Nest Issues Consumer Safety Notice

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Nest Labs Inc. has issued a consumer safety notice for its Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector after recent laboratory testing showed the Nest Wave feature, which enables the user to turn off the alarm with “a wave of the hand,” could be “unintentionally activated,” causing a delay in the alarm going off in the event of a real fire.

In a letter to the Nest community, Nest CEO Tony Fadell said the company feels “the best and safest thing to do is to immediately disable the Nest Wave feature to resolve the issue and remove any safety concerns,” even though they are “not aware of any customers who have experienced this.” In the meantime, Nest has halted sales of all new Nest Protect alarms “to ensure no one buys an alarm that needs an immediate update.”

Fadell also issued the following instructions to Nest Protect owners in order to resolve the safety issue:

• If you have a Nest Protect connected to a Nest account via Wi-Fi: Within 24 hours, Nest Wave will be automatically disabled. You don’t need to do anything, and even with this feature disabled, our smoke alarm will continue to work very effectively, monitoring for increased levels of smoke and CO in the home.

• If you have a Nest Protect that is not connected to a Nest account, or have since taken it offline: It’s very important that you immediately connect your Nest Protect to your Nest account so we can remotely disable Nest Wave. Detailed instructions on how to connect your Nest Protect to the Nest Account quickly and easily can be found at www.nest.com.

• If you have a Nest Protect that is not connected to a Nest account and do not have access to Wi-Fi: If you are unable to immediately connect to a Nest account, please discontinue use of your Nest Protect and we will give you a complete refund. To claim your refund, visit www.nest.com/
contact/refund.

• If you want to buy a Nest Protect: Nest Wave is on by default in every alarm we sell. To ensure no one buys an alarm that needs an immediate update, we’ve decided to stop all sales while we fix this issue. For updates on availability, please check nest.com.

Fadell said the Nest Wave feature will be enabled again “once we have a solution that ensures Nest Wave works as intended,” which “will only happen after extensive testing and once we have received approval from safety agencies in the U.S., Canada, and U.K.” Fadell said the process will take at least two or three months and apologized for the inconvenience while offering a complete refund to those who do not wish to keep their Nest Protect

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics, click here to visit our websit

Quality Flow Controls LLC: Brass and Copper Isolation Valve

Some interesting information for service technicians.
Installation of the 2-Port Isolation Valve (2PIV) provides quick and easy refrigerant leak detection in evaporators, condenser coils, and refrigerant line sets. According to the manufacturer, faster results are now possible when searching for leaks in hard-to-reach locations, such as ceilings, walls, attics, or crawl spaces, providing 100 percent successful results for the technician. Valves are brazed on the suction and liquid lines, just ahead of the evaporator and condenser. Service gauges are connected to the valves. The system is then pressurized with nitrogen, and each valve closed, isolating the four circuits, providing easy determination of the leak’s location through pressure loss. Easily installed in any position or direction, the 2PIV can remain in place without any loss of performance to the system, the company said. The method saves time and money by eliminating guesswork. HVAC companies now have the ability to flat rate this task, said the manufacturer.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics, click here to visit our website

Dayton Reliable Air Filter: Panel Air Filter

An interesting article we wanted to share with our followers:

Made of post-consumer products, the Eco Green panel air filter features two layers of polyester heat sealed around a metal grid. The air inlet side of the filter is a white, multidenier coarse polyester. The air exit side of the filter is a green fine-denier tackified polyester made using recycled plastic pop bottles with an internal wire made of recycled metal. With the dual layers of media, the adhesive stops and retains respirable particles such as microorganisms, dust, and allergens. The filter features a low initial resistance to airflow, minimizing energy consumption, and a MERV 8 efficiency. It depth loads, giving it high dust-holding capacity and is UL standard 900 tested and approved. The self-sealing edge seal eliminates dirty air bypass. The filter’s total face is utilized. The filter media will not support the growth of bacteria, the company said.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics, click here to visit our website

Leak Freeze™

Leak Freeze™ is the leading Air Conditioning and Refrigerant leak repair solution in the U.S. today. Our HVACR repair was invented with American know-how and is manufactured by a company owned right here in the USA. A/C Leak Freeze™ is revolutionizing the AC leak repair world because it uniquely stops leaks of refrigerant gas in HVACR air conditioning and refrigeration systems in homes and commercial buildings.

