The following factors represent some of the things we consider when evaluating your homes Heating and Cooling needs. We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. We hope you find what your looking for or perhaps find a new way to look at old idea’s.

1. Furnace
2. Furnace Thermostat
3. Forced Air Distribution System
4. Electrical
5. Venting Product of Combustion
6. Carbon Monoxide Detectors
7. Air Cleaning
8. Air Humidification
9. Air Leakage Infiltration
10. Air Leakage Expiration
11. Radiant
12. Air Balancing
13. Air Exchange
14. Insulation Values
15. Windows
16. Air Conditioning
17. Heat Pumps

1. HEAT PUMPS
A great deal of disinformation is in circulation concerning Heat Pumps. We work with them nearly every day and find when the right equipment is selected, installed correctly then competently serviced they perform admirably. When these steps are not followed, heat pump performance and longevity inevitably suffer. Not all heat pumps are created equal. Some do not survive in Upstate NY due to the demands imposed from outdoor temperature extremes.

Cold weather operation requires a well designed Heat Pump sized correctly, installed correctly, and serviced by knowledgeable personnel. Anything less and your Heat Pump System is running on borrowed time.

AIR TO AIR HEATPUMPS
YORK is one of, if not the dominant Heat Pump in Rochester. We offer the complete line of YORK Heat Pumps in all currently available efficiency ratings and refrigerant configurations. The YORK standard warranty is better than some and equal to the rest. They offer an extended Parts and labor 10 year warranty package "YORKCARE"

GEOTHERMAL HEATPUMPS
We’ve sold, installed, and serviced over the past 20 years both Earth Coupled Closed Loop and Well Water Pump and Dump water source heatpumps. We own a high capacity flushing cart, thermal fusion tools and other necessary equipment to do this work. The only Geothermal Heat Pump Manufacturer that required certification was Waterfurnace, and we are a certified Waterfurnace Dealer.

HEATPUMP BACKUP
Supplemental/Backup heat sources are a requirement when outdoor temperatures fall below the freezing point for extended periods of time. Example of equipment that can serve as backup supplemental heat sources for a heat pumps are forced air gas or oil furnaces, boilers with hot water coil, and Electric KW in an air handler.

SOLUTIONS for PROBLEM INSTALLATIONS
MITSUBISHI
Offers a Mini Split Heat Pump System that does not require ductwork. The Indoor unit is installed on the wall, ceiling, or ceiling/wall combination and the outdoor unit installs on the ground. Connected through a sealed 3 inch round hole in your wall so there are no security issues. Notable unique advantages are its unobtrusive pleasing appearance, almost silent operation, no security issues and you don’t have to remove then reinstall it twice a year.

UNICO
Offers a unique approach when ductwork in the home is not available. It uses 2” supplies that can be install practically anywhere. The air is discharged at high velocity and uses aspiration rather than diffusion. Unico is practically silent in operation and has very successfully been applied in homes with hot water or steam boilers. Due to the small size of the heat runs, it requires minimal if any tear out or remodeling. Its difficult to paint a
clear picture of a very versatile product but we’d be happy to talk with you about it. We’ve done a number of these installations in existing homes and delivered on expectations.

2. AIR CONDITIONING
YORK is one of if not the dominant supplier of Air Conditioning here in Rochester.
We offer the complete line of YORK Air Conditioning in all currently available efficiency ratings and refrigerant configurations. York standard warranty matches
or exceeds the competition plus we offer an extended P&L 10 year YORK warranty.

