Certified Remodeler

Module 17: Mechanical Systems

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Module 17: Mechanical Systems

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Module 17: Mechanical Systems

The objective of this module is to be sure that you have a basic knowledge
of heating and cooling systems, with particular emphasis on comfort and
safety, as well as knowledge of the code provisions that will affect the
construction generally. The major areas of concern are the provision of
appropriate flues, a combustion air supply, the clearances required for the
furnace, flues, and ducts, and access to the equipment for installation and
servicing. For instance, the code specifies the minimum size of scuttle
holes if the furnace is installed in the attic or crawl space. It also specifies
the maximum distance the furnace or air handler can be from the scuttle
hole, which may affect the proposed location for the access. References
for this section include Modern Carpentry unit 27, IRC chapters 12 through
21 and Residential Energy Chapters 6 and 8.

Glossary

AFUE – the US Department of Energy's Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency

rating. It is the most widely used measure of a furnace's heating efficiency.
It measures the amount of heat actually delivered to your house compared
to the amount of fuel you must supply to the furnace. Thus, a furnace that
has an 80% AFUE rating converts 80% of the fuel that you supply to heat –
the other 20% is lost out of the chimney.
ANSI – American National Standards Institute
Boiler – a self-contained appliance for supplying steam or hot water.
Circulating Air – air being conveyed from a conditioned area or from
outside the building through openings, ducts, plenums, or concealed
spaces to a heat exchanger of a heating or cooling system.
Combustion Air – the total amount of air provided to the space that
contains fuel-burning equipment. This includes air for fuel combustion,
draft hood dilution, and ventilation of the equipment enclosure.
Condensing Appliance – one that condenses part of the water vapor
generated by the burning of fuels.
Conditioned Air – air being conveyed to a conditioned space through
ducts or plenums from a heat exchanger or a heating or cooling system.

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Conditioned Space – an area, room, or space normally occupied and

being heated or cooled for human occupancy.
COP – Coefficient of Performance.
Direct-vent Appliance – a fuel-burning appliance with a sealed
combustion system that draws all air for combustion from the outside
atmosphere and discharges all flue gases to the outside atmosphere.
Draft – the flow of gases or air through chimney, flue, or equipment caused
by pressure differences.
Draft, Mechanical or Induced – the draft developed by a fan or other
mechanical means.
Draft, Natural – the draft developed by the difference in temperature of hot
gases and outside atmosphere.
Draft Hood – a device built into the flue system of a furnace or boiler to
permit dilution of the flue gases with air from the surrounding space.
Duct – a continuous passageway for the transmission of air.
EnergyStar – a government-backed program helping businesses and
individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency.
www.energystar.gov
Fireplace Stove – a free-standing chimney-connected solid-fuel-burning
heater having its fire chamber open to the room, with or without doors.
Flue Gases – products of combustion plus excess air in appliance flues or
heat exchangers (before the draft hood or regulator).
Forced-air Furnace – a warm-air furnace equipped with a fan or blower
that provides the primary means for circulation of air. It may be upflow,
downflow, or horizontal type.
Gravity Furnace – a warm-air furnace depending primarily on circulation of
air through the furnace by gravity .
HVI – The Home Ventilating Institute; a non-profit association of the
manufacturers of home ventilating products. HVI offers a variety of services
including, but not limited to, test standards, certification programs for
airflow, sound, and energy performance for heat recovery ventilators.
Hydronic – referring to hot water or steam.
IAQ – Indoor Air Quality

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Plenum – a chamber to which one or more ducts are connected and that
forms a part of an air circulation system.
Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) – The total cooling output of a
central air conditioner in British Thermal Units during its normal usage
period for cooling divided by the total electrical energy input in watt-hours
during the same period. This value is then multiplied by the Part Load
Factor (PLF). The government normally determines PLF, but
manufacturers are allowed to compute this value under some conditions.
Supply Air – see conditioned air.
Vent – a passageway, vertical or nearly so, for exhausting products of
combustion to the outside air.

Air Quality and Ventilation

A discussion of Mechanical Systems can not be conducted without first
discussing indoor air quality and the need for adequate ventilation. This
subject is far too broad to be covered in this small section, but this section
will provide a basic understanding of its importance. Excess moisture, off
gasses and odors from every day activities can accumulate and need to be
expelled. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) problems such as mold and mildew can
be directly traced back to a lack of adequate ventilation.
Maintaining the quality of interior environments has become increasingly
difficult as buildings become more energy efficient and more airtight. The
need to prevent accumulation of molds or toxic gases has been a
challenge. The considerations for interior environments address several
primary factors. These include quality for human health, clients’ experience
in a space, and building durability. Today’s weather tight homes trap
airborne particles inside where everyday household contaminants can
become increasingly concentrated. The result: indoor air can be up to five
times more polluted than the air outdoors.
It is recommended that the designer take a “complete systems approach”
to ventilation. This means taking into account the ventilation requirement
for the application, environmental conditions for the installation (such as
installing a fan and ducting in unheated spaces), protection against
accumulation of condensation in ducting, quietness of operation, and

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building pressurization issues such as the potential of back-drafting fueled

appliances.
Proper household ventilation is important in order to prevent water vapor
caused by every day living from accumulating and forming condensation
throughout the house. Water vapor will penetrate and rise into any cold
area of the house such as an attic. No matter how well the walls and the
attic of your house are insulated, water vapor can still penetrate.
Once water vapor reaches the attic, it can quickly accumulate, ruining the
insulation. If enough water vapor accumulates, it will come back down
through the ceilings as condensation. To allow water vapor to escape so
condensation will not have a chance to form, it's important to maintain
proper ventilation throughout the house and in the attic.
Static Ventilators
Proper ventilation is especially important in an attic that is well insulated, as
it will trap hot air in the summer. If the hot air has no way to escape from
the attic, it will force its way down into the house. Static ventilators prevent
hot air from being trapped in the attic. They also allow water vapor to
escape. This prevents condensation that will ruin attic insulation, making it
useless (especially in the winter when you want to keep your house warm).
For every 150 to 250 sq. ft. (14 to 23 sq. m.) of attic space there should be
about 1 sq. ft. (900 sq. cm.) of ventilation.
There are a variety of static ventilators you can use.
SOFFIT VENTS are metal grates that are installed horizontally under the
eaves. They keep out rain, snow, etc. but allow cool air to enter the attic
and hot air to escape.
GABLE-END LOUVERS are installed at each end of the house under the
peak of the roof in the gable ends. Depending on the direction of the wind,
air goes through one louver, through the attic, and then out the other
louver.
However, soffit vents and gable-end louvers tend to remove air from the
floor of the attic, leaving hot air trapped in the peak of the roof.
ROOF LOUVERS are one way to deal with trapped attic air as they are
installed near the peak of the roof. They have a cover and screen so snow,
rain, insects and small animals cannot get into the attic.

