main Miscellaneous page for more current articles. Fire Focus: Interfacing Fire Alarm SystemsCompatibility, Reliability And Compliance February 2010Security companies are finding some extra business because of air conditioners. The issue at hand isn't home or business automation to link alarm control systems with over-the-phone or over-the-Web control of automated systems. Rather, the issue is the old fashioned concern of common theft. ) reported last week that a number of businesses around Fayetteville, N.C., have been hit by surprise thefts of air conditioners. The thefts stem from the high value of copper (it's being sold at an all-time high), which is often found in air conditioner coils. Other instances have been reported. In Wichita, KAKE-TV 10 reported that a number of businesses had seen their air conditioners ripped open for the value of the copper contained. One Wichita business indicated that the cost of replacing those air conditioners was approximately $10,000.

Back in Fayetteville, N.C., News 14 reported on a law firm that had seen its air conditioning unit robbed of its copper a total of five times. The thefts are reportedly becoming a business source for alarm companies, who are often being asked to add theft sensors to the air condition units. Still, according to most, the common response is for end users to add secure fences and motion-sensing lights. Holmes Electric Security Systems is reportedly wiring air conditioner units such that if the unit or copper is stolen, an alarm signal is raised. According to the North Carolina company, which was quoted in News 14's coverage of the thefts, they are getting calls approximately every other day to install air conditioning protection systems. The theft of copper has become a problem recently as prices have increased. Besides the recent rash of air conditioner parts thefts, telephone utility companies have been repeatedly plagued by copper wire thefts. Thieves have even been known to strip empty buildings of their wiring systems for the value of their copper.

Such was the case on May 2 when an historic warehouse/market area of New York fell victim to a substantial fire that authorities say was caused by a man trying to burn the insulation off of copper he had scavenged in the then-empty building. main Codes & Standards page for more current articles.ac outside unit making noise Duct DetectorsThe Smoke Detectors Everyone Loves To Hate February 2011air handling unit indiaWhenever you fix or replace something in a rental unit or building you need to decide whether the expense is a repair or improvement for tax purposes. heater ac units wall unitsWhy is this important? Because you can deduct the cost of a repair in a single year, while you have to depreciate improvements over as many as 27.5 years.

For example, if you classify a $1,000 expense as a repair, you get to deduct $1,000 this year. If you classify it as an improvement, you'll likely have to depreciate it over 27.5 years and you'll get only a $35 deduction this year. Unfortunately, telling the difference between a repair and an improvement can be difficult. In attempt to clarify matters, the IRS has issued lengthy regulations explaining how to tell the difference between repairs and improvements. Implementation of these rules was delayed but they became effective on January 1, 2014. For more details on current vs. capital expenses refer to the article Current vs Capital Expenses. If You are a Landlord Maximize your tax deductions, including how to deduct repairs and losses, depreciate improvements. Check out Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide » Under the new IRS regulations, property is improved whenever it undergoes a: Think of the acronym B A R = Improvement = Depreciate. If the need for the expense was caused by a particular event--for example, a storm--you must compare the property's condition just before the event and just after the work was done to make your determination.

On the other hand, if you’re correcting normal wear and tear to property, you must compare its condition after the last time you corrected normal wear and tear (whether maintenance or an improvement) with its condition after the latest work was done. If you’ve never had any work done on the property, use its condition when placed in service as your point of comparison. An expenditure is for a betterment if it: An expenditure is for a restoration if it: You must also depreciate amounts you spend to adapt property to a new or different use. A use is “new or different” if it is not consistent with your “intended ordinary use” of the property when you originally placed it into service. To determine whether you’ve improved your business or rental property, you must determine what the property consists of. The IRS calls this the “unit of property” (UOP). How the UOP is defined is crucial. The larger the UOP, the more likely will work done on a component be a deductible repair rather than an improvement that must be depreciated.

For example, if the UOP for an apartment building is defined as the entire building structure as a whole, you could plausibly claim that replacing the fire escapes is a repair since it doesn’t seem that significant when compared with the whole building. On the other hand, if the UOP consists of the fire protection system alone, replacing fire escapes would likely be an improvement. New IRS regulations require that buildings be divided up into as many as nine different UOPs: the entire structure and up to eight separate building systems. An improvement to any of these UOPs must be depreciated. As a result, more costs will have to be classified as improvements, rather than repairs. The entire building and its structural components as a whole are a single UOP. A building’s structural components include: For example, replacement of a building’s roof is an improvement to the building UOP. In addition, the following eight building systems are separate UOPs. An improvement to any one of these systems and must be depreciated: