Ontario Energy Group customers facing liens worth thousands of dollars

aylor Wild and his family were looking forward to moving into their new Orangeville home in February next year.

But that deal is in jeopardy after they discovered there was an $11,000 security interest on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning units (HVAC) in their old place.  Wild had to pay off that security interest commonly known as a lien to sell the house, leaving his family short on the down payment for their dream home.

"We're going to try to get our money back after the fact. Right now we have to pay it out and cut our losses and move on and battle them afterwards," the 24-year-old father of one said in an interview with CBC Toronto.

Wild is just one of many Ontarians who've run into difficulty with their HVAC rentals. In fact, water heater, furnace and air conditioner contracts are in the top 10 consumer complaints lodged with Ontario's Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, said spokesperson Sue Carroll in an email to CBC Toronto.

And the province has accused the company Wild rented the equipment from, Ontario Energy Group (OEG), as well as its owner, of more than 140 consumer-protection violations.  

Wild's own personal battle started after he sold his house and was told he had to replace his rented OEG furnace, hot water tank and central air conditioning unit because they didn't meet code.

When Ontario Energy Group installed the units in 2012 with the old owner, there was no permit taken out by the Electrical Safety Authority, Wild told CBC Toronto. 

"The units weren't inspected by the Electrical Safety Authority. They were installed improperly so there's ... multiple code infractions on the units," Wild said.

Wild and his wife took over the lease of the three-year-old units when they bought their home last year. 

He said they never got a detailed contract, so he didn't know he was taking over a 15-year rental agreement with OEG until he was told by a paralegal he had hired to help him. 

Wild hired another home services provider to replace the units at a cost of $8,000 as a condition of the house sale. 

Then he found out about the $11,000 lien on the equipment, put there by a company called Home Trust.

"I was upset, really upset," said Wild. "If you're going to make these contracts absolutely ridiculous and charge people the amount of money that you're charging people, you would think that they would at least install the equipment properly."

Geothermal Moves on Without Tax Credits

SPAWNING A NEW INDUSTRY: THE INFLUENCE OF MEDIA

It started back in 1982, when Dan Ellis had a display at a local trade show showing a ground coupling of heat pumps. An employee of The NEWS saw the display and interviewed Ellis. When the article ran in March 1982, Ellis started getting calls from all across the U.S, which prompted him to start thinking on a bigger scale. One of those who read the article was Dave Hatherton, a driller from Canada. Within a short time, Ellis and Hatherton became close friends. The duo soon became the exclusive residential distributor for Command Aire in Waco, Texas, which led to the formation of WaterFurnace Intl. Inc.

This was the beginning of an industry that, while still somewhat unknown to many, has matured incredibly throughout the world.

Both Hatherton and Ellis have continued in the industry to this day, holding prominent positions in industry and business. After helping WaterFurnace establish itself in the residential geothermal heat pump (GHP) market, Ellis went on to build ClimateMaster Inc., a large manufacturer of geothermal heating and cooling equipment. Hatherton continued his work in Ontario, Canada, running one of the largest distributors of GHPs in North America. Both have worked tirelessly in the industry toward the implementation of geothermal heating and cooling on a large scale.

This year, at the AHR Expo in Las Vegas, Ellis and Hatherton again spent some reflective time in the WaterFurnace Intl. Inc. booth, just as they did in WaterFurnace’s first 10-by-10-foot booth at the 1983 ASHRAE show in Atlantic City.

This meeting marks approximately 35 years of geothermal industry efforts. That seems like a long time. I compare that to my memories in 1970 when I was in elementary school in Barstow, California. I remember clearly my teacher, Mrs. Simms, telling us to get ready for the future. By the time we got into junior high school, everything would be metric, all the new cars would be electric, and solar panels would power the world, she said.

What happened? While not quite as quickly as some might have expected, I think we can all agree that electric cars are gaining acceptance, and solar PV is coming of age. I’m not so sure the metric system is going to be accepted in the U.S. anytime soon; however, the solar/electric effort is at least 47 years in the making.

The common thread is the great media attention. From 1982, when The NEWS saw Ellis’ display and ran that fateful article to today with this and other articles, The NEWS has been there for the HVAC industry, at large, and certainly for the geothermal heat pump industry.

A Number of Mississauga Schools in Need of Major Repairs

As buildings age, they need more maintenance and repair and Mississauga's many schools and educational facilities are no different.

In order to keep track of which schools need which repairs, the Ontario Ministry of Education evaluates all publicly-funded schools and ranks them using a Facility Condition Index (FCI). As the ministry explains, the FCI is a warehouse of data on each and every school's state of repair and information on schools is gathered in five year cycles.

As for how the rankings work, schools are judged based on projected repair and renewal costs and that cost is then compared to how much it would cost to rebuild the school entirely. The result of the comparison (fixing a school or rebuilding it), give the school its FCI (which is measured as a percentage).