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RIDGE VENTS are the most effective form of static ventilator for removing
trapped air in the peak of the roof. This is because they are installed along
the length of the roof's peak, giving trapped air a means of escape.
Combination of vents is the best way to remove the trapped air in the attic.
Soffit vents and a ridge vent are an effective combination.
Mechanical Ventilators
Mechanical ventilators such as whole-house fans, attic fans, and exhaust
fans are even better ways to properly ventilate your home. Especially in
the summer, mechanical ventilators will reduce the level of heat and
humidity in the attic, basement, or crawl space, thereby making the whole
house cooler.
WHOLE-HOUSE FANS can reduce the temperature inside your home by
10ºC to 15ºC (15ºF to 25ºF)! They should be installed in a central location
of the house and mounted in the attic floor with an opening in the ceiling so
the fan can draw hot air up from the living area. Sometimes whole-house
fans are installed in the gable of the house. In this case, all vents in the
attic should be sealed off or the fan will draw hot air from just the attic and
not from the main living area of the house.
Although whole-house fans are placed in the attic floor, they cannot prevent
an attic from overheating. Additional ventilation may still be required for the
attic.
ATTIC FANS can keep attic temperatures from reaching 60ºC (140ºF) or
more on a hot summer day and can prevent hot air from moving down into
the house. An attic fan should be installed as high as possible in a gable or
roof surface so it can effectively exhaust the hot attic air while drawing in
cooler air through the vents.
A thermostat that is placed in the attic controls attic fans. The thermostat
turns the fan(s) on when necessary and shuts off the fan(s) when the attic
has reached the temperature setting on the thermostat.
EXHAUST FANS are installed in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and
laundry rooms to remove moisture, heat, and odors caused by everyday
living.
Kitchen exhaust fans are commonly found in hoods above the stove. The
exhaust fan takes the hot air and gases caused by cooking and vents it
either directly outside through the wall or through a fan-controlled duct.

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Another kind of kitchen exhaust fan that is not as effective is one that only
filters the air while cooking and does not exhaust the air outside of the
kitchen.
Bathroom exhaust fans should be installed in the ceiling. In basement and
laundry rooms, exhaust fans should be installed in the wall. Water vapor
from clothes dryers should be vented directly from the dryer through the
wall to the outside. Use a vent pipe in the wall and a protective cowl for the
air to exhaust through. Regularly clean the grill and blades of all exhaust
fans in your home.

Backdrafting
Back drafting can be an enormous problem. When a fireplace is burning, it
is consuming vast amounts of air each minute. It can easily be 250 to 350
cubic feet of air per minute. The fresh air vent in the hearth may be
blocked or it may not be able to supply enough air to satisfy the appetite of
the fire. The additional air to feed the fire must come from somewhere.
Simple physics will tell you that the air will enter the room through the path
of least resistance. In most cases it will enter the room through the flue of
the water heater.
Backdrafting is a by-product of the constant push to make homes more
energy efficient and airtight. However, homes are equipped with things that
blast a lot of air out of the living space. Think about what happens when
bath fans are activated or when kitchen cooking ventilation fans and central
vacuum cleaner are run. What about the clothes dryer? These devices
exhaust air outdoors and in doing so create a partial vacuum in the home.
If there is not an adequate air inlet to re-supply the exhausted air, the
replacement air will leak in through windows, doors, chimneys, water
heater and furnace exhaust piping, cracks in the house exterior, etc. If
several appliances are operating and the demand for air is great enough,
exhaust gases from fuel burning appliances can be sucked backwards into
the home. This can cause dangerous carbon monoxide to be pulled back
into the house.
Many modern furnaces and water heaters have built-in pathways for the air
needed to burn the fuel. In fact, virtually every residential building code
mandates that combustion air for fuel burning appliances be supplied to

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fuel-burning appliances. But more air than combustion air is needed in the
average home. For years, commercial and institutional building codes
have required this extra ventilation or make-up air. This air creates a
healthier interior environment, ensures that plenty of fresh air is entering
the building, and ensures that dangerous back drafts are avoided. It is in
your best interest to provide this ventilation or make-up air.
A whole-house heat recovery ventilator flushes stale air to the outdoors and
replaces it with an incoming stream of fresh air. Also, it efficiently recovers
up to 80% of the energy used to heat the outgoing air.
In spite of all the efforts to make the building envelope more air tight, some
air still leaks through the building’s thermal envelope; this leakage is called
natural ventilation. There are several key factors that effect natural
ventilation, including how well a building’s thermal envelope was sealed
during construction, stack effect (a pressure effect caused by temperature
differences between the outside and inside of the house and is most
pronounced in the winter), and wind. The amount of natural ventilation that
occurs is completely specific to each house and is commonly measured by
completing a blower door test on a home.
The blower door test includes setting up a large fan at an exterior doorway
of a home and operating the fan to depressurize the house. Depending on
the airflow through the fan and pressure differences measured between the
inside and outside of the house during the test, the amount of natural
ventilation through the building’s thermal envelope can be calculated.
There are several ways to discuss and some debate regarding how much
ventilation is “ideal” for a home. In residential construction, an ideal
amount of ventilation has generally been accepted to be on the order of 0.3
air changes per hour. In other words, the indoor air is completely replaced
with outdoor air approximately once every three hours.
There are three primary types of ventilation equipment including exhaust
only equipment, supply only equipment, and balanced ventilation
equipment.
Exhaust only equipment includes bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans. This
type of equipment is commonly installed in homes that have forced-air
heating systems and have natural ventilation rates of 0.2 to 0.3 air changes
per hour. The installation and proper use of a principal exhaust fan, which

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usually doubles as a bathroom exhaust fan, is often sufficient to meet the

0.3 air changes per hour that is recommended.
A common example of supply only equipment includes an outdoor air duct
directly connected to the return air plenum of the furnace. Every time the
furnace fan turns on, outside air is brought into the home. These systems
tend to slightly pressurize the home and can reduce infiltration of soil gases
into the home. When blower door tests are completed on new houses with
extremely well sealed thermal envelopes and a result of less than 0.2 air
changes per hour is calculated, or where there is no duct work installed in
association with the heating system (i.e. electric baseboard or hydronic
heating systems are installed), balanced ventilation equipment is often
recommended for installation. These systems draw in fresh air from the
exterior and discharge stale air from the interior in equal amounts. In order
to achieve the goal of 0.3 air changes per hour, balanced ventilation
equipment, such as a heat recovery ventilation system (HRVS), is installed.
In cases where humidity control is also a concern, an Energy Recovery
Ventilation System (ERVS) is installed.
The Home Ventilating Institute
HVI is a non-profit association of the manufacturers of home ventilating
products. HVI offers a variety of services including, but not limited to, test
standards, certification programs for airflow, sound, energy performance for
heat recovery ventilators, and market support; they also hold three annual
meetings to discuss common industry issues. Through a Certified Ratings
Program, HVI provides a voluntary means for the residential ventilation
manufacturers to report comparable and creditable product performance
information based upon uniformly applied testing standards and procedures
performed by independent laboratories. Together, these activities help to
promote the health and growth of home ventilation while providing
consumers with valuable information and confidence in their choices.

