heating Archives - Charles Buell Consulting LLC

June 19, 2016 by Charles Buell

When things just go round and round and round……..

It is common knowledge that when your furnace filters get plugged it makes the blower work harder–thus consuming more energy and shortening the life of the blower.

But!

But, just like “common sense,” “common knowledge” is also not as common as one might think.

In actuality, the opposite is true. The more restricted the ductwork–the dirtier the filters–the less energy is consumed and the easier the blower will run. (Obviously, in the long run more energy will be consumed because of the added time it will take to heat your house.)

The fact that this is true, seems almost counter intuitive; and hence the ease with which the myth became established. I have even heard HVAC technicians spew this wisdom and it is very common to hear home inspectors state it as if it were obvious.

In this first picture you can see the amount of amperage been drawn during normal operation of my fully operational furnace with just cleaned filters—6.8amps.

So now let’s restrict the air flow by installing a piece of plywood in the extra slots of the air cleaner. This will completely cover the air return to the furnace—making the duct more restricted than most dirty filters would ever make it.

If I am wrong the motor is going to work very hard, the amount of amperage drawn will be significantly higher and I will have a lot of egg on my face. But then,in all likelihood, this post would not be here.

As you can see by the second reading on the amp probe the amount of amperage is significantly less—3.7amps—meaning the blower is working much less hard. It is consuming approximately 50% less energy.

Essentially the blower is just going around and around and around. Because the blower isn’t doing any “work”–pulling air–it just sits there and spins.

So what is the real issue with dirty filters?

If they become too clogged there will not be enough air moving through the heat exchanger and it can overheat. This can shorten the life of the heat exchanger/furnace.

In some respects I wish the myth was true because a ruined blower motor is cheaper to fix than a ruined heat exchanger.

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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March 14, 2014 by Charles Buell

With a bedroom like this I could sleep forever!

Literally!

While it is not uncommon to find a furnace in a closet of a room being used as a bedroom, when they are “directly” in the room, as part of the furniture in the room, it seems to somehow be a more obvious problem than if it was hidden in a closet–whether properly installed in the closet or not.

This “bedroom” had no secondary escape and rescue window–for escape or fresh air. With the door closed, there would likely be insufficient combustion/dilution air for proper operation of the furnace–or the humans in the room. This condition would increase the likelihood that combustion by-products would enter the room.

Open flame combustion appliances should never be located in sleeping areas (even though there are some that are “allowed”–contrary to good judgement).

As an inspector, I would not call this room a bedroom even if the property was listed that way–and even if it had a nice bed to watch the warm glow of furnace from–or to sleep forever in.

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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May 28, 2013 by Charles Buell

Well I suppose “magic” is a possibility!

Take just a moment and see if you can guess what this is a picture of?

At the bottom left of the picture is my flashlight face down on the floor. It is lighting up the space behind this heat register to reveal a fabric filter installed under the register. Filters in registers are common. However, a forced air furnace with an adequate filter will not need filters at the individual registers and they become just one more place that people will forget to maintain adequately.

If you “need” filters at the registers, you really need a better furnace filter.

But in this installation, the installation of the filter is NOT the most interesting thing (you probably knew there had to be something more). In this next picture you can see what the register looks like.

Ok, now change the filter.

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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