Three Very Common Sources Of HVAC Leaks

HVAC Condensation Pan Leaks:
When air conditioning units operate, they collect condensation. HVAC units typically have internal sheet metal pans that collect and drain off the condensation water. Because this is a continuing process, the sheet metal pans have a tendency to rust out. When this happens, the water inside the HVAC unit can leak into the building. This is a common source of leakage, particularly in older units. It represents a significant percentage of the reported leak calls that we receive. If you experience “roof leaks” when it’s not raining, the chances are that it’s an air conditioning problem.

HVAC Air Duct Leaks:
Sometimes HVAC units have sheet metal air ducts that run across the roof. These ducts have overlapping seams, where they are connected together. These seams are sealed to prevent air from leaking in and out. But, they are also sealed to prevent water from getting inside. Unfortunately these seals can crack and wear out. When the HVAC units operate, a high vacuum occurs in some of the ducts. If the duct seals are cracked or broken, the vacuum can pull rain water inside. Once inside the ducts, the water can be blown through the system. If you experience leakage that is seen directly below air ducts or ceiling air vent openings, the chances are that this is the problem.

Vacuum induced Equipment Leakage:
Most HVAC units create significant interior vacuum. If there is a small hole or opening in the HVAC unit, the vacuum can pull rain water inside the unit. Sometimes roof leakage occurs on brand new roof systems directly underneath HVAC units. When this happens, we conduct intensive water tests, to determine the source of the problem. In many cases we find that the roof is not leaking. The HVAC unit is leaking internally.

Membranes Are Not The Only Cool Roof Available!

When we think of “cool roofs” we often think of the TPO membrane roof because of it’s bright white color. However, the typical membrane roof is not the only game in town. Did you know that there are many colors of metal roofing that also qualify as “cool” roofing?

Florida Power and Light conducted a study on roofs and electric bills a couple of years ago. While the study confirmed long held beliefs that the whiter, and therefore, more reflective the roof, the lower the electric bill. The surprising fact that came out of the study was that, “white, galvanized metal roofing material saves the most energy as a result of its high reflectance and superior ability to cool quickly at night.”

But, there is even more good news, white is no longer the only approved “cool” color when it comes to metal roofing. In fact there are dozens of approved “cool” colors in metal roofing, so you do not have to give up the look you want to get the energy savings you need.

Want to find out more about cool metal roofing, simply call one of our Customer Service Representatives today at 877-726-2661.

Six Factors of Long-Term Roof Performance- Ranked By Our Customers

Maintaining aging institutional and commercial facilities is essential for providing a safe and effective work environment. One of the most important steps in achieving this goal — yet the most overlooked in many organizations — is roof maintenance.

Why do so many organizations overlook their roofing system? In general, roofs present a host of major challenges, from specification and installation to maintenance and replacement. From the maintenance and engineering manager’s point of view, no building component fits in the “out of sight, out of mind” category better than roofs.

When the time comes to gather information and make decisions about replacing the roof, numerous problems such as failing to employ proper roof design, specifying time-tested products and disregarding ongoing roof maintenance, all contribute to this challenging situation.

What can or should you do to streamline the process of roof replacement? The first step is to understand the issues involved in effective roof management. Seven factors affect the long-term performance of a roof system: design, installation, materials, maintenance, construction quality control, warranty, and weather. Of these seven factors, only weather is beyond your control.

At RAMCON, we believe that when there’s a problem, go right to the source. Therefore, we worked with more than 1,000 building owners and managers who ranked the six controllable factors, based on each one’s impact on a roof’s long-term performance. The challenge for you is to fully understand the significance of each factor (listed below in order of potential impact) on a roof’s performance and to avoid automatically choosing the “lowest cost” option. The cost of cheap can be very high.

Managers and owners identified roof design as the most important factor affecting long-term performance. A significant margin exists between the perceived importance of roof design compared to all other factors. You need a detailed specification, which RAMCON can provide to you, so that when you are getting prices, you are getting ‘apples to apples’. If not,, you will simply receive a design from some contractors that is the “lowest cost” option. Essentially, you are not getting the best design...just the cheapest. Every single day, we work with building owners and managers designing sets of specifications that truly meet your needs...let us help you, at no expense to you.

Installation Insights
The labor to install a roof is the most costly factor, and in some cases, the greatest influence on roof performance. If you select a contractor who does not install the roof properly, the roof will not perform up to expectations, no matter the quality of the roof design or materials. One of your  primary considerations when choosing a contractor is ensuring they can provide a highly  experienced, skilled, and conscientious roofing crew. Ask around to other owners, roofing manufacturers or distributors about RAMCON’s quality and see what they have to say. 

Materials Management
New and improved roofing products continually enter the market. Sometimes, ‘new and improved’ can mean less expensive. The cost of the membrane, not its proven performance, is too often the overriding factor in choosing a roofing system. But let’s keep in mind that the difference in cost between a high-quality, time tested roofing membrane and a low-cost commodity brand is usually less than 10 percent of the system’s total cost.

If you are looking for long-term performance, you have to do the research. Or better yet, drop by the RAMCON office and see the products being tested yourself. We maintain a 35,000 square foot training and testing ground that tests everything we install.

