< PreviousOCTOBER 2018 11HVACTODAY.COMIt actively monitors integrated Rheem smart heating, cooling, and water heating equip-ment. It also delivers both routine mainte-nance notifications, such as filter replacement remind-ers, as well as critical service alerts (with diagnostic details to expedite repairs) when the equipment requires attention.Voice control with Alexa is available by enabling the EcoNet skill for Amazon Alexa at www.amazon.com/skills.For more information, go to ncilink.com/econetST.NCI QUICKTEST PACKFor the HVAC Performance-Based Contracting community, the National Comfort In-stitute (NCI) Quicktest Pack is for diagnos-ing system performance problems and generat-ing leads by equipping techs with the key tools necessary to perform ComfortMaxx Pulse™ or Cool-Maxx™ and HeatMaxx™ tests.The package includes the following:• NCI Magnehelic™ Static Pressure Kit SP3• 605-H2 Humidity Stick• 50 NCI CoolMaxx™ 2-Part Report forms• 50 NCI HeatMaxx™ 2 Part Report forms• NCI Diagnostic Data Clipboard.Learn more at ncilink.com/QTP.RHEEM UNVEILS ECONET® SMART THERMOSTATHave you noticed how many HVAC equipment manufacturers are moving toward using voice-actuated controls? Rheem recently an-nounced that their new ther-mostat not only maximizes HVAC and water-heating efficiency, but also works with Amazon’s Alexa.The new EcoNet® Smart Thermostat is an ultra-thin programmable thermostat. It has a full-color glass touchscreen and is equipped with features many home-owners expect, such as local weather, one-touch away mode, motion activa-tion, and integrated Wi-Fi. In addition it is compatible with Rheem’s EcoNet mobile app.HIGH-PERFORMANCE PRODUCTSUpcoming 2018 NCI Training ScheduleVisit NCILink.com/ClassSchedule to view the latest schedule of NCI Training eventsDuct System Optimization & Air Balancing Certification Program Oct 9-11: Omaha, NEOct 30 - Nov 1: Sacramento, CAOct 30 - Nov 1: Tulare, CANov 27-29: Houston, TXNov 27-29: New Hudson, MIResidential HVAC System Performance & Air Balancing Certification ProgramOct 23-25: Austin, TXNov 6-8: Los Alamitos, CANov 13-15: Richmond, VANov 13-15: Chicago, ILNov 27-29: Atlanta, GACommercial Air Balancing Certification Program Oct 9-11: Landover, MDOct 9-11: Los Alamitos, CAOct 23-25: Tampa, FLNov 6-8: St. Louis, MOCombustion Performance & Carbon Monoxide Safety Certification Oct 2-4: Boston, MAOct 9-11: Philadelphia, PAOct 30 - Nov 1: Milwaukee, WIOct 30 - Nov 1: Hartford, CTNov 6-8: New Hudson, MINov 13-15: Cleveland, OHNov 13-15: Dallas, TXNational Balancing Council Commercial Balancing with CertificationOct 15-19: Cleveland, OHNov 12-16: Los Alamitos, CAIntroduction to Hydronic Testing, Adjusting, & BalancingOct 23-24: Los Alamitos, CA12 OCTOBER 2018HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYand hydronics work – both steam and hot water. Ray hired a former employ-ee of Unte – Dave Frasier – to be his helper. Frasier eventually became the service manager and remained with the company for 38 years. Though he retired, he continues offering his ex-pertise in a part-time capacity.BECOMING A FAMILY BUSINESSRay Squires’ sons, Daniel and Da-vid, both began working in the busi-ness while they were in high school. Daniel started out on the ground floor, digging trenches for $20 a week. He realized that was something like 56 cents per hour and renegotiated his deal with his dad.After high school, Daniel attended local community college, initially to study music. His passion was music, but he also took business classes since his father agreed to pay for them. Dan-iel discovered he enjoyed business.After obtaining an associate degree in business, he worked full time as a plumbing apprentice and junior heat-ing technician. In 1980, faced with a poor econo-my in which he only worked about six months, he went back to college. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree, while continuing to work. He also ob-tained his plumbing license. In 1984, he graduated with a B.S. in Account-ing, but quickly realized that his best opportunity was not in accounting – it was with his father’s company to which he became fully committed.Meanwhile, David also worked in the business throughout high school, then went to Ferris State and earned a degree in business administration and another in HVACR. Both brothers joined the company full-time nearly on the same date. At that time the compa-ny had three or four employees.