For example, if the ministry determines that it would cost $1 million to rebuild a school and $100,000 to repair it, its FCI rating will be 10 per cent (a good rating). If a school will cost $1 million to rebuild and $900,000 to repair, it gets an FCI of 90 per cent (a very poor rating).

FCI ratings of 30 per cent or more are considered poor.

Because many Peel schools are aging, the FCI ratings for a handful of Brampton institutions are considered poor. That said, it's important to note that this rating only reflects repair needs, it does not mean that the schools are providing a lacklustre educational experience or that they are unsafe.

Some schools with poor ratings include Our Lady of Good Voyage (47 per cent), St. Charles Garnier (34 per cent), Applewood Heights (54 per cent), Barondale Public School (49 per cent) and more.

It's also important to note that some repair needs may be met between inspections.

"It should be noted that the ratings are a snapshot in time as of the date of inspection," the ministry's document reads. "The renewal needs and FCI rating can vary from the time of assessment for many reasons, such as investments made by a board to address renewal needs since the inspection."

As for how the data is gathered, the ministry says independent, third-party facility inspectors with teams comprised of two engineers—one with building design and construction expertise and another with mechanical and electrical expertise—carry out the inspections. The teams review essential structures and systems, as well as wear and tear.

So, why do some schools have a much higher rating than others?

"Ontario has nearly 5,000 school buildings, the average age of which is 38 years old. Some of these buildings date back to the 1800s and early 1900s," the Ministry explains. "These schools are a proud part of our province's heritage, but as you can imagine, the older a building is, the higher its repair and renewal needs will likely be. As a result of Ontario's aging school buildings, and a legacy of underinvestment in school infrastructure between 1980 and 2003, the average school's FCI is 27.5 per cent."

Since the average isn't ideal (it's closing in on 30 per cent), the ministry says investments in school infrastructure have increased and added that the Ontario government has invested close to $15 million in schools since 2003.

The province is currently providing school boards with an additional $11 billion over 10 years to, among other things, improve facilities.

The ministry also added that schools will receive $1.1 billion in additional funding over the next two years to repair their facilities.

"This funding is over and above existing funding of $1.6 billion during that same time frame, bringing the government's investment in school repair and renewal $2.7 billion for 2015-2017," the minstry writes.

The funding will, ideally, enable school boards to repair roofs, update HVAC units and modernize electrical and plumbing systems. It also help improve flooring, walls, ceilings, playing fields and more.

THE LEADING NAME IN PROFESSIONAL HVAC SERVICES

HVAC Inc. has announced that they will be expanding the area of their services as a professional HVAC contractor. Q's HVAC as a renowned professional HVAC contractor servicing in the Greater Toronto Area, and Ontario and is offering a wide range of services in one of the most populous area of Canada. Throughout the GTA, the contractor has completed a number of large projects that speak for themselves.

Q’s HVAC professional contractors have recently completed a number of projects throughout the GTA. Some of these projects include Westwood Properties: Condo Buildings and several other landmarks. Moreover, the company has completed the work of ‎maintenance and service of the building's domestic hot water, underground heaters, and heating system since 2013.  Westwood Properties has three main buildings, with two of them in Etobicoke and one in Mississauga.

“Our primary services include furnace, AC, water heater and gas line servicing.” Said the spokesperson of Q’s HVAC. “For homes and businesses, the services offered by Q's HVAC cover everything needed and we are proud to say that our clients have always been satisfied.” The spokesperson added. The company has received a large number of positive and inspiring testimonials from the clients all over the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.

As of 2017, Q's HVAC is proudly serving the residents of Ontario with three locations in the Greater Toronto Area. With their head office in Scarborough, the company also has offices in Markham and Pickering, Ontario. Anyone can get their free quotes today by calling the contractors over the phone as the company provides highest quality services in Canada on the most affordable rates in the market.

HVAC solutions go even smarter

HVAC is one of the biggest consumers of energy on a passenger ship, but there are some brand new solutions with sophisticated ways of reducing energy costs

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) continues to be a major consideration for cruise ship operators – a point that has been highlighted by Carnival Corp’s senior vice president of maritime affairs, Tom Strang.

In an energy efficiency session at the recent Seatrade Cruise Global trade event in Miami, he said: “HVAC is one of the biggest energy consumers on board a cruise ship.” He said that it was by far the biggest energy output within the accommodation sector of a cruise ship, but “if you can control when it is on and off and monitor the amount of CO2 that people produce, then there is a lot that can be done through smart technology and better maintenance.”

Indeed, there has been a huge evolution in the smart HVAC systems that are available. One of the most recent innovative solutions comes from Halton Marine, which has launched a completely new HVAC technology that promises to provide substantial savings in ventilation lifecycle costs.

