Os fornos podem ser exigentes. Durante os meses mais frios, estamos constantemente recebendo ligações de pessoas cujos fornos não estão mantendo suas casas aquecidas por algum motivo ou outro.
Às vezes, há um mau funcionamento real de algum tipo. Talvez uma parte falhou. Talvez o motor do ventilador tenha estragado.
Outras vezes, nada está realmente quebrado. O problema é que o forno nunca foi devidamente comissionado.
Isso significa que os técnicos de HVAC que instalaram o forno nunca configuraram as coisas corretamente depois de colocá-lo em funcionamento. Você vê, é possível instalar um forno sem - e isso é super comum em Atlanta - garantir que o forno possa ter sucesso em:
- Manter os ocupantes aquecidos nos dias e noites mais frios
- Operando com segurança para que toda a fumaça vá para onde deveria
Alguns passos finais são necessários para acertar isso. E é simplesmente
incrível como poucas empresas de HVAC se preocupam em levá-los depois de instalar um novo sistema.
É assim que você deve comissionar um forno
É um processo de cinco etapas à prova de falhas se você realmente o seguir. Sim, requer trabalho extra para o técnico de HVAC, mas você não pode colocar um preço no conforto interno impecável e na segurança de seus clientes. É assim que vemos, de qualquer maneira.
Veja como nossa equipe comissiona um forno após a instalação:
1. Cronometre o medidor
Quase ninguém (exceto nós) faz isso. É fundamental cronometrar o medidor para definir a quantidade adequada de entrada de gás, expressa em BTUs.
"Clocking" é basicamente uma fórmula que mostra a quantidade de gás que está sendo fornecida ao aparelho. Você executa esta etapa para garantir que a chama entre no forno corretamente e não seja muito grande ou muito pequena.
Para entender como isso funciona, imagine que você acabou de instalar um forno de 60K BTU. Se você é um técnico de HVAC, quer garantir ao cliente que o forno realmente está recebendo 60 mil BTUs de gás para que funcione de acordo com as especificações do fabricante. Um técnico deve verificar o medidor, inserir os números na fórmula e ajustar a válvula de gás de acordo com os resultados. Quando tudo der certo, de acordo com a fórmula, você pode ter certeza de que o forno está recebendo 60 mil BTUs de gás.
Clocking the meter and making these adjustments can affect performance, efficiency, and furnace longevity. It's a small thing for your HVAC technician to do, but it can make a
huge impact on your comfort and your wallet.
2. Perform a combustion analysis
This step ensures your furnace is burning gas properly. By "properly" we mean safely and efficiently.
When a furnace is burning properly, a certain amount of combustion gas will be produced and then vented safely to the outdoors. Proper venting is important because exhaust gases
are being produced and
do have to go somewhere. You don't want them venting into your home due to an installation mishap or wear &tear issue!
The right way to do this is to use a digital combustion analyzer. We take multiple readings around the combustion appliance (in this case, a furnace), inside the vent pipe, and within the living space. This step verifies that combustion gases aren't going where they could be unsafe.
Remember, furnace exhaust contains carbon monoxide. It's dangerous to breathe it.
Combustion analysis also shows whether the right amount of combustion gas is being produced. If the levels are off, there could be an issue with combustion that needs to be addressed before we can call it a day and say that the furnace is properly installed.
3. Check the venting and drafting
This kind of goes along with combustion analysis. It's important to ensure that the vent pipe is the right size and design.
Occasionally, there will be physical blockages in the vent pipe. Think:leaves, pine straw, dirt, and other debris. If that stuff is preventing combustion exhaust from escaping the home, it needs to be cleaned out.
In some older homes around Atlanta, furnaces were installed many years after the home was constructed and vented into an existing chimney. This might have been an okay option 60 years ago when someone first installed a furnace. However, over time, old chimneys with masonry liners can crack and combustion gases can enter the home. When your furnace or other gas appliance vents into an old chimney, it's very important to have an HVAC technician check that all the gases are venting properly!
At PV, we use the same combustion analyzer to verify proper venting. With this tool, we can use a fine measurement of pascals (the relevant unit of measurement for this application) to make sure the furnace is venting as it should.
4. Check temperature rise
This is where you check to see that the furnace isn't overheating your home. When we check temperature rise, we're also making sure that the airflow is set so that the furnace can heat within a range appropriate to its design.
Performing this step — and performing it
correctly — extends the lifespan of your HVAC system and helps you avoid service calls down the line.
Keep in mind that checking temperature rise and performing combustion analysis should really be happening in tandem. Changes to temperature rise can impact the combustion process, so you have to be constantly analyzing combustion while making any adjustments.
5. Cover all the basics
There's a whole laundry list of little checks that most HVAC companies
do manage to remember. You've got to do those, too. They include things like:
- Making sure the gas shutoff valve works and can be turned without a wrench
- Checking the the furnace itself is level and sealed with no gas leaks
- Verifying that an atmospheric combustion furnace isn't in a confined space and adding ventilation in the event that it is
- Verifying proper drip and ensuring there's a hard pipe gas line going to the furnace
- Ensuring that the venting is secure, properly sloped, and uses double-wall material all the way back to the furnace
- Checking that the thermostat is properly set up
Our team does all of those things,
plus the super-important, but often neglected, tasks described above. We think all of these steps are essential to ensuring your new furnace keeps you warm for many winters to come!
If you have furnace problems…
There's a chance your furnace wasn't properly commissioned. Common symptoms of an improperly commissioned furnace include uneven temperatures among different rooms, hot spots and cold spots, and high gas bills.
When poor commissiong is the issue, there usually isn't anything wrong with your furnace. Some adjustments are likely in order, but after that there's a good chance the furnace will work fine.
If you're not satisfied with the performance of the furnace in your Atlanta area home, get in touch with us! We'll stop by at your convenience and figure out what's going on.