“Dad brought us in as partners,” he explains. “David worked to build up the field side of the business and I con-centrated on developing a business in-frastructure to support growth. “For several years we grew. In fact, we doubled in size for five or six years. Then in 1986 we incorporated and changed our business emphasis from plumbing to heating. We reversed the order of the company name to re-flect the change and became Vincent’s Heating & Plumbing, Inc.”REFRIGERANT RECOVERYDuring the next three years, the HVAC Industry was reeling from the impact of federal legislation mandat-ing the elimination of R-22 and push-ing contractors into the refrigerant re-covery business. An entire industry It was 1959, in the city of Port Huron, MI, when Vincent Unte founded Vincent’s Plumbing and Heating – a one or two-man oper-ation that never grew. Unte, who had actually retired some years before, founded the company to keep busy. According to those who knew him, he was very demanding and had a hard time keeping workers. In 1966, Ray Squires, who was work-ing at a local supply house, heard that Unte needed a helper. Looking for a chance to better himself and his fami-ly, Squires was confident he could get along with anybody, and took the job. It soon became apparent that Unte had earned his reputation. Desper-ate to keep his young apprentice, he persuaded Squires to remain. They agreed that as soon as Squires got his plumbing license, Unte would give him the business and sell him the in-ventory and tools. Squires agreed, and after obtaining his master plumbing license in 1971, he took over the business and kept the “Vincent’s” name. According to Ray’s son Daniel Squires, his father started out the way many HVAC contractors do – good technical skills, but no business or marketing experience. Regardless, it was in those early years that he and his wife, Kathryn, came up with the Vincent’s enduring slogan, “Wherev-er you see a Vincent van go, you know the job will be a work of art!”The company focused on plumbing CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHTBy Mike WeilTechnical Differentiation Makes All the DifferenceLeft to right: Daniel Squires, a photo of Ray Squires, and David Squires.OCTOBER 2018 13HVACTODAY.COMwas doing just under $3 million in sales. “Our overhead was sky high – we had too many people for the reve-nue we were making. So, in 2000, my brother David split from Vincent’s Heating & Plumbing and began a busi-ness called Online Access. He is still involved with the HVAC company and still holds a mechanical license. “Eighteen years later, Online Access remains a very successful company.” Daniel says the economy and cur-rent events of those years lead to what he calls, ‘tough times’ for the business. The bottom really fell out between 2001 and 2009 after the 9/11 attacks, the great economic recession, and the housing bubble burst. The company shrank – from 36 em-ployees to around 12. In addition to national issues, Michigan itself strug-gled with a decade-long recession, making the HVAC marketplace very difficult.“I searched for ways we could be-come more efficient,” Daniel says.He explains that he spent time nar-rowing down the scope of service the company offers, backing out of the commercial market, and focusing on repair and replacement in the residen-tial market.He also began examining work pro-cesses and inventory control – both on the trucks and in the warehouse. He says one of the best things he did was create a standardized inventory. “Every truck has the same supplies in the same place, and they get re-stocked every day. The techs commu-nicate what they used after a job, and those parts are then restocked into the techs’ bins.“This has allowed us to reduce the amount of stock the techs carry be-cause we’re replenishing on a more frequent basis,” Squires continued. “It also provides more inventory control.”TRAINING AND THE NCI CONNECTIONIn an effort to break away from the competition, Daniel began looking for opportunities to differentiate his family business. “In 2006, I heard about this inter-esting training on Carbon Monox-ide (CO) and Combustion testing,” Squires says. “I sent our service man-ager, Dave Frasier, to this training to see what he thought. He came back and said, ‘This is the real deal, tre-mendous stuff!’ Daniel continues, “Frasier shared what he learned, and the light bulb went off for me. Becoming CO experts could totally differentiate us from our competitors. After further review, I brought Jim Davis in to do onsite training for our technicians.”Squires says that training session turned their understanding of com-bustion upside down. “Everything I thought I knew about gas, oil, combustion, hydronics, and ventilation was in question now. Jim’s class was very different from anything else in the industry. All our techni-was born to create tools to help con-tractors recover refrigerant from older equipment. According to Daniel, they found much of that equipment too expensive, too unwieldy, difficult, and slow to use, so they set about building their own.He says they patented a light-weight recovery device that could recover a five-ton system in less than 15 minutes – faster than anything on the market at that time. It was unique in that it harnessed the existing compressor in the condenser to accomplish the task. They called it the SRD-1 – short for “Squires Retirement Device” which became the “Streamline Recovery De-vice” when the invention was sold to Mueller Brass (which is now Mueller Industries). Eventually, Mueller subcontracted the Squires to sell the recovery device for them. David traveled around the country selling the SRD-1 and even-tually crossed paths with Contractors Success Group (CSG).“That was our first industry affilia-tion and we learned a lot from them,” Daniel says. “Eventually, Mueller got out of the recovery business, and we did too. Later, the experience and the industry contacts we made became invaluable in our next venture, Online Access, a website and marketing company.”THE MARKETPLACE CHANGES Between 1999 and 2000, Vincent’s Heating had around 36 employees and Top: The Vincent’s Heating and Plumbing field service and installation team pictured in front of the VHP trucks. Inset Left: Vincent’s office staff.14 OCTOBER 2018HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYThis entails a thorough inspection and then a combustion test, plus basic cleaning of the burner area. He says it takes about 90 minutes to do.“Because I have something so very different from everybody else, I can charge more for it. Instead of a $79 or $89 maintenance visit, I sell it for $179. Better yet, as a member benefit of our VHP Club, it costs only $11.25 per month, which is $135 per year. “By providing more value, people will buy it. But you have to make them aware of it. And that is where market-ing comes in.”Daniel says he believes in regular communication with clients and po-tential clients – something he does by using several tools, including: zMonthly print newsletters zEye-catching billboard signs zRadio spot advertising.These promotions work, Squires says, but to make the most of a spe-cialty like CO and/or air upgrades, he believes he needs a champion. Until recently, that job fell to him, but with all his other responsibilities, it became a lower priority.Asked if he had anybody in mind for that role, he says he plans to assign that responsibility to his son, Bren-dan. Brendan joined the company in May, 2017 and is quickly developing into an HVAC service technician.“When the team agreed to do CO and combustion testing, I invested in all the equipment necessary. Then I designated a champion and that per-son held meetings once or twice a week. He focused on keeping the guys on the right path with regard to com-bustion testing. I need to have that on the air side.“When it comes to differentiation and having the best trained and cer-tified technicians, I have always be-lieved this to be a technical corner-stone to our business. I think every contracting company needs a founda-tion on which to build and expand. “For us, the knowledge we gained from NCI is a key component to what we are doing. It helps to keep us not only unique, but also on the right track.”Staying on track technically makes all the difference for Vincent’s Heat-ing and Plumbing. It is Daniel Squires’ goal to continue providing top-quali-ty services in their market area and to continue building their already stellar reputation. For that reason, they have been named High-Performance HVAC Today’s Contractor Spotlight for October 2018. cians felt the same. In fact, as Jim was wrapping up his class, they all wanted to know if ‘we were really going to do CO and combustion analysis work and when we were going to start?’”He adds, “It was so business chang-ing. It was like our eyes had been blind and they were opened to not only the potential dangers but also the ways we could serve customers better. It has been that way ever since.”Today, every technician from Vin-cent’s is a Certified Carbon Monox-ide and Combustion Analyst. Squires says that when he hires someone, they go to that class as soon as possible. They understand this is the way Vin-cent’s does business. In addition, they understand they have to learn about static pressure testing and diagnos-tics because that is also part of what Vincent’s does every day. As Squires says, it gives him a technical edge over his competitors and it is something he feels won’t become the norm as quick-ly as some other best practices – like wearing booties.