HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHVAC TODAY TM If You Don’t Measure, You’re Just Guessing! ™ hvactoday.comMAY 2020 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Why You Should Design HVAC Systems Using Manual J Load Calculations How Using ComfortMaxx ™ Enhances Performance-Based Contracting ™ Contractor Spotlight: DiMarco & Associates Vincent's Heating and Plumbing, Port Huron, MI in A Time of Crisis Local Heroes MAY 2020 3HVACTODAY.COM MAY 2020 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 5 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHVAC TODAY TM TECHNICAL: Design HVAC Systems Using Manual J Calculations Rules-of-Thumb are ridiculous. Contractors must design systems using Manual J. Author Paul Wieboldt explains. COVER STORY: Turn to Helping During Times of Crisis Community is more important than ever. See how Vincent’s Plumbing and Heating is helping their neighbors. MANAGEMENT: How ComfortMaxx ™ Enhances Performance-Based Contracting ™ This cloud-based software helps contractors like GV’s Heating and Cooling improve their High-Performance Contracting approach to service delivery. 16 13 10 DEPARTMENTS Today’s Word .........................................................................................4 High-Performance Products .............................................................5 Contractor Spotlight: DiMarco & Associates .............................6 Photo of the Month .........................................................................19 Member Update ...............................................................................20 HVAC Smart Mart ...............................................................................21 Ad Index ................................................................................................21 One More Thing ................................................................................224 MAY 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY for excellence through measurement, data anal- ysis, and testing to deliver the very best quality this industry has to offer. With that in mind, in February, National Com- fort Institute announced their High-Performance HVAC Project Award competition. In a nutshell, this contest provides an opportunity for contrac- tors to show off their best designs to the rest of the industry. It allows them to demonstrate how Performance-Based Contracting™ not only far ex- ceeds traditional approaches to the trade but high- lights how they can make more money doing it. This new award recognizes Performance-Based Contracting™ firms that apply their NCI train- ing to properly test, measure, diagnose, and resolve residential customer comfort and effi- ciency issues. I explained the key points of what the High- Performance Project Award is all about in my Feb- ruary 2020 Today’s Word editorial in this maga- zine. If you missed that, just click here for more details: ncilink.com/0220TodaysWord. There will be only one winning entry as deter- mined by a panel of NCI judges. Second and third runners up will also be recognized. Awards will be presented during the High-Per- formance HVAC Summit each year, plus the win- ning project will be written up in the High-Per- formance HVAC Today magazine. We’ve extended the submission dead- line to June 1st, 2020: Go to ncilink.com/ awardsubmission to enter your project today. The form may take some time to complete, but no worries: it will remember where you are so you can close out and pick it back up. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a note at MikeW@ncihvac.com. We look forward to seeing your entries. Good luck! S elling, designing, and installing High-Per- formance HVAC systems is a science and an art form. In today’s marketplace, the vast majority of HVAC contractors are so busy plying their trade by focusing on the work, getting the job, and on keeping busy, they often lose sight of the technical skill, the science, and the artistry behind what they do for a living. That creates a scenario where what they do becomes commoditized and price-driven. And that does nothing to ensure customers get what they pay for — comfort, energy efficiency, as well as a safe and healthy indoor environment. Let’s face it — since the pioneering days of this country, hard-working people in the building in- dustry have spent years perfecting their trade. In fact, they were often held in such high regard as to be called craftsmen and artists and the sign of their success was seen in the pride of owner- ship exhibited by their satisfied customers. We want to shine a light on a small, but growing force within the HVAC Industry that is striving A Call for Entries: High-Performance HVAC Project Awards Mike Weil is editor-in- chief and director of communications and publications at National Comfort Institute, Inc. Reach out to him at MikeW@nciHVAC.com TODAY’S WORD By Mike WeilMAY 2020 5HVACTODAY.COM HIGH-PERFORMANCE PRODUCT REVIEW Written By HVAC Professionals for HVAC Professionals IQAir- Air Visual Pro Have you been looking for a way to initiate discussions with customers about indoor air quality? Do you wonder if there are better ways to demonstrate the addi- tional benefits of duct renovations to cus- tomers? The IQAir Indoor Air Quality monitor can be an added tool for use in educating customers on how their HVAC system affects the air they breathe. The Air Visual Pro monitors and dis- plays readings of temperature, relative humidity, particle count at PM2.5, and CO 2 (Carbon Monoxide) in ppm on its large color screen. The screen displays both current measurements as well as a bar graph of hourly measurements over 24 hours. This monitor has a built-in rechargeable battery, however battery life is relatively short. I recommend plugging it into a 110-volt outlet for long-term monitoring. IQAir also has an associated software app called Air