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Warm Air Systems

Furnace Location
In remodeling, the contractor is often restricted to connecting into an
existing heating system. In warm air systems, this means connecting to the
supply and return duct systems. Occasionally, a completely new
heating/cooling system is needed or a separate heating/cooling system is
installed in an addition. In those instances, the heating contractor should
be contacted for design input as soon as possible in the process. This
includes input on house orientation,
the location and size of windows,
insulation levels, vapor retarder, the
location of a chimney (or vents), the
location of compressors for summer
cooling, tree shading, as well as the
headroom in the basement and the
furnace-room location. If he’s
restricted to a leftover space in which
to locate the heating system instead
of putting it where it belongs, the
result may be doomed to failure from
the start.
When the straight run of a trunk duct
extends 40’ or more from the furnace,
the heat loss from the ducts can be
large, and the air will cool considerably before it reaches the end. This
means more airflow is needed in distant runs. In an L-shaped building, it
makes sense to provide two units, one to supply each wing. Although two
smaller units will cost more than a larger unit, two units have several
advantages. They are an easy way to get zone control, and if one unit
fails, the second unit will keep the house from freezing. Also, the main
trunk ducts for two furnaces will be smaller than for one large furnace.

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If there is a choice between

locating the furnace in an attic or
in a crawl space, the latter is
recommended for areas where
heating is the primary concern.
Space must be provided around
the furnace for easy access for
servicing. The vagrant heat loss
from the furnace casing, the
trunk ducts, and the branch take-
offs will warm the crawl space
and can be helpful in heating the
floor overhead, whereas heat lost
to the attic space is mostly
wasted. This requires that the
exposed walls, instead of the
floor, be insulated and that a polyethylene vapor retarder be placed over
the soil surface.

Return Air Grilles

The location of return-air grilles has only a slight effect on the way air
circulates in a room. The “suction effect” is local. The room air slowly
drifts toward the grille opening; it is only at a point about 6” in front of the
grille that the room air speeds up before it flows down the duct.
Therefore, return-air grilles will be almost equally effective at the floor, in
the baseboard, above the baseboard, or high on the wall. A grille location
is not chosen because it will “draw room air” strongly to that opening.

Sliding glass doors are a major source of drafts. Installing a cold air return
under glass doors or other sources of drafts does little good. In general,
the “suction” effect of a return-air grille in the floor is not effective. Two
positive steps should be taken:
1. Install storm doors so that a second barrier is placed between
the inside and the outdoors. This second barrier should be

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tightly weather-stripped and may make the area a habitable

space.
2. Counteract the draft by installing two floor-type supply
registers near the threshold. This requires continuous airflow
in severely cold weather.
The best location for a return-air grille serving the living room is usually in
an adjoining hall. It should not be near a favorite chair in the living room.
Air motion within a foot or two of the opening might be noticeable. Also,
because there might be a straight run between the return-air grille
opening and the circulating fan in the furnace, the fan noise might be
transmitted through the opening. Sound transmission can be reduced by
having at least one turn in the duct and by lining the duct with a sound-
absorbing liner. One large return would be just as satisfactory as two
smaller ones. Normally, a hallway serves as a connecting link between
lived-in spaces and is occupied only for a few seconds at a time, so any
draft generated by the return should not be objectionable.
Most bedroom doors will be closed for some time during the night.
Unless a 1” air space exists at the bottom of the door (above the
carpeting) a return outlet is needed or warm air cannot enter the room.
Return-air grilles are usually omitted from bathrooms and kitchens. Air
that enters these spaces can leave them through the open doorway,
under a closed door, or through a bathroom or kitchen vent opening.
Return-air grilles should be located in second-story bedrooms and perhaps
also in a hallway. They need not be large enough to handle all the air
delivered to the second floor. Cold-air currents will make their own path,
and that may be down the nearest stairway to a return-air grille on the first
floor. This interchange of air between rooms occurs with any heating
system – warm air or hydronic – and the strength of the interchange
depends upon the tightness of the house construction. The cascade of
cool air down the stair can produce drafts at the foot of the stair or where
air falls through the banister. This cascade of cool air is best handled by
having a supply register near the bottom of the stair to counteract the cool
airflow. However, that is effective only when the fan is running, which
makes a good case for continuous air circulation.

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In general, the return and supply sides of the system should have equal
total duct area and air-opening area. For example, if there are fifteen 6”
supply ducts totaling 420 square inches in duct area, there should be at
least 420 square inches of return-air ducts. However, four properly sized
return-air ducts could be adequate for all fifteen supply ducts.
Supply Registers
Air supply registers and diffusers control not only the velocity but also the
direction that the supply air takes when it leaves the outlet. To a
considerable extent, that control extends all the way across a living space.
There are essentially three possible heating and cooling situations:
• areas where winter heating is most important
• areas that require winter heating and minimal summer cooling
• areas that require extensive summer cooling and minimal heating
Theoretically, a separate layout would be best for each of these three
cases, and for large commercial or institutional buildings, those
distinctions are worth making. In small commercial buildings and in
residences, however, extensive testing indicates that a simple
compromise is best.
For year-round air conditioning—a combination of winter heating and
summer cooling—the air outlets should be located at the perimeter of the
building, typically on the outside exposed wall. Either floor-type or ceiling
outlets may be used. Both would discharge air close to the wall so the air
does not spread out into the living space until it gets above head level.
A register is similar in appearance to the old-fashioned outlets developed
for gravity furnaces. Modern registers consist of two basic types – those
with fixed bars, which can deflect the air outward and upward, and those
with adjustable bars, which can deflect the air outward and can be
adjusted.
The perimeter location is good for winter heat because the heat supply in
that location does the best job in overcoming the downdrafts from the cold
window surfaces. This holds true for hydronic heating as well. In the
summer, the perimeter location combined with upward discharge of
cooled air, works well also. The cool air is gradually diluted as it reaches
the ceiling; it then spreads outward and gradually falls into the living zone.

