The heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are a vital part of every home. These mechanical systems help control the indoor conditions you need for comfort, health and safety. How these mechanical systems interact with other appliances is critical in keeping your home’s indoor environment healthy and safe.

Common Situations

Equipment that is not sized or operating properly is less effective, may use more energy, have higher operating costs and compromise the health and safety of all occupants.

There are many reasons that may prompt you to assess the comfort and safety of your HVAC equipment:

• Equipment age and noise — old equipment may not provide adequate heat and air exchange. A deteriorating or improperly installed system can be noisy.
• Smells — wood smoke or combustion gas smells may indicate chimney problems or dangerous spillage from fuel burning equipment. Inadequate air exchange may cause stale air or lingering smells.
• Comfort — there may be cold spots, excessive dust, humidity problems or stale air that makes the house noticeably uncomfortable.
• Other renovation work — this can be an opportune time to modernize the heating system in the house and to install a proper ventilation system where one does not exist. It is important that mechanical systems do not change the balance between the air pressure inside the house and the air pressure outside. Lower air pressure inside the house can lead to problems of combustion spillage from furnaces, hot water heaters or fireplaces. Many modern kitchens incorporate very powerful exhaust fans that can cause major pressure differences.

Healthy Housing^TM

Renovating is an ideal time to make your house healthier for you, the community and the environment. When assessing the comfort and safety of your mechanical systems, be sure to consider:

• Occupant health — adequacy of exhaust systems for combustion appliances, a ventilation system for occupants.
• Energy efficiency — efficiency of motors in the heating and ventilation equipment, efficiency of heating, cooling and hot water heating equipment.
• Resource efficiency — measures to reduce space heating needs (upgrading insulation, draftproofing, HVAC appliances that use the least amount of energy, solar and wind energy) to reduce the home’s environmental impact.
• Environmental responsibility — HVAC appliances and occupant practices to reduce energy environmental impacts.
• Affordability —  energy-efficient appliances to reduce ongoing operating costs.

House as a System

A house is much more than just four walls and a roof — it’s an interactive system made up of many components including the basic structure, heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, the external environment and the occupants. Each component influences the performance of the entire system. A renovation provides an opportunity to improve how your house performs.

The comfort and safety of HVAC systems very much depends on how the equipment is integrated into the house. Exhaust fans must not compromise the venting of combustion appliances. Additional fans may require special provisions for make-up air. Structural changes made as part of renovations may improve draft proofing and insulation, resulting in increased occupant comfort and house durability. However, these changes may alter the venting of combustion appliances and the supply of fresh air for occupants.

Avoid Surprises

Knowing the properties and operating characteristics of your heating and ventilation system will help you to decide the changes you may want to consider. Here are some of the likely situations that people encounter. However, every situation is unique and you may need to hire a qualified professional to do a thorough investigation, find the problems and suggest the best solutions.

Equipment Age and Noise
	How old is the furnace? When was the last maintenance service done?
	Repair or replace old equipment. Every piece of equipment has a natural life span even if it’s maintained correctly. Maintain equipment regularly so that it operates safely and efficiently.
	Old furnace motors are not as efficient as newer models. Hot water-based heating systems may have inefficient boilers and pumps. Inadequate maintenance shortens equipment life span and can lead to premature failure, incomplete fuel combustion and backdrafting of combustion gases. Clogged filters are a fire hazard. Cracked heat exchangers allow combustion gases into the home’s air.

	Is the heating system making too much noise?
	Have your HVAC system assessed by a professional HVAC contractor. Noise in a forced warm air heating system may be the result of fans and blowers that are not maintained or properly attached to the house structure. Noise can also be created because of undersized ducts. In water based (hydronic) heating systems, noise may be generated as pipes expand and contract when the system heats up and cools down. Some noise may be the result of improperly attached pipes that do not allow for thermal expansion and contraction. The water in the system could also be too hot.
	Noisy heating system components, particularly fans and pumps, can suggest that they are near the end of their useful life and could fail at any time.

Smells
	Is there a wood smoke smell from the fireplace in the house? Are there combustion smells?
	Investigate the source of the smells and take action to correct the problem. Regularly noticing smells from combustion gases and wood smoke from the fireplace or other combustion appliances in the house suggests that the flue is not functioning properly. It may also be the result of pressure imbalances in the house that can be solved by flue maintenance, properly balancing the heating system and adding make-up air.
	Combustion by-products are toxic and in the worst cases can cause death.

	Does smoke come into the house from the chimney? Are there fuel smells in the furnace area?
	Get the chimney inspected and cleaned by a qualified tradesperson.
	Blocked and dirty flues are a fire hazard. If flues are blocked entirely, then combustion gases will spill into the house, which can have serious health impacts and can cause death.

