Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine January 2023

HVACR NewsMagazine January 2023

working. Enlarged condensate lines are not working. So what will work? Maybe we should insist on furnace closets being located within conditioned or semi conditioned spaces. Maybe the length of the concentric kit and piping should be limited. Maybe wastewater folk should allow 90+ condensate to drain into their system. Scores of excellent contractors struggle with the problem and some now refuse to put a 90+ in the attic. I certainly don ’ t know the answer. Here is what I do know. There is a big push by President Biden and Democrats to reduce and eventually eliminate fossil fuel appliances / furnaces. At the same time, there is a push to move toward 97% furnaces. We have got to find an answer. It is a problem that involves us all — HVACR License Board, Arkansas Energy Office, Utilities, Architects, Builders, Contractors and the HVACR Association. Most of all it affects the homeowner who is being sold high efficiency systems that have an unspoken Achilles Heel. It is not fair to the consumer and we all need to do something to solve the problem. One gas company made an effort to work with waste water folk but that is still languishing. Maybe this year we can see a committee of sorts that will solve the problem. We can hope.

Cold Weather & 90+ Furnaces Kicked us in the Backside Yes, it is a new year. Christmas is past, cold weather is upon us (at least a couple of days at a time), and everyone seems to be busy. January kicked everyone with crazy low temps. Unofficially, many of you were working in 1 to sub-zero temps. May not have been official but it was certainly cold. This brings us to the issue of 90+ furnaces and freezing drain lines and collector boxes in furnaces located in attics. In a super unofficial survey, I heard of over 250 service calls in central Arkansas on that super cold night with most being caused by problems with 90+ furnaces. In a wild guess, would you agree that the number state wide would have been in excess of 2,000. Let ’ s use that number. What does that cost the consumer? Maybe $300 to $500 per call. So in one evening Arkansans spent close to a million dollars on 90+ furnace freezing calls and their families were cold. Now that is a contradiction to most. Gas furnaces provide excellent heat, not service calls and freezing nights. “ So what ’ s up with that? ” Heat strips are not