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The air is distributed with fewer drafts, and when adjusted properly, it
provides an atmosphere of gently stirring room air.
The more outlets that are installed, the better chance of distributing
conditioned air where it is needed. In a large living room, for example, two
or more registers may be desirable. Also, with more supply outlets, the
flow volume at each outlet is likely to be decreased, and that usually
means lower air velocity and less air noise. In general, most contractors
use too few supply outlets rather than too many.
In small kitchens or baths, very little space is available for a supply
register and ingenuity is required. A common solution is to bring the
supply up under a base cabinet and discharge the warm air through a
grille in the toe space. The discharge should not be in front of the sink
because it would make it uncomfortable to stand there.
Use registers that have adjustable vanes that can spread the air from side
to side. This helps to avoid a high-velocity jet that hits the opposite wall
and causes excess air motion below.
In a basement with a large activity room, the air diffusers are often at the
ceiling, leaving the lower part of the room cold. Wall-to-wall carpeting will
help insulate the room from the cold concrete floor, but the warm air never
penetrates below head level. The best solution is to run a supply duct
down an inside wall and leave the duct open about a foot above the floor.
The warm air “splashes” on the floor and distributes itself in a fan-like
pattern. The warm air does have excess air motion within a foot or two of
the “splash point,” but the remainder of the room benefits from the slowly
moving air stream. A return grille should be installed near floor level to
pick up cool air from the floor.
The best way to avoid excess air motion is to install registers or diffusers
that can be adjusted in the field. It is impossible to predict exactly what air
patterns will occur in a given room. Excessive air motion is often a
problem with warm air systems supplied by a heat pump because that
system works by circulating more air at a lower temperature than a
standard warm air furnace. This problem is particularly severe in homes
occupied by the elderly, whose low metabolic rate makes moving air at
90° feel like a cold draft. The registers must be located and adjusted to
prevent excessive air movement in the locations where people sit.

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Balancing
An important part of any air system is balancing the system so the
distribution of heated or cooled air is proportional to the loss or gain in
each room. A correct balancing adjustment can’t be done in one session.
The installer should explain how it is done and show the homeowner the
location of the dampers, etc. Adjustments are partially based on the
homeowner's perception of comfort. A typical balancing sequence is as
follows:
Step 1. The installer should open all dampers, both in the duct system
and at registers and grille faces.
Step 2. Adjust the room thermostat and furnace fan-switch settings to
the recommended positions.
Step 3. Leave six or more desk-type thermometers at table height in
various rooms, and ask the homeowners to monitor them for a
period of time.
Step 4. Instruct the homeowner how to close dampers, preferably in the
duct system. The homeowner should partially close dampers
leading to over conditioned rooms. Usually these will be small
rooms and rooms near the air handler.
Step 5. When the system is balanced, the damper settings should be
marked. The procedure will need to be repeated during the
heating/cooling seasons. The damper settings will be
considerably different. After the correct settings are marked,
the dampers can be adjusted as the seasons change.
The wise installer will check back several days after the system has been
under close observation and will listen to the owner's experience in
balancing the system. He should make sure that the owner hasn’t been
“fiddling” excessively with the thermostat setting. Unfortunately, this simple
process is rarely explained to the owner and poor results are created from
the beginning.
Inability to properly balance a system to provide comfort is often caused by
leakage of air into and out of the duct system. Whether the ducts are
traditional metal units or the newer fiberglass ducts, duct tape does not
provide a good, durable air seal. Special mastics or caulks will provide a
better long-term seal. Inspection of existing houses often reveals

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disconnected ducts because of improper support and air leaks up to 40% of

the total volume of circulating air into unconditioned spaces.
Equipment Sizing
The correct sizing for any heating equipment should be done by calculating
the heat loss, using Manual J from the Air Conditioning Contractors of
America or similar manuals available from the Edison Electric Institute or
the Hydronics Institute. In many instances, the original equipment was
oversized to the extent that even a large addition can be heated from the
original heating plant. If insulation has been added or other energy-
conserving modifications were made, the furnace may be greatly oversized.
Air infiltration forms a major part of the calculation. The infiltration rate in
an old house may be as much as 3 air changes per hour. In new
construction, the target is ½ air change per hour, which is surprisingly
difficult to obtain.
The one exception to this is in a steam system. Steam systems aren’t
sized according to the heat loss of the house but to the number of square
feet of radiation installed. The rating plate on a boiler will indicate the
number of square feet of radiation it can serve. If an inadequate boiler is
installed, the radiators farthest from the boiler will never get hot because all
of the steam is condensed in the nearby radiators or convectors. Likewise,
if a boiler is converted from the fuel for which it was designed, the new
burner must be at least as large in heating capacity as the one taken out, or
the boiler will not produce steam efficiently. An undersized burner in a
steam boiler can have an efficiency approaching zero.
Efficiency
All furnaces and boilers are rated as to their Annual Fuel Utilization
Efficiency (AFUE) according to standards developed by the Department of
Energy. While these efficiencies are obtained under laboratory conditions
and are seldom actually achieved in the home, they do serve as a basis
for comparison of various types of furnaces and boilers. The standard
gas-fired furnace of 1970 had an AFUE of about 65%. They were
designed to have a flue gas temperature of 350-450° so that condensation
would never occur within the furnace to cause rust. Many of these
furnaces are still in use.

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The next step up in efficiency is to add an electric ignition, rather than a

standing pilot, and some type of automatic flue damper. This may increase
the efficiency to the mid 70s models. However, if the homeowner is willing
to turn off the pilot in the spring and light it again in the fall or if the furnace
is located in an unheated area, the difference will be small. The automatic
flue damper can be very helpful if the chimney is tall or the furnace
considerably oversized. It contributes almost nothing if the furnace is
located in an unheated area or there is a properly sized furnace with a flue
less than 8’ tall.
Since 1991, the minimum AFUE efficiency of new furnaces is 78%. This
was accomplished by adding an induced draft fan and electric ignition.
Adding an induced draft fan permits a larger heat exchanger with longer
passages, which reduces the temperature of the flue gases and
increases the efficiency. This typically increases the AFUE to 83-89%.
The flue gases are cool enough that discharging them into a masonry
chimney would probably cause condensation in the flue, so they should
be used only with metal insulated flues or flue liners. The fan also
produces some noise, and these furnaces should be used with caution if
the furnace is in a closet in the living area. Oil-fired furnaces and boilers
are available in this efficiency range as well. The sound of the burner
motor creates similar problems.
The addition of a secondary heat exchanger, made possible by the use of
stainless steel and plastics able to withstand corrosive condensation in
the heat exchanger, can reduce the flue gas temperature of a furnace or
boiler to between 100°-150° and increase the efficiency to the 90-97%
range. The flue gases are then discharged through a plastic pipe
extending outside the house, usually through the wall, eliminating the
conventional chimney or gas vent. However, this does condense some of
the water produced in the burning of the gas, and a drain must be
provided. The average high-efficiency furnace will produce 2-5 gallons of
condensate daily, and it will have the acidity of lemon juice. It should not
be discharged through copper pipe. Neutralizing units are available if the
only convenient drain is copper. Again, oil-fired units are available in this
efficiency range, but horizontal furnaces for attic or crawl-space
installation usually are not.

