Yesterday I spent the morning with Nathan Delgado, a service technician from Acme Heating & Air conditioning, with whom Mishkon has a service contract.
Below the jump, this post describes what I learned from the experience.
 |
| (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.) |
Repairs
Nathan not only did routine maintenance checks but also a couple of repairs, as follows.
ENSURING ELECTRICITY SUPPLY. One of the sanctuary’s air conditioners had stopped working last month. Upon investigation, we found that in the bimah’s south side room, a circuit breaker was off (it had apparently tripped); and on the roof, a fuse had blown. Nathan remarked nonchalantly, “A lot of different things could cause a fuse to blow.” I.e., it wasn’t necessarily the sign of an ongoing electrical problem. After turning the breaker back on and replacing the fuse, the system seemed to work fine.
PROTECTING PIPE INSULATION. Pipes that contain chilled refrigerant run between the condensers on the roof and the coils in front of the blowers. Those pipes are covered with foam insulation that helps to keep them cold. However, the insulation degrades in sunlight over time. I pointed out to Nathan that our insulation had substantially degraded, exposing the copper pipe (see photo).
Nathan said that when the insulation was first installed, it should have been wrapped with UV-resistant tape to protect it from the sunlight.
He and I then discussed the cost/benefit of replacing the insulation and taping over the new material, versus merely taping over the existing insulation. I decided that the latter option was the most cost-effective. So he covered our exposed pipe insulation (on both buildings) with UV-resistant tape.
School building
The door to the school’s HVAC closet is self-closing. Somewhat annoyingly, we currently lack a means to prop that door open while someone is working on the unit that’s inside. (Maybe Ruben has some ideas for how it can be kept open when desired.)
When the A/C is running, moisture condenses from the air onto the coils. There is a drip pan that collects the condensate. A water pump (sitting on the floor of the closet, on the left) then moves that condensate through tubing up onto the roof, where it is discharged into the gutter. (According to Nathan, it’s not legal to dump the condensate inside or under the building.) If the pump ever fails, the A/C will automatically shut off until the pump is replaced. I.e., it’s one of several reasons why the thermostat display may go blank.
Cost of A/C
When I remarked that it seems to cost something like $150 for each hour of running the A/C in the sanctuary, Nathan was not surprised. He remarked that commercial A/C units draw a lot of power.
Filters
Acme charges $15 to provide and install an air filter that’s equivalent to what is available from Home Depot for $4 (including free delivery). Acme gets their filters from FilterBuy.com, which I have used, as well. There are substantial quantity discounts available through that website.
APPENDIX: Ducts, revisited
This past week, I also spoke by phone with an Acme service technician named Adam. He said he was familiar with Mishkon’s HVAC systems, having been to our premises many times. I asked how often Acme inspects the ductwork. (See the appendix on this topic in my earlier post HERE.) He replied that very little of our ductwork is actually accessible for inspection or repair. Service technicians will routinely do a visible inspection of what is accessible, but in his opinion there was little that could be done.
His answer puzzles me a bit, given what I had read and reported on earlier this year. I am concerned that leaks are likely to develop over time due to vibration, thus reducing the efficiency of our systems. Is there really nothing to be done about it?
No comments:
Post a Comment