Air Conditioning doesn’t get much thought until it gets hot. A key component of Air Conditioning is your homes ductwork. This is often the reason you don’t get nearly all the A/C you pay for. During warm weather major amounts of cooling is lost to leaks, poor insulation, and generally bad design. Keep in mind, during the cooling season heat is not lost its gained and needs to be mechanically removed to the outside by the return air duct work and the refrigerant line set.
Window Units are especially effective good at this because:

•  Located inside the room they condition, so return air does not need duct work.
•  Placed in outside windows so heat can be discharged directly outdoors.
•  Return and Supply air are next to each other right in front for 50/50 balance which
    is exactly what a good duct system design attempts to accomplish

PROBLEM INSTALLATIONS SOLUTIONS
MITSUBISHI
Offers a mini split system that does not require ductwork. The Indoor unit is installed on the wall, ceiling, or ceiling/wall combination and the outdoor unit installs on the ground. Connected through a sealed 3 inch round hole in your wall so there are no security issues. Notable unique advantages are its unobtrusive pleasing appearance, almost silent operation, no security issues and you don’t have to remove then reinstall it twice a year.

UNICO
Offers a unique system approach for Central A/C. It uses 2” supplies that can be install practically anywhere. The air is discharged at high velocity and uses aspiration rather than diffusion. Unico is practically silent in operation. Unico is particularly effective in homes with hot water or steam heat and where central A/C has been an issue. Installation of the UNICO System requires minimal if any tear out or remodeling.

3. FURNACES
When Gas forced air furnaces first came along, the important thing was shoveling coal and hauling ashes became a memory. One size fit all. Those old furnaces are mostly gone now with many being replaced with high efficiency equipment resulting in much lower operating costs. The current Furnace efficiency choices are 80% Category 1 and 9X% Category 4

Each Category offers Single stage and Dual stage gas furnaces and Variable speed Dual stage with extremely efficient ECM “Electronically Commutated Motors” blower motors

The 80% Furnaces are generally a cost reduced of the Manufacturer’s 9X% Furnace.
Both 80 and 90% Furnaces offer an attractive pay back with a solid advantage to the 9X%

Has anyone done a heat loss/gain study and operating cost analysis for your home?
If not, we'll be happy to do one for you at no charge. It will tell you what the heatloss / heatgain of your home is and approximately what your yearly fuel bills could be using various fuels with various type heating equipment. Then you will possess the information necessary to select your equipment with the assurance it will be just right for your homes Heating and Cooling needs.

All York Affinity Furnaces are available as: Single Stage, Dual Stage, and Dual Stage Variable Speed Efficiencies of 80% and 9X% AFUE

AFFINITY 80% AFUE >
The Single Stage 80% Furnaces operates in one capacity rating.

The Dual Speed 80% Furnaces operate in one of two capacity rating.
It normally comes on at 60% of capacity in 1st stage and then if after 10 minutes it has not shut off it knows it is not keeping up with the heat loss of the home and will shift to the 2nd stage high capacity rate. You’ll hear it get louder as it moves more air.

The Variable Speed Dual Stage also operates in one of two capacities.
It incorporates a few other enhancements not found in just the dual stage. The primary difference is the blower motor. This furnace uses an ECM “electronically commutated motor” that can reduce your electric consumption by 80%. You select the volume of air required and it produces that volume practically regardless of
resistance to air flow encountered. This is a big benefit up to the point increased velocity leads to noise becoming objectionable.

AFFINITY 9X% AFUE >
All York furnaces come in Single Stage, Dual Stage, and Variable Speed Dual Stage.

The Single Stage 9X% Furnaces operates in one capacity rating.

The Dual Speed 9X% Furnaces operate in one of two capacity rating.
It normally comes on at 60% of capacity in 1st stage and then if after 10 minutes it has not shut off it knows it is not keeping up with the heat loss of the home and will shift to the 2nd stage high capacity rate. It gets louder as it moves more air.

The Variable Speed Dual Stage also operates in one of two capacities.
It incorporates a few other enhancements not found in just the dual stage. The primary difference is with the blower motor. It uses an ECM “electronically commutated motor” that can reduce your electric consumption by 80%. You select the volume of air required and it produces that volume regardless of resistance to air flow encountered. This is a big benefit up to the point increased velocity leads to noise becoming objectionable.

FURNACE CONFIGURATIONS >
YORK Furnaces are all available in Upflow, Downflow, and Horizontal configurations.
They can be installed normally wherever they’re needed with the provision they can be vented.