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The most efficient furnace is not always the most economical. As the
efficiency goes up, so does the price. If the structure has a relatively low
heat usage, it may not justify the highest efficiency furnace. Usually an
induced draft unit with an AFUE rating of 80-85% is the most economical
choice, but that depends upon local fuel prices.
When gas-burning appliances are vented into a brick chimney, the chimney
must be lined to prevent the flue gases from deteriorating the mortar
between the bricks. There are several different ways of lining a chimney,
and it could cost up to $2000 or more.
If there is an unlined brick chimney, it may be more cost-effective to install
a high-efficiency furnace and direct-vent water heater and abandon the
existing chimney. The cost increment for the higher efficiency units is
usually less than the cost of having a brick chimney relined. If the furnace
flue is removed from an unlined chimney, a gas-fired water heater must not
remain connected to the
chimney. An “orphaned” water
heater will produce excessive
condensation in the chimney,
which will destroy the mortar.
This has been known to cause
the actual collapse of a brick
chimney.
Electric Heat
Resistance Heating
Electric resistance heaters are
100% efficient. They produce
3412 BTU of heat per kilowatt-
hour of electricity. If they are in
the form of baseboard
convectors or radiant ceiling cables, all of that heat is transferred to the
room. If the heat is produced in an electric furnace, there is some duct
loss. While it is often the most expensive form of heat to operate, it may be
desirable from the standpoints of low initial cost and ease of installation.
The location of baseboard units would be the same as warm air supply

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registers. If a radiant ceiling system is used, it may be necessary to

supplement it with drop-in floor heaters below large glass areas.

Heat Pumps
A heat pump is basically an air conditioner that can be run backward. In
the summer, it extracts heat from the house and dumps it outdoors. In the
winter, it extracts heat from the outdoor air and discharges it into the house.
Because electricity is used to transfer the heat rather than create it, the
output is greater than for electric resistance heating. Because efficiency
cannot be greater than 100%,
the term Coefficient of
Performance (COP) is used to
compare its output.
The COP is the ratio of the
heat output to the heat
equivalent of the electricity
used to run it. For instance, a
unit with a COP of 2.0 would
deliver 6824 BTUs of heat to
the house for each kilowatt-
hour of electricity. Depending
upon design and the outdoor
temperature, the COP of an
air-to-air heat pump may be as
high as 2.7 or as low as 1.1.
The COP of an air-to-air heat
pump varies with the outdoor
air temperature. Therefore,
heat pumps are more practical
in the warmer areas of the country. Little heat is extracted from outdoor air
colder than 10°F. A back-up heating system is usually installed to heat the
house when the outdoor temperature is below the point of efficient
operation of the heat pump. The back-up system may be either an electric
furnace or a gas- or oil-fired furnace.

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A water-source heat pump extracts heat from or discharges heat to a liquid

rather than to the outside air. The liquid source may be a coil or pipe
submerged in a lake or pond more than 12’ deep, a coil of pipe buried at
least 5’ into the earth, or water from a well or other source. Since the
ground water temperature stays about the same throughout the year at
those depths, the performance of the heat pump varies little from one
season to another. A COP of 3.0 to 3.5 is not unusual for a water-source
heat pump. These installations are designed on an individual basis, taking
into consideration the water table, soil type, etc.
While the economics of a heat pump installation vary with the price of
electricity and that of the alternative fuels, they may well be the most
economical choice in areas south of the Mason-Dixon line. The operating
cost in the heating mode is less than that of electric resistance heat, and
their SEER (see pages 17-4 and 17-27) in the cooling mode is at least as
high as a conventional air conditioner. Considering that they are a single
unit capable of heating and cooling and that they require no flue or other
connection, they can be the ideal way of providing comfort conditioning in a
room addition.
In some areas, special electric rates are available if the supplementary fuel
is something other than electricity. A small LP- or natural-gas furnace is
sometimes used to supplement the heat pump when the air temperature
drops below the point where additional heat is needed. A combination
system such as that can be set to maximize economy with fuel prices. The
heat pump supplies heat when the COP is high enough that electricity is
less expensive than the alternative fuel, and the system automatically
switches to the cheaper fuel when the outdoor temperature drops below
that point. When in the cooling mode, the heat pump can heat domestic
hot water essentially free, as noted in the section on domestic hot water
systems.
Humidifiers
Power humidifiers on air heating systems are often sold but are seldom
necessary. If a normal amount of cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. is done
in the house, additional humidity is seldom needed. In new, tight houses,
the biggest problem is humidity removal. If there is a lack of humidity in
the house, the problem is usually excessive air infiltration, and the

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problem should be attacked from that direction. Problems with

humidifiers occur because of leakage from the fill valve, with the result
being rusting of the furnace, and because of collection of minerals from
the water, rendering the humidifier inoperable.
Air Filtering Systems
In addition to the normal fiberglass replaceable filters or the plastic foam
or metal mesh washable filters usually used in air systems, two other
filtration systems are available. The conventional filters are about 5%
efficient and remove only the hair and large dust particles.
• The high-efficiency mechanical air filters use a paper filter element
similar to that in the air cleaner in an automobile. They are about
90% efficient and remove particles down to the size of tree pollens.
• Electronic air filters remove particles covering almost all pollen and
even smoke. They are about twice as expensive as a high-
efficiency mechanical filter and are subject to electronic problems.
A standard filter is recommended ahead of both the high-efficiency
mechanical filter and the electronic filter to remove the large particles that
may clog them.
Hydronic Heating
Hydronic heating is the term used to
describe any heating system using
water or steam as a medium of transfer.
The water is heated in a boiler fired by
any of the conventional fuels. The
resulting hot water is circulated through
radiators, convectors, or fan-coil units to
transfer the heat to the room air. Older
systems may still be using cast iron
radiators, which are satisfactory but
considered unsightly and wasters of
space by many. Baseboard convectors
or fan-coil units often replace cast iron
radiators. Fan-coil units are just as the
name describes – a fan-coil with a fan to

