Humber Real Estate - Course 2, Module 7, Understanding
Residential Construction - Mechanical Systems 2023
Questions and Answers
From the street via the electrical service entrance cable into the electrical main
disconnect, where it can be shut off.
From there it goes to the Distribution panel and gets sent through circuits to
various outlets, where appliances can be plugged in.
The electrical main disconnect is often incorporated into the distribution panel.
How does electrical service enter a building?
Rating
When an electrical system has fuses in the distribution panel, each of these fuses must
have the same _________ as the wire it is protecting.
- Copper (most modern & desirable)
- Aluminum (older, prone to oxidization, softer and more brittle than copper, can
pose fire risk)
- Knob-and-tube (Used prior to the 1930s, not grounded, can be dangerous)
What are the 3 types of wiring?
One with a ground fault circuit interrupter (to help avoid electrocution risk in
locations near water).
What type of outlet should be used in a bathroom?
- Frequent blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers
- Hot or charred outlets
- Burning smells
- Flickering or dimming lights
- Electric shocks
- Light bulbs burning out too quickly
What are some warning signs you should look for that may indicate problems with an
electrical system?
- Can be installed in homes with enough roof space and access to sunshine
- With a net metering system, more electricity can be created during the summer
months, creating a surplus in the form of credit, which can be used to offset the
cost of electricity bills for days with decreased availability of sunlight (can also
be sold to the electric company for credits)
What are the benefits and financial incentives or using solar panels?
South / South-West
What is the ideal direction a house's exposure for solar panels to work effectively?
- Size (large enough to provide adequate heat on the coldest day)
- Reliability (reliable and safe)
- Cost (Economical to install and operate)
- Equal heating distribution (Capable of heating all parts of the home equally)
What are the primary requirements of any heating system?
How much heat a heating system can generate.
,Heating systems are rated for capacity and efficiency. Capacity tells homeowners what?
- Input capacity (How much fuel is consumed for every hour of operation in
British Thermal Units [BTU] per hour)
- Output capacity (How much usable heating or cooling the unit provides to a
home)
What are the 2 types of capacity in reference to heating systems?
Efficiency rating, expressed as a percentage.
A heating system's input capacity + Output capacity = ?
The Annual Fuel Utilization Rating (AFUE), which measures how much fuel is
converted to heat in a heating system.
Example: If a heating system has an AFUE rating of 60%, then 40 cents of every
dollar spent on heating are being wasted.
What are heating system efficiency ratings based on?
90
Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations mandate that gas furnaces manufactured after
December 31, 1999 must have a minimum efficiency rating of ____%
- Forced air
- Steam (radiators, good for allergies)
- Hot water (radiators, good for allergies)
- Electric (good for allergies)
- Radiant (good for allergies)
- Ground source heat pumps
- Air source heat pumps
What types of heating systems are there?
Warms the house by circulating water through pipes embedded in the floor
(copper or PEX).
How does a radiant heating system work?
Uses the earth, groundwater or both as the source of heat in the winter and as the
sink for heat removed from the home in the summer.
Liquid (usually antifreeze) circulates through a loop under the ground. The heat
collected from the ground is distributed through the house with an air handling
system.
How does a ground-source heat pump or geothermal system work?
A system that transfers heat from outside to inside a building, or vice versa.
Similar to ground source heat pumps, except that they extract heat from the air
rather than the ground and use it to heat the house.
Describe an air source heat pump.
- Electric
- Gas
- Oil
- Gravity (found in old homes ... fuelled by either gas or oil)
What are the types of furnaces available?
Electric
, Which furnace is most expensive to operate and takes the longest to heat up the
house? Gas, electric or oil?
Propane
In areas where gas isn't available, what is often used instead in a furnace?
Every 10 years for approx. $3000
How often should above-ground oil tanks be replaced and at what cost?
Gravity furnaces
What is the least efficient type of furnace?
A heat exchanger and a burner
What are the 2 components of a boiler?
- Open (no longer common, uses an expansion tank, uses gravity rather than a
circulating pump)
- Closed (water is pressurized a few pounds higher than what is required to force
it up to the highest level within the structure ... typically have a circulating pump
to force water through the system)
What are the two types of boilers?
- More expensive to install BUT are cheaper to operate in the long run
- Can run off mainline gas, therefore don't need large storage tanks in the
basement
- Emit less pollution than oil furnaces
- More energy-efficient than electrical furnaces
- Required by the Building Code to have a minimum efficiency rating of 90%,
which is higher than oil furnaces
What are some benefits of gas furnaces?
HVAC
The heating part of an __________ system is provided by different types of furnaces,
boilers or heat pumps.
A refrigerant is put under pressure by a compressor until it becomes liquid,
which is cooled by a condenser and then evaporates again.
The evaporation process cools the air around it, which provides the cooling
effect. This cooled air is distributed throughout the structure via ductwork.
How does an air conditioning system work?
An air conditioning system that uses smaller pipes to circulate air and so
requires less modification if installed in an existing house.
What is Space PAC?
- Can be placed wherever most needed
- More energy-efficient due to cooling the room directly without ductwork (no
leaks)
- Best option for old houses without a forced air system already, due to being
much less expensive than installing ductwork
- Low noise levels indoor and outdoor
- Can set cooling levels for rooms individually
- Can also be used to heat a home with a heat pump installed
What are some advantages to using a ductless air conditioner?
