Data Logging
The information age has been good to the HVAC industry. Wilson Services has special instrumentation that can be left in your home to measure a variety of performance benchmarks such as health related (what is in your air, and how much), comfort (identify temperature swings and humidity levels that may be too high or too low), and energy consumption (identify how many hours a heating or cooling appliance runs compared to actual outdoor conditions). The loggers are good for finding problems. But let’s not be so quick to blame the HVAC, often times the home is suffering from less than ideal building practices.
The Air Advice
One cutting edge data logger available to you is called Air Advice. It simply plugs into a wall outlet and a phone jack, and 24 hours later we have a detailed profile of important items such as temperature, humidity, Carbon Monoxide, and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Many Massachusetts homeowners have an understanding of all of these subjects, although VOCs are perhaps less understood. Many manufactured materials in a new home, especially those that require glues and solvents (think of kitchen cabinets, carpets, newly finished oak flooring, paints, etc). Like most environments that are less than ideal, healthy adults usually can tolerate low levels of VOCs, but the elderly and children may be more vulnerable. A pregnant woman should talk to their doctor before being exposed to VOCs. Once identified, one way to dilute the VOCs in the home would be the use of and ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) or HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator). Click Fresh Air systems and industry misconceptions to learn more.
The Hobo Data Logger
Another Data Logger we use, sometimes many throughout the home at once, is called the Hobo. The two biggest items when it comes to your family’s comfort is temperature and humidity. With our data loggers (about the size of a Tic Tac container), we can observe temperature and humidity discrepancies from as many as 12 different rooms at once. Depending on how your contract is written with your General Contractor or HVAC contractor, excessive temperature or humidity may need to addressed and corrected.
Our last but not least data logging offering has less health consequence and more financial
impact. This unit that can measure how many hours a heating or cooling appliance operates by simply keeping track of when electricity is being used to operate the appliance. There is no linier equation to this method of gathering data; we simply want to know if an appliance is operating too much (a steam system that may be suffering from one or more of many problems), or ironic as it may seem, if an appliance is operating too little. Are you surprised that this information may be able to help you make major decisions? An example may be this: You want to replace your 50 year-old boiler. It is perhaps twice a large as it needs to be. With a data logger we can observe how many hours the burners run at given outdoor temperatures and convert the data, or extrapolate, what size boiler is actually required. If you have commercial rental property such as an apparent building, this may be extremely valuable information because the information can help you save thousands in your annual fuel consumption.
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A note to our web site visitors: This article was written in 2000, and has an emphasis on hydronic (hot water) heating systems. We currently offer both European style heating systems as well as basic to high-end HVAC (warm air/air conditioning) systems . ***Featured in the Daily Hampshire Gazette – Home Magazine, September 2000 Tips...
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Carbon monoxide can be present in your Massachusetts home without leaving a trace because it is an odorless, tasteless and colorless gas. It kills more people annually in the United States than any other type of poisoning. The only side effects of carbon monoxide poison are flu-like symptoms (nausea, headaches, and lethargy) which are easily...
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