	Are there any fuel-burning appliances in the house? Are there any smoke or gas detectors?
	Install a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide (CO) detector to alert you to any combustion gas spillage that may be occurring.
	Combustion gas spillage is a major safety risk that can have serious health impacts at high concentrations. Carbon monoxide is toxic and can cause death.

Comfort
	Is there even distribution of heat throughout the house? Are there cold spots?
	Make sure the warm air registers (or hot water valves in a hydronic system) are open to allow heat in. Upgrade the insulation in cold areas. Cold spots can be caused by an improperly laid out or inadequate heating system. Balance the heating system and seal the ducts. This will likely be needed when major renovations are being done and if the heating ducts (or hot water pipes) are exposed. Consider using supplementary heaters or booster fans to provide additional heat. This could be an electric heater or electric radiant panels in the floor.
	Cold spots in the house, especially on outside walls and ceilings, are areas where condensation will occur. Condensation, dust and other organic material on the wall surface creates ideal conditions for mold growth that can compromise indoor air quality (IAQ) in the house. Improper or inadequate adjustment of the heating system can create excessive pressure imbalances in the room. This could affect the operation of combustion appliances in the house. Adjustments after a renovation may require changes to the finished work.

	Are there heating ducts or pipes that run through unheated space such as an unheated crawl space or in the attic area?
	Air-seal and insulate the ducts or water pipes to reduce heat loss in unheated spaces. Consider relocating the ducts.
	Heat will continue to be lost through uninsulated ducts or pipes. Condensation can form in the ducts, which can cause moisture problems and be a breeding ground for mold. Ducts can also carry dust, mold spores and other contaminants that can be drawn into the house.

	Are there areas of the house that always seem drafty and uncomfortable?
	Air-seal the house including repairing or replacing window and door weatherstripping. Areas that are constantly drafty suggest large amounts of air leakage.
	Outdoor air will continue to enter, carrying in pollens and dust from the outside. Warm air carrying moisture can escape through cracks and pores of the building causing moisture problems indoors.

	Is it difficult to maintain comfort conditions?
	Replace old controls. Maintaining constant temperatures requires good controls. Place thermostat in a location that is out of the sun to get an accurate reading of the average house temperature. Consider zoning the house, so that the sunny south side would be on its own zone, while areas in constant shade or on the north side would have their own control.
	Comfort conditions will be hard to maintain. Older thermostats are not as accurate as today’s electronic models. Electric heaters with built-in thermostats are especially vulnerable to wide temperature swings as the heating element itself influences the thermostat. Improperly placed thermostats that are too close to a heating element, an outside door or in direct sunlight will not be able to provide a proper control function.

	Does there seem to be stale air in the house? Do smells linger? Is the house too humid?
	Install a heat recovery ventilator that can operate continuously, at low speed. Exhaust-only ventilation systems do not provide a balanced flow (like heat recovery ventilators) and can result in lower air pressures in the house, compared to the outside. This can cause combustion appliances to backdraft. Choose a quiet, good quality fan for the main bathroom with a timer switch that can be set to operate at least eight hours in every 24, either in one period, or in several periods spread over the day and night. Make sure that the kitchen range hood fan exhausts to the exterior.
	Inadequate air change rates in the house create poor indoor air quality conditions that can compromise health over time. Excessive humidity build-up can deteriorate finishes, the structure and contribute to mold growth.

	Is the house very dusty?
	Air-seal and draftproof the house. High dust levels in the house are a sign of excessive air leakage from outside. Vacuum frequently to remove dust. Add a medium efficiency pleated filter or electronic filter to the forced air heating system. The filter will capture a lot of the dust within the house. However, the fan must be adequately sized and set to operate continuously to move air past the filter.
	The house will continue to be drafty and dusty. If the fan does not operate continuously, the filter will not do anything. Continuous operation of an improperly sized fan with an inefficient motor can increase electrical power consumption.

	Is the house too humid or too dry at various times of the year?
	Repair, replace or install a new mechanical ventilation system. High humidity in the winter is usually an indicator of very low air exchange in a well air-sealed house. Some houses may have high humidity in the summer. This may be a result of local climate conditions (hot, humid, summer weather in central Canada). Install a dehumidifier, especially if the house is not air-conditioned. An air-conditioning system should help dehumidify the air. Too low a humidity level in the winter is an indicator of excessive air change rates. Air sealing the house will reduce the uncontrolled air change.
	High humidity creates unhealthy conditions. Molds, fungi and mites thrive in warm, damp environments. Excessively dry conditions dry our mucous membranes, lowering our resistance to bacteria.