“I was so afraid of talking about this, at first,” he explains. I didn’t want my competitors knowing about this be-cause I feared they’d all start doing it. “But I’ve come to learn that because it requires time and commitment, many contractors won’t follow suit. So I now talk openly about it, market it, and sell it.”PROMOTING HIGH PERFORMANCESquires says that he is a strong pro-moter of branding and marketing. It’s another factor that helps differentiate his business. He re-branded his heat-ing maintenance visits by calling them Combustion Optimization & Safety Inspections or COSI. CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHTBrendan Squires on the job showing off his National Comfort Institute CO and Combustion Field Reference Guide.16 OCTOBER 2018HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYthey don’t exceed the maximum rated current for the blower motor. If airflow can’t be increased enough through fan adjustments, it’s time to look deeper into the system. High static pressure is often the culprit for low fan airflow. High internal static pressures result from dirty or restrictive filters and coils. High ex-ternal static pressures result from restrictive ducts, closed fire dampers, balancing dampers, restrictive fittings, kinked flex duct, and restric-tive grilles and registers. If restrictions are the issue, profiling static pressure through the system at multiple points can help you identify the most restrictive sec-tions. Then you can make improvements in those sections to help the system breathe. Common improvement options include in-creasing duct size or adding ducts, resetting fire dampers, replacing fittings, replacing registers and grilles, straightening and properly support-ing flex duct, and re-balancing the system to open up dampers that are throttling airflow more than necessary. After reducing restrictions, re-mea-sure and adjust to achieve the required airflow.2) HIGH FAN ENERGYSome HVAC air handling equipment comes with direct-drive EC (Electronically Commutat-ed) motors, higher horsepower motors, and/or “high-static” drive kits that can help them over-come high static pressures and still achieve appro-priate airflows. In these cases, airflow might be ad-equate, but the fan energy required to deliver that air can represent a major cost. This is especially true in commercial build-ings that must provide continuous ventilation while occupied. Using the techniques outlined in the low air-Last month we looked at performance data from National Comfort Institute (NCI) that showed average commercial HVAC systems deliver just 48% of their specified cooling capacity to the occupied space. Furthermore, you can have two nearly identical systems serving similar spaces that are affect-ed by completely different problems. You won’t know where to start until you test. It is helpful to know the most common issues, that can lead you towards specific diagnostics. With that in mind, let’s look at the top 10 issues NCI sees on commercial cooling systems. 1) LOW EQUIPMENT AIRFLOWLow equipment airflow is the number one issue contributing to low system performance. Over 60% of HVAC systems have airflow lower than 340 CFM per ton, when the industry standard is 400 CFM per ton. Most equipment will only operate correctly be-tween 350 and 450 CFM per ton. What’s crazy about this is that technicians of-ten overlook airflow or assume it’s correct and start looking for problems on the refrigerant side of the system. This oversight leads to misdiagnoses, and of-ten results in mistakes, like adding charge when charge isn’t the problem at all. Low airflow caus-es low equipment capacity, low superheat, and can lead to coils freezing up or compressor fail-ure. These symptoms translate into higher energy costs and shorter equipment life. Sometimes low equipment airflow is caused by incorrect fan speed, a fan-belt drive slipping, or pulleys not properly sized or adjusted. If this is the case, the first step is to adjust airflow. As you do this, keep an eye on fan amps and make sure 10 Issues Impacting CommercialHVAC Performance and EfficiencyBy Ben Lipscomb, P.E.TECHNICALOCTOBER 2018 17HVACTODAY.COM4) LOW AIRFLOW AT THE REGISTERS OR GRILLESIf equipment airflow is in spec and you still have low airflow at the regis-ters and grilles, this indicates leakage through the supply or return duct sys-tem. Such leaks put air, as well as cool-ing or heating capacity, where it doesn’t belong: either to the outdoors or into unoccupied and unconditioned spaces. On the return side, be aware that outside air ventilation and open ple-num returns