What’s New
The New York City Council has delayed the effective date for the 2014 NYC Construction Codes from October 1st to December 31, 2014.
Recent Projects
- Evaluation of water intrusion and associated construction deficiencies at a renowned West Village, NYC condominium edifice
- Consultation regarding collapsing retaining walls along a shared property boundary for premises located in Sloatsburg, NY
- Forensic Engineering services regarding allegedly deficient service and repair of a baseboard heating system at a property located in Blauvelt, NY
Kidde Recalls Smoke and Combination Smoke/CO Alarms Due to Alarm Failure
On September 11, 2014 The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of various Kidde hard-wired smoke and combination smoke/carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. The recall was initiated because the units may not perform as designed following a power outage. If a power outage occurs at the same second that a unit is performing a sensor health check, the units may go into a “latched” mode, causing them not to alert to the presence of smoke. The unit will sound if it receives a signal from an alarm in the same interconnected system. Once power is restored, a latched unit will sound an alert, regardless of the presence of smoke or carbon monoxide, until power to the alarm is completely removed.
Yarmus Engineering, P.C. is available to assist you in identifying whether or not the units in your building(s) fall under this recall notice, as well as to provide general consultations, design services, and code compliance audits regarding such smoke and carbon monoxide detection systems. Please contact our office if we can be of assistance to you or your clients regarding such safety systems.
New Air Conditioner Standards Would Rank as Biggest Energy Saver in U.S. DOE History
On September 18th the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy reported that “the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed new efficiency standards for commercial air conditioners that could yield the most energy savings of any appliance standard. DOE said the standards for commercial unitary air conditioners will save 11.7 quadrillion Btus (quads) of energy over the lifetimes of units sold for 30 years. ‘That is equivalent to more than half of all the residential energy used in one year, making this potentially the largest energy savings estimated for any efficiency standard issued by DOE to date,’ stated a fact sheet issued by the White House. ‘DOE’s new standards are a breath of cool air for businesses since air conditioners account for about 10% of a typical commercial building’s electricity cost,’ said Steve Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)”.
Yarmus Engineering, P.C. will continue to monitor the development of such standards, and remains available to design, inspect, certify, and consult with clientele regarding their HVAC systems and energy efficiency objectives. Please contact our office if we can be of assistance to you or your clients regarding such matters.