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InspectAPedia ® Home HEATING SYSTEMS AFUE DEFINITION, RATINGS AGE of CHIMNEYS & FIREPLACES AGE of HEATERS, BOILERS, FURNACES AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS AIR HANDLER / BLOWER UNITS AIRBOUND HEAT SYSTEM REPAIRS ANODES & DIP TUBES on WATER HEATERS ANTIFREEZE for BOILERS ANTI SCALD VALVES APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN buildings BACKDRAFTING HEATING EQUIPMENT BACKFLOW PREVENTER VALVE, HEATING SYS BACKFLOW PREVENTER, HEATER WATER FEEDER BACKUP HEAT for HEAT PUMPS BANGING HEATING PIPES RADIATORS BAROMETRIC DAMPERS BASEBOARD HEAT BLEVE EXPLOSIONS BLOWER FAN CONTINUOUS OPERATION BLOWER FAN OPERATION & TESTING BLUE vs YELLOW COMBUSTION FLAMES BLUERAY Recall BOILERS, HEATING BOILER CHEMICAL TREATMENTS BOILER COMPONENTS & PARTS BOILER CONTROLS & SWITCHES BOILER LEAKS CORROSION STAINS BOILER NOISE SMOKE ODORS BOILER OPERATING PROBLEMS BOILER PRESSURE & TEMPERATURE SETTINGS BOOKSTORE - InspectAPedia BTU USAGE MONITORS CAPACITORS for HARD STARTING MOTORS CARBON DIOXIDE - CO2 CARBON MONOXIDE - CO CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR CIRCULATOR PUMPS & RELAYS COOL OFF HEAT, Thermostat Switch COMBUSTION AIR COMBUSTION AIR for TIGHT buildings COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ COMPLETE COMBUSTION, Stoichiometric CREOSOTE FIRE HAZARDS CONDENSING BOILERS/FURNACES CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS DEFINITION of Heating & Cooling Terms DEHUMIDIFICATION PROBLEMS DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE DIAGNOSE & FIX HEATING PROBLEMS-BOILER DIAGNOSE & FIX HEATING PROBLEMS-FURNACE DIRECT VENTS / SIDE WALL VENTS DRAFT HOODS - gas fired DRAFT MEASUREMENT, CHIMNEYS & FLUES DRAFT REGULATORS, DAMPERS, BOOSTERS DUCT SYSTEM & DUCT DEFECTS ELECTRIC HEAT, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSTIC GUIDE ELECTRIC MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH ELECTRICAL POWER SWITCH FOR HEAT FAN, AIR HANDLER BLOWER UNIT FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS FAN LIMIT SWITCH FAN NOISES FILTERS, AIR for HVAC SYSTEMS FILTERS, OIL on HEATING EQUIPMENT FIRE SAFETY CONTROLS FIREPLACES & HEARTHS FLAME COLOR, BLUE vs YELLOW COMBUSTION FLOODED HEATING EQUIPMENT REPAIR FLUE SIZE SPECIFICATIONS FLUE VENT CONNECTORS FUEL OIL TYPES & CHARACTERISTICS FUEL UNIT, HEATING OIL PUMPS FURNACES, HEATING FURNACE CONTROLS & SWITCHES FURNACE HEAT EXCHANGER LEAKS FURNACE OPERATION DETAILS FURNACE OPERATING TEMPERATURES GALVANIC SCALE & METAL CORROSION GAS BURNER Flame & Noise Defects GAS FIRED WATER HEATERS GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS GAUGES ON HEATING EQUIPMENT GEOTHERMAL HEATING SYSTEMS HEAT EXCHANGER LEAK TEST HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS HEAT LOSS INDICATORS HEAT LOSS PREVENTION PRIORITIES HEATING COST FUEL & BTU Cost Table HEATING COST SAVINGS METHODS HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-BOILERS HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-FURNACES HEATING OIL PIPING TROUBLES HEATING OIL TANKS HEATING OIL TYPES & PROPERTIES HEATING OIL USAGE RATE HEATING SMALL LOADS HEATING SYSTEM NOISES HEATING SYSTEM TYPES HIGH EFFICIENCY BOILERS/FURNACES HOT WATER HEATERS HUMIDITY LEVEL TARGET LOW VOLTAGE BUILDING WIRING LOW VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER TEST LP & Natural Gas Safety Hazards MANUALS & PARTS GUIDES - HVAC MIXING / ANTI-SCALD VALVES MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH Natural Gas Combustion NO HEAT - BOILER NO HEAT - FURNACE NOISE, DUCT VIBRATION DAMPENERS NOISE, HEATING SYSTEMS NOISE, WATER HEATER ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE ODORS FROM HEATING SYSTEMS OIL BURNERS OIL BURNER FUEL UNIT OIL BURNER INSPECTION & REPAIR OIL BURNER NOISE SMOKE ODORS OIL BURNER NOZZLE & ELECTRODES OIL BURNERS, RETENTION HEAD OIL BURNER SOOT & PUFFBACKS OIL FILTERS on HEATING EQUIPMENT OIL FILTER MISSING OIL FUEL TYPES & CHARACTERISTICS OIL LINE CLOGGING FIX OIL LINE QUICK STOP VALVES OIL LINE SAFETY VALVES OIL ODORS, LEAKY OIL TANK PIPING OIL PUMP FUEL UNIT OIL SPILL CLEANUP / PREVENTION OIL TANKS PLASTIC HEATER VENT PULSE COMBUSTION HEATERS PRESSURE REDUCING VALVES PRESSURE REGULATOR, WATER RADIANT HEAT RADIANT HEAT Floor Mistakes to Avoid RADIANT HEAT TEMPERATURES RADIANT SLAB FLOORING CHOICES RADIANT SLAB TUBING & FLUID CHOICES RADIATORS RELIEF VALVE LEAKS RELIEF VALVES - TP Valves on Boilers RELIEF VALVES - STEAM TP VALVES RELIEF VALVES - Water Heaters RELIEF VALVES - Water Tanks Reset Switch - Heater Primary Control Reset Switch Broken - Quick RepaiR RESET SWITCH - ELECTRIC MOTOR Reset Switch - Stack Relays SAFETY, HEATING INSPECTION SAFETY RECALLS, Chimneys, Vents, Heaters SOLAR HEATING SYSTEM DESIGNS SOOT on OIL FIRED HEATING EQUIPMENT SPILL SWITCHES - Flue Gas Detection SPLIT SYSTEM AIR CONDITIONERS & HEAT PUMPS STACK RELAY SWITCHES STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS TANKLESS COILS THERMAL EXPANSION of HOT WATER THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS THERMAL TRACKING & HEAT LOSS THERMOSTATS, HEATING / COOLING THERMOSTATS, WATER HEATER THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues VIDEO GUIDES: Heating System Videos VIDEO GUIDES - InspectAPedia.com WATER HEATERS WATER HEATER SAFETY WATER HEATERS for HOME HEATING USE? WATER HEATER NOISES WATER HEATER SCALE - De-Liming Procedure WATER HEATER SCALE PREVENTION WINTERIZE A BUILDING WOOD, COAL STOVES & FIREPLACES WOOD STOVE SAFETY ZONE DAMPERS ZONE VALVES More Information |
