Environmental Efficiency by Controlled Air Inc

We are excited to announce that we  now referral partners with Bloom Energy fuel cells. Bloom Energy® is making clean, reliable energy affordable. Their unique on-site power generation systems utilize an innovative fuel cell technology with roots in the NASA Mars space program. Derived from a common ceramic powder and leveraging breakthrough advances in materials science, the technology significantly reduces operating costs while dramatically lowering greenhouse gas emissions, practically anywhere. By generating power where it’s consumed, Bloom Energy offers increased electrical reliability, improved energy security, and a clear path to energy independence. Bloom’s Energy Server™ is an easy, smart choice in today’s economic and environmentally focused economy. Typical 3-5 year payback Cut CO2 emissions by 40%-100% Virtually eliminate SOx, NOx, and other particulate emissions. Can run on natural gas or biogas. The technology is capable of both energy generation and stora...

Service contracts and preventative maintenance are very beneficial to your equipment and your piece of mind. The equipment that is covered under the contract will be kept cleaned and maintained to run at optimum efficiency. What is important to note is what equipment is covered under your specific contract and what equipment is not. You  may want to review your contract periodically to know what equipment items need to be maintain by internal staff or other contractors. We will always do our best to inform you or suggest maintenance to equipment where we notice issues, but it is up to you to make sure that additional equipment is maintained. Most commonly your service technician will notify you immediately of anything he notices while conducting your service inspection. You may find over time that it would be easiest to add those items/equipment to your contract so that you no longer have to worry about it. A service and maintenance contract can help ease the burden of yo...

Although not necessarily part of our field. I found this program for teens worthy of sharing, Eco Company TV. The program is a national tv and website run, organized, and hosted by teens around the country about green technology, sustainability, and eco-wise information. It is a great opportunity for teens to get involved in green technology and get a chance to be on television. We have all kids in our lives children, nieces or nephews, friends children, grandchildren, that may have some interest in this. If your business in green it might be a nice way to showcase your own business. Here is a link to the Eco Company site:  http://www.eco-company.tv/ . A little more about Eco Company from their website: About Eco Company What does it mean to "go green" as a teen? More and more young people want to know the answer to that question. Now there's Eco Company, a national TV show on a quest to find answers. Eco Company is hosted by a dynamic group of teens who combine ...

Air filters within your heating and air conditioning system are easy to forget; you don't see them, and there are no warnings when they are dirty, but they are important for the life of your equipment and the comfort of employees. Filters that are not changed regularly enough will eventually stop filtering the air. A plugged filter will sometimes collapse and get pulled out of its filter track. Air can now bypass the filter and accumulate in coils, fan wheels and ductwork. Dirty coils and fan wheels reduce the performance of the equipment. Secondly, dirty filters can reduce the air flow through a heating or cooling system. Reduced air flow will cause heat exchangers to run hotter and cooling coils to run colder than they were designed to. Uncorrected, this will lead to shortened life expectancy or failure of the equipment. Filters vary in quality performance and price. Selecting the proper filter to meet the requirements at the most economical price is important. Filter...

It is hard to tell what direction energy efficienct funding will go. The Federal Government may be making huge cuts to energy efficiency and green technology funding, but it may be a little time until we know for sure what is going to happen. But Connecticut is moving in its own direction, continuing and even increasing funding for energy efficient projects. The new legislation SB 1243 that was signed by Governor Malloy in July, makes huge strides forward. SB 1243 is an act concerning the establishment of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and planning for Connecticut's Energy Future. The bill merges the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) into the newly created Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The legislation also allocates $2 mil in funding/grants for cogeneration, as well as continuing much of the funding for solar pv, solar thermal, including grant programs, tax rebate...

Fall & Winter Maintenance It is time once again for fall and winter maintenance to begin. The benefits of completing regular maintenance are: avoiding failure and downtime, continued employee comfort, as well as preventing shutdown of critical equipment.  The Fall & Winter Maintenance check includes: Inspection and adjustment of equipment for proper operation;  replacement of weak or failing components; Inspection and tightening of electrical connections to avoid burnt wires, opened circuits or major failure of electrical motors and components; Chassis inspection to avoid corrosion damage; and draining of exterior water lines to prevent freeze damage and flooding. We work from specific checks list for each maintenance. These lists have been developed over our years of experiences and recommendations from the manufacturers of your equipment.  If we notice any further problems we will always discuss them with you immediately, that way your business avoids any u...

It has been a difficult few days for everyone after Hurricane Irene. Many are still without power or have just recently gotten it back on. We have not yet gotten power but are open and running on generators. We wanted to make sure that we were available for those who needed us. As the next few days roll around we hope that you get your power turned back on and if you come across any heating/cooling emergencies know that we are available for your business. 800-840-9101.

