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 Mobile View HEATING SYSTEMS APPLIANCE EFFICIENCY RATINGS ASBESTOS in BUILDINGS BLUERAY Recall BOILERS, HEATING BOILER CONTROLS & SWITCHES BOILER LEAKS CORROSION STAINS BOILER NOISE SMOKE ODORS BOILER OPERATING PROBLEMS BOILER OPERATION DETAILS BOILER PARTS LIST CARBON MONOXIDE/DIOXIDE CARBON MONOXIDE WARNING CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR CHIMNEYS & Flues - Asbestos Transite Pipe DUCT INSULATION - Asbestos Paper DUCTS - Asbestos Transite Pipe DUST FROM HVAC? ELECTRIC HEAT ELECTRICAL POWER SWITCH FOR HEAT ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS ENERGY SAVINGS PRIORITIES ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT CASE STUDY ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT LEAK SEALING GUIDE ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT OPTIONS FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS FLUE VENT CONNECTORS FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING FURNACES, HEATING DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS DUCT & AIR HANDLER ODORS FAN LIMIT SWITCH FURNACE CONTROLS & SWITCHES FURNACE OPERATION DETAILS HEAT EXCHANGER LEAKS STACK RELAY SWITCHES GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS HEAT LOSS DETECTION TOOLS HEAT LOSS INDICATORS HEAT LOSS PREVENTION PRIORITIES HEAT LOSS R U & K VALUE CALCULATION HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS HEATING COST SAVINGS METHODS HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-BOILERS HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-FURNACES HEATING OIL CLOUD WAX GEL POINT HEATING OIL EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS HEATING OIL SLUDGE HEATING SMALL LOADS HEAT PUMPS HEATING SYSTEM INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR HEATING INSPECTION CONCEPTS HEATING INSPECTION PROCEDURE-GENERAL DETAILED HEATING SYSTEM INSPECTION PROCEDURE PREPARATION for Heating System Inspection ATTENTION CONTROL During Heating Inspection OUTDOOR INSPECTION of HEATING SYSTEM INDOOR INSPECTION of HEATING SYSTEM HEATING BOILER INSPECTION GUIDE HEATING SYSTEM INSPECTION SEQUENCE INSPECT HEATING CONTROLS INSPECT FOR HEATING BOILER LEAKS HEATING SYSTEM DEFECT SIGNIFICANCE ALTERNATE HEATING INSPECTION SEQUENCE FUNCTIONAL UNDERSTANDING of HEATERS HEATING FURNACE INSPECTION GUIDE FINAL BOILER ROOM INSPECTION CHECKS >OIL BURNER INSPECTION GUIDE OPERATE THE HEATING SYSTEM HEATER OPERATING DEFECTS REPORT IMPLICATIONS OF HEATING CLUES FINAL HEATER INSPECTION REVIEW SET HEATING REPAIR PRIORITIES INSULATION & VENTILATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH NO HEAT - BOILER / FURNACE DIAGNOSIS ODORS FROM HEATING SYSTEMS OIL BURNERS OIL BURNER INSPECTION GUIDE OIL BURNERS, RETENTION HEAD OIL BURNER SOOT & PUFFBACKS OIL BURNER NOISE SMOKE ODORS OIL BURNER NOZZLE & ELECTRODES OIL PUMP FUEL UNIT PRESSURE SETTING TIPS OIL FUEL TYPES & CHARACTERISTICS Oil Odors: Leaky Oil Tank Piping OIL SAFETY VALVES OIL TANKS OIL TANK GAUGES OIL TANK LEAKS OIL TANK SLUDGE OIL TANK TESTING OIL TANKS, BURIED PLASTIC HEATER VENT RADIANT HEAT RADIANT HEAT Floor Mistakes to Avoid RADIANT SLAB FLOORING CHOICES RADIANT SLAB TUBING & FLUID CHOICES Safety Recalls BLUERAY Recall CHIMNEYS & Flues - Asbestos Transite Goodman HTPV RECALL Heat Recovery Ventilator RECALL Lennox Furnace Manuals Lennox WARNING Weil McLain RECALL SAFETY DURING HEATING INSPECTION STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS Cad Cell Relay Switch Flame Sensors Mixing Valves Relief Valves - TP Valves Sight Glass, Steam Boiler Pressure Switch, Steam Boiler Spill Switches Stack Relay Switch Steam Vents Low Water Cutoff Controls Water Feeder Valves, Steam TANKLESS COILS THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS THERMAL MASS in UPSTAIRS THERMAL TRACKING & HEAT LOSS THERMOSTATS Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues More Information  InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Contact Us |
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This document presents a detailed methodology for inspecting, diagnosing, & repairing defects on residential heating systems with attention to inspection methods selected to assure completeness, accuracy, and the maximum level of defect detection. The heating system inspection methodology described here serves as a guide to the forensic diagnostic inspection of any complex system where the highest probability of detecting important safety or operating defects is important. The photograph shows a severely rusted tankless coil mounted on a steel heating boiler. If the coil-mounting surface on the boiler itself is severely rusted it may be necessary to replace the entire heating boiler. While a welder could weld on a new mounting surface for a new coil, none of the repairmen are likely to warrant such a "fix" and further, the welder, knowing that the owner is facing the cost of a whole new boiler, is likely to set a high fee for even attempting the repair. It is important to recognize and report the significance of rust like this on a heating boiler. At this website we describe organized procedures for inspecting complex systems for defects, using the organized step by step method to assure inspection heating system inspection completeness and accuracy but without losing the ability to discover unexpected problems as well. |