This article discusses methods for providing adequate, safe combustion air for fuel-burning appliances in tight buildings - how to provide outside combustion air for heating appliances. Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman. Details for Providing Adequate Combustion Air Without Losing Building HeatSketch at page top and accompanying text are reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. See COMBUSTION AIR for additional details about the requirement for combustion air. COMBUSTION AIR for TIGHT buildings explains how to provide outside combustion air for tight buildings. See COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS for an explanation of the dangers of inadequate combustion air. See COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ for the relationship between fuel burning appliances and building indoor air quality. More about carbon monoxide - CO - is at CARBON MONOXIDE - CO and at CARBON MONOXIDE WARNING. Also see the safety warnings at BACKDRAFTING HEATING EQUIPMENT. Also see CHIMNEY HEIGHT & CLEARANCE CODE This article explains the need for adequate combustion air for fuel burning appliances in buildings, for both safety and for proper equipment operation. Figure 1 (page top and shown in more detail here) notes that by confining the gas furnace in a separate room, adequate air for draft and combustion can be supplied [from outdoors] without adding infiltration to [and cooling] the house. The author notes that
Simple Homeowner Tests for Adequate Combustion Air & Adequate Chimney DraftAn easy test of adequate draft in a gas appliance is to hold a just-blown-out match near the vent hood and see if the smoke is drawn up the flue. This chimney draft test should be performed under worst conditions: in warm weather (the chimney stack pressure will be lower in warm weather), with the house closed up (shut windows and doors, especially the windows and doors feeding the utility room where the appliance is located), and running all of the building's exhaust fans at once. See BACKDRAFTING HEATING EQUIPMENT for a detailed description of the test procedure to check for adequate combustion air and adequate draft. Two Methods for Supplying Combustion Air for Heating Appliances in Tight buildingsThe National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) [and other sources such as the Uniform Mechanical Code and the National Fuel Gas Code] suggest looking for carbon build-up around the burner and looking for flue corrosion. Two approaches are given for supplying outdoor combustion air to fuel-burning (oil, gas, wood, coal) heating equipment:
Direct-Vented Combustion AppliancesSome heating appliances, furnaces, boilers, and water heaters, are designed to isolate the combustion process from the living space entirely, avoiding the need for complex combustion air and venting schemes. Direct-vented combustion appliances are designed and tested to burn fuel and draw combustion air properly even when high winds hinder draft. Typically such systems include two sets of piping or ducts between the appliance and outdoors, one bringing combustion air in directly to the appliance burner, and a second venting combustion air outside. The two vents might appear on some systems as a single larger diameter double-walled pipe containing actually two vents, the smaller located inside the larger. Combustion Air for Air Tight WoodstovesTypical airtight woodstoves require only 10-25 cfm of combustion air - much less than an open fireplace (50 to 150 cfm or more) or to older non-airtight woodstove. But in tighter homes it may be necessary to provide combustion air or a draft inducer fan even for these appliances. Just as modern energy codes provide a vent to supply outside air to open fireplaces, outside combustion air can be supplied to an airtight woodstove through a floor vent or a wall register that is ducted in turn to outdoors - a method that adds to cold air infiltration into the building. A more promising approach described in the original article Combustion Air Details for Tight Houses (page 3) is to supply combustion air through fixed ducts right to the appliance air inlet. See COMBUSTION AIR for additional details about the requirement for combustion air. See COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS for an explanation of the dangers of inadequate combustion air. See COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ for the relationship between fuel burning appliances and building indoor air quality. More about carbon monoxide - CO - is at CARBON MONOXIDE - CO and at CARBON MONOXIDE WARNING. Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. Original article in PDF form:
... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)... Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaQuestions & answers or comments about the CO & other hazards of inadequate combuation air in tight buildings and how to provide safe combustion air. Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below. Technical Reviewers & ReferencesRelated Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
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