Controlled Air highly recommends the cleaning of a hydronic system to provide the best heat transfer and longevity of the system. Any closed loop system, that has water under pressure and recirculates it would need cleaning. The pH of the water should always be tested to prevent the effects of too much acidity, which will deteriorate the system from the inside out. If in doubt a complete flush with plain city water (which is usually 6.0 to 8.0) should at least bring the pH to neutral. This will introduce oxygen into the system so it should be accompanied with the proper inhibitors. Besides Ph there is also a loss of efficiency when the system is not clean. Iron oxide, scale, oil, and even bacteria can coat the internal surfaces of the heat exchangers and heat coils, which will prevent proper transfer and result in loss of energy dollars. We have found in many cases the need to chemically clean and then flush the entire system to remove the buildup. Some systems have ...

Not all programmable thermostats are created equal. They can range in price from $40 - $300. The difference in price is based on the capabilities of the thermostat. Your basic programmable thermostat varies in price from $40-$100 dollars. A more advanced programmable thermostat varies from $150-$300. Running down to home depot and installing any programmable thermostat may save a few dollars in the immediate, but investing is a better thermostat could save you even more in the long run. Johnson Controls offers a programmable thermostat for about $195 that offers Smart Fan. In a commercial situation the fan is supposed to run continuously during occupied times for the best air quality, and a smart fan mode provides this without manually putting the fan in the 'on' position. Smart fan also allows for continuous fan operation during occupied mode and cycling with the equipment at night. This saves you money in energy by not having a fan in operation 24 hours a da...

Hopefully you never find yourself in a heating or air conditioning emergency, but someday you may. We want you to know that we are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. In the event of an emergency you can call our main number 203-481-3531 or 800-840-9101. There is an automated system that is set up that automatically contacts the technician on duty. The technician give you a call back to review the issue and determine the best course of action. If you have a computer monitoring system, it is possible that the technician will be able to fix the issue immediately. If you do not have a computer monitoring system, depending on the issue the technician will go to the business for further evaluation and to fix the problem. It is one less thing to worry about during these hot summer months.

Did you forget something? Everyday we rush around trying to accomplish things on our schedule. There are many devices that help us from an old fashion list to smart phones. The purpose is that we get the important things done and the fun things always seem to be remembered without much help. Here is one very important item that should be added to your schedule: Clean the condenser coil on your air conditioning unit. Air conditioning is usually thought of the first hot day of the year, turned on and forgotten about. Like other mechanical devices, your air conditioner needs help to run properly, and efficiently. The most efficient way to run your air conditioning is with clean coils. A clean inside coil can absorb the more heat from the air, and the outside coil needs to be clean to reject that heat, avoid compressor damage, and extend the life of the unit. It starts with a visual check, but don’t be fooled but the lack of surface buildup. By the time you see the buildup on the...

Customer service has not been a hot topic lately, but it should be. The one thing that I have noticed since the economy slumped is that customer service has gotten worse. To often we get put on hold for long periods of time, never get to talk to a real person, or get told, "Sorry I can't help you." Some people still use those companies because there aren't any other options or they are locked into a contract and sometimes you just don't know who else to use, since you have used that same company forever. At Controlled Air, we are close as employees and all know each other. We also have experienced bad, even horrible customer service. It is from these stories that we have created our own philosophy of customer service. It is not a new concept, it is just not common. It is not about the quantity of our customers, but about how much quality we can give our customers. It is more important to us that once a customer works with us once, they continue to work with us f...

The new ISO 50001 Standards were just released this month. These standards replace the Federal Standards recommendations for Energy Management Systems (EMS). These standards are not required but make some important and intutitive recommendations that should be followed. The recommedations can help business save large amounts of money on energy, while also helping the environment by reducing demand on natural resources. The standard can be used by any size organization or facility and was created to easily integrate with other ISO such as 14001 and 9001. Energy Management Systems can allow a company to have greater control over their entire building including heat, air conditioning, and lighting, while also having the ability to monitor usage. EMS also save time by having one location to change temperature, monitor controls, and track usage rather then having to go to individual thermostats and controls per department or room. THE ISO STATES: Information provided by ISO.org Th...

Contributed by Dave Eger , HVAC Support Manager Why we recommend replacing parts that are working? One of our goals as your HVAC service provider is to help eliminate service calls, especially major failures such as compressor replacements.  On a regular basis, we review in detail, catastrophic failures.  When we first started this process many years ago we saw failures caused by simple components.  One example is a $75.00 contactor; the contacts had corroded and welded shut.  This forced the compressor to stay running constantly, never shutting off.  In this case the compressor failed, resulting in a repair that cost over $5,000.00. Through our analysis, we have assembled a list of items that if failure occurs can cause additional issues with your system.  Our service technicians are trained to review these items during a preventive maintenance and to recommend replacing them at any sign of wear or possible failure. We recommended replacin...

