HIGH PERFORMANCEHVAC TODAY TMIf You Don’t Measure, You’re Just Guessing!™hvactoday.comFEBRUARY 2018BLAZE YOUR TRAILto High PerformanceALSO IN THIS ISSUE:HVAC SUMMIT 2018HIGH PERFORMANCEWhy Customers Should Participate in TABMy Journey with ComfortMaxx Air™Rob Falke on Measuring/Repairing Duct System Heating and Cooling LossesNCI Summit 2018 Show IssueFEBRUARY 2018 3HVACTODAY.COMFEBRUARY 2018 VOLUME 2 NUMBER 2HIGH PERFORMANCEHVAC TODAY TMLEAD GENERATION:My Journey with ComfortMaxx Air™Nathan Copeland of Copeland and Son AC and Heating shares how his company uses this program to grow.TECHNICAL:Measure and Repair Duct System Heating and Cooling LossesRob Falke provides the rational and procedures for measuring and not guessing when it comes to duct systems.CUSTOMER SERVICE:Why Customers Should Participate in Testing, Adjusting, and BalancingContractor Dana Walsh explains how to build customer confidence and seal relationships using this technique. DEPARTMENTSOnline Content ......................................................................................4Today’s Word ........................................................................................7High Performance News ....................................................................8High Performace Products ................................................................9Contractor Spotlight: Schneller Plumbing & Heating ...10Photo of the Month .........................................................................27Member Update ...............................................................................28Ad Index ................................................................................................29One More Thing ...............................................................................301322HVAC SUMMIT 2018HIGH PERFORMANCESPECIAL SECTION:Blaze Your Trail to High PerformanceHere is a detailed guide to NCI’s High Performance HVAC Summit 2018 in Austin, TX. Plan on joining us there!20244 FEBRUARY 2018HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYONLINE CONTENTMonthly DownloadThis month we feature a single-page, well-illustrat-ed Tech Tip checklist for measuring an economizer’s airflow using an Alnor 801 Rotating Vane Anemome-ter. The checklist includes tips on how to properly choose the right settings on the the 801 devise as well as six steps for correctly mea-suring airflow volume in cubic feet per minute (CFM)Go to ncilink.com/md0218, or use your phone with the QR Code below.By registering for free on NCI’s website, access this download and many more.Online UniversityFeatured this month is the Register and Grille Series of the Online University’s Advanced Technical training. These courses will help you to better understand how to select and measure both supply and return grilles. This series includes: • Supply Register and Return Grille Basics - Covers how to properly size them, how they impact air mixing, and more.• Traversing Grilles and Registers - Learn to appply the correct traverse formula and how to create a correction factor in the field.• How To Select Supply Registers - Demos how to use pub-lished engineering data for accurate selection.• How to Select Return Grilles - Similar to above. Read more here: ncilink.com/ou0218FEBRUARY 2018 5HVACTODAY.COMBLOG POSTSHELPING THE HVAC INDUSTRY BECOME PERFORMANCE-BASEDWhat does Perfomance-Based Contracting™ and the Book, “Blue Ocean Strategy,” have to do with each other? In Dominick Guarino’s blog, he de-fines it and explains and how contractors can use such a strategy with performance to so differen-tiate themselves, that they have virtually no competition in the marketplace. Read it here: ncilink.com/blueocean.OVERCOME CHALLENGES MEASURING AIR HANDLER FILTER PRESSURE DROPDavid Richardson provides seven steps to suc-cessfully overcome these challenges. He even includes step-by-step instructions to build your own probe so you can successful complete the measurements. Read his blog here: ncilink.com/AH-PSI-DropThere’s An App For That!There are so many mobile apps geared toward HVAC contractors. The question is, which ones are worth your time? Answer: Not all of them for sure. NCI’s David Richardson has found a number that make great sense for the Performance-Based Contracting™ community and we present those here. This month’s app is Re-portApp from Bacharach, Inc. It reads combustion measurements from Bacharach’s Insight Plus and InTech combustion analyzers via a QR code. Both analyzers are available in the NCI store. The measurements can then be viewed, saved, and emailed as a PDF. The app is available in both iOS and Android formats.6 FEBRUARY 2018HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYFEBRUARY 2018 7HVACTODAY.COMTODAY’S WORDBy Mike WeilMike Weil is