Other Renovation Work
	Is there any renovation work planned that will require changes in the HVAC equipment or ducts throughout the house? Will a new addition exceed the demand of the current HVAC equipment?
	Assess how extensive the changes will need to be to the HVAC system. If significant changes are planned or your system is close to the end of its life span, it may be cost effective to install new, more efficient equipment. Remember that the house is a system. New windows or air sealing may reduce the demand of HVAC or create the need for controlled make-up or combustion air. Upgrade or replace the HVAC equipment to meet new demands.
	New equipment may need to be installed in the near future that could cause added disruption. Undersized or inadequate equipment will not provide the comfort and service that you expect.

Costing Your Project

Cost of maintenance and system upgrades will depend on the work that needs to be done. Simple housekeeping work that you can do will cost nothing other than any needed replacement oil or filters. When reviewing bids from contractors for equipment replacement or modifications, make sure that the quotations you are comparing are for similar work, including the same or truly equivalent equipment.

Essential Kitchen Chic  

Thinking about remodeling your kitchen any time soon? Pendant lights are a great way to update the look of your kitchen, whether you are planning a major remodel or something on a much smaller scale. Go from drab to chic and show off your personal style at the same time! Pendant lights come in a variety of styles and are great if you’re trying to achieve a contemporary or modern look. Pendant lights can be suspended from the ceiling over a countertop, bar or table, providing both general and task lighting. A nice pendant light can even provide romantic mood lighting if you opt for a style with a dimmer function. Here are some great ways to utilize pendant lights in your kitchen space.

• The Kitchen Table: Updating the lighting over your kitchen table is such a quick fix. It’s important to consider the size of your kitchen table before choosing a pendant light. You want your light to look proportionate next to the table; in fact it’s probably a good idea to center it over your kitchen table.

As far as finishes for your modern pendant light, you can easily class things up by choosing a pendant light with chrome, aluminum or brushed nickel finish. A smooth, metallic and glass fixture is quintessential modern style; just make sure that you choose a light without any ornate detailing. Modern style is typically very minimalistic. If you are looking to make more of a statement at your kitchen table, consider something bolder. Contemporary designer George Kovacs has a beautiful line of chrome-finished pendant fixtures that are flashier and edgier than your average kitchen lighting. The beautiful LK172 Pendant Lamp from modern Danish design house Le Klint is another ultra-modern option for you to consider. Stark white, LK172’s shade features folded pleats that conjure up thoughts of a nice whipped cream sundae topping. Prominently featured everywhere from chic eateries, decor magazines and television shows, LK172 is modern elegance defined.

• The Breakfast Bar or Kitchen Island: Pendant light fixtures are perfect if you have a long, flat surface that requires good task lighting. A pendant light strip from Zaneen Lighting or Estiluz would work well if you wanted to use a single fixture over your breakfast bar or kitchen island. A string of two, three or four pendant lights (depending on how long your space is) would also be suitable, allowing you more design creativity. By choosing a different color shade for each light, you’d add a splash of color and personality to your kitchen. LBL Lighting, Lite Source and George Kovacs make some beautiful colorful glass pendants. Centered perfectly over your island, a pendant light can really accentuate the natural beauty of a granite or stone countertop.

• Eco Friendly Pendant Lights: If you are attempting to make your new kitchen more eco-friendly, pendant lights are a great way to do this! Energy-efficient Energy Star technology is being incorporated into more pendant light fixtures, which combined with cooler-burning LED lights can make for a much “greener” kitchen! Progress Lighting and ET2 are two lighting manufacturers that specialize in classy-looking LED kitchen pendants. It’s also important to keep in mind what materials your pendant lights are made out of. Paper Cloud makes a beautiful line of hand-printed linen/paper pendants that are perfect for any kitchen. While the definition of what makes something “modern decor” might be a little grey, there’s no question that a “green” kitchen is a modern kitchen.

Unlike the United States, Canada is not experiencing a significant increase in the

number of mortgage delinquencies or personal bankruptcies. Part of the reason

may be that Canadian households have not leveraged up their balance sheets to

the same degree as their U.S. counterparts. Gains in asset values in Canada have

started to slow but haven’t completely stalled as they have in the United States.

Measuring household leverage as the ratio of debt outstanding to net worth

shows that, while Canadian households are starting to see an increase in this

ratio, the level remains well below that of the beleaguered U.S. household sector.

However, with the pace of house price appreciation slowing and credit concerns

weighing on equities, Canadian household balance sheets may come under

more intense pressure in the quarters ahead.

Canada’s housing market is showing signs of simmering down after a period of

unprecedented strength. Resale housing transactions posted the fourth consecutive

quarterly decline in the second quarter of 2008, although even at this

more moderate level of activity seasonally adjusted sales continue to run above

the average pace of the past 20 years.

Since 2002, strong demand for housing supported annual average price gains of

about 10% each year from 2002 to 2007 for existing homes, with this pace slowing

to less than 1% by mid-2008. New house price gains have also slowed from

12.1% in August 2006 to 2.6% in July of 2008. The slowing in the housing market

— both in volume and price terms — was expected and, to some degree desired,

as affordability became increasingly strained throughout 2007.