Maintenance Matters
It’s imperative to implement a proactive inspection and maintenance program after the roof is installed. All to often managers believe that because a warranty covers the new roof, they can ignore maintenance for the first several years of the roof’s life. This is a costly mistake. Many material or other deficiencies can develop within the first few years of a roof’s service life and the smallest defect can turn into a major problem if workers do not correct it immediately.

Project Inspection
As previously mentioned, you should consider the installation of the roofing system as one of the two most important factors in a roof’s performance. Installation is also difficult, dangerous, and sometimes can be the the largest cost. Because of the high risk and costs associated with the installation, comprehensive construction inspections are vital to ensure the best system is installed. RAMCON has dedicated quality control teams, as well as internal and external risk management teams that inspect every project continuously to ensure it is not only installed perfectly, but with no risks or incidents. We are proud of our .63 EMR rate and work diligently to  protect it.

Warranty Considerations
The factor owners and managers ranked lowest in assessing the long-term performance of roofs is the manufacturer warranty. Some roofing membrane manufacturers sell roof warranties, not roofing membranes. Twenty years ago, a 10-year roof warranty for labor and material was the norm. Now, manufacturers offer 20- and even 30-year warranties.

Before paying $0.15-$0.20 per square foot for a 30- year warranty, it might be worthwhile to read the warranty limitations and exclusions. You need to remember that manufacturers write the warranty to protect themselves.

Among the warranty exclusions and special conditions that will make the warranty null and void: lack of proper maintenance, unauthorized repairs, failure to notify manufacturer within the prescribed time about the discovery of a leak, traffic or material storage, abnormal climatic condition and damage due to winds over 42 mph.

There is no substitute for performing proper roof design, using time-tested products, using high-quality workmanship, performing construction quality control, and performing ongoing roof maintenance. The risks of omitting any of these factors are too high to ignore and often lead to costly, premature roof failure.

How Reflective Roofing Works and Saves You Money

The availability of viable and energy-efficient cool roofing products has expanded greatly in recent years. Building owners, managers, and architects increasingly use these products because of their capacity for energy savings.

Managers in institutional and commercial facilities also can achieve several other benefits, such as: lower interior temperatures, greater occupant comfort, and smaller cooling loads on HVAC systems. A growing number of building codes also mandate the use of cool roofs, and voluntary programs are increasingly including them as a key element of sustainable design.

By understanding some of the science behind cool roofs and the questions to ask in specifying these systems, managers can more effectively match product options to the organizations’ needs.

How is it Cool? Specifying a cool roof for an institutional or commercial facility can be a smart decision, but not everyone is clear on what exactly cool entails. Cool roofs have been around for quite some time and are increasingly popular options in many areas of the United States. Still, managers often do not understand the performance details of cool roofs.

A cool roof is highly reflective and can easily emit the small amounts of heat it absorbs; allowing the surface of the roof to remain cooler and transferring less heat into the building.

Two radiative properties define a cool roof. Solar reflectance describes the fraction of solar energy the roof reflects. Thermal emittance describes the relative ability of the roof’s surface to radiate absorbed heat. Both of these properties are measured from 0 to 1, and the higher the number, the cooler the roof.

Here is where part of the confusion comes in. Many elements of a roof’s structure, such as insulation, can affect a building’s interior temperature and its performance. These elements are obviously important, but “cool roof” refers specifically to the roof’s radiative surface properties.

It stands to reason that light-colored surfaces have high reflectance, and many early rebate programs for cool roofs used this characteristic as the only requirement. Uncoated shiny metal surfaces reflect the sun’s energy efficiently, but they have very low emittance. As a result, they become very hot during the day. A roof that demonstrates both high solar reflectance and high thermal emittance is essential for managers seeking to improve a facility’s energy performance

RAMCON collects Toys For Tots

On Christmas morning, millions of children will wake up across the nation excited to see what Santa has brought them. Many of us can still remember the moment we opened the gift that we hoped Santa would bring us. The saddening truth is that many children will wake up on Christmas morning and their wishes will not be met.

Help us change Christmas morning back into the whimsical haze of happiness and joy we remember. Together, through Toys for Tots, we can help put a smile on a child’s face. We can send a message of hope to less fortunate children who are in the midst of difficult times. RAMCON will again take part in the annual Toys for Tots program by collecting new and unwrapped toys and books.

Toys for Tots began back in 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributes in excess of 5,000 toys to struggling children. In fact, the idea came from Bill’s wife, Diane. In the fall of 1947, Diane crafted a homemade doll and asked Bill to deliver the doll to a local organization to donate at Christmas. To Bill’s surprise, no such agency existed, so Bill and Diane created one. In 1948 the program expanded it into a nationwide campaign. Now, some 65 years later, the initial objective and mission of the program remains.
Join the team in collecting new and unwrapped toys by dropping them off at our main facility in Tampa – 5902 Breckenridge Pkwy. Tampa, FL 33610 – or give us a call and we’ll pick them up. For each toy donated, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a complimentary one year Gold Star Preventative Maintenance package.