What Is Hvac Training?

HVAC is a continuously growing and extremely lucrative industry whose workers are extremely in demand. Also known as climate control, HVAC stands for heating, ventilating and air conditioning. HVAC provides thermal comfort, high quality indoor air and cool air for families and businesses during the hot summer months. In virtually all areas of the United States, there is a dire and escalating need for HVAC workers.

More people are choosing to pursue a career in the HVAC industry. Because everyone needs heating in frigid climates and air conditioning in hot climates, this field will always be in need of employees. HVAC training offers a broad education in the areas of ventilation systems, heating technology, refrigeration and air conditioning. These systems may utilize several different types of technology and methods. However, they are closely connected and many HVAC workers possess in-depth knowledge in virtually all of these departments. At the same time, because there is such a vast array of equipment, many HVAC workers choose to solely work on one or two subjects.

Properly training HVAC employees requires keeping up-to-date with any changes, modifications or trends in the HVAC field. Heating, ventilating and air conditioning technology is rapidly changing and advancing. This causes many alterations in HVAC methods and equipment, while shifting levels of need and diverse environmental conflicts are driving changes in the field. Today’s HVAC graduates and newcomers should be knowledgeable in the correct handling of refrigerants, CFCs, potentially harmful health issues, quality air conditioning and air quality programs, air exchangers and appliances, energy efficient furnaces and safety. An increased need for laborers in these areas has resulted in a higher demand for skilled workers who possess the correct qualifications and are concerned and knowledgeable in these areas.

Colleges and post secondary schools that offer complete HVAC training are growing. There are more venues that offer this type of entry-level job education. These schools offer on site courses, online training, apprenticeship HVAC courses and related internships. By doing a simple Internet search, you can find the HVAC education outlet that best fits you. Most schools have Web sites that will give the prospective student with abundant information about courses, class schedules and tuition costs. Potential candidates should be sure that any school that they decide to attend will give them the appropriate knowledge and instruction for future employment in their preferred region. Different types of qualifications, credentials, licensing and certification are required in various areas.

Once a student graduates with a license, degree or certification in HVAC, he is very likely to start working immediately. The need for HVAC workers is expected to rise across North America until at least 2014. Certain regions of the United States, such as the western states of Montana, Nevada and Idaho, are expecting an increase of over 50 percent.

There is no U.S. state that doesn’t predict an increase in demand for HVAC workers. Currently, HVAC professionals are earning an average of $37,000 annually. In 2004, approximately 270,000 HVAC workers exist in the United States.

Have you always dreamed of a career in the HVAC industry? The Refrigeration School offers HVAC class schedules that work with any busy lifestyle.

Black Mold Poisoning
After mold formation, it needs nutrition to grow, which it obtains by degrading the surface it is growing on. During the process of degrading surface for nutrition, mold causes formation of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These VOCs are harmful to human respiratory and nervous systems.

If a person is subjected to high exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) formed by mold, it affects human respiratory and central nervous systems and causes irritation to mucous membranes.

Symptoms of black mold poisoning:
Common symptoms of black mold poisoning are:

• Uneasiness in respiration
• Headaches
• Cough
• Red eyes
• Development of rashes and hives on skin
• Nausea
• Memory loss
• In some cases, people experience bleeding in lungs
• Lethargy
• Dizziness
• Lack in concentration
• Problem caused due to irritation in mucous membranes
• Asthma
• Allergic reactions (such as itching of nose, runny nose etc.) of respiratory and/or nervous system etc
• Irregularity in blood pressure
• Damaged digestion and respiratory system
• Infections of urinary track, problems in urination etc.
• Pain in liver and other internal organs
• High level or prolonged exposure to mold can lead to infertility in the patient

How mold can be controlled? (Tips for controlling mold problem)