© Copyright Daniel Friedman 2008-1993 all rights reserved -- Tri-State ASHI Home Inspection Education Seminar - Initial Presentation November 6-7, 1993 -- Last update 11/10/2007
This presentation follows a procedure for inspecting, using heating system operating sequence as a method to assure that all important system components are considered. A version of the ASHI Standards of Home Inspection Practice (readers should check most recent Standards version for changes) is mapped into this heating system inspection procedure but does not guide the actual inspection sequence. The organization of home inspection standards is not intended as a guide to an inspection sequence nor as a guide to heating system inspection reports. Home Inspection Standards requirements during the inspection of a home heating system are identified in italics in the text below.
In order to be as thorough, accurate, and safe as possible, a heating system inspector should use a well-defined order of discovery which assures that s/he examines all important heating system components. Several possible heating system inspection "road maps" can be used for this purpose. Two approaches inspect the heating equipment by physical layout of components, or by inspecting the heating system in the detailed order that it will operate during the heating system operating cycle.
Of these "heating system inspection road maps", the first of these inspection methods is physically convenient, that is: inspect each heating system component where each is located in each building area, and this is the most common approach in use in the field. But but it is the second option, heating boiler or furnace operating sequence, that best assures that the inspector considers proper system operation and that s/he identifies all of the system components.
Thinking thorough the sequence of steps in operation of a home heating system requires that the inspector understand how heating systems work. An inspector who cannot follow this sequence does not understand heating system operation and is rather likely to miss important system defects.
So how should a heating system be inspected? For efficiency the inspector may decide to examine each system component as s/he enters the area of the building where that component resides. So all heater components in the basement or crawl space are examined in one pass while the inspector is in that area, and so on. But in thinking about the completeness and accuracy of the heating system check the inspector should also think through the system's operating sequence, using the components identified in that sequence to assure that s/he has not omitted something important. Why is this second thought pattern needed? Because it is always easier to inspect and think about a building component that we see than to think about a component that is simply absent. In other words, if there is no temperature or pressure relief valve to see on a boiler, the inspector may fail to think about whether or not this is a serious safety hazard for the particular installation.
This approach broadens the scope of the heating system inspection and it may aid in heating system defect recognition or problem diagnosis, for example by observing that a heating boiler is located in a small, air-tight room (possible combustion air problems), or that the furnace is quite close to the oil storage tank.
This approach to heating system inspection Identifies most components of heating systems or of other mechanical systems and is most likely to give the most complete list system parts. It helps assure that all critical components are considered. Actual observation of heating system operation is important in enabling the inspector to identify malfunctions. The heating boiler or furnace inspector's field procedure should include this aid.
A detailed example of the steps in the sequence of operation of a heating system along with a detailed list of heating system components is provided below at Sample Inspection Procedure for Heating Equipment.
A superficial heating system inspection may simply identify the type of system present and perhaps the presence of obvious visual anomalies such as leaks. But an astute inspector understands more thoroughly the implications for safety or function of the defects that s/he observes and thus is more likely to inspect the heating system more thoroughly and is more likely to report the inspection findings in a meaningful way to the client.
It is essential that a heating system inspector clearly communicate to the client the significance of the inspection results. In other words, the client should be given to understand the need for action, or urgent action, the presence of unsafe conditions, or the indications that costly repairs or replacement are likely to be needed immediately or in the coming year or before next heating season.
Here are two examples of the difference between simply reporting a home inspection observation neutrally and thinking about the significance of a home inspection observation in a way that might lead to discovery of something important about a heating system.
Example Outdoor Inspection Observation: drip lines below roof eaves
Observation: The heating system inspector, before entering the home, observes outside that there are deep drip lines in the soil below the home's roof eaves. Drip lines indicate that there has been long term poor control of roof runoff.
