Description
The owners of this house had only recently moved in, after renting it to others. The tenants had used the thermostat very frugally so that the heating bills were unusually low and the computer model could not be made to match accurately.
We found a gas leak at the end of an old disconnected pipe where an appliance had been. We recommended removing and recycling the pipe, capping off the junction.
The original furnace was still operational, producing 50 times the safe amount of carbon monoxide. We did not find any CO going into the air ducts, but it was only a matter of time particularly since the flue pipe passed through the air return duct! The furnace also had four large pilot lights running all year. We recommended cleaning the burners of the furnace in the short term, and replacing it in the long term.
The water heater was not producing a high concentration of CO, but it was not drafting properly up its flue pipe due to insufficient angle on the flue pipe to allow draft. The heater was also leaking hot water onto the floor. We recommended replacing the water heater with a newer model and either increasing the flue angle or using a power-ventilated system.
Much of the air leakage in the house was due to a second air conditioner in the attic having been removed; the ducts were still open to the attic! There was also a lot of air leakage around the (permanent) stairway to the attic.
