By Brenda Masse
Special Contributor
HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. Even though during the summer, we aren’t thinking much about the heating portion, the system works together to keep your house at the desired temperature.
Furnace Deficiencies
The furnace works independently from the air conditioning, but it utilizes the same vents and ductwork to run the heat. Here, inspector Brian finds a number of common issues with this 1990’s furnace. If you have a model like this in your home that hasn’t been serviced in a while, make sure you do that before you switch it on again next fall.
*Clearance to combustibles refers to the safest minimum amount of distance between a source of combustion and flammable material — like wood. A furnace’s heat shield is meant to absorb and reflect the high heat coming from the furnace — so not wood.
Furnace Danger
If this problem has gone undiscovered, these happy new homeowners would have unknowingly switched on the heat in a few months and found that they were having more than a normal amount of headaches, or worse. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is nothing to sneeze at, and at these levels, the people and pets living there would definitely be affected.
Disconnected Duct
Did you ever leave the door open and your parent said, “Shut the door, are you trying to air-condition the whole world?” This is kind of like that. Just blowing all that nice conditioned air right into the attic.
Rusty Vent Covers
The humidity of our climate, the condensation that forms between the warm air of the attic and the cold air coming from the AC, and especially the extra humid air in bathrooms – these all contribute to moisture forming on vent covers, which leads to mold and rust.
What to do? 1) Clean them occasionally. 2) Replace metal vent covers with resin vent covers. Resin is more moisture resistant and won’t rust.
Whether you are looking to buy a home or a current homeowner, if you have questions about the parts of your HVAC, you can schedule a regular service with an HVAC company, or you can #AskAHomeInspector with a Home Health Check Up.
