< Previous The ABCs of High-Performance HVAC Contracting: JULY 2018 21HVACTODAY.COMIf you’re on the fence about making your com-pany more Performance-Based, this multi-part series can provide a lot of information to help you decide whether to invest in this innovative approach. This series can also serve as a good refresher for those who have already embarked on the journey, but perhaps are not moving as fast as they want. Or it can serve those who have not been able to implement it as successfully as they would like.More than 15 years ago National Comfort Insti-tute (NCI) coined the term, “Performance-Based Contracting™” to describe a different way of go-ing to market. How was it different? Perfor-mance-Based Contracting revolves around test-ing pressures, airflow, and temperatures. After testing and diagnosing a system you can provide a delivered efficiency score to help your cus-tomer understand how well their system is performing and how you can improve it.THE GENESIS OF HIGH- PERFORMANCE HVACThe Performance-Based approach didn’t happen overnight. It’s the re-sult of a buildup towards delivering true system performance that be-gan more than 25 years ago. I per-sonally wrote about the early signs of this shift back in 1992 as chief ed-itor of an HVAC industry magazine in an editorial titled, “The Com-fort Revolution.” In the editorial I challenged the industry’s narrow focus on just selling energy efficient equipment. This paradigm resulted from the energy crisis of the late 1970s into the 1980s.The article called for a shift back towards what our industry is all about in the first place: to keep indoor spaces comfortable year-round. The piece described how the industry had been de-railed from its focus on comfort, health and safe-ty, and became virtually obsessed with “energy efficiency.” And even at that, the focus was er-roneously on “box” efficiency, namely SEER and AFUE, which only plays a part in true “delivered” efficiency.EQUIPMENT VS SYSTEM EFFICIENCYOur industry’s “equipment efficiency” focus continued into the next two decades, and is still By Dominick Guarino, PublisherMANAGEMENTWhat Is High-Performance HVAC and Why Do it? The ABCs of High-Performance HVAC Contracting: PART 1Equipment effi-ciency and system efficiency are not the same thing. If you only check the equipment, you’re ignoring the air delivery system and that will negatively impact “delivered” efficiency.22 JULY 2018HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYWith 13-14 SEER as the minimum efficiency standard (depending on re-gion) for central air conditioners and heat pumps, there’s very little differ-entiation based on “box” efficiency in the eyes of the consumer. Consumer sales pitches based on “Return on In-vestment” (ROI) and payback from higher SEER equipment are less ef-fective as contractors become hard-pressed to justify the extra cost. REAL DIFFERENTIATIONHigh quality workmanship can be a significant difference between contractors bidding on a job. But every- one claims they do high quality work, right? Don’t you?So how do you differentiate your-self in this fast-changing environment that makes differentiation tougher than ever? What’s the next frontier? How can you prove to a customer you are truly different? Here’s how: provide them with doc-umented and measured performance readings before you get the job and after the work is completed. After all, if you don’t measure, you’re just guessing! The process is fairly simple: teach your customers about their systems in simple terms, pointing out real problems. Then “prove” your work is superior through documentation. What’s interesting about measuring and delivering system performance is it allows you to truly do just that: de-liver the best system with optimized safety, comfort, and energy efficiency. There’s no need to compromise any of these three components of system performance to achieve one or both of the others.As you read this series, it will be-come clear that your customer can have it all, and so can you. Perfor-mance-Based Contracting can also provide the double-digit net profit margins you deserve and need to be successful over the long run. WHAT IS HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC CONTRACTING?Although many aspects of High- Performance Contracting involve changing the very core of how an HVAC contractor does business, the basic premise is: Deliver Measured Performance.If this was all you had to know, this article would end here and you could implement this concept and become tremendously successful. If it were that easy, everyone would be doing it and it would become a commodity in no time. Fortunately for you, it’s not that simple.prevalent today. Manufacturers con-tinued to produce higher efficiency equipment, which is what you’d ex-pect them to do, However, most con-tractors did not step up their game to improve “systems” to make the most of that better equipment.As manufacturers strive toward even higher efficiency ratings, some have kept up the quality of their equipment. They’ve done this with robust motors and fans that handle the higher static pressures created by more restrictive “high efficiency” evaporator coils, denser air cleaners and filters, and undersized ductwork.Some however, still skimp on the