Understanding your JPS Canada Maintenance Report
After every fan coil or heat pump maintenance call, JPS Canada staff leave behind a paper report for residents. The purpose of this report is to ensure you have a clear record of the work that’s been done—as well as to draw your attention to any pertinent issues with your HVAC system.
This page is designed to help you get the most out of your report by explaining how your HVAC system works, as well as outlining the types of issues we’re looking for.
Tests and Checks:
The JPS Canada Inspection Process
During a full seasonal maintenance call, our staff will inspect your complete HVAC system.
Specifically, we’ll be looking at the following components:
As you go through your JPS Canada maintenance report, the words you really want to see are “No Issues Found: Operation Normal”. This means your fan coil unit passed our long list of checks and tests and should provide problem-free operation for the upcoming season!
If you don’t see those words, your unit likely had a few issues. These will also be clearly identified in the report, along with recommended steps
HVAC 101: A (brief) overview of how your HVAC system works
The Drain Pan
When water runs through your vertical fan coil unit to heat and cool your living space, condensation is a natural byproduct. While this condensation is captured in your unit’s condensate drain pan, over time that drain pan can become corroded—often creating little pin holes that water can leak through. Over time, these leaks can result in damaged floor boards, walls and potentially mold growth. Our staff fully inspect your drain pan, to make sure there are no signs of corrosion.
Newly installed retrofit fan coil. Drain pan located below the coil and drain hose below from sloped end.
Pro tip: When repairing a corroded drain pan, tin foil won’t cut it!
Supply/Return Valves
This pair of valves, sometimes referred to as isolation valves, isolates your fan coil unit from your building’s supply and return water loop. Water circulates through your fan coil from a supply pipe to a return pipe. The operation of these valves is critical as they shut off the water to the fan coil (which is necessary when doing repairs or to stop flooding). We check these valves for corrosion and other concerns that can cause them to stop functioning. We also look at their seals for signs of degradation, which can cause leaks.
Standard ball valve used in most applications.
Older units may have gate valves.
Pair of gate valves that have seen better days.
Insulation
The inside of your vertical fan coil unit is lined with insulation which provides a thermal break and helps absorb sound during operation. Ninety-nine percent of factory units are lined with some type of fiberglass material that has a special coating on the air stream side. This coating is there to prevent any fibers from entering the airstream and, ultimately, your suite.
Unfortunately, this coating breaks down over time and is easily damaged if the unit is improperly serviced or repaired. While fiberglass is not actually carcinogenic (the International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified fiberglass fibers from being “possibly carcinogenic” to “not classifiable as carcinogenic to humans” in 2001), it can still be harmful if inhaled. Glass fibers in the air cause irritation and can trigger more sever reactions in some.
Damaged fiberglass coating is one thing we look for—but we also make sure that loose pieces of insulation haven’t broken off and fallen into the fan coil. These small pieces can cause backed up drains and flooding, retain moisture (which can lead to mold growth), or build up on the coil (which can impact air flow).
Fan coil cabinet stripped and being re lined with new insulation. (sides bare metal that has been stripped and washed, Ready for new liner to be mechanically pinned.)
Exposed fiberglass section saturated in mold due to moisture retention.
The Water Coil
Like many things in your fan coil system, your water coil is prone to getting wet—which, over time, can result in build-up of dirt or biological growth like mold. Our staff will inspect and, if necessary, clean your coil so it’s operating efficiently.
Actuator and Valve
The actuator is a device with a motor that opens and closes a valve to direct the water flow in your fan coil. Essentially, it turns the Hot or Cool on. It is usually a small silver box that sits on top of a brass valve assembly (but it can be red or blue plastic as well). We check to make sure these motors haven’t burnt out, corroded or seized.
Similarly, the valve the actuator sits on is also subject to wear and may either seize up or start leaking. There are non-serviceable seals within valve bodies and they must be either replaced as a whole or some models do have replaceable cartridges (not unlike a faucet).
Typical 2-way and 3-way actuator and valve assembly
3-way actuator and valve assembly on an aging fan coil unit
The Blower Motor
The blower motor (aka motor and blower assembly) is the housing located either below your coil (in a blow thru design) or above it (in a draw thru design). It draws air through your return air intake (or filter), across the coil and out the supply grills. We check to make sure the motor hasn’t stopped functioning due to bearing failure, electrical failure or an unbalanced blower wheel.
Common blower housing
Burnt out motor due to lack of maintenance and filter changes. Dust build up choked the air flow causing motor to overheat.
Thermostat
Your fan coil thermostat is the “brain” of your unit. It is the main control point that determines when and for how long cool/heat will be delivered by the fan coil. To think of it in simple terms, it is a temperature-sensitive switch. The one unique feature with a fan coil thermostat vs the operation of a furnace in a house is fanc oils have multispeed fans. They switch between a low/med/hi operation. For this reason, only certain thermostats are compatible with them.
The Honeywell TB7100 and TB8575 models are industry standard, but smart thermostats have recently adopted software that allows the multispeed output. Notably ECOBEE 3 lite and above and the NEST PRO (Note: The NEST E is NOT compatible with fan coil units).
Like any other electromechanical device that relies on software-driven circuit boards and switches, thermostats are susceptible to failure. This can look like a dead display, failed relays or failed contacts.
Standard Fan Coil thermostat Honeywell Suitepro TB8575
Ecobee smart thermostat