affect how you interpret your measurements.Taking live system airflow measure-ments at the equipment, registers, and grilles reveals actual leakage under operating conditions. You’ll find high-est leakage through openings clos-est to the equipment where operating static pressures are highest. These are the most important leaks to address. Please note: this is not the case when you perform a duct pressurization leak-age test, which pressurizes the duct sys-tem evenly, potentially making leaks near the registers and grilles seem worse than they are under normal operation.5) HIGH ∆T THROUGH SUPPLY OR RETURN DUCT SYSTEMHigh temperature changes through supply or return ducts indicate ther-mal losses due to poor duct insulation, poor sealing, or poor space insulation. The temperature difference between the supply air and a poorly insulat-ed space surrounding the ducts can be more than 50°F. This can create a need for duct insulation levels well be-yond typical code requirements. One solution is to wrap duct with a four-in. thick (typically R-12 to R-13.5) FSK duct wrap. Another solution is to seal, ventilate, and improve insulation of the space the ducts run through. 6) ECONOMIZER FAILURESNCI data indicates that over 85% of existing economizers are non-function-al. While some of this is due to equip-ment failures, other economizers are intentionally disabled or never hooked up to begin with. Economizers serve the dual function of providing proper fresh air ventila-tion and using outside air for cooling when conditions allow. A typical econ-omizer system includes supply and return dampers, a gear drive or link-age and actuator motor to move the dampers, a controller, and multiple temperature or enthalpy sensors. That is a lot of points of potential failure. Finding the specific problem or problems can range from obvious to extremely difficult. When faced with an economizer fail-ure, make note of the damper position. If the dampers failed or were screwed shut, fixing the economizer and reset-ting the minimum ventilation position can actually increase energy use, de-pending on the climate. flow section to identify and reduce airflow restrictions can dramatically reduce fan power requirements, sav-ing energy.3) LOW ENTHALPY CHANGEIf airflow across the evaporator is within specifications, but the enthal-py change is lower than about 6.0 Btu per pound for a direct expansion (DX) system (depending on the equipment airflow, outside air, and coil entering temperatures), it’s likely a refriger-ant-side issue. If you suspect this, the first step is to conduct a thorough visual inspec-tion for evidence of leaks, an improp-erly mounted thermal expansion valve (TXV) bulb, or missing refrigerant line insulation. After the inspection, it may be time to connect refrigerant gauges for fur-ther diagnostics. Whenever you con-nect gauges you risk refrigerant loss, contamination, or the introduction of non-condensables. Follow all the proper procedures to purge your hos-es and minimize the risks. 18 OCTOBER 2018HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYTECHNICALAnother common issue is that the thermostat cooling setpoint is too low. Setting a low temperature can make a space feel “clammy.” Users of-ten interpret this as being too hot and will attempt to lower the temperature even further. It’s best to keep the cooling setpoint above 72°F for both comfort and ener-gy conservation purposes. Remember also to inspect to verify the thermostat is sensing the average room air tempera-ture. A large hole behind the thermostat, common in commercial buildings, caus-es a thermostat to over-cool the zone. 10) THERMOSTAT SCHEDULINGProgrammable thermostats and building automation systems let you schedule heating, cooling, and ventila-tion, depending on expected occupan-cy. However, these schedules are often incorrect because occupants override them, the building schedule changes, no one accounted for daylight savings, holiday settings don’t match the build-ing, or they weren’t set up correctly in the first place. Another issue can be night-time cleaning or maintenance staff turning on the system and forget-ting to turn it off. There are a lot of potential solutions to scheduling issues, ranging from low to high tech. On the low-tech side, night-time cleaning can be scheduled into the system so crews don’t need to touch the thermostat, and thermostat schedules can be reviewed regularly. On the high-tech side, you can use oc-cupancy sensing control systems to only provide heating, cooling, and ventila-tion when occupants are present. Addi-tional schedule-related options include: Night-time flush to