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So I was at work and I heard what sounded like occasional dripping above the ceiling.

mattmia2
mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,574
I looked above the ceiling and saw this:

SuperTech

Comments

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    Some sort of radiant cooling?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Canucker
    Canucker Member Posts: 722
    Is it a chilled beam set up? What dehumidifies the air and is it working properly?
    You can have it good, fast or cheap. Pick two
  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,139
    Lol, yeah I'd say a little bit of pipe insulation would go a long way toward stopping the dripping and pipe sweating.
    Alan Welch
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022
    uninsulated, but at least labeled :D
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    mattmia2
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,574
    Chilled beam. They are running the air handlers about 2 hours a day to conserve energy while the buildings are mostly shut down so it isn't getting as much chilled, dehumidified air as it was designed for. Still should have been insulated. I'm sure there was a meeting.
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022
    Looks new? Has it gone through an entire cooling season?
    Dewpoint controls?
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,574
    Building was built in 1980, was renovated 6 or 7 years ago. It is fine when they run the air handlers on the normal schedule. Now that they are running them for only a few hours a day to save money when the building is minimally occupied and it has been warm and rainy for the past few days it has begun raining indoors.
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022
    Yeah, not a great operating condition. Regardless you would think the pipes would be insulated in a potentially warm ceiling space like that?
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    mattmia2SuperTechCanucker
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,574
    I think moron was what I said when I stuck my head in the ceiling and saw what was happening.

    Apparently that building attracts experiments that look good on paper but don't work out in practice. When the building was new it only had chilled air distributed with no reheat, it only had radiation around the perimeter. The theory was that if you make up for the heat loss at the exterior you don't need to add heat anywhere else. It always had cold spots in the winter before the renovation.
  • EdTheHeaterMan
    EdTheHeaterMan Member Posts: 7,720
    edited May 2020
    the insulation guy also sells drop ceilings. So a little condensation might get me a new ceiling job in a few years. >:)
    Edward F Young. Retired HVAC ContractorSpecialized in Residential Oil Burner and Hydronics
    mattmia2fenkel