A/C Leak Freeze™ is inert until it mixes with the refrigerant. A/C Leak Freeze™ is activated by refrigerant escaping at the site of a leak —forming a permanent seal. A/C Leak Freeze™ is compatible with all standard refrigerant gases. It’s polymer-free, tested to be non-clogging to the AC compressor and recovery unit — it’s a permanent fix.

A/C Leak Freeze™ with Magic Frost provides all the benefits of A/C Leak Freeze™ plus extends compressor life and reduces noise, improves AC system lubrication and reduces friction. It cleans and revitalizes the AC system while reducing energy consumption. A/C Leak Freeze™ with Magic Frost enhances the performance of older AC systems.

It is the perfect refrigerant leak solution for AC repair, fridge repair or any HVACR repair.

We have used a similar product and have had good results. We have not tried this product, so we cannot tell you that it will solve a leak issue.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics, click here to visit our website

HVAC Equipment Shipments Spike in 2013

Some interesting news from the Air Conditioning|Heating|Refrigeration News:

HVACR equipment was selling in 2013. In fact, some would describe 2013 as a banner year for HVACR shipments. According to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), shipments of residential storage water heaters, commercial storage water heaters, warm-air furnaces, central air conditioners, and air-source heat pumps increased in 2013, when compared to comparable data recorded in 2012.

Things are Looking Up

The numbers support the growing consensus in the industry that things are definitely improving. At the 2014 AHR Expo, held this January in New York City, Steve Yurek, president and CEO at AHRI, agreed that manufacturers are feeling more optimistic than they were a year ago.

“I think everybody’s feeling pretty good about 2013 — it was a good year for the industry,” Yurek said in a recent NEWSmaker podcast. “I think everyone is [feeling] very positive. I think the industry itself … has a positive outlook for 2014, both in the residential and commercial space.”

Francis Dietz, vice president of public affairs, AHRI, said the organization is happy with the shipment data and hopes to see the trend continue

"We are pleased to see an uptick in shipments in the year-to-date numbers for these products,” he said. “[We] hope it bodes well for the industry as a whole in 2014 and beyond.”

According to the data, which was released in February, equipment shipments increased in every category AHRI tracks, but one — oil warm-air furnaces, which decreased 10.7 percent to 32,144 in 2013, compared with 35,980 units shipped during the same period in 2012.

U.S. shipments of central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps increased 9.9 percent to 6,169,700 units in 2013, up from 5,613,665 units shipped in 2012. Year-to-date shipments of central air conditioners increased 7.3 percent to 4,201,068 units, up from 3,915,869 units shipped during the same period in 2012. Year-to-date heat pump shipments increased 16.0 percent to 1,968,632 units, up from 1,697,796 units shipped in 2012.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics, click here to visit our website

PORTABLE HEAT PUMPS

Just some information I wanted to share with our readers.

Less than 30 inches wide, the PACSlim-5 portable heat pump delivers 57,100-Btuh cooling capacity and 55,700-Btuh heating capacity. It may be used for outdoor spot cooling and heating or for indoor areas such as offices and conferences rooms, lobbies, stores, classrooms, health care facilities, and more. The PACSlim-5 can be used as a portable cooling unit only, a cooler with electric resistive heat, a conventional heat pump, or heat pump with auxiliary electric heat. Units are available in either 208-230-V single-phase or triple-phase, or 460-V triple-phase power supply, with or without 10- or 15-kW resistive heat. Features include lockable casters and removable 16-inch supply and return duct collars. The unit is factory-charged with an environmentally friendly refrigerant. A secure, weather-tight control panel and
color-coded Camlock power connectors contribute to the unit’s installation and maintenance ease. Options include a remote thermostat or condensate pump. The PACSlim-5 has an operating range of 65°-115°F in the cooling mode. In the heating function, the range can vary depending on the mode (electric heat versus heat pump).

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics, click here to visit our website

GPS in SERVICE VEHICLES

Here at Action Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc., all of our vehicles are equiped with a GPS Tracking device. We find it very helpful to keep in touch with our technicians and to better serve our customers. An example would be when a customer calls in to the office and would like an estimated time of arrival at their residence. We can pull the vehicle up on the computer and find the location of that vehicle. The GPS enables us to track the amount of time a vehicle is on a job. This is very helpful with billable hours. The GPS tracking system has improved our business.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics, click here to visit our website.