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blow air across it, transferring the heat to the room. Small fan-coil units
that will mount in the toe space of kitchen cabinets are sometimes used
to heat kitchens in which there is no space for a radiator or baseboard
convectors.
Hot Water
Hot water heating systems may circulate the water either by gravity or by
a pump. Old gravity systems are frequently encountered in remodeling.
It is best to convert the gravity system to pumped systems for greater
efficiency and better control of the heating because the circulated water
can be at a lower temperature in mild weather.
There are two piping systems in common use.
• In a two-pipe system, water is delivered to the radiator or convector
from a main supply line and the return flow is collected in a return
main.
• The one-pipe system uses just one loop of pipe, with the supply to
each room unit being diverted from the main by means of a baffled
tee and the return flow coming back to the same main through a tee
with a reverse baffle.
Either system can be satisfactory if properly designed. Since baseboard
convectors are rated as to heat output per foot of length at a given water
temperature, those convectors near the end of the main will have to be
longer because the entering water temperature will be cooler.
In areas of the country not requiring summer cooling, hot water pipes
buried in a concrete or gypsum floor or attached to the bottom of a wood
floor system are becoming common. This is particularly true in ski and
other winter recreation areas, where customers appreciate a warm floor
after a day in the cold. By raising the surface temperature of the floor,
everything in the room is heated by radiation from that warm surface.
While copper pipes were used for this purpose in the 1940s and 1950s,
nearly all of the newer systems use a Cross-linked Polyethylene (CPE)
pipe.
The radiant floor system has several disadvantages. It is slower to react to
changes in the weather or changes in thermostat settings because of the
mass of the floor system. It takes longer to heat or cool a concrete slab

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than to change the temperature in the ducts of a warm air system. There
are no air outlets in the floor to counteract cool air flow from large glass
areas. Leaks in the system, while relatively rare, are difficult to locate and
repair. Any decorative floor covering insulates the room from the heat
source. Therefore, rug pads must be thin or conductive. The system
should be zoned to prevent overheating some areas of the house. For
instance, if part of the floor has a rug, the temperature of the water in that
area must be raised to get enough heat transfer to keep the room warm.
This may make uncovered, conductive floors, such as in the kitchen or
bathroom, uncomfortably warm. If hardwood floors are installed, the sub-
flooring should be dry and only narrow strip flooring used. When
remodeling a house with in-floor heat, remember that changing the type of
floor covering can change how well the room heats.
The design of hot water in-floor heating systems is quite complex and
should be done with the assistance of the manufacturers of the heat tube
and boiler.
There are several floor heating systems that use electrical resistance
elements under the floor covering. These are sometimes used to keep tile
floors in bathrooms warm to the touch but are not intended to be the
primary heat source for the room.
Steam
Steam systems are similar to the hot water systems, except the force that
causes the circulation is steam pressure. Steam systems are more difficult
to control because any one radiator, convector, or fan-coil unit is either all
the way on or all the way off. No variation in temperature is possible; all
the steam in the system is at essentially the same temperature. Again,
there are two types of piping systems—a one-pipe and a two-pipe. The
two-pipe steam system works in the same way as the two-pipe hot water
system.
The one-pipe system requires careful installation of the main because it
must always slope toward the boiler. Steam flows through the top portion
of the pipe to the room units, and the condensed water flows back to the
boiler in the lower portion of the pipe. If the slope is not constant, water will
accumulate in the flat portion, and when the steam pushes its way past the

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water block, the results will be a banging noise in the pipes – a frequent
complaint.
A two-pipe steam system can be converted to a pumped hot water system,
using the same boiler, piping, and radiators, with some modification of the
piping and the installation of a circulating pump. This will increase
efficiency and controllability. A one-pipe system is very difficult and
expensive to convert.
New steam boilers can be obtained with an efficiency in the 85% range.
However, replacing an old cast iron boiler with a new, high-efficiency
boiler may also require some modification of the condensate return
system because the new boiler will hold so much less water than the old
one that it may be flooded by condensate. A mechanical engineer or
good heating designer should be consulted. Any time additions are made
to the system, all steam traps and air vents should be checked for
operation. Since your firm will be the last one that worked on the system,
you will be blamed for any problems, whether they pre-existed or not.
Controls
In all air systems, the thermostat should control the burner or heat
source. Thermostats should be located on inside walls away from drafts,
heat sources, and direct sunlight. Multiple zone systems will require a
separate thermostat for each zone. Setback thermostats can improve
efficiency in some systems but may decrease efficiency in others.
Generally, they work best for forced air heating systems and are not
recommended for hydronic heat or air conditioning. Electronic
thermostats are as reliable as mechanical ones.
For forced air systems, the fan should be controlled by a combination
control inserted into the plenum of the heating unit. This control will turn
on the circulating fan when the temperature in the plenum reaches a
predetermined temperature and turn it off when the temperature drops
about 10-20°F below that point. The usual setting is for the fan to turn on
at 110°F and off at 90°F. The same control usually incorporates a high-
limit switch that will turn off the heat source if the temperature in the
plenum reaches 180°F (this would normally happen only in case of a
plugged filter or fan failure).

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In the case of single-zone hot water systems, the most efficient control
system allows the thermostat to control both the burner and the circulating
pump. A high-limit aquastat in the boiler shuts the heat source down if the
water temperature exceeds about 190°F but allows the pump to continue to
run. If that happens frequently, there is not enough radiation for the boiler
capacity.
If the house heating boiler is also used as a source of heat for domestic
hot water and it is not on a separate zone, it will be necessary to allow the
aquastat to control the burner to maintain heat in the boiler and allow the
thermostat to operate only the circulating pump. This is usually less
efficient than a separate water heater. In steam systems, the thermostat
controls the burner and a high-limit control shuts it down at the
predetermined steam pressure.
Zone Control
The use of multiple furnaces and air conditioners is the only practical
method of zone control in air-handling systems. Thermostatically
controlled motorized dampers are available, but the result is often
unsatisfactory. There are several reasons for this. When part of the duct
system is closed off, there may not be enough air passing through the
plenum to efficiently transfer the heat to the air, and overheating of the
furnace may result. When all zones are satisfied, there must be a place to
dump the heat remaining in the furnace or again the furnace may
overheat. The reliability and durability of motorized dampers leaves
something to be desired, and they are quite expensive.
In hot water heating systems, zone control is quite practical. A separate
loop and circulating pump or electric zone control valve is used for each
zone. The thermostat in each zone controls its pump or valve, and the
burner is lit when any zone calls for heat or the boiler drops below the
aquastat setting. A separate zone can also be used for the domestic hot
water. Mixing valves can be installed that allow different temperature
water to flow to different zones. This is useful for compensating for the
different types of floor coverings. Warmer water (greater than 120°F) is
sent to the carpeted areas and then to the tiled floors (less than 100°F).
Automatic reset systems are available that change the aquastat settings
as the outdoor temperatures change. Steam systems are seldom zoned,