On the supply-side, the high level of demand supported construction activity

with housing starts running at a historically fast rate. Starts exceeded 200,000

units each year from 2002 to 2007 and continued to run at a blistering 228,000-

unit average pace in the first half of 2008. Regionally some of the “uber-hot”

markets in the west, like Alberta, have started to cool, although other provinces,

such as Saskatchewan, have started to take off.

Hi all; further to the CMHC changes conveyed at the meetings on Monday & Wednesday; despite the fact that CMHC guidelines state a min beacon score of 600 is required for applicants; a majority of the lenders are amending their guidelines to advise they require a minimum beacon score of 650 for all applicants for a mortgage. 

It is becoming very important for your customers to “Know the Score!!” In that respect, you can provide potential purchasers with the web site for the two credit reporting agencies that we deal with and they can access their own credit reports and also obtain a service called “beacon watch” if they choose to.  

The web sites are:  www.equifax.ca or www.transunion.ca In order to obtain a copy of their credit report ( this will not show as an

inquiry) they will need to have a credit card and the cost is approx. $20.

If they sign up for the monthly “beacon watch” report, they are charged an additional monthly fee.  The web sites are fairly easy to access

 ”hang on to your hats, boys, it’s going to be a bumpy ride 
                                                                           

·          TSX  +467.83ptssome of the bounce is attributed to bargain hunters rushing in for quality stocks, and also to buying associated with fund managers rebalancing their portfolios ahead of the end of the quarter

·          Dow +485.21pts. U.S. stocks also reversed course sharply, as the Dow Jones industrial average leaped 4.68%

·          Dollar  -1.82c to $93.97US.

·          Oil +4.27 to $100.64US per barrel  with a growing consensus among investors that the U.S. Congress will resurrect a failed financial bailout plan. The Senate is set to vote Wednesday on a $700-billion US financial bailout plan that was narrowly defeated Monday in the House of Representatives.

·          Gold -$14.00 to $874.20US per ounce  Gold retreated sharply as a rally in stocks and a higher dollar erased the previous session’s gains, but gold should rise in the near term because of its safe-haven appeal amid financial turmoil, traders said.

September, 2008: 30 days that rocked the world    “Now what?” asked Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “Analysis eludes us. We have no prior experience to fall back on that might possibly help us frame the consequences of Congress’s inaction on either the economy or financial markets.”

What’s the best strategy as mortgage rates rise?

ROB CARRICK

Globe and Mail Update

September 30, 2008 at 12:15 PM EDT

The credit crunch has hit home with yet another move by the big banks to jack up the cost of mortgages.

Mortgage brokers report that the big banks and other lenders have stopped offering variable-rate mortgages with a discount off the prime rate.

It was common in the first half of 2007 to get a variable-rate mortgage at prime minus a full percentage point, said Jim Tourloukis of Advent Mortgages in Markham, Ont. Since then, the discount had gradually fallen to 0.4 of a percentage point as of last week.

“As of yesterday, virtually everybody was offering variable-rate mortgages at prime,” Mr. Tourloukis said. “In other words, no more discounting.”

Forced to pay more to raise the money they lend out to customers, the banks have set fixed mortgage rates far higher than they would be under normal circumstances. Now, variable-rate mortgages have been affected as well. What’s the right strategy for borrowers?

Your choices: a variable-rate mortgage at 4.75 per cent, which is the current prime rate at all major lenders, or a discounted five-year mortgage at rates in the low 5-per-cent range.

The lower variable rate means you’ll save money in the near term, but it also opens you up to the risk that rising interest rates will boost your borrowing costs somewhere down the line.

“If I’m the average Joe, I would be taking the five-year rate right now because I don’t know what’s going on out there and I don’t want to risk my house,” Mr. Tourloukis said. “I don’t think rates are going to go up, but I don’t want to worry about it.”

Mr. Tourloukis said about 90 per cent of his clients were going with variable-rate mortgages prior to this week, and he expects the same big majority to swing over to fixed-rate mortgages going forward.

The problem with fixed-rate mortgages – almost everyone picks the five-year term – is that you’ll have to work hard to get a good deal. Posted five-year rates at major lenders are around 7.2 per cent, and some banks are posting “special” discounted rates of 6.14 per cent on their websites.

However, Mr. Tourloukis said he was able to get five-year mortgages as low as 4.99 per cent. Alternative banks and credit unions have been offering rates as low as 4.99 to 5.45 per cent.

Brian Matthey, a mortgage broker in Kingston, Ont., said five-year mortgages would be going for about 4.35 per cent today under normal circumstances in financial markets. He stressed the importance of shopping around for a mortgage right now and not settling for whatever discount your bank is willing to dole out.

“The banks are going to freewheel as they need to in terms of what they offer their clients,” Mr. Matthey said.