• Moisture is one of the most important factor for the growth of mold. By making it sure that the level of moisture is under check you can keep molds at bay. (Relative humidity i.e. RH can help in finding out when you need to dehumidify your building/house)
• If there is any water leakage/intrusion, pipe leak, roof leak, condensation problem etc; it should be prevented first.
• Ensure the air conditioners, HVAC systems, and air/ventilation ducts are clean. Normally mold formed in these systems are more dangerous as it easily escapes the human eye inspection.
• Bathrooms are the most prone places for mold formation and growth. The tiles, curtains and appliances inside the bathrooms should be properly cleaned/removed in order to avoid mold formation.
• If possible, use air purifiers to cleanse the air inside your house. Air purifiers can help in reducing the airborne particles of mold spores.
• Now a day, there are many paints/anti mold products available in market that can resist moisture and/or mold at certain level. Using such products can also help in prevention of mold.

By Nilesh Parekh

Furnace Buying Tips

Choosing a furnace for your home is not difficult. The following list are features that you may want to look for when buying your furnace.

1. What type of furnace do you want? Will it be Gas or Electric?

The Gas Furnace

The gas furnace is always more affordable to use than the electric furnace where gas is readily available. On the downside, burning fuel generates fumes. In well-maintained gas furnaces, the fumes generated are enclosed in the exchanger and then exit the house through an exhaust vent.

Remember, a gas furnace must be checked by a qualified professional at least once a year. The professional would check the furnace for holes, leaks or cracks. A break or crack in the furnace lets carbon monoxide seep into your house or place of business.

The Electric Furnace

The electric furnace has a higher cost than a gas furnace. On the upside, since electric furnaces do not use flames, it does not generate any carbon monoxide. The electric furnace is cleaner and safer than a gas furnace.

2. The Quality of the Furnace

The quality of the furnace determines how long and how well it will perform. Choosing a brand of furnace that has a history of quality and reliability can be less costly in the long run. Ask your contractor about which brand will be optimal for your needs. A free estimate for the purchase and installation are available in some companies.

3. The Efficiency of the Furnace

The efficiency of gas furnaces are determined by the AFUE or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency ratings. The AFUE ratings identifies how efficiently is the fuel being consumed. In most cases, a higher AFUE rating means it takes less fuel to heat your home.

Gas furnaces with higher ratings cost more than those with lower ratings but may save you more money down the road. A minimum rating of 78% is established by the government in 1992. Many furnaces have an efficiency rating of about 60% prior to 1992.

a. The Mid-Efficiency Furnaces

The mid-efficiency furnaces are also called ‘induces draft furnaces’ or ‘non-condensing furnaces’. The mid-efficiency furnace offers the bare minimum of 78% efficiency up to about 80%.

b. The High-Efficiency Furnaces

The high-efficiency furnaces are also known as ‘condensing furnaces’ or ’sealed combustion furnaces’. The high-efficiency furnaces has an AFUE rating as high as 96%. Some furnaces use a two-stage valve and an efficient variable-speed motor to raise comfort and effectiveness.

4. The Comfort features of furnaces

Several furnaces provide features that increases comfort and efficiency.

a. The features of the two-speed furnace

The furnace can function at low speed for most of the time. It allows for a more quieter operation for a longer amount of time compared to a ’single-speed furnace’. The longer run periods allow for fewer start/stop cycles, less drafts, and very little temperature variance.

The temperature swing is limited to about two degrees compared to the four degree variance of the single-speed units. The two-speed unit gives better circulation which prevents warmer air from rising and the cooler air from settling down. The two-speed unit gives a more consistent temperature in the house.

b. The features of variable-capacity furnaces

Furnaces with variable capacity provide a combination of efficiency and comfort. The variable-capacity has a motor that regulates your needs by automatically adjusting air volume and speed. The var-cap furnace provides the most efficient heating and cooling.

A fan comes with the var-cap furnace. The fan will reduce your cost during summer. If the fan is used throughout summer, the central air conditioning unit increases in efficiency.

5. The furnace noise level

Unfortunately, all furnaces do not come with a standard rating system for sound unlike heat pumps and air conditioners. Although, two-speed units and var-cap units generally operate at a low noise levels.

