16 June 2008
folder [featCategs]
An example of an exemplary installation in Korea!
[firstParagraph]
Here Graham Hendra casts his technical eye over the daft and the dangerous work unearthed by readers.
These units have been placed close together to maximize the chance of heat recovery occurring. The pipe work has been installed with no bends to reduce frictional losses in the system and to minimise installation time.
This installation in reality has been thrown in. The condensers have been stacked on top of one another to make service work impossible therefore maximizing the costs if anything goes wrong.
The pipe work has not been secured to the wall so will flap about and will eventually leak. Access to the units is non existent, making service work impossible which is quite common if you are a fit and forget installer.
On a purely health and safety prospective the units are not secured so potentially could fall off the ledge into the street below.
Fitting units with inadequate airflow is a bad but common practice. In tests we have proven that by restricting airflow you can reduce the efficiency of your unit by 30%.
This is an appalling installation which voids all warranty but the manufacturer is unlikely to see it so the kit will be blamed not the installation.