Residential Construction - Mechanical Systems 2023
Questions and Answers
From the street via the electrical service entrance cable into the electrical main
disconnect, where it can be shut off.
From there it goes to the Distribution panel and gets sent through circuits to
various outlets, where appliances can be plugged in.
The electrical main disconnect is often incorporated into the distribution panel.
How does electrical service enter a building?
Rating
When an electrical system has fuses in the distribution panel, each of these fuses must
have the same _________ as the wire it is protecting.
- Copper (most modern & desirable)
- Aluminum (older, prone to oxidization, softer and more brittle than copper, can
pose fire risk)
- Knob-and-tube (Used prior to the 1930s, not grounded, can be dangerous)
What are the 3 types of wiring?
One with a ground fault circuit interrupter (to help avoid electrocution risk in
locations near water).
What type of outlet should be used in a bathroom?
- Frequent blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers
- Hot or charred outlets
- Burning smells
- Flickering or dimming lights
- Electric shocks
- Light bulbs burning out too quickly
What are some warning signs you should look for that may indicate problems with an
electrical system?
- Can be installed in homes with enough roof space and access to sunshine
- With a net metering system, more electricity can be created during the summer
months, creating a surplus in the form of credit, which can be used to offset the
cost of electricity bills for days with decreased availability of sunlight (can also
be sold to the electric company for credits)
What are the benefits and financial incentives or using solar panels?
South / South-West
What is the ideal direction a house's exposure for solar panels to work effectively?
- Size (large enough to provide adequate heat on the coldest day)
- Reliability (reliable and safe)
- Cost (Economical to install and operate)
- Equal heating distribution (Capable of heating all parts of the home equally)
What are the primary requirements of any heating system?
How much heat a heating system can generate.
,Heating systems are rated for capacity and efficiency. Capacity tells homeowners what?
- Input capacity (How much fuel is consumed for every hour of operation in
British Thermal Units [BTU] per hour)
- Output capacity (How much usable heating or cooling the unit provides to a
home)
What are the 2 types of capacity in reference to heating systems?
Efficiency rating, expressed as a percentage.
A heating system's input capacity + Output capacity = ?
The Annual Fuel Utilization Rating (AFUE), which measures how much fuel is
converted to heat in a heating system.
Example: If a heating system has an AFUE rating of 60%, then 40 cents of every
dollar spent on heating are being wasted.
What are heating system efficiency ratings based on?
90
Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations mandate that gas furnaces manufactured after
December 31, 1999 must have a minimum efficiency rating of ____%
- Forced air
- Steam (radiators, good for allergies)
- Hot water (radiators, good for allergies)
- Electric (good for allergies)
- Radiant (good for allergies)
- Ground source heat pumps
- Air source heat pumps
What types of heating systems are there?
Warms the house by circulating water through pipes embedded in the floor
(copper or PEX).
How does a radiant heating system work?
Uses the earth, groundwater or both as the source of heat in the winter and as the
sink for heat removed from the home in the summer.
Liquid (usually antifreeze) circulates through a loop under the ground. The heat
collected from the ground is distributed through the house with an air handling
system.
How does a ground-source heat pump or geothermal system work?
A system that transfers heat from outside to inside a building, or vice versa.
Similar to ground source heat pumps, except that they extract heat from the air
rather than the ground and use it to heat the house.
Describe an air source heat pump.
- Electric
- Gas
- Oil
- Gravity (found in old homes ... fuelled by either gas or oil)
What are the types of furnaces available?
Electric
, Which furnace is most expensive to operate and takes the longest to heat up the
house? Gas, electric or oil?
Propane
In areas where gas isn't available, what is often used instead in a furnace?
Every 10 years for approx. $3000
How often should above-ground oil tanks be replaced and at what cost?
Gravity furnaces
What is the least efficient type of furnace?
A heat exchanger and a burner
What are the 2 components of a boiler?
- Open (no longer common, uses an expansion tank, uses gravity rather than a
circulating pump)
- Closed (water is pressurized a few pounds higher than what is required to force
it up to the highest level within the structure ... typically have a circulating pump
to force water through the system)
What are the two types of boilers?
- More expensive to install BUT are cheaper to operate in the long run
- Can run off mainline gas, therefore don't need large storage tanks in the
basement
- Emit less pollution than oil furnaces
- More energy-efficient than electrical furnaces
- Required by the Building Code to have a minimum efficiency rating of 90%,
which is higher than oil furnaces
What are some benefits of gas furnaces?
HVAC
The heating part of an __________ system is provided by different types of furnaces,
boilers or heat pumps.
A refrigerant is put under pressure by a compressor until it becomes liquid,
which is cooled by a condenser and then evaporates again.
The evaporation process cools the air around it, which provides the cooling
effect. This cooled air is distributed throughout the structure via ductwork.
How does an air conditioning system work?
An air conditioning system that uses smaller pipes to circulate air and so
requires less modification if installed in an existing house.
What is Space PAC?
- Can be placed wherever most needed
- More energy-efficient due to cooling the room directly without ductwork (no
leaks)
- Best option for old houses without a forced air system already, due to being
much less expensive than installing ductwork
- Low noise levels indoor and outdoor
- Can set cooling levels for rooms individually
- Can also be used to heat a home with a heat pump installed
What are some advantages to using a ductless air conditioner?
