage (described below) is exceeded and the internal protector fails? When that happens, the only option is to replace the module. That’s really what we were trying to prevent, isn’t it? It’s far easier to simply plug-in a new VZPRO or X13PR, than it is to order (and wait for) a new module.
The VZPRO and X13PR protectors are plug-in devices – external to the motors – that intercept most voltage problems BEFORE they get a chance to do any damage to the motor or module. The chart at left shows what AC waveforms look like on an oscilloscope, and also shows what some damaging transients might look like.
The blue sine wave is normal AC voltage. Each complete wave (up and down) lasts 1/60th of a second. The red items are spikes and surges. The green line shows what happens to damaging voltages when the VZPRO or X13PR is in the circuit to protect the motors. (The green line, visible on the surge, can’t be seen on the tall spike because of printing considerations, but it “clamps” the excess voltage to a value safe for the module and motor.)
The devices that Zebra’s products use to stop these voltages are called MOV’s (Metal Oxide Varistors) We use two of them for the best protection; one across each leg of the incoming line voltage and the ground. The typical response time for these solid-state devices to begin clamping off excess voltage is between 28 ms (milliseconds – millionths of a second) and 30 ms (milliseconds – thousandths of a second).
How do the protectors work? They react only when the voltage is above 135 volts on that leg with respect to ground. They convert the excess voltages into heat. Since they are inches away from the motor (which just happens to be in a fast moving airstream) they are actually able to be more effective than what their ratings claim. The VZPRO and the X13PR are pre-wired to protect both (either) 120 VAC and 240 VAC motors.
What exactly are their ratings? These devices are able to dissipate (turn into harmless heat) voltages as high as 8000 volts for one cycle of voltage (this is normally called a spike). They can dissipate lower voltages for much longer, say, a 2 second increase from 125 volts to 190 volts (commonly called a surge). Electrical items downstream from these protection devices simply never see the excess voltages.
What happens when voltages exceed the thresholds mentioned above? When that happens, these MOV’s will fail. Their breakdown will cause the devices to short their poles together, permanently, and will cause discoloration of the device and its clear plastic package. This short will, in turn, cause the circuit breakers supplying the equipment to trip. They will continue to trip if reset. The sticker included with each product tells a Technician that if the device has failed and repeatedly trips the breaker, to not just remove the protector – but replace it – it has sacrificed itself so the motor would not be damaged.
So, it will protect the motor many times, right? Yes, it can block voltages thousands of times as long as they don’t exceed the thresholds above.
Can it protect against a lightning strike to the building? A direct lightning hit to the building the equipment is installed in would probably arc over the device (and everything else there) and ruin the motor. A general rule is that if the lightning strike is on the other side of the utility transformer (i.e.: not struck between the utility transformer and the house or building), our devices usually save the motor.
Does your HVAC system operate as efficiently as it could? Is your HVAC system compliant with health, safety and environmental regulations? Do you face continual maintenance issues with your HVAC system? In other words: is your HVAC system in good shape, or is it costing you a bundle for no good reason?
With any facility assessment, one of the first areas to check out is the HVAC. You need to determine how much time you have left on the system’s lifecycle. If your HVAC system is extremely old, it could be sucking up energy and wasting your money. It could also be causing indoor air quality issues that lead to problems like Sick Building Syndrome. Or, your old HVAC could be racking up big maintenance bills. If so, then you need to know what’s wrong so you can fix it.
Energy use is a good starting point because the opportunity for cost savings is significant. Lighting tops the list of the potential savings, but HVAC runs a close second. Did you know high-tech HVAC systems could save 30 percent to 40 percent on energy costs? That’s nothing to sneeze at. The return on investment on HVAC upgrades ranges from one to five years, depending on the system’s level of use. That’s well worth the money, considering HVAC systems can last 10 or more years, depending on usage and climate conditions.
Interestingly, the design of an HVAC system has major impacts on productivity and energy savings. If you don’t have good controls on your HVAC, then you are wasting tons of money. It could be that you are simultaneously heating and cooling different parts of the building at the same time. That’s counterproductive and puts a lot of strain on the HVAC.
According to the California Energy Commission, an HVAC system should be properly sized to provide correct air flow, and meet room-by-room calculated heating and cooling loads. It should also be installed so that the static air pressure drop across the handler is within manufacturer and design specifications to have the capacity to meet the calculated loads.
Beyond the proper design and installation, experts encourage regular HVAC maintenance to ensure the best operation. Air filters should be changed each month, for example, and HVACs also need to be properly charged with refrigerant and have proper burner operation and draft.
If you do not have an HVAC maintenance crew on site, be sure to contract with a local air conditioning maintenance company to do regular check ups. This will extend the life of your HVAC and save money on heating and cooling costs.
