HVAC
Heating and Air Conditioning in your unit
I am a scientist and researcher - I have no experience with HVAC systems. All of the information here is based upon publicly available documentation and my understanding (or misunderstanding) of Building A. There may be differences between buildings. There may be things I get completely wrong.
Please use common sense, and please contact me with suggestions, corrections, or more information you’d like to share.
Thermostat
The thermostat (which LG calls a remote) is a PREMTB100. Manual here.
History of issues
TODO.
More information
How does the HVAC system work?
The Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is the collection of equipment that heats and cools your living space. Each unit in the building has an HVAC indoor unit or IDU, connected to an HVAC outdoor unit or ODU on the roof. More than one indoor unit is connected to each outdoor unit; the group of indoor units connected to an outdoor unit is called a zone.
At West Peak, each unit can individually control their heating and cooling through a thermostat (which LG calls a remote). An HVAC system works by moving heat from one place to another. When you want it warmer, it moves heat into your living space. When you want it cooler, it moves heat out of your living space. The heat is transferred from one place to another using pipes full of refrigerant, a chemical specifically designed to carry heat.
The buildings at West Peak use a heat recovery variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system. What does that mean?
A heat recovery system is one where indoor units can exchange heat with their outdoor units AND other units in their zone. This is what makes it possible for one outdoor unit to simultaneously heat some indoor units while cooling others. It also makes the system more efficient; waste heat from units calling for cooling is transferred to units calling for heating.
If you’ve lived in a building where management turns on or off the heating and cooling for everyone on a specific day, the building likely used a simpler heat pump system, and not a heat recovery system. Heat pump systems can only provide heating to all units or cooling to all units at a given time.
A variable refrigerant flow or VRF system is just a system that can change the speed of refrigerant flowing through the system to meet the demands of building occupants (also for efficiency).
Zones in Building A
Zones in other buildings
I do not have this information at this time.
The law on temperature standards
I am also not a lawyer.
Applicable by-laws set a minimum temperature for West Peak, but not a maximum temperature. Read more about air conditioning as it relates to housing law here (Steps to Justice).
Guelph by-law
Guelph by-law reads:
Heating systems
4.13 Every building, except for an industrial occupancy, shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining an indoor ambient temperature of 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees F.) in all occupied areas
4.14 Every heating system, fuel burning appliance, chimney, and other mechanical system shall be operated and maintained in good working order and free from unsafe conditions.
4.15 No portable heating equipment shall be used as the primary source of heat in any room.
Ontario by-law
Ontario by-law reads;
4. (1) For the purpose of the definition of “vital service” in subsection 2 (1) of the Act, September 1 to June 15 is prescribed as the part of the year during which heat is a vital service. O.Reg. 516/06, s.4(1).
For the purposes of subsection (1), heat shall be provided so that the room temperature at 1.5 metres above floor level and one metre from exterior walls in all habitable space and in any area intended for normal use by tenants, including recreation rooms and laundry rooms but excluding locker rooms and garages, is at least 20 degrees Celsius. O. Reg. 516/06, s. 4 (2).
Subsection (2) does not apply to a rental unit in which the tenant can regulate the temperature and a minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius can be maintained by the primary source of heat. O.Reg. 516/06, s.4(3).
Tarion and AC issues
Tarion is “a not-for-profit consumer protection organization established by the Ontario government to administer the province’s new home warranty program.”
From Tarion’s What to do when your new home loses its cool?:
Under your new home warranty, a complete loss of cooling in your builder-supplied air conditioner or an air conditioner that has not been installed is treated as an exceptional situation between May 15 and September 15. This means that between these dates you do not need to follow the regular warranty claims process to get the issue resolved. You can report your air conditioning problem separately and have it resolved sooner.
As always with warranty matters, the first thing you should do is get in touch with your builder. Find out when your air conditioner will be installed or when a technician can come and assess the issues with your current system. After contacting your builder, report the situation to Tarion using the Air Conditioning Form, which you can now complete and submit through our MyHome homeowner portal.
Your builder is expected to resolve your air conditioning problem within 30 days. If 30 days pass and the problem continues, you can contact Tarion for help.
Thermostat error codes
If your thermostat is showing an error code, contact building management. The manual for a Multi V 5 system is available online here. These are the error codes reported to have been seen at West Peak.
- CH05 - Communication error between out-door unit PCB and indoor unit PCB. (pg 140)
- CH42 - Outdoor unit low pressure sensor error. (pg 161)
- CH53 - Communication error between outdoor unit main PCB and indoor unit(s) PCB. (pg 168)
- CH204 - Communication error between out- door unit and heat recovery unit. (pg 203)
- CH237 - Communication error between outdoor unit PCB and indoor unit PCB. (pg 206)