FURNACE VENTING REQUIREMENTS >
This is a difficult subject to write comprehensibly on. Let me attempt to explain a little rational behind chimney venting and why 90% furnaces do not require chimneys.
There are 2 Categories of furnaces commonly used for residential heating.

80% efficient Category 1
These are negative pressure, non condensing furnace and the vent piping does not have to be air tight or water tight. However, a cold masonry chimney will condense the flue gases which over time damage to your masonry chimney. This damage is what the chimney liners are designed to prevent.

9X% efficient Category 4
These are positive pressure condensing furnaces and the flue needs to be water and air tight. Most of the energy “heat” is removed from the stack gas of a Category 4 Furnace which puts it below the gases dew point where condenses. This moisture can’t be put in your chimney so these furnaces vent through plastic PVC piping to outside the home. Sometimes two pipe venting is used which makes your furnace a direct vent appliance because it brings combustion air directly in from outside and vents the products of combustion directly back out.

4. HUMIDIFICATION
This is a major factor in health and comfort. What’s occurring in winter is cold outside air enters the house due to infiltration. When the air is warmed to room temperature and expands it might go from 50% to 5% relative humidity which is extremely dry air and requires humidification. A side benefit of humidified air is it can feel up to 5 degrees warmer. Keep in mind to much or to little humidity cause their own distinct problems. Enthralpic Humidifiers such as Aprilaire’s AutoTrac option monitors indoor and outdoor humidity and temperature and reacts accordingly.

Dalton Heating and Cooling has been an Aprilaire Humidifier dealer almost exclusively since we’ve been in business. It has always been #1 in quality and satisfaction . They have a broad range of products with excellent documentation. Their new Humidifier Line have an optional component called Autotrac. This option requires installation of an outdoor sensor so indoor and outdoor humidity levels can be compared and hence provide a more constant humidity level in the home.

5. AIR CLEANING
There are many ways to accomplish air cleaning. The thing that needs to be kept in mind is that ideally you need to keep the velocity below 500 FPM "feet per minute" and the static pressure drop across the filter below .2 IWC inches of water column. If this is ignored - as is often the case – it results in the filter losing its effectiveness and too high a pressure drop developed across the filter resulting in diminished air flow at the registers. Often we find a Furnace blower unable to provide the required air flow due to increased resistance to air flow. This is becoming an increasingly common problem as we become more aware of Air Quality and install higher quality air filters. HVAC is very interrelated where a continuing cause/effect plays out and diagnostic capability of static pressure is often unknown. Here’s some scenarios.

Less Air Flow Results in:

•  Reduced Air Filtration effectiveness
•  Reduced Air Conditioning effectiveness
•  Reduced Indoor Comfort levels
•  Reduced A/C Compressor life expectancy and intermittent shut downs
•  Increased A/C operating costs
•  Increased Equipment run time
•  Increased Heat Exchanger temperature with premature failure and inefficiency
•  When a Blower works extra hard for long periods its a candidate for premature failure

Ultraviolet light is another technique that is gaining popularity. It kills living bacteria and some odors in the air stream. Just remember these have to be captured and removed by filtration prior to being recirculated. Otherwise they cause there own odor problems.

There are more devices available than I care to mention and they all claim to clean the air. I’m going to skip the free standing units because we’re concerned mostly with the whole home. Keep in mind the only way the furnace can clean the air is if its running. The debris must stay suspended in the air for the duct work to capture the particles and return it to the Return Air Filter. Also the placement and effectiveness of the Return Air grills is important to prevent dust settlement.