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but thermostatic valves are available that you can attach to individual
radiators.
Summer Cooling
Central air conditioners use electric energy to pump heat out of the home
and dump it outside. They distribute cooled air throughout the house and
remove moisture from the indoor air.
The efficiency of central air conditioning units is governed by U.S. law and
regulated by the U.S. Department of Energy. Every air conditioning unit is
assigned an efficiency rating known as its Seasonal Energy Efficiency
Ratio (SEER). The SEER is defined as the total cooling output (in BTU-
British Thermal Units) provided by the unit during its normal annual usage
period divided by its total energy input (in Watt-hours) during the same
period.
The SEER is displayed on a yellow label affixed to the air conditioning unit.
Higher SEERs are better. The minimum SEER allowed by law for a central
air conditioner is 10 for a split system or 9.7 for a single-package unit. The
best available SEER is about 18, while many older units have SEER
ratings of 6 or less. When installing new air conditioning systems look for a
SEER of 12 or higher.
Mechanical compressor-cycle air conditioning is the preferred cooling
system in most of the country. In arid areas, evaporative cooling may be
effective and less expensive, but the resulting air is at nearly 100% relative
humidity, which is uncomfortable to many people. In houses heated with
air systems, the cooled air is normally distributed through the same duct
system. Register types and placement were discussed previously.
In houses heated with hydronic systems, the air conditioning ducts are
used only for cooling, and the diffusers may be located in the ceiling or
high sidewall, which is the optimum place to introduce cooled air. If such
a duct system is located in an attic, the ducts must be fully insulated, even
at joints, or condensation on the duct may drip down through the finish
below. It must be capable of being closed off during the winter; otherwise
heated air from the house can flow up into the duct system, and where the
cold air in the attic cools it condensation in the ducts can result. Stains
will be produced around the diffusers, and as much as five gallons of
water have been removed from such a duct system. If the fan-coil unit is

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located in an attic or other finished area, a secondary drip pan must be

provided to catch the condensate if the main drain should plug. This will
save many ceiling repairs, and by Murphy's Law, the drain will plug
eventually.
The sizing of the cooling system must be carefully calculated, using a
procedure similar to that used to calculate heating loads. In the case of air
conditioning, the size, orientation, and shading of glass areas are much
more important because the heat gained through the walls and ceiling is
relatively minor compared to solar gain through windows. The indoor-
outdoor temperature difference is much less in the cooling season than in
the heating season in most parts of the country.
In some climates, one of the main purposes of air conditioning is humidity
control, and that can be accomplished only when the compressor is running
and the evaporator coil is cold. Therefore, air conditioning systems work
best when they are slightly undersized because the compressor runs
longer. If an oversized unit is used, the compressor will cycle frequently
and the humidity will jump up and down every few minutes. In super-
insulated houses where the cooling load is normally very small, a small unit
may be necessary for humidity control and a larger unit to control
temperature during parties and peak load periods.
Correct homeowner operation is the key to good performance. No properly
sized air conditioning system will work well if it is turned on for just a few
hours each day. It must be left at the thermostat setting to pick up the load
whenever it appears. In humid areas, opening the windows at night may
cool the house but will let in enough water vapor that the air conditioner will
work most of the next day pumping the moisture out again.
Hydronic systems can be used for air conditioning if they are of the fan-coil
type. Chilled water, produced by an electric or gas-fired chiller, can be
circulated to the fan-coil units. A condensate drain must be provided for
each unit. Chilled water can’t be used with conventional radiators or
convectors because of the condensation problem. The Edwards system of
valance convectors can be used for both heating and cooling, but these
systems are rare and their appearance makes them unacceptable to many
consumers.

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Cooling and Comfort

Many people think of temperature as the only variable affecting their
comfort. In fact, as the human comfort chart below illustrates, humidity,
air movement and radiation all strongly affect our comfort.
Relative humidity affects the rate of evaporation from the skin. Since
evaporation of perspiration absorbs heat, it lowers the temperature of the
skin. Thus, at high temperatures, we are more comfortable with a lower
relative humidity.
Air movement across the body increases heat loss from the body and
allows us to feel comfortable at higher temperatures. In a 5 mph breeze,
for example, the average person would feel comfortable at up to 87°F with
60% relative humidity or up to 93°F at 20% relative humidity.
Radiation adds heat to the body. The chart on the next page shows that
radiation of 150 BTU/square foot-hour (approximately the level of midday
winter solar radiation) allows the average person, dressed in normal
clothing, to be comfortable down to a temperature of 45°F.

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Domestic Hot Water

Most homes use storage-type water heaters of some variety. The tank size
varies with the water use rate and the recovery rate of the heat source. For
instance, an electric water heater with a 4500-watt element will have a
recovery rate of about 24 gallons per hour with an 80°F temperature rise.
A gas-fired heater with a 40,000 BTUh burner operating at 75% efficiency
will have a recovery rate of 46 gallons per hour. An oil-fired water heater
with a 1-gallon per hour burner at 65% efficiency will have a recovery rate