The two-speed and var-cap furnaces run for longer periods and lower sounds than the standard unit. Certain var-cap units has features that prevent ‘creaking’ of the ducts due to expansion and contraction caused by changing temperature. The temperature differential is reduced so that the creaking noise is also almost eliminated.

For more great furnace information and resources check out: www.furnaceadvisor.info

Benefits Of A Server Room Portable Air Conditioner

Server rooms are essentially rooms that house computer servers and in the informational technology sector, the term generally applies to smaller arrangements of servers, while larger groups of servers are housed in data centers. Server rooms are at the heart of IT operations, and in order to prevent hardware malfunction and system failure, proper operation and setup is critical.

Unfortunately, in an enclosed space of a server room, the generated heat from equipment can quickly increase the ambient temperature beyond equipment specifications. The life and reliability of machines is compromised, and other disastrous results can follow, including system crashes, random reboots, and overall poor performance. With that in mind, it’s important to keep your server room’s temperature within the recommended ranges associated with your hardware. Keep in mind that the heat dissipation from your servers will require adequate ventilation and cooling, so this is an important step in protecting your equipment and ensuring maximum productivity.

Environmental Conditions of Server Rooms
Computer equipment ages quicker when hot, and for individual machines such as home or office desktops, the internal fans and cooling mechanisms are often sufficient at keeping temperatures within safe operating limits. However, in data centers and server rooms, this may not be the case. Modern server equipment generates enormous amounts of heat, and today’s machines run faster and hotter. Moreover, server rooms may even be prone to "hot spots" which can build up behind equipment racks or near larger machines, and if not addressed, this can cause premature failures.

Increased humidity levels can also affect your server room because high humidity levels can damage equipment by causing corrosion and rust. Thus, preventing humidity changes and variations is imperative in order to avoid environmental conditions where there may be excess condensation, so the optimal humidity levels for a server room or data center should range from 40 to 55 percent. Lastly, another problem that can plague server rooms is insufficient airflow often due to the server room’s design. As such, all of these environmental temperature problems and fluctuations usually call for the installation of separate cooling systems.

Why Buy a Server Room Portable Air Conditioner?
When it comes to computer server rooms, keeping temperatures and the overall environment controlled must occur twenty four hours a day due to constant heat generation. Relying on central air conditioning systems is not possible due to the fact that most systems are prone to shutoffs during weekends. Moreover, central air conditioners are complex appliances that have been known to suddenly fail. Window air conditioners aren’t an option either, as most server rooms are usually not near windows. Instead, they are often located in interior rooms which presents a cooling dilemma for many customers.

Thankfully, portable air conditioners are ideal for keeping server rooms at the right temperatures because they have the ability to cool office spaces and computer rooms that house heat-generating electronics. This prevents computer networks, communications, and office equipment from shutting down when temperatures rise. As self-contained units, one of the biggest benefits of a portable AC is the fact that permanent installation is not necessary. In fact, almost all models include rolling casters that allow you to move the unit from one area to the next, making cooling server room hot spots especially easy.

Nonetheless, server rooms can’t be cooled by just any type of portable AC. An ideal server room portable air conditioner must have the following features:

1. Automatic Restart Function
2. Ventilation System to Displace Hot Air
3. Condensation Tank

Automatic Restart Function
An automatic restart function is imperative in a server room portable air conditioner because it will help keep the unit running continuously, even in the case of power failure. In other words, you can still keep your equipment cool even at night or on the weekends when central cooling is not available, and in the event of a power outage, the air conditioner will resume operation once the power is restored without you having to reset the controls manually. We recommend models such as the Soleus LX-140.

Ventilation System to Displace Hot Air
Server rooms must have a means to expel heat from the server room. As mentioned above, many server rooms are located within the interior of a building, and furthermore, window air conditioners can’t be used because of the security risk presented by an open window. The ideal type of portable air conditioner for a server room uses a vent hose to push air out through a drop ceiling or wall.

Condensation Tank
A server room’s atmosphere requires low humidity levels because too much moisture will cause damage to machinery. However, because portable air conditioners act as dehumidifiers and whisk moisture away from the air, this condensate is collected into a condensation tank or bucket.