capacities of their fans to keep per-ceived energy use down so they can meet AHRI SEER ratings. This makes it virtually impossible for many sys-tems to deliver optimum comfort and energy efficiency.MANAGEMENTIf you don’t measure, you’re just guessing. Customer involvement in the testing process helps separate Performance-Based Contractors™ from their competition. It also helps close more sales!JULY 2018 23HVACTODAY.COMHigh-Performance Contracting also requires a better understanding of combustion from three aspects: Safe-ty, as it relates to the dangers of car-bon monoxide; Efficiency, as it relates to getting the most BTUs from the burners transferred to the air stream; and Comfort, as it relates to maintain-ing warmer discharge temperatures.But that’s only the beginning. To be-come Performance-Based, you need to understand that the equipment — air handlers, furnaces, and condensing units — are just components of a sys-tem, not the system itself.AN AUTOMOTIVE ANALOGYComparing an HVAC system to an automobile can be a very powerful analogy — especially for customers. The equipment (air handler, fur-nace, condensing unit), is similar to the engine that powers the vehicle. It’s the heart of the system. The trans-mission can be compared to the duct system. The wheels can be compared to the grilles and registers.Unless you have a properly working transmission, along with good wheels and tires, you won’t get the mileage and performance you expect from your car. In fact it may not work at all. An auto transmission is much like an air distribution system — it deliv-ers the power from the engine to the wheels. The duct system delivers the cooled or heated air from the equip-ment to the grilles and registers, and ultimately into the spaces you want to make comfortable.As you begin to truly look at sys-tem performance in a different light, you’ll come to understand that our in-dustry has missed the mark for many decades, as we’ve been led to believe that equipment alone delivers perfor-mance and comfort. We’ve also been led to believe that if you design a duct system according to industry standards, it will work with-out testing or adjusting.High-Performance Contracting es-sentially helps you get back to the roots of what your company is in business for in the first place — to de-liver optimum indoor comfort safely and efficiently.Be sure to look for the next install-ment in this series where we will ex-plore the steps needed to move an HVAC contracting business into the High-Performance zone. High-Performance Contracting in-volves a series of significant changes in how you manage and operate your contracting business. Sure, the tech-nical aspects of delivering measured performance are important and criti-cal, but the technical side is just one facet of this approach.THE COMPONENTS OF HIGH- PERFORMANCE CONTRACTINGLet’s break down some of the basic precepts of High-Performance Con-tracting to better explain the culture change needed to effectively trans-form an organization into a Perfor-mance-Based business. On the technical side, it requires in-depth knowledge of true HVAC sys-tem performance, from how you field- design your systems, to how you install and test them to make sure they safely and efficiently deliver the comfort you promised. This also applies to how you service and maintain systems as well. To become Performance-Based you must pull your head out of the box and look at the entire system, from the equipment to the duct system, to the grilles and registers that deliver air into the space.EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCEFrom an equipment perspective, performance entails proper sizing and installation. It requires understand-ing fan characteristics and the effects of coils and filters on air flow. In ad-dition, it means properly charging the refrigerant side of the system once you have corrected air side problems. This requires checking and adjusting im-portant readings like superheat and subcooling for optimum equipment performance.Dominick Guarino is publisher of HVAC Today magazine and CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at domg@ncihvac.comUsing a car analogy to explain how an overall HVAC system works helps customers to better understand their system and be more open to upgrades and repairs.HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY24 JULY 2018PHOTO OF THE MONTH“High Bill Complaints” — Jamie Clark, Synergy Home LLC, Lexington, KY Clark says he found this 10-ton Daikin heat pump paired to an air-handler with two five-ton coils. The equipment was just installed last fall and the owner called me because of high bill complaints! Can you say “Bad” category?Jamie Clark from Synergy Home LLC is the July 2018 winner of our Photo-of-the-Month contest, as voted on by the subscribers to the High Performance HVAC Today magazine and visitors to the website. He will receive a $50 gift card.You can too – submissions are always welcome. If you’d like to submit a photo for consideration in our Photo-of-the-Month contest, go to ncilink.com/POMSubmit and fill out the information as requested.THE AUGUST CONTEST OPENS ON JULY 9, 2018. That gives you plenty of time to submit something in any of our three categories: The Good , The Bad , WTH (What the heck).JULY 