Dominion Power Rebate Program for Commercial HVAC Systems

Your contractor must be on Dominion’s approved contractor list. The performance of each contractor and project will be closely monitored. Please allow for multiple visits by Dominion’s personnel and a third party Measurement and Verification (M&V) contractor. Local governments do not qualify. Customers with single meter loads greater than 10 megawatts do not qualify. Dominion has $30 million dedicated to this program. Although it sounds like...

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NOTES FROM AN AEE/NCC TOUR OF A LOCAL POWER PLANT

Gas turbine generators also add to the viability of wind and solar power generation. Conventional power plants use fossil fuels to fire boilers which create steam to drive the generators. Boiler plants can take one to two days to bring on line and do not handle fluctuations in load very well. Nuclear plants are also best run at a steady load. Gas turbines can be brought on line in a little as 15 minutes and easily modulate to handle the load fluctuations...

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Troubleshooting a Broken Thermostat

The thermostat serves as the control center for an HVAC system. When it goes bad, the entire unit follows suit. When the entire HVAC system doesn’t seem to budge, a damaged thermostat is one of the most likely causes. Here are a few troubleshooting tips. The thermostat must be installed in the proper location. Owners need to ensure that the thermostat is installed in the correct place; for instance, a thermostat installed on a wall with high heat gain or heat loss will never work properly as it will mainly react to the temperature of the wall...

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A Brief History of HVAC Systems

HVAC doesn’t always mean air conditioning. In fact, the acronym stands for “heating, ventilation, and air conditioning”, which covers everything related to controlling thermal comfort. HVAC systems have come a long way since their inception, and this blog post will delve into several main points of HVAC history. 1000s-1400s – During this period, the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and Indians all churned up pioneering heating and cooling solutions. One notable invention was the Roman hypocaust, which is a central heating system consisted...

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Serious Commercial HVAC Epidemics: Gone Underground or Gone for Good?

The term “building related illness” grew in use during the 1990s, starting with the sick building syndrome (SBS). Workers exhibit signs of dizziness, fatigue, and skin problems, among others, in the workplace for reasons unknown. The odd thing about SBS is that afflicted workers claim relief the moment they step out of the workplace.Twenty years later, SBS has disappeared from media as mysteriously as it appeared back then. New indoor air quality (IAQ) standards and commercial HVAC equipment improved the working conditions a great deal, reducing...

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Installing Commercial HVAC Systems Needs Some Serious Heavyweights

Contractors like the Altus Corporation often use heavy machinery to hoist HVAC units to the roofs of commercial buildings. A helicopter may be a bit overboard, but there’s nothing wrong with it as long as it gets the job done. Cranes are the common choice for the job, their arms reaching up to almost 30 stories high.Why can’t good commercial air conditioners be like their lighter residential siblings? The answer lies in their purpose.As commercial HVAC systems need to heat or cool a wider area (supermarkets, workshops, and offices), they require...

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Facts about Commercial HVAC Maintenance

Property managers should see to it that they know just about every aspect of what makes the inner workings of their commercial buildings function properly, and a large part of that job is maintaining the HVAC system. Air conditioners and heating equipment can be quite troublesome, so it’s always important to keep these facts and tips in mind when dealing with them: Get Professional Help Don’t even try to DIY any problem with your HVAC that you know couldn’t simply be fixed with a mere adjustment in the thermostat or temperature control. These...

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