6. FURNACE THERMOSTAT
The choices and options available for Thermostats has become infinite. It is our experience new Battery Powered Electronic Thermostats provide the most reliable operation. Keep two things in mind. (1) Don't misplace your thermostat instruction book. (2) Replace your battery each year. Solid State logic chips require very steady clean power. Nothing provides cleaner power than a fresh battery. Thermostat wiring requires consideration and should provide:

•  Solid connections
•  No splices
•  Be short as possible
•  Minimally 20 gauge wire
•  Shielded cable should be used and carefully routed to avoid crosstalk
    and interference from house wiring and other sources

7. FORCED AIR ZONING
Forced air zoning is most economically done when a home is built because you design your duct system to incorporate the concept. If tried later it usually means disconnection of heat runs and return air and rerouting and adding trunk work. Often air balancing can provide the comfort your looking for but nothing really replaces zoning. We have settled on the Honeywell Zone System because we were pleased with our experience with the Trol-a-Temp company which Honeywell acquired.

8. RADIANT IN FLOOR
Radiant Infloor Hot Water Heat is without question very comfortable. We’ve done a number of these installations and its true, people love the comfort and so will your pets. We’ve often used conventional Hot Water Heaters to provide the hot water. Works pretty good up to approximately a 30,000 btuh heat loss.

DUCTWORK AIR DISTRIBUTION
Your forced air distribution "ductwork" is at least as important as the furnace itself particularly if your thinking of Air Conditioning. Keep in mind homes built prior to 1960 often didn’t consider Air Conditioning an option. Heating only ductwork performs poorly during cooling due to lack of concern for return air. Is there one or two rooms in your home you avoid because they’re uncomfortable while the rest of the home is fine. This is a common complaint and generally due to air distribution.

Good duct design should be done when the home is built. In the case of older homes this can be a problem because air conditioning was never considered and has heating only ductwork. During our service work we had encounter so many problems caused by poor ductwork that we decided to invest considerable time and money to acquire the skills and test equipment necessary to offer Air Balancing Service. More info available under Air Balancing.

AIR BALANCING
When most of us consider Air Balancing we visualize adjusting basement heat runs. If you ever tried this you likely didn’t get far because adjusting any heat run effects them all.
You must be able to test and measure. The ability to do that requires instrumentation, knowledge and experience in order to interpret what the measurements are telling you.

Here are the major factors being interpreted and they all interrelate.

•  Air flow velocity in FPM "feet per minute"
•  Air flow volume in CFM "cubic feet minute"
•  Static pressure in inches of water column
•  Temperatures in dry bulb, wet bulb, dew point
•  Relative humidity

An Example: Perhaps you were wondering if your equipment is operating at capacity. The ability to interpret certain of the above factors will provide a precise answer.

The single largest reason people inquire about air balancing is a certain area of their home is to cold or hot.

Initially we do an Air Side Diagnostic and supply a written report which points out the problem and provides recommendations. During the diagnostic we calculate the BTUH loads of the room. Then we measure the air temperatures and air flow actually being supplied to the room. This tells us how much of the required load is being met.

The problem catch with air balancing is that when something is changed it normally reacts with something else and if you can’t measure that change its all just a guess.

Electrical
Newer Furnaces require higher amperage due to the larger volume of air being moved which means larger wire. Air Conditioning equipment on the other hand draws less power. But they all require clean power and good GROUND connections due to the extensive use of solid state electronics. This led to many old electrical panels being evaluated and replaced.

Venting Product of Combustion of Natural Gas
This is a subject has many pitfalls. Please do not use this as authority. It is simply an attempt to provide some insight into what is being accomplished. Category 1 appliances should be B Vent all the way to atmosphere or B Vent to a Masonry Chimney where its enters an approved aluminum chimney liner to atmosphere. Category 4 appliances are vented with PVC. Your contractor needs to follow the Manufacturer and the National Fuel Gas Code book procedures.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Much of what was said about batteries in the thermostat section applies here with one additional comment. You want your CO2 detector working during a loss of electrical power. You may not have considered that, but please do and you'll see why. GET A BATTERY OPERATED DETECTOR AND CHANGE THE BATTERY YEARLY.

Gas Line
This is another area that offers plenty of opportunity for error.