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of 140 gallons per hour. Obviously, a larger storage tank is needed for an
electric heater. Likewise, if there is a large family or a large whirlpool tub to
be filled, a larger unit should be specified. Common sizes for single-family
homes are 40, 52, or 80 gallons for electric and 40, 50, or 80 gallons for
gas. The tank size of oil-fired heaters is immaterial because their recovery
rate exceeds the flow of a faucet running wide open.
Some newer systems use a storage tank that is heated by a coil from the
hot-water boiler used for space heating. That coil is treated as another
zone in the hydronic heating system. These systems are more expensive
than electric or gas-fired storage heaters but may be practical when the fuel
is oil. If a high-efficiency boiler is installed, these units have a
corresponding high efficiency, and the recovery rate is high, since the boiler
usually has a much larger burner than that used in a separate water heater.
The efficiency of water heaters varies with how often hot water is used. If a
gas-fired heater is used intermittently with just the pilot light burning, the
overall efficiency will be lower than if it is being used almost continuously.
The insulation level on most newer gas water heaters is such that the pilot
light puts out enough heat to compensate for the heat lost through the
insulation on the tank. Electric water heaters are heavily insulated to
reduce the stand-by loss. There are heaters on the market with submerged
combustion chambers that are somewhat more efficient and some that are
direct-vent (use outside air for combustion). There have been some
problems with the direct-vent heaters in very cold weather when the house
was unoccupied. Freezing of the pipes can occur.
UPDATE: As of July 1, 2003, all new residential gas water heaters must
meet a new American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard. They
must feature a flame arrestor that prevents ignition of vapors outside the
combustion chamber, such as gasoline spills. Some units automatically
shut off the gas and air supply preventing a sustained vapor burn in the
combustion chamber. Keep the flame arrestor from becoming clogged by
lint, dust and oil as this may affect the operation of the safety features.
Instantaneous or tankless water heaters are the newest type on the market.
They do not store water but heat it as it is needed, thereby eliminating the
stand-by loss. Smaller units can supply a lavatory but may not have
enough capacity for a laundry or shower. They can be useful for remote
areas or in vacation homes in that they can be mounted nearby and only
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the cold water line need be run to the area. Larger units can supply a
shower or laundry, but some gas-fired units still have a pilot light, so there
is still some stand-by loss. They can provide an almost unlimited supply of
hot water.
Desuperheaters. When a house is being cooled by a refrigerant system or
is heated and cooled with a heat pump, there is heat to be discharged
outside the air in the house. A special water heater containing a refrigerant
coil can be installed to capture this “superheat” and use it to heat at least
part of the domestic hot water. This technology is not new, and has been
used in industrial and agricultural processes for years. The central air
conditioning system may well provide most or all of the domestic hot water
needs in warm weather with no additional fuel cost. This is important when
electric water heaters are used. This “bonus” in total operating cost also
increases the economic feasibility of heat pump systems.
One way of providing almost instantaneous hot water at all taps is to install
a circulating system. The hot water system is installed as a loop, with a
small pump installed in the return line at the water heater, so hot water is
continually moving through the loop. Only the small amount of water in the
line from the loop to the faucet will be cool. In some installations, the
circulating pump runs continuously. To conserve energy, a timer can be
used to circulate the hot water only during those hours of the day when it is
likely to be used. Another system is available that uses a relay-controlled
pump with a push button located near each fixture that starts the pump
when hot water is needed. All circulating lines should be insulated.
In a multi-story house, or if the water heater is located in a basement,
gravity can be used to circulate the hot water in a loop system. Because
hot water is less dense than cold water, it will rise through the system and
the cooled water will return to the bottom of the water heater. Because the
flow is relatively slow, the water at the faucet will not be as hot as with a
pumped system, but it will at least be warm.

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Explanatory Notes
Heating systems are sometimes a little easier to understand than electrical
systems. Heat, like water, flows in paths that are less mysterious than
electricity.
Even if you have a good grasp on the basics of mechanical systems, it’s
worth thinking for a minute about how these systems developed. The
central goal of all heating and cooling systems is to make indoor life
comfortable for human beings. “Human comfort” is the key concept. There
is a relatively narrow range of temperature and humidity in which human
beings are comfortable. Installing heating and cooling systems that will
make people feel more comfortable in their homes will bring contractors
repeat business. The contractor who takes the trouble to avoid a long duct
run is the contractor who will not leave a customer grumbling about a chilly
bedroom. The contractor who places ductwork properly (for example,
beneath large expanses of glass) will have a better reputation than a
contractor whose houses feel “drafty” because of the air currents that “fall”
from these cool surfaces. Go the extra step, and use this test as an
opportunity to fill in the gaps in your understanding. Make sure you
understand how the mechanical systems fit into the house shell and that
you know as much as possible about some of the antique systems that are
still in use today.
Additional Reference
If you do not understand how heating systems are installed or if you are
not familiar with one of the heating systems described in this module, you
are urged to do additional study. One book that is not on the reference list
but is extremely helpful is Mechanical and Electrical Systems in
Construction and Architecture, by Frank Dagostino, pages 150-398. The
book is published by Reston Publishing Co., (Prentice-Hall), Reston,
Virginia. It will not be used as a basis for questions on the exam.

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Discussion Questions
Find a heating contractor to check your responses to the following
questions. It would be ideal to have the same heating contractor you will
be working with on your remodeling jobs. These questions can spark an
exchange of information.

1. A contractor is trying to decide whether a new forced air heating

system will be needed to service a 20x20 room addition. What should
he consider?

2. A contractor is called in to add two large sliding glass doors to the

living room wall. To maintain occupant comfort in cold winter
weather, what should the contractor consider doing?

3. To properly size heating and cooling systems, it is important to obtain

what kind of information?

4. Describe the operation of warm air systems.

5. Describe the various implementations of electric heat.

6. Explain the purpose of humidifiers and their limitations.

7. Explain air filtering systems and their application to the home.

8. Describe the implementation of hydronic heating including hot water

and steam.

9. Describe the control systems used in heating and air-conditioning

systems.

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Study Questions
1. If a duct delivers 12 cfm of air, how much air can it deliver in an hour?
A. 720 cf
B. 0.2 cf
C. 720 cfm
D. 0.2 cfm

2. The failure of a combustion appliance to adequately exhaust

combustion products to the outside is called ______.

A. backdrafting
B. infiltration
C. exfiltration
D. heat exchange

3. Combustion products contain ____.

A. carbon dioxide
B. carbon monoxide
C. water vapor
D. nitrogen oxides
E. all of the above
F. A and B

4. A furnace suspended from the floor joists in a crawl space must be at

least ___ above the ground level.

A. 3”
B. 6”
C. 9”
D. 12”

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5. The condensate drainage system for an air conditioning unit installed

in an attic above a living space ____.

A. must be trapped
B. must include a secondary drain pan with visible discharge
C. must have a float switch to shut the unit down if the drain plugs
D. All of the above

6. The gas valve for an appliance must be located in the same room
and not more than ___ from the appliance.

A. 2’
B. 3’
C. 4’
D. 6’

7. In which of the following will the return air grill be most effective?

A. At the floor
B. High on a wall
C. Above the baseboard
D. Equally effective at locations A, B, and C

9. For a combined central heating/air conditioning system the air outlets

should be placed at the _______ of the building.

A. base
B. ceiling
C. interior
D. perimeter

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