WE HAVE LEARNED this winter that on cold days, the heating system in the sanctuary has not been able to heat the room adequately while the doors and windows are open (as needed to reduce the risk of airborne infection). The relatively cold room has been uncomfortable for some, and a frustration for those who feel responsible for the situation.
One factor to consider is the heating system’s air filters, which probably affect its ability to heat the room. This brief post discusses the impact of those filters, and related considerations.
Right before Rosh Hashanah, I installed hospital-grade (MERV-13) filters, in order to reduce the risk of airborne infection in a relatively crowded hall. These filters necessarily restrict the air flow, compared to the standard filters, and thus they reduce the output of the heating system.
An engineering study reported on HERE suggests that the typical drop in air flow is about 6% if our blower motor happens to be an older type (PSC); and then as the filter gets dirty, the air flow will be restricted further. (In contrast, with the newer type of motor, overall air flow would not suffer. However, energy usage would increase.) The general impact of filters and blowers is laid out clearly HERE.
I have a call in to our HVAC contractor, to learn more about our system’s configuration. But I was told that due to vacations, I won’t hear back until next week.
In the meantime, I intend to check today to see how dirty the filters are. If they do need to be replaced already, we won’t be able to get new ones delivered until next week.
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