Atlantic Canada Home Heating

Maintenance way overdue. Installed a nice little system 10 years ago. Homeowner was advised but ignored recommended maintenance schedules and the system finally crashed. No biggie- ordered parts and repaired. The home had three HRV units in it. Decent models. Two had never been on and the third was broken. The frost damper was stuck open . It had a birds nest and lots of debris in the heat exchanger core. Three of the four balancing dampers were almost fully closed. ... In lieu of saving money by getting recommended maintenance , this customer wasted large amounts of money running a single HRV at full speed for years with a broken frost damper. This great machine has efficiency (SRE ratings at 61 & 62%. during winter months.) Money wasted could have been in the thousands for this is a large oceanfront property. And she decreased her other appliance efficiencies by neglect?

SOLAR PV - FOLLOW UP This whole solar photovoltaic issue has been haunting me. I believe in the industry wholeheartedly and really wish it were more viable. I backtracked , reviewed the local insolation / peak hour production levels. 1965 is the total annual hours of sunshine we get locally. 2.5 is the reliable daily data if you do not apply two axis tracking with the collectors. These statistics cement the fact that solar is not viable from a cost perspective. This is wit...h taking the rebates and incentives into account. At days end the process simulates paying forward your energy cost to Nova Scotia Power. Everyone wins but the homeowner who will be very lucky to break even. The question then becomes - "is Solar PV worth the hassle". Not to most, I would guess. A viable alternative is to educate yourself in building sciences and harness your electrical reliance by reducing the home electrical loads which I am not getting into for it will come across as self promotion and that's not my intention. From an environmental stand point- Solar PV helps us reduce our carbon footprint and is a great way for individuals to do their part. Just remember that our residential sector accounts for 23% of our total provincial energy use. That is higher than most provinces which average around 15%. The way we reduce is to apply pressure to government so the reliance is reduced in the commercial and industrial energy sectors which dwarf the residential sector loads. If this eventually gets resolved we are left with the transportation sector. There are no viable alternatives to replace fossil fuels in that sector as of now. Go Tesla!! Some are trying. just saying - thats as non bias as I can get.

When purchasing a heat pump - ask this one question to the person quoting the system - What is the balance point? Understand that although many of these great appliances are superior to all other heating appliances- the efficiency ratings lower as the outside air cools down- Individual balance points will allow you to determine when that is so you can change over to a more efficient appliance. Boiler , furnace or other.... Heat pump balance point The balance point is based on the system capacity and current load demand. The capacity of a heating and cooling system is how much heating and cooling it is capable of producing. The load is how much heating or cooling is needed for your home. The capacity of your system is rated by the manufacturer under controlled conditions. With fuel-fired furnaces, electric resistance heaters or boilers, the capacity should not change as the outdoor temperature drops. Air-source heat pumps use outside air as the heat source. As the temperature drops, the capacity decreases. The load demand also increases as the temperature drops. The balance point is when the system capacity and load demand are equal. What this means to you If your system drops below the balance point, it needs supplemental heat. The balance point for most homes is about 30 F or 1.1 degree C. The balance point of energy efficient homes is lower than that of homes without proper insulation and other energy efficient features. Supplemental heat is only used to boost the system when the temperature is below the balance point. Supplemental heat is not auxiliary heat. Auxiliary heat only comes on when the main system is not working and needs repair. It is less than the rated capacity for the system.

BUILDERS AND HOMEOWNERS- CHECK THIS OUT AND STAY IN THE LOOP! Turn the news off and think about how our weather is changing. Ignore the doubters. Our winters are warmer and this is fact. Global warming is real. This has caused an air quality issue in our region. Our home HVAC equipment was designed to work by implementing historical data and principles. Our winters are normally dry due to the frozen ground and surroundings. This is not the case for much of our traditional he...Continue reading