Ventilation Problems: The Heating System Competes With the Figure 4 National Oilheat Research Alliance
Figure 1
Conduction
Oil burner combustion requires a great deal
of air to operate properly—about 1,500 cubic
feet per gallon. Insulation, tight windows and
doors, and tight construction can prevent out-side
air from entering the building by infiltra-tion.
As a result, the building cannot “breathe”
and receive fresh air for the inhabitants and for
the appliances.
The heating system competes with the
fireplace, exhaust fans, the clothes dryer and
other appliances for air.
All of these appliances
using the air in a tight
house make it difficult
for the oil burner to have
sufficient combustion, dilution and ventilation
air. In a “tight” building, the indoor air pressure
can drop below the outdoor air pressure and the
appliance can backdraft, allowing products of
combustion to be drawn into the building from
the appliance and/or venting system. Figure 3.
Opening an outside door in a tight house can
equalize the pressure between the inside and
outside, which can temporarily fix the problem.
In fact, a service call
caused by insufficient com-bustion
air is the only situ-ation
in which a technician
“fixes” the problem just by
“…a service call caused by insufficient
combustion air is the only situation in
which a technician ‘fixes’ the problem just
by showing up.”
3