pre-cool the building8) POOR SPACE AIR DISTRIBUTIONPoor air distribution leads to hot and cold spots within the building. It also contributes to “stale” air in cer-tain areas. It can also cause the system to run longer or shorter than neces-sary, depending on where the thermo-stat is in relation to the areas with low or high air currents. Poor distribution can be caused by many issues including improper placement of grilles and registers, us-ing the wrong type of registers, or a system imbalance. In the case of poor air distribution, conduct a system performance test that includes register and grille air-flows, then compare those to design airflows. If you find the airflows are within tolerance and there are still problems, consider the placement and type of the registers and grilles. 9) UNCOMFORTABLE SPACE TEMPERATURE OR HUMIDITYUncomfortable conditions in the space are often a symptom of one or more of the other issues we’ve cov-ered, but they can also simply be due to occupants messing with the ther-mostat. Sometimes occupants will en-gage in “thermostat wars,” where one person is hot and another is cold, and they battle each other by manually ad-justing the temperature settings. This results in the system continu-ally alternating between heating and cooling mode when it could be doing a lot less work if the temperature were locked in at a nice happy medium. To prevent the war, consider using a physical lockbox around the thermo-stat or even upgrading to a building automation system that doesn’t pro-vide occupant control access. That said, the equipment will now be performing its intended function of supplying outside air while mini-mizing energy use. If the economizer failed while open, fixing it and setting a lower minimum ventilation position will almost always lead to savings. If the economizer controls, actua-tor, or sensors are responsible for the failure, it’s worth considering a ret-rofit to newer digital controls. Older sensors are notorious for drifting out of calibration. Digital economizers generally support advanced controls like De-mand-Controlled Ventilation (DCV) or variable speed supply fans that can be retrofitted to achieve even higher savings. 7) UNCONTROLLED VENTILATIONVentilation is a multi-faceted top-ic that requires you to consider the outside air supply, as well as the ex-haust, return, or make-up air system flows. When ventilation air is sup-plied through a package unit with an economizer, leakage through closed dampers can often be high enough to meet the design requirements. It’s important to measure flow rath-er than assuming it based on damper position. The higher the static pres-sure, the greater the leakage.On larger system configurations using separate exhaust systems, a common problem is exhaust not in-terlocked with outside air supply. In other words, the exhaust system runs on an independent schedule or even 24/7. If you find separate ex-haust systems, make sure you un-derstand their function and then ensure they only run when they should. OCTOBER 2018 19HVACTODAY.COMas rare as unicorns — they just don’t exist. NCI data shows that virtually 100% of existing systems have at least one problem when they are tested in, and over 90% of them have multiple problems.Isn’t it helpful to know there’s room for improvement on almost every sys-tem out there? It’s nice to feel needed and know there is opportunity to im-prove every system. looking for a needle in a haystack. If you’re seeing a system with room for performance improvements and you can’t pinpoint the issue or issues, it might be tempting to think you must be doing something wrong and sim-ply walk away. Don’t! Perfect systems are about Optimum start and stop to get the building to setpoint by the time oc-cupants get there and “drift” to setback temperatures at the end of the day Electric strip heat lockout for optimum start to allow lower-capac-ity, but higher efficiency heat pump systems to slowly bring space tem-peratures up on cold mornings before occupants arrive Economizer or low stage pre- cooling before the hottest part of the day to slightly overcool the space and defer the need to cool when electric demand and prices are highest.PROBLEMS ARE EVERYWHERE — KNOW HOW TO FIND THEMSometimes when you’re trying to track down issues it can feel like Ben Lipscomb is a registered Professional Engineer with more than 14 years’ experi-ence in the HVAC industry. This experience includes laboratory and field research, Design/Build contracting, and utility energy efficiency pro-gram design. He is National Comfort Institute’s engineering manager and may be contacted at benl@ncihvac.com.Next >