•  Calculate the btuh load to insure pipe diameter can meet the demand
•  After Installation check each connection for leaks
•  Were unions used so the piping and be disassembled and modified.
•  Were ball valves used rather than gate valves
•  Were drip legs installed and piping pitched correctly
•  Should some of the existing gas line work been repaired

Air Leakage "Infiltration"
A 2 pipe Direct Vent Furnace does not create a negative pressure in the home which discourages infiltration. There is no combustion air to be replaced because it was brought directly in, used and then discharged. Direct venting causes no negative pressure in the home and often doesn’t need the humidification previously required and often significantly reduces the infiltration older windows permit.

Air Leakage "Expiration"
If we bring in more air than we exhaust we will cause a positive pressure in the home which will tend to encourage expiration. This can be a good thing if we’re trying to maintain a clean indoor environment by limiting the debris brought into the house from outdoors.

Air Exchange
It has been a requirement for a few years in Canada that all new homes have an air to air heat exchanger. The idea seems to be slow catching on in USA. Basically, there are 3 types.

• Energy Recovery Ventilators, either Enthrapic or Sensible
• Make up air units that tie into the furnace return air
• Exhaust Fans with Infiltration

Insulation Values
Most of us are aware of the value of insulation. We know when blanket insulation is compressed its insulation value is reduced. Also keep in mind - when wet its useless - so keep it dry.

Windows
Windows are often purchased on the basis of their energy savings. Given the choice between replacing the windows or the furnace the furnace will prove superior every time. We’re skeptical that the best way to cut you energy savings is by replacing your window. We are however thoroughly convinced that having windows in our homes is preferred.

LET'S REVIEW SOME FUNDAMENTALS:
There are (5) factors which determine human comfort levels. Air Temperature, Air Velocity, Relative Humidity, Activity Level, and Insulation Value of Clothing.

It helps to remember: Heat travels only in one direction, heat goes to cold. It does this in three ways, four if the human phenomenon of evaporation is included.

1. Conduction or Conveying without motion
This is how heat moves through a material

2. Convection or Conveying with motion
Commonly referred to as, warm air rises. When air is warmed it expands and a cubic foot of air gets progressively lighter and tends to rise. It also displaces denser cold air which tends to fall and produce cold air currents, this is the principle behind the gravity furnace.

3. Radiation or Propagation of invisible waves of energy
To experience the Radiation effect, sit next to a south facing window. During the day you roast as the sun radiates in, then at night you feel chilled as you radiate out.

4. Evaporation or how the body regulates its temperature
Evaporation is why wet bulb temperature is normally lower than dry bulb. The more humid the air the greater the difference. It has to do with the removal of latent heat which involves a state change. Evaporation of moisture is a good example of a change of state from a liquid to a vapor.

Something to think about
One cubic foot of standard air weighs .075 pounds and your blower moves 1000 Cubic foot of these per minute, which it would if you had 2 ½ tons of air conditioning. 1000 cubic feet per min x .075 pounds per Cubic Foot = 750 pounds your blower moves each minute.
If you run your blower constantly for 24 hours that’s 750 x 24 = 18,000 pounds per day.

More to think about
Your furnace blower draws 4 amps, a common value.
4 amps x 120 vac = 480 watts
480/1000 = .48 kw each hour. Every 2 hours you consume approximately 1 Kw of electric.
RG&E charges us 12 cent per Kilowatt “KW”
24 hrs / 2 hour = 12 kw x .12 cents = $1.44 per day
$1.44 per day x 30 days = $43.20 per month
$43.20 per month x 12 months = $518.40 per year for continuously fan.

Make sense?
If you think running your furnace blower is cheap you may want to think again.

What’s a ton of Air Conditioning and where did the phrase come from?
- One ton of Ice weights 2000 pounds. Absorbs 288,000 btu’s in melting.
“1 pound of ice absorbs 144 btu in the process of completely melting”
- One ton of air conditioning is capable of removing 12,000 btuh per each hour.
- 288,000 btu / 24 hour per day = 12,000 btuh
- 1 ton a/c running for 24 hour is capable of removing 288,000 btu’s