We have mentioned Cogeneration so many times before, but it really is one of our favorite energy efficient forms for heating and cooling. Because of that we made it our first video. We really hope that you find it information and educational. Our goal was really to educate more then anything else. If you have more questions about cogeneration contact us we would love to answer them.

Geothermal is a fascinating energy efficient form of heating and cooling that does not seem to get as much press as solar or even cogeneration. Geothermal  energy is a renewable and reliable source of heat. Because 46 percent of solar energy is absorbed by the earth, at a depth of approximately six feet, the soil maintains a consistent average temperature of between 42-77 degrees Fahrenheit year round.  Geothermal heat pumps use this natural energy to heat and cool water circulated through an underground loop. In the winter the water is run through the loop underground and is warmed by the earth's heat and then brought to the system in the building that then delivers the heat. I t is much easier for the system to capture heat from soil of a moderate temperature than from the frigid air outside in winter.  In the summer the heat is gather from inside the building and then run underground where the heat is absorbed by the earth and then cooler water is then brought back ...

Cleanrooms have various purposes that can be highly beneficial for critical applications, such as laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and electronics manufacturing. Cleanrooms do just what their name implies they remain clean. They have special filtration systems, air exchange rates, control, and humidity that keep out dust, debris, bacteria and any other small particles that could contaminate equipment or laboratories. These filtration systems vary depending on need and can range from class 1 to class 100,000. Class 1 having the least amount of particles per cubic foot. Typical office building air contains from 500,000 to 1,000,000 particles (0.5 microns or larger) per cubic foot of air. That means in order to reduce a space from 500,000 to 1, an incredible amount of control needs to be available over the space. Most Cleanrooms typically maintain 70 degree temperature with a constant humidity, although occasionally a different temperature is required. The air excha...

Happy Earth Day. We sincerely hope that you spend a moment today considering what your business can do to help the environment in the long term. Earth Day was created to bring about awareness but one day is not enough. It is about making environmental efficiency part of your everyday and making it the norm, rather then it being anything special. SO the question is what are you doing tomorrow? Solar or Cogen anyone?

Contributed by Vincent Chiocchio, President I have been asked many times over the years, why do I want to spend the extra money on ductwork? It only is hidden by the drop ceiling and as long as the system cools when I lower the thermostat and heats when I raise the thermostat, what else matters. Well, that poorly designed and installed duct system is costing you money every day! The poorly designed and installed system restricts the air flow to the HVAC unit. This restriction must be compensated for to maintain the comfort capabilities within the space. The compressor now operates at a less efficient point with this reduced air flow caused by the restriction. This causes the compressor to operate at a reduced output capacity and at a less efficient point using more watts per btu than at optimum design. It now has to run longer to achieve the same amount of cooling using even more energy. Well, we can compensate by increasing the airflow. This increase requires more energ...

Solar is constantly gaining in popularity and seems to be one of the most talked about forms of energy efficiency. There are also more grant and funding opportunities out there then other forms of green energy, although there is also more competition for it, making it harder to get. We have not until now been installers of solar, but we have always been advocates. Just recently we have become liscensed distributors and installers of both solar thermal and photovoltaic. We are working with Schuco Solar who offer great products and we can be proud to promote. Some information about Schuco Products: Schüco guarantees standards of the highest level in industrial and commercial construction. They are a market leader in the solar industry, providing solar energy systems worldwide. Schüco’s range of photovoltaic and solar thermal products are perfect solutions for commercial and industrial buildings as well as government facilities. The benefits include: high energy efficiency and improved...

We are happy to announce that March 18th is Controlled Air Inc’s 31st Anniversary. We would like to thank all our employees and customers who have been vital to the on-going success of Controlled Air for all these years. In this economy it is important to have dedicated employees that you trust, as well as customers who believe in the quality of your work. We are looking forward to another 31 years leading the way in service and environmental efficiency in the HVAC field. Thank you!

Cogeneration also called CHP or combined Heat and Power is an integrated energy system that can create heat as well as electricity. It is extremely energy efficient and has a high Return-On-Investment. There are also some wonderful tax incentives out there, as well as a few low interest loans & grants. We have spoken about cogeneration before and will probably will mention it again. It is one of our favorites. The Federal Tax Incentive: What is the tax incentive for Cogeneration or (CHP) property? A 10% investment tax credit, applicable to only the first 15MW. Who is eligible? Owners of systems smaller than 50 MW may take advantage of this tax credit, and their systems must be placed into service by December 31, 2016. Only the original constructor may take the tax credit. What are the incentives and how do they work? The incentive is an investment tax credit, a reduction in either overall individual or overall business tax liabilities. The incentive can also be applied to the alter...