Interpretation: there may have been a history of wet basement conditions.
Implications: especially if the home is heated by a furnace located in the basement or crawl space, watch out for signs of rusting of the furnace heat exchanger, particularly in steel hot-air furnaces. A rusted and thus leaky furnace heat exchanger is a possibly dangerous condition, risking high Carbon Monoxide CO levels in the building - a condition that can lead to a fatality - someone could die.
Action: look inside for corroborating clues first of water entry and second of rust on the furnace or its components. Test or recommend testing of heat exchanger for leaks and safety.
Outside we observed roof overflow or drip lines below the house eaves. |
Inside, A BrandX natural-gas fired 90,000 BTUH steel hot air furnace heating system is installed. The system appears to be 20 years old. In response to turning up the heat we observed that the system operated normally: heat came out of the air supply registers. (Our inspection excludes heating system disassembly and therefore cannot examine the condition of the furnace interior components. You should have the system inspected by a qualified technician.) What's wrong with this report is that it does not explain that drip lines under gutters mean that there has been a history of gutter overflow, poor maintenance, and a risk of water entry in the building. Worse, the report make clear that there are special reasons to be concerned about the reliability and safety of this heating system and there is no clue that costly replacement could be needed. |
Outside we observed roof overflow or drip lines below the house eaves. This means that water has been spilling by the house foundation for a long time, that roof gutters and downspouts are needed, and that the home may have been exposed to a history of water entry or leaks which in turn could cause problems indoors.
Inside, A BrandX natural-gas fired 90,000 BTUH steel hot air furnace heating system is installed. In response to turning up the heat we observed that the system operated normally: heat came out of the air supply registers. (Our inspection excludes heating system disassembly and therefore cannot examine the condition of the furnace interior components. The system appears to be 20 years old and based on age alone is likely to be at or near the end of its useful life - significant expense will be involved when furnace replacement is needed.
In response to turning up the heat we observed that the system operated normally: heat came out of the air supply registers. Our inspection excludes heating system disassembly and therefore cannot fully examine the condition of the furnace interior components.
However, we observed heavy rust on the bottom of the furnace and other evidence of a history of water entry in the basement. A furnace exposed to these conditions is at extra risk of hidden rust damage such which could include a leaky heat exchanger. If the heat exchanger is leaking this heating system would be unsafe, should not be used, and would almost certainly require immediate replacement - a significant expense.
We recommend that before completing purchase of the home, and certainly before using the system in the coming heating system, you should have the furnace inspected and tested by a qualified technician, and you should specifically ask the technician to make a thorough inspection and test of the furnace heat exchanger for leaks and safety.
Addressing the question of completeness of coverage of components, for a thought-guide to inspecting heating equipment we selected Sequence of Operation as a model. (See BOILER OPERATION DETAILS for step by step boiler operation sequence details.
It is the possible significance of a home inspection observation that leads a good inspector to examine the property further for confirmation or refutation of the presence of a possibly serious building defect. We discuss this concept of thinking carefully about and pursuing possible implications of home inspection observations as a way to assure that an inspection is thorough and as a means to minimize the chances of missing an important condition at a property, in these articles:
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HEATING SYSTEM INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR
HEATING INSPECTION CONCEPTS
HEATING INSPECTION PROCEDURE-GENERAL
DETAILED HEATING SYSTEM INSPECTION PROCEDURE
PREPARATION for Heating System Inspection
ATTENTION CONTROL During Heating Inspection
OUTDOOR INSPECTION of HEATING SYSTEM
INDOOR INSPECTION of HEATING SYSTEM
HEATING BOILER INSPECTION GUIDE
HEATING SYSTEM INSPECTION SEQUENCE
INSPECT HEATING CONTROLS
INSPECT FOR HEATING BOILER LEAKS
HEATING SYSTEM DEFECT SIGNIFICANCE
ALTERNATE HEATING INSPECTION SEQUENCE
FUNCTIONAL UNDERSTANDING of HEATERS
HEATING FURNACE INSPECTION GUIDE
FINAL BOILER ROOM INSPECTION CHECKS
>OIL BURNER INSPECTION GUIDE
OPERATE THE HEATING SYSTEM
HEATER OPERATING DEFECTS REPORT
IMPLICATIONS OF HEATING CLUES
FINAL HEATER INSPECTION REVIEW
SET HEATING REPAIR PRIORITIES
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01/20/2010 - 09/05/2006 - InspectAPedia.com/heat/HeatingSys.htm - © 2010 - 1988 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved - InspectAPedia® is a Registered U.S. Trademark
