Many older homes may have preexisting
combustion related problems that were
never noticed because of the leakage of
outside air into the home through cracks, old
windows, doors etc. The CAZ test is done to
evaluate how the sealing done when your
home was tightened up will affect your
HVAC system and other combustion appliances.
Every combustion appliance requires
make up air for the combustion process. Your
home needs to be designed to provide the
air needed for safe combustion. The weatherization
and building performance industry
uses CAZ testing methods as an indicator of
when the conditions for improper combustion
or venting could be present.
What are back drafting and
combustion spillage and why
does negative pressures cause
combustion problems?
Combustion spillage happens when the
unwanted combustion gas is not fully vented
from your home. And will result in combustion
gases like carbon monoxide entering
into your home. Back draft is primarily a reverse
movement of air through a combustion
appliance. In a worst case, back drafting can
pull the flame outside of the burner assembly.
When this happens it is called Flame rollout.
How are combustion problems
fixed?
To burn properly all appliances require
the correct mixture of fuel and air and an
ignition source. Technicians who work for
professional air conditioning contractors have the tools
and training needed to isolate and resolve
combustion related problems. For example,
spillage and back draft are both caused
by a lack of available combustion air so a
technician might be able to simply adjust the
amount of combustion air, or clean out the
furnace heat exchanger and the vent system
to get your system operating properly again.
heater technicians have the test equipment
needed to identify the source or sources
of combustion related problems. Often the
actual problem is caused by other appliances
that are not properly installed such as gas
ovens, hot water heaters, and dryers.
How do I get the other
appliances to work properly?
If the problem is with the operation of
another appliance an additional repair technician
certified on that appliance may need
to be called in. In your home, the proper
airflow to all of the combustion appliances
must be present when they are operating
and they must all be operating properly.
Failure to allow for the proper amount of
air to meet the cumulative appliance and
occupant needs can cause unsafe conditions
in your home. So it is strongly recommended
that you call back the furnace professional
contractor to check your HVAC system and
the entire home after any additional repairs
are made by appliance repair technicians.
Your professional air conditioning contractor can then
reevaluate the combustion needs and offer
you solutions that will address them.
SoBellas Home Services
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