It is confusing at best trying to keep up with all the new legislation that is going on in the government. Some things say they are trying to increasse spening and funding for energy efficiency and the next cutting it. Currently there are a few major items that are being decided on that will have a major impact on what happens with energy efficiency funding in the future. The Good: The President has put in a request for 29.5 bil budget request for the DOE and EERE(Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) program. This increase would stregthen renewable energy resources, boost clean energy research, and cut expenses to pursue the goal of 80% clean energy sources by 2035. The budget includes large increases for EERE programs including, 135% increase for geothermal technology, 115% increase for building technologies, 88% increase for solar energy, and a 61% increase for wind. The weatherization spending would increase by 52%. The new budget would also promote renewable energy and energy ef...

With the Economy being what it is, Connecticut made some changes to the rebates and incentives available for green energy funding. Also the utilities made some changes as well. We do our best to stay up to date about all these so that we can make recommendations to get you the most out of the available funding. There have been a lot of changes, but I will just mention a few of the most important at the moment. First of all, if you have any plans to do energy efficient upgrades do it soon! I know many of you might be waiting for the upswing in the economy, but as of 2012 they are reducing the funding by 35% and it is available on a first come first serve basis. Also 50% of the funding for 2011, has already been allocated. You don't want to lose your opportunity to receive this funding because you hesitated too long. Another important aspect of receiving funding is you always want to talk to a CL & P or UI representative before beginning any part of the project. We can help you w...

We would like to congratulate our President, Vincent Chiocchio for recently getting elected to the Connecticut Green Building Council's Board of Directors. He will also remain as the Event Committee Chair. Vincent finds it a great honor to be part of an organization that is helping green building in Connecticut get the recognition and support that it deserves. The CTGBC mission is: "The CTGBC is a non-profit 501(c3) organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Connecticut through the promotion of intelligently designed and constructed high performance energy efficient buildings. Throughout the year we hold a series of workshops on green building topics, networking opportunities, membership meetings, educational forums, seminars on green buildings and periodic CT based LEED™ training in connection with the US Green Building Council. The CTGBC also monitors activities in Connecticut related to high performance green buildings and maintains a speaker’s bureau. "...

Controlled Air highly recommends the cleaning of a hydronic system to provide the best heat transfer and longevity of any closed loop boiler system. A closed loop system is a system that holds water under pressure and continually recirculates that water. The pH of the water should always be tested to prevent the effects of too much acidity which will deteriorate the system from the inside out. If in doubt a complete flush with plain city water (which is usually 6.0 to 8.0) should at least bring the pH to neutral. This will introduce oxygen into the system so it should be accompanied with the proper inhibitors. Besides Ph there is also a loss of efficiency when the system is not clean. Iron oxide, scale, oil, and even bacteria can coat the internal surfaces of the heat exchangers and heat coils which will prevent proper transfer and result in loss of energy dollars. We have found in many cases the need to chemically clean and then flush the entire system to remove the buildup. Some syst...

Service contracts can be overlooked if they do not seem to be immediately necessary, but the savings they can have for your business can be truly beneficial. Very large facilities and manufacturers often have service contract for their heating and cooling, because any down time could be truly detrimental to their business. But what about for smaller businesses? Downtime in your heating and cooling can also make an impact on your business. If you have any type of customer base such as in a retail store, having no heat or cooling and quickly lead to customers venturing else where. Even if you have no customers, uncomfortable employees leads to less productions. Service contracts can help reduce this downtime by providing scheduled maintenance, computer monitoring, and quicker response times. Different types of contracts can offer different forms of services. Planned Maintenance contracts provide all of the preventive maintenance needed for the your HVAC and temperature control equipment....

When there is so much else to worry about when it comes to running a business, ways of making for business more energy efficiency may not be at the top of your list. There are many resources out there to help you make it happen. In the long run, making your business more energy efficient will save you money. There is no need to do it alone. First there is the Connecticut Green Building Council who "The CTGBC is a non-profit 501(c3) organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Connecticut through the promotion of intelligently designed and constructed high performance energy efficient buildings. Throughout the year we hold a series of workshops on green building topics, networking opportunities, membership meetings, educational forums, seminars on green buildings and periodic CT based LEED™ training in connection with the US Green Building Council. The CTGBC also monitors activities in Connecticut related to high performance green buildings and maintains a speaker’s bu...

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 occurrances 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 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