Students were forced to evacuate a school recently, when smoke set off detectors, and it was discovered that the billowing clouds were rising from the HVAC system.  The students lingered outside the school, on the grounds for more than an hour, as technicians were called in to evaluate and repair the situation.  Fortunately, there were no injuries and students were, eventually, allowed to reenter the school before being dismissed for the day.

Smoke coming from the HVAC system can be pretty disheartening. Usually, the presence of billowing smoke, like that seen at the school, implies that something is broken or malfunctioning.  It can also be a precursor to dangerous flames or explosion.

The article that we recently read about this school’s evacuation did not mention the type of HVAC system that had caught fire.  We can assume, given the location and the current temperatures in that region that it was a heating system.  The mornings are still cool in much of the country, and that means a need for light heating during those early hours.  In order for such a system to be working efficiency, an outdoor air temperature sensor should be in place, which measures the ambient temperature and communicates this information to the heating and cooking systems.  A controller then adjusts the heating and cooling to ensure a comfortable indoor environment.

When operating correctly, these controls and sensors would ensure a better efficiency, which means cost savings, but they would also ensure that the system is only firing as often as necessary based on outdoor temperature.  The mild morning temperatures likely wouldn’t have called for a large degree of heat.  An outdoor temperature sensor may have prevented the fire by lessening the load on the system.

SRP Control Systems offers affordable reliable temperature sensing equipment that can help energy savings and provide a comfortable temperature environment for the end user.