What’s all of that commotion in Hobbs Hall this week?
We have had chronic and serious issues with the 5-year-old HVAC system in Hobbs Hall, including but not limited to malfunctions in the temperature controls, higher than expected energy usage, and the premature failure of an air-conditioning coil. After dozens of hours of volunteer time and unsatisfactory professional service the Board of Trustees voted to end our service contract with the original installer and engage a third party to do an assessment of the entire system. DiMarco and Associates completed the evaluation and provided a report.
In summary, the issues that they found were breaks in the insulation envelope, which caused a major ice dam on the roof and wasted heat, a malfunctioning fresh air intake, incorrect wiring of the fan motors, more incorrect wiring that caused the furnace and AC to run simultaneously in the kitchen and, most importantly, inadequate airflow through the system. You can find their full report here.
After reviewing the report, the Board of Trustees hired DiMarco and Associates to do the prescribed fixes.
Why did the board choose this contractor?
DiMarco and Associates is a company with a sterling reputation for working on problematic systems and for working on “green” systems. We are anticipating a significant reduction in energy requirements and a longer lifespan for all of the parts in a complicated system, not to mention one that heats and cools when it is supposed to, makes less noise and creates a less drafty main hall, which have been chronic and annoying frustrations expressed by many of you.
The board also realizes that, for a system that is this complicated, it is unfair to depend on volunteers to do anything beyond simple maintenance (i.e. changing filters).
How are we paying for this?
The board is deeply grateful to the church member who understood the magnitude of the issues and offered the first half of the $20,000 cost, which enabled the board to move forward with the project. If you would also like to help defray part of the remaining cost, you can make a donation with “Hobbs HVAC” in the memo line.
If you have further questions, contact the congregation’s Moderator Randy Ruchotzke at [email protected]