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For Existing Construction
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Whole House Health Checkup
If you don't test, you don't know!
Most homes have a minimum of two combustion appliances that operate within the occupants living space: a furnace & water heater. Other combustion appliances may include:
clothes dryer, cooking stove, fireplace, and space heater.
ALL COMBUSTION EQUIPMENT CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO THE
OCCUPANT’S WELL BEING IF THE APPLIANCE IS NOT OPERATING
OR VENTING PROPERLY.
Our highly trained and experienced Home Performance Technicians will examine your current home system equipment for potential problems using whole house methodology. Armed with this type of knowledge we are able to reach beyond and find problems that others have left behind.
Most HVAC contractors do not have equipment or training to perform these types of services.
Equipment & Systems
Water Heater
Test for Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Flue pipe installation method
Proper Drafting
Water Temperature
Heating System
Test for Carbon Monoxide (CO) – Current maintenance practices
Steady State of Efficiency (SSE)
Proper Drafting
Flue pipe installation method
Clothes dryer
Ambient CO (Gas Only)
Ventilation
Stove
Test for Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Ventilation strategies
Fireplace
Test for Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Damper operation
Ventilation strategies
Current maintenance practices
Space Heaters
Test for Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Exhaust ventilation methods
Note: All combustion appliances are evaluated
for adequate combustion air so that the device
may complete the combustion process.
Other tasks that are included in the Whole House
Health Checkup:
- Check all of the fuels deliver system components for pressure leaks.
- Examine the Combustion Appliance Zones (CAZ)s for any hazardous
conditions that may exist, and any interaction by other combustion
equipment or building pressure changes.
- Examine the furnace cabinet and exposed ductwork for air leaks or disconnects
- Check alert devices for proper installation and operation (Smoke – CO Alarms)
- Check relative humidity conditions & evaluate buildings for potential
moisture problems.
Our company uses Bacharach Professional Diagnostic Testing Equipment. The equipment analyzes the flue gases during the combustion process. This method of testing provides our customers printed documentation that reveals facts (not someone’s opinion) of how well the equipment is performing and operating in your home.
Some of the CO effects on people and animals may be: Dizziness or headache, flu-like symptoms, confusion, eye and upper respiratory irritation, fatigue, wheezing or bronchial constriction, persistent cough, increased frequency of angina in persons with coronary heart disease, & elevated blood carboxyhemoglobin levels.
*Carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx): Indoor concentrations of CO and NOx may be higher than outdoor concentrations due to indoor un-vented combustion
(e.g., un-vented space heaters), failures in the combustion exhaust vent systems of vented appliances, and leakage of air from attached parking garages into the building. Tobacco smoking can cause a small increase in indoor CO concentrations. Short-term exposures to highly elevated concentrations of CO can cause brain damage or death (NRC 1981). Lower concentrations can cause chest pain among people with heart disease (NRC1981) along with many other symptoms that effect occupant health NO2 is usually considered to be the most important of the indoor nitrogen oxides. High concentrations (e.g.,0.5ppm) of NO2 can cause respiratory distress in individuals with asthma and concentrations of approximately 1 ppm cause increased airway resistance in health individuals(NRC 1981). Long-term exposure to much lower concentrations of NO2 may be associated with increased respiratory illness among children (Vedal 1985).
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