Recommended Server Room Portable AC: NewAir ACP-1400E (www.air-n-water.com/product/ACP-1400E.htm)

Jeanie Wong is a marketing writer and product editor with extensive knowledge of appliances such as portable air conditioners.

Hvac Online Communities

Online communities are great for today’s business professionals. The web is no longer just a place for people to shop online or get the latest weather update, but a place for business professionals to exchange information and read about new technologies. Business owners and industry professionals who have undergone comprehensive training to excel in their careers can enhance their business strategies and stay up to date with current business trends simply by participating in online communities.

What is an online community? It can mean an online organization to bring together in the form of industry societies or formal groups, but it doesn’t have to be. Places such as forums and blogs provide additional contributions to an organization’s existing web site and places for professionals to connect with other professionals. A forum will allow a person to post a problem or question and get the opinions of other technicians in the field from all over the world. They may be able to offer new ideas that you or the people you work with every day have not considered. These tools are great for people in the HVAC industry.

What are the benefits of participating in an HVAC online community?

Gives HVAC Technicians a Place to Exchange News and New HVAC Technologies

After HVAC technicians have completed their education at a heating and air conditioning school, they need to find other ways to keep up on the news and technologies that continue to develop within the industry. Schools do a great job posting articles in blogs to keep their graduates abreast of new ideas. The web is a place for other professionals to share their views on current economic trends affecting their profession. It’s a place for professionals to get the word out about new equipment models and tools that will be useful in HVAC maintenance and repair. These things can be very useful to technicians in their every day work. Did you know that there has been a shortage in HVAC technicians recently? Did you know that green building designs are affecting indoor air quality control and energy consumption by HVAC units? You would if you kept up with current blog postings.

Gives Technicians a Place to Share Experiences

There are some things that must be done in a logical order. For example, you always put your pants on before your shoes. Other tasks, we are able perform in different ways. Do you pour your coffee and then add sugar, or do you put the sugar in the cup and then pour the coffee? These variations in procedures can have varying results in the final products, although maybe not so much in coffee preparation. HVAC maintenance and repair techniques may have variations in it as well. Your method for completing tasks may be slightly different than another person’s and therefore you have differing results. Online communities are great places to share your experiences and discuss successes and failures with other people. They may have better ways of doing things. They may need a little help and guidance. These exchanges of information based on experience with different HVAC technologies are incredibly useful in helping people do their jobs better.

Fosters a Sense of Belonging among HVAC Technicians

We all want to belong to a community. This is part of the reason we join gyms, go to church, play basketball, and create online profiles on so many different sites. We enjoy getting to know people and seeing things that are similar and different between us. Going to school is helpful for this as well, but often it’s hard to keep up with those relationships once your education has been completed. It’s fun to establish connections with people who have similar interests, such as a career in the HVAC industry. It not only gives us a sense of identity, but also creates an environment for networking. Networking usually ends up being an integral part of the job searching process. We meet a person through school, through school job fairs, or simply through ‘knowing someone who knows someone’ and these relationships could potentially turn into job offers.

Gives HVAC Technicians a Place to Get Information Regardless of Time or Place

Whether you live in Phoenix, Arizona or Anchorage, Alaska, you can participate in these communities. Whether you are someone who gets up at 6 am to spend time on the computer or likes to stay up until 2 am, you can participate in these communities when it is convenient for you. Time and place are no longer a factor in your ability to exchange information within your profession. You don’t have to go to a convention in another state in order to meet someone else in the HVAC industry to discuss a problem you’ve been encountering with a piece of equipment. You can post your problem on a forum and see who responds.

See what other people are doing in order to apply new ideas to your own life and work. These communities and online organizations have been helpful to so many industries. They can be useful to the HVAC industry as well.

About the Author:
The Refrigeration School, Inc. not only offers training in maintenance, repair, and HVAC technologies, but also provides technicians with an HVAC Blog for them to keep up with new ideas and technologies.