“As a result of continuous research and development work, Halton Marine introduces a completely new cabin ventilation system for cruise ships,” a statement explained. Halton’s chilled beam is an air conditioning system for cooling, heating and ventilating spaces where good indoor climate and individual space control are appreciated, it said.

The chilled beam system is an air and water installation that uses the heat transfer properties of water and provides “excellent” indoor climate conditions with good energy efficiency, according to the company.

Halton said that chilled beam systems use the dry cooling principle, whereby the system’s design and controls create condensation-free conditions. The product is designed in such a way that the recirculated air does not need to be filtered.

The efficient mixing provided by the chilled beam ventilation system results in uniform air quality inside the cabin. Supply air is diffused from linear slots on the beam. Chilled beams use the primary air to induce and recirculate the room air through the heat exchanger of the unit, resulting in high cooling capacities and excellent thermal conditions in the space, without a fan.

According to an independent study, chilled beams offer substantially lower lifecycle costs compared with more traditional systems like fan coils. There are no filters to change, and no fan, with its associated electrical consumption and maintenance. “But it is not only about savings. It is about the comfortable conditions. The chilled beam system offers more comfortable cabin ventilation conditions, individual control of temperature, draught free conditions also in maximum cooling loads, and low sound levels,” the company added.

Halton has long experience in manufacturing chilled beams for different types of buildings, such as high-end offices, hotels, hospitals and retail shops, around the world. The Halton Marine beam is an extension to the company’s established portfolio and is specifically designed for cruise ship applications. In addition to full-scale indoor air laboratories on three continents, Halton has full-scale beam testing facilities in Finland.

Koja Marine has launched new solutions, too. It has introduced its new cabin control system and HVAC automation system for cruise and ferry projects.

Esko Nousiainen, Koja Marine director, commented: “The new cabin control system is of our own design. It is designed for ethernet applications and is freely programmable. The new HVAC automation is our own design, too, with many innovative energy saving features.”

He added: “We are investing tens of millions of euros in upgrading our production and laboratory at Tampere and also our production facilities at Jalasjärvi. At Tampere a completely new 10,000m2 factory for industrial fans is being built and our laboratory facilities are also being completely rebuilt. All marine production has been moved to our Jalasjärvi factory, which means that we have been able to renew all our production machinery over the past five months.”

Koja has also recently signed what it describes as a “huge contract” for several cruise vessel HVAC systems, but the company is not yet allowed to disclose information about this.

Elsewhere, Teknotherm has scooped the contract to supply the complete HVAC systems and provisions cooling plant for up to four new polar cruise ships for Hurtigruten, to be built by Norwegian shipyard Kleven Verft. The vessels – the first cruise ships to be fully electric – will be deployed in Arctic and Antarctic areas. They have been designed by Rolls-Royce Marine in Norway and customised for expedition voyages.

Hurtigruten prioritises sustainability, and the new ships will be equipped with advanced environmentally friendly technology to reduce emissions. Teknotherm said that it would be using energy recovery solutions and energy efficient equipment in the HVAC systems.

Teknotherm’s latest innovation, the CFU-500 Enigma cabin fan coil unit, will be supplied for this project. The unit combines state-of-the-art energy recovery with maximum comfort for passengers, according to the company. The system considerably reduces the number of air handling units, the size of the chillers and the amount of ducting needed on board.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Vacon 100 Flow AC variable speed drives from Danfoss Drives will be used by Finnish automation and electrification specialist VEO in the electrical systems of four large luxury cruise ships being built by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft. The drives, which range in size up to 250kW, will principally be used in HVAC and pump applications.

Meyer Werft awarded VEO the multi-million euro contract to provide electrical systems for the ships in early July 2016. VEO started work on the project immediately, and it is expected to continue until 2022. The contract includes options for VEO to provide electrical systems for future vessels built by Meyer Werft, and it is anticipated that these systems will incorporate large numbers of AC variable speed drives from Danfoss Drives.

“We have been using Vacon products for many years,” said VEO industry vice president Jarkko Aro. “We have always been very impressed by their performance, quality, reliability and value for money. In addition, the products are backed by outstanding technical support, and we always get a fast, helpful response to any special requirements we may have. With all of this in mind, Vacon AC variable speed drives from Danfoss were clearly the best choice for the largest and most prestigious project VEO has ever undertaken.”

The Vacon 100 Flow AC variable speed drives chosen by VEO for use in the luxury cruise liner systems are optimised to provide efficient flow control with pumps and fans. They use dedicated menu systems that make set up easy and, as standard, they incorporate invaluable flow-related features such as a two-zone PID (proportional, integral, derivative) control, multimotor options and an anti-ragging function that helps guard against pump blockages.