2018 25HVACTODAY.COMAdvertiser IndexHIGH PERFORMANCEHVAC TODAY TMAD INDEXArzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com ..........................................................9Goodman Manufacturing/Amana | www.ComfortBridge.com ............................................2High Performance HVAC Alliance | www.ncilink.com/HPhvac .............................................6High Performance HVAC Today Magazine | HVACToday.com .............................................25Lazco Corp. | www.lazcocorp.com.................................................................................................24The New Flat Rate | www.thenewflatrate.com .........................................................................12TSI, Inc. | www.TSI.com/comfort .....................................................................................................4To Subscribe to High-Performance HVAC Today:ONLINE: Visit HVACToday.com/subscribe for a FREE digital subscription.PRINT: 1 year/$72; single copy $7. Canada: 1 year/$92; single copy $9. Payable in advance with U.S. funds. Prepaid subscriptions may be sent to: High-Performance HVAC Today, PO Box 147, Avon Lake, OH 44012. Phone: 440-949-1850; toll free 800-633-7058; FAX 440-949-1851, or visit HVACToday.com/subscribe to order online.PublisherDominick GuarinoEditor-in-ChiefMike WeilArt DirectorConnie ConklinOnline Development DirectorBrian RosemanSales ManagerDave KenneyCirculation ManagerAndrea Begany- GarsedEditorial AssistantMarge SmithEmail us at contactus@hvactoday.com with your comments and questions.HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYTo show the fields again, simply toggle Lightning Mode OFF.u Lightning Mode makes the process of Creating Custom-ers, Locations, and Systems quicker and easier by simply hiding any input fields that are not essential to the pro-cess.u Lightning Mode streamlines the Test Input process as well by hiding any non-required fields in the Test Input Screens, reducing the number of steps necessary to get to insightful Comfort-Maxx reports and calculations.How do I get started? -- To experi-ence the Lightning Mode in Comfort-Maxx, you need to login to your Com-fortMaxx account as an administrator or a user. Your field people who are NCI cer-tified can use their Comfortmaxx login to immediately experience lightning.To test in Lightning Mode:u Click “New Customer” in the top right-hand corner of the page.u Click “Lightning Mode” to toggle it. If you turn it on, Lightning Mode will be en-gaged for any subsequent page you visit that is “Lightning Enabled” (You can also turn it off at any point). Lightning Mode will keep its ON/OFF status even if you switch from your computer to your smart-phone in the middle of the process.u Keep Lightning Mode ON and create a Customer, then a Location, then a System.u Now click “Start Test” on the Custom-er’s show page. Select a test.u Once you’re in the Test Input Screen, you’ll see most of the effect of Lightning Mode when you’re viewing the “System” tab. Go to the “System” tab and toggle Lightning Mode on and off to see the dif-ference. You can do this on any page. It will not change any data, it simply hides the non-mandatory fields!u If you want to view an existing test that is still in progress in lightning mode, just navigate to that test and you will see the Lightning toggle in the upper left-hand part of the page.That’s it! There is nothing to download or change in how you use Comfortmaxx – it just got a lot easier and gives you complete control of using in Full mode or Lightning Mode.If you have any questions about Lightning, Comfortmaxx, or any of NCI’s software products, or need help with passwords, adding users, etc., be sure to contact Customer Care at 1-800-633-7058, and we’ll be glad to help you get started.COMFORTMAXX TESTING SOFT-WARE NOW LIGHTNING FAST!Wouldn’t it be great if you could per-form a ComfortMaxx™ test without having to enter all the customer infor-mation, location information, and equip-ment nameplate ID information?Many ComfortMaxx users have told us they love the testing, diagnostic, lead generation, and sales functionalities of the software, but they wanted the op-tion to hold off entering non-technical information until after a sale is made or a lead is generated.You spoke, and we listened!INTRODUCING COMFORTMAXX LIGHTNINGWe are excited to announce a brand new ComfortMaxx feature called “Light-ning Mode.” Lightning mode employs a simple switch that allows you to view ComfortMaxx screens showing the bare minimum fields needed to perform test-ing, diagnosing, and rating systems at lightning fast speed. What is “Lightning Mode”? It is a sim-ple toggle switch that clears the page of any non-required fields, leaving only what is necessary to move forward in the direc-tion of completing a ComfortMaxx Test. NCI MEMBER UPDATEFigure 1: This is the screen you see when Lightning mode is turned off.Figure 2: When you toggle Lightning on, the number of fields is instantly reduced. The data doesn’t go away – it is simply hidden, simplifying what needs to be entered.Figure 3: This is the accounts view in ComfortMaxx with the Lightning mode off.Figure 4: With Lightning toggled on, this is the accounts view. Simpler. Cleaner. Faster to fill out.Next >