The concern

The concern and need for good indoor air quality will probably never go away so the market for air duct cleaning should remain strong for a long time. Air duct cleaning is a natural partner or extension of HVAC system installation and servicing. Air duct cleaning offers many benefits to the HVAC Contractor including: • Excellent gross margins (40% to 60%) • Significant add-on revenues with existing customers. • Identifying potential

Ventilation Canopy

Ventilation Canopy & Grease Filter Cleaning
General Note: Ideally once the filters have been cleaned they should be completely free of grease and carbon deposits. In practice this may not be achievable resulting in only the surfaces being cleaned.
1  Operatives to check all PPE, cleaning equipment and chemicals required for the task. Refer to COSHH assessments supplied for chemicals being used. Operatives to set out all ‘Caution/Warning’ signage required and cordon off cleaning area prior to work commencing.
2  Operatives to check hoses and connections for High Pressure Sprayer. Operatives to carry out electrical safety check of cabling and plug, ensure that cable/ lead is sound and not severely kinked and that plug is not damaged and machine has current PAT Test Certificate.
3  Operatives to check that 10kg cleaning tank is in fit condition, no holes or damage to main body of tank.
4  Operatives to dispense cleaning chemicals into tank as per the COSHH data sheet instructions. Fill tank with water to recommended level and switch on heater.

Operatives to check all PPE,

Operatives to check all PPE, cleaning equipment and chemicals required for the task. Refer to COSHH assessments supplied for chemicals being used. Operatives to set out all ‘Caution/Warning’ signage required and cordon off cleaning area prior to work commencing.
2  Carry out pre-work safety check of the machine i.e.. cut/ broken lead, damaged plug, damaged or broken discs or brushes.
3  Check that machine has got current PAT test certificate/ label.
4  Operatives to assemble machine as per manufacturer’s safe operating instructions.
5  Operatives to ventilate area if required (this can be done by opening windows, doors or turning on ventilation equipment if necessary).
6  Operatives to prepare cleaning solution according to the COSHH data sheet and pour into machine solution tank.
7  Operatives to insert a circuit breaker (RCD) into power socket and plug machine in to RCD.
8  Operatives to switch on machine and test machine is working correctly.
9  Operatives to clean the floor with regard to the brush position and pressure in relation to soilage, using a systematic overlapping pattern and changing or turning brushes or pads as necessary. Ensure when cleaning that machine cable/ lead is behind the line of work and not lying in water.
11  Operatives to remove splashes from walls, skirting or other items as they occur using a clean cloth.

Sick House.

Sick House. The name has an ominous sound, but it doesn't mean that the house is leaning or falling apart. A sick house is a house with a serious air quality problem. The area can be described as "sick," mainly because people develop symptoms of illness such as headaches, watery eyes, nausea, skin disorders and fatigue when they must spend considerable time where there is a build-up of air pollutants from household products, building materials, formaldehyde and/or respirable particles. In Florida, sick houses are usually houses with a serious moisture problem. Moisture also plays an important role in promoting the growth and spread of mold (mildew). Molds produce spores, tiny encased "seeds," which float in the air. Under severe contamination thousands of mold spores can be suspended in each cubic foot of air. When people are exposed to mold spores over and over they can develop allergic symptoms.

Repair Duct system

Repair Duct system repair involves reconnecting parts that have become separated, and replacing or repairing any damaged or missing component parts, which could include flexible metallic and non-metallic “plastic flex” ducts, rigid metal ducts, sheet metal duct components, duct supports, register boots, and registers. Renovation Duct renovation should be performed if the duct system is in poor condition or improperly sized. Renovation involves replacing a significant portion of the ductwork, either to restore it to proper operation or to increase the capacity of the return air ducting. Some systems have return ducts that are too small, causing whistling filters, noisy ducts, and reduced energy efficiency. If size is not the problem, often only a portion of the ductwork needs replacement. But if the entire duct system needs to be replaced, your contractor must correctly size the ducts and registers to ensure that the new ductwork will provide the most comfort and greatest energy efficiency

The noise levels

The noise levels in cities have been increasing year over year, and these increases could, within a few decades, lead to an environment so noisy as to have a harmful effect on the health of residents and to a reduction in their quality of life. For this reason, the level of acoustic pollution caused by equipment is an important factor to be considered. The ‘noise’ level of equipment can also provide a competitive advantage to one producer over another.
Measuring acoustic pollution
On a European Union level, a directive on noise can be expected, which will set limits to the amount of noise generated by various products and equipment. Eurovent, aware of this situation, decided very early on to introduce sound power as a certified characteristic, which is published in its Directory of Certified Products.

The conference

“The conference helps us as a beginning, not an ending. We should not continue to apply the so-called direct line-model that governments are no longer prepared to support. We should adopt the teamwork model to reach our common goal, as was proposed by Prof. Bredesen of NTNU, Trondheim, Norway, for both the chemical and natural working fluid strategies. By accepting that there are two different approaches, but one common team of players with the same objective, it will be possible to come up with the solutions society needs and asks for. Society will eventually decide”.
International organisations like the IEA have an important role to play in bringing forward new energy solutions for a cleaner world.
The proceedings of the conference can be ordered from the HPC; for price information, see the Publications section of the website