editor-in-chief and director of Communications at National Com-fort Institute, Inc.PERFORMANCE IS WHAT WE, AS AN INDUSTRY, MUST STRIVE FOR. PERFORMANCE IS WHERE COMFORT AND EFFICIENCY INTERSECT.History in the Making: The High Performance HVAC Summit StoryFifteen years ago, National Comfort Institi-tute, Inc. (NCI) launched its very first membership event. It was called National Comfort Team High Performance 2003. It was held in Dallas, TX, and was in conjunction with Contracting Business magazine’s HVAC Comfortech 2003 show. That was a very busy year.It was the year that the Human Genome Proj-ect was completed. This project was where scien-tists from around the world finished successfully sequencing 99% of the makeup of human DNA.It was the year that the supersonic high-end passenger jet known as the Concorde flew its last flight. It was also the year we saw the birth of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the year the U.S. bombed the daylights out of Iran and eventually put an end to the reign of Saddam Hussein.From bombout to blackout, August 2003 was when the entire Northeastern quadrant of the United States went dark due to aging electrical infrastructure. And sadly, it was the year the U.S. space shuttle Columbia met its end as it disintegrated during re-entry to the Earth’s at-mosphere, killing all seven astronauts onboard.Yes, there was a lot going on. On a much more positive note, National Com-fort Team High Performance 2003 was all about helping HVAC contractors deliver true perfor-mance to customers. Sessions focused on indoor air quality, carbon monoxide and combustion safety, as well as how to implement and maintain Performance-Based Contracting™ in an HVAC business. It also covered how to sell and market this approach. Fifteen years ago I attended that first event as a guest; I was an editor on a trade magazine at the time and was there to cover the event.Fifteen years later, NCT Performance morphed into NCI Summit. The focus now is on growing the high performance HVAC segment of the en-tire industry. I am no longer a guest, but the edi-tor of this magazine and director of communica-tions for NCI.Today the event is called NCI’s High Perfor-mance HVAC Summit. Our focus is not only on implementing the culture of Performance-Based Contracting, but also on teaching you all about air upgrades, duct renovations, and more -- using the sharpest experts in high performance contracting. The history of this event is long and storied and directly connected to the entire HVAC Indus-try. The message is clear: “If you don’t measure, you’re just guessing.”And the revolution continues with our very first magazine issue focused on Summit. In fact, our entire Show guide can be found beginning on page 13.NCI CEO Dominick Guarino wrote in Con-tracting Business magazine in 2013, “The lessons we’ve learned from decades of conform-ing to new energy efficiency and indoor air qual-ity standards are that performance is what we must strive for. Performance is where comfort and efficiency intersect.” What a beautiful way to summarize what this industry and this 15th Annual Summit event are all about.So get ready, get registered, and join us on blazing a trail to high performance. 8 FEBRUARY 2018HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHIGH PERFORMANCE NEWSIt is just over 30 days away: National Comfort Institute, Inc.’s (NCI) High Perfor-mance Summit descends upon Austin, TX, from March 4-6, 2018. Summit is THE gathering place for contractors who specialize in High Performance HVAC.NCI is pleased to announce two Platinum sponsors for the event -- The Electric & Gas Industries Associa-tion (EGIA) and Goodman Manufacturing. Both will be co-sponsoring Summit’s Welcome Reception on Sun-day, March 4th.This will be EGIA’s first time participating with NCI as part of Summit, but not their first time working with HVAC contractors. The 85-year-old non-profit organization operates in the energy efficiency and renewable energy fields and is heavily involved in helping contractors offer financing to their con-sumer customers.Goodman Manufacturing returns once again as a platinum sponsor. This year, Goodman is also providing FREE post- conference sales training. It’s a two-day class that will teach a systematic and inter-active approach to sell-ing premium comfort systems using the lat-est techniques in solu-tion-based sales.The class is only available to the first 50 Summit attendees who sign up. Visit GoToSummit.com/SalesClass for details.There is still time to sign up and at-tend the HVAC Industry’s only Perfor-mance-Based Contracting Event. Just visit GoToSummit.com to find out more.IN OTHER NEWS ... REFRIGERANT RULES ARE CHANGINGMore precisely, they already have. According to the EPA, as of January 1, 2018, a number of changes have gone into affect with regard to Section 698 of the Clean Air Act.These changes have a direct impact on the HVAC contracting industry in-cluding:• Required Certification: Technicians must be Section 608 certified to buy hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant.• More Required Certification: Technicians must be Section 608 certi-fied to open HFC appliances. However, the EPA is NOT requiring recertification of current technicians, at least for now.• Distributor Rules that Impact Technicians: Refrigerant distributors may only sell HFC refrigerants to certi-fied technicians and must maintain re-cords for those sales.• Certification Group Rules Impact-ing Technicians: As of Jan. 1, 2018, certifying organizations must post a list of new technicians certified after Jan. 1, 2017.• Refrigerant Recovery Rule Chang-es: Technicians must use certified recovery and/or recycling equipment when opening an HFC appliance.• Refrigerant Evacuation Changes: Technicians must now evacuate to the specified levels of vacuum when open-ing HFC appliances.For more details on these up-dates to the Section 608 Refrigerant Management Program, go to ncilink.com/608Rules.Summit 2018 Announces Two Platinum SponsorsPhoto of the Month Winner Receives PrizeStanding beside one of his service vehicles is Scott Copeland of Affordable Heating and Cooling, Phenix City, Neva-da. He is holding his $50 gift card prize for his December 2017 winning entry in the High Performance HVAC Today Photo of the Month contest. You can win too. Just send your photos and descriptions to the following link: ncilink.com/potm, fill out the form, and you are entered. Winners are voted on by visitors to the site. We look forward to see-ing your entries.Congratulations to Scott Copeland!FEBRUARY 2018 9HVACTODAY.COMHIGH PERFORMANCE PRODUCTSALNOR HM685 - HYDRONIC BALANCING KITThis instrument is for bal-ancing hydronic heating and cooling systems. With it you can accurately and digitally measure high and low-side pressure simulta-neously without needing to change hose connections or the instrument valve.The HM685 is intended for use by commercial balancers. It has a differential pressure range of ±300 psi and a gauge pressure from -20 to 300 psi.You can use this instrument to calcu-late brake power, heat flow, Cv factors and impeller sizing. It can store up to 1,000 data points in its memory, which can be downloaded to a personal computer. It includes USB software and a USB interface cable to manage recorded data on your PC. For more information or to order, go to ncilink.com/0218Alnor, or call 800-633-7058.NCI MAGNEHELIC™ STATIC PRESSURE KIT SP3Made for the National Comfort In-stitute by Dwyer, this gauge is one of the industry standards for mea-suring fan and blower pressures, filter resistence, and pressure drop across systems. Accurate manometers are one of the core instruments for a good diagnostic technician and this one has ±2% accura-cy. The entire kit includes the gauge, a static pres-sure tip, rub-ber hose, and a 3/8-in. bul-let-point drill bit and sheath. It comes with a supply of 100 3/8-in. test port plugs, a carrying case, as well as an NCI guidebook on measur-ing static pressure.It has a large easy-to-read 4-in. dial and an included stability stand.For more information or to order, go to ncilink.com/0218Dwyer, or call 800-633-7058.Upcoming NCI Training & Event ScheduleResidential HVAC System Performance & Air Balancing Certification ProgramFeb 27-Mar 1: Cincinnati, OHMar 20-22: Wash/LandoverMar 20-22: Mobile, AL Apr 3-5: Lansing, MI Apr 10-12: Dallas, TXApr 10-12: Los Alamitos, CA* Combustion Performance & Carbon Monoxide Safety Certification Feb 13-15: St. Louis/Bridgeton, MOFeb 13-15: Atlanta, GAFeb 27-Mar 1: Richmond, VAFeb 27-Mar 1: Philadelphia, PAMarch 7: Austin, TX (Post-Conference Recertification) Apr 3-5: Omaha, NEApr 10-12: Chicago, IL Introduction to Hydronic Testing, Adjusting, & BalancingFeb 13-14: Cleveland, OHApr 10-11: Cleveland, OHCommercial Air Balancing Certification Program Mar 13-15: Kansas City, KSMar 27-29: South Plainfield, NJDuct System Optimization & Air Balancing Certification Program Feb 20-22: New Orleans, LAFeb 20-22: San Antonio, TXMarch 7-8: Austin, TX (Post-Conference Recertification)Mar 13-15: Des Moines, IAMar 13-15: Boston, MA Mar 27-29: Sacramento, CAMar 27-29: Columbus, OHMar 27-29: Los Alamitos, CA*Apr 3-5: Baltimore, MDApr 10-12: Rochester, NY Optimize Economizer Performance with CertificationFeb 22: Los Alamitos, CA*Mar 15: Tulare, CA* Commercial System Performance with CertificationFeb 20-21: Los Alamitos, CA*Mar 13-14: Tulare, CA* NBC Commercial Balancing with CertificationMar 19-23: Cleveland, OHMar 19-23: Los Alamitos, CA* *Subsidized NCI training offered by Southern California Edison.Next >