Safety Archives | Controlled Air, Inc.

Ice Dams

Controlled Air Inc. — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 00:38:03 +0000

What is an Ice Dam?

An ice dam is a hump of ice that forms at the edge of the roof. Ice dams form when a home’s escaping heat warms the roof and melts the underside of the snow layer on the roof. Water trickles down the roof until it reaches the cold at the edge of the roofing, where it freezes. After a while, the ice at the edge gets thicker, forming an ice dam. This puts your roof and the inside of your building at risk. If the water reservoir behind the ice dam is large enough, water can back up under the roof shingles and damage ceilings.

Stay Safe if Ice Dams Form

Clear off roof hatches of snow and ice. If hatches are not cleared and there is an emergency we will not be able to access the roof.
Clear snow & ice away from heat pumps. Heat pumps can freeze, causing improper functioning.
If you run A/C in the winter due to internal load, be sure to:
1. Clear snow & ice away from condensing unit.
2. Make sure your A/C is capable of low ambient operation.
Keeping snow away from equipment electrical panels will help prevent water from entering and possibly causing short circuiting.
Safety with snow & ice is always a concern. Keeping your equipment accessible during the winter time can make it easier for our service technicians to access your equipment safely if repairs are necessary.
Beware of snow and ice falling on family members, tenants & the public.
Ice deposits can form slip hazards on the ground.
Beware of mold and spores caused by moisture accumulating indoors can be hazardous to your health.

Tips to Prevent Ice Dams

The four possible solutions to reduce escaping heat and prevent ice damming are:

Sealing air leaks between the warm interior and the attic or cathedral ceiling.
Adding more ceiling insulation.
Improving ventilation between the top of the insulation and the roof sheathing.
Installing a rubberized membrane under the roofing.

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New Deadly Trend Among Teens

Controlled Air Inc. — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 22:26:20 +0000

There is a new trend among teens with deadly consequence, freon huffing. Huffing is the inhalation of chemicals, paint or gasoline through the nose or mouth. It is also referred to as sniffing, dusting or bagging. Freon huffing rapidly destroys brain cells and can lead to heart-failure, brain damage or death. It gives teens the feeling of being intensely drunk but quickly dissipates making detection difficult. Some teens even place a plastic bag over their head with the freon inside which can lead to suffocation.

Here are some statistics about huffing:

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that one in five American teens have used Inhalants to get high.
According to Stephen J. Pasierb, President and CEO of The Partnership for Drug-Free America, 22% of 6th and 8th graders admitted abusing inhalants and only 3% of parents think their child has ever abused inhalants.
An analysis of 144 Texas death certificates by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse involving misuse of inhalants found that the most frequently mentioned inhalant (35%) was Freon (51 deaths). Of the Freon deaths, 42 percent were students or youth with a mean age of 16.4 years.
National Institute on Drug Abuse’s ‘Monitoring the Future’ study reveals that inhalant abuse among 8th graders is up 7.7% since 2002.
55% of deaths linked to inhalant abuse are caused by “Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome.” SSDS can occur on the first use or any use. The Inhalant causes the heart to beat rapidly and erratically, resulting in cardiac arrest.
22% of inhalant abusers who died of SSDS had no history of previous inhalant abuse. In other words, they were first-time user.
“Huffing,” or inhaling volatile substances is becoming increasingly popular among children, especially among 12- to 14-year-olds (Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 1998;152(8):781–786).

To be proactive make sure to secure refrigerant, installing locking caps on an A/C unit is one possibility. There is a provision for securing refrigerant access ports on new construction codified by the International Code Council (ICC) in the 2009 International Mechanical Code (IMC) and the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) and has been accepted by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) for inclusion in the 2012 Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC), but these codes are not adopted by all jurisdictions.

Please be aware and take precautions about this tragic new trend with teens. It is important for us all to educate preteens and teens about the dangers of huffing. For more information visit INHALANT ABUSE PREVENTION

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Spring Maintenance

Controlled Air Inc. — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:11:54 +0000

On average there are 4 maintenances per year. Spring and Fall are the most involved and require the most time. Spring maintenances typically occur between April1 – July 1. The exact times vary based on the weather and equipment. This year spring maintenances began early because we have had such warm weather. The spring maintenance prepares equipment by making sure everything is clean, greased, and working properly before it is turned on. We have specific checklists for each customer based on their contract and equipment. Some of the items we attend to in the spring include:

Cleaning and filling cooling towers
Turning on chillers
Changing filters & belts
Greasing bearings
checking all electrical systems
Checking refrigerant levels
Basic operational check
Checking pump and fan motors
Punching the tubes in water cooled condensers (we really don’t punch the tubes, it is a process of using a brush to clean copper tubes)

Summer maintenance begins July 1 and typically is less involved then the spring maintenance usually only entailing a basic check and filter changes. Of course this does vary by equipment and industry.

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Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Controlled Air Inc. — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:52:46 +0000

We continually hear about carbon monoxide detectors for our homes, but what about at our businesses? Regardless if you have gas, oil or wood/coal, it might be a good idea to have one. Even with high-efficiency furnaces and boilers, if the combustion air intake should get blocked you could produce carbon monoxide. It might be especially important if you have any older boiler. The CDC states that 500 people each year die from Carbon Monoxide poisoning, although most of these occurrences are in homes, Twenty percent (20%) of incidents occur in businesses of various types.

In winter time the chances of carbon monoxide poisoning are greatly increased. Carbon Monoxide detectors have to be installed separately from a traditional HVAC system. If you are interested in adding a carbon monoxide detector to your system, please contact us. For more information about carbon monoxide click here

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