Visu- al, which displays an indoor air quality score called “US AQI,” CO 2 concentration indoors, and relative humidity. You have an option to select a local outdoor weather station as a reference to compare with indoor air quality you are measuring. This product is for Performance-Based Contractors concerned with testing-in and testing-out system per- formance so they can fine- tune their recommendations to customers. The Air Visual Pro provides a way to quantify the impact their renovations have on customer’s homes. When we test-in before and test-out after repairs are made, we have data to show improvement. Remember, if you’re not measuring, your just guessing. For more information or to purchase, go to ncilink.com/0520AVP. — By Justin Bright, Field Coach and Instructor, National Comfort Institute6 MAY 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY the commercial marketplace and 30% is residential. Within those two main markets, the company offers a wide va- riety of services and disciplines to help their customers be safe, comfortable, and healthy in both their commercial and residential environments. This is, as Ben DiMarco says, in the firm’s “DNA” and because of this, they are successfully weathering the COVID-19 storm. “I like to think of our company in a perpetual state of metamorphosis,” he says. “Part of that is how my man- agement team, which includes our Service Manager Henry Sterling and a few other key people, think about and approach continuous perfor- mance improvements. I believe this is what makes us unique in our marketplace. Because of that, we’ve been able to keep everyone working and earning while simultaneously keeping our cus- tomers safe and working as well.” A SPECIALTIES SPECIALIST DiMarco adds, “What is cool about this company is our ability to work on really large commercial/industri- al projects as well as small residen- tial ones. Being diverse is a huge sav- ing grace, especially during times like now. But it can be difficult too.” He says it requires ongoing studying and training. It means being on a quest to always get better at what they do. “You have to be willing to learn about and work on things you may never have worked on before – like hydronics, for example,” he says. DiMarco and Associates operates not only in the residential, commercial, and industrial arenas, but they per- form service, installations, new con- struction, retrofit, Design/Build, and a lot of system optimization and ret- ro-commissioning. And they do this with just 28 employees, two of whom are part-time. That means most of the field personnel work both resi- dential and commercial projects. “That can be difficult for some tech- nicians,” he continues. “It means one day you’re installing a residential air conditioning replacement, the next day you are working on a 20-ton commer- cial rooftop system with zoning on a new construction site. That can be daunt- ing. It requires plenty of organizational skills and compartmentalization. “But it keeps them busy and they are very happy about that.” Today, he says the difficulties of T he spring of 2020 will go down in history as being one of the strangest periods for this country and the world. With the wildfire spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the subsequent shut down of the world’s economies, being in business is so much harder. Homeowners are shel- tering in place and frequently are too worried about their safety to let ser- vice contractors into their homes. In Cleveland, OH, one contractor – DiMarco & Associates – has certain- ly seen their service business fall off. But according to company owner and president, Ben DiMarco, this is not a major issue for him. You see, his com- pany is diversified. No eggs are in the same basket, so to speak. DiMarco & Associates began life in March 2005 as a testing and balancing consulting company. Today 70% of its $5 million in gross revenues come from CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT By Mike Weil We Live in Interesting Times Ben DiMarcoMAY 2020 7HVACTODAY.COM training and a lot of discipline in their work ethic. “The jobs being installed were al- most works of art. The technicians were true craftsmen. Their workman- ship was just excellent. There were de- tails and specifics on how things were done,” Ben continues. “In the last 10-to-20 years, much of that work ethic has evaporated from the HVAC Industry. In my opinion, what NCI does brings back the con- cept of commissioning and delivering the project that was promised. It’s not just about air balancing. It’s about do- ing everything correctly through mea- surement, diagnostics, repair, and re-testing. NCI truly teaches quality control,” he adds. PERFORMANCE-BASED CONTRACTING™ DiMarco says he believes that NCI’s Performance-Based approach is a re- turn to craftsmanship. “That sets us apart from most of our competitors.” He also says that craftsmanship isn’t easy. “It takes time. It takes commit- ment to training and education. And it takes patience as you work through the typical problems that any change brings with it. “Air Balancing is the basis of every- thing we do that I call performance- based. But along with that, the com- missioning, and the concept of really checking out a system to ensure it is doing what it is supposed to do is equally important. To me, they go hand-in-hand. “Air Balancing is the foundation for us. When you attach all the oth- er performance components, you then can see how a system is sup- posed to work.” In the real world, DiMarco says there are no HVAC systems out there, commercial or residential, that are working at 100%. He says, “If you can get them work- ing in the 90% range – and that in- cludes airflow, electrical, venting, wa- terflow, combustion, controls – the whole nine yards, there are just so many opportunities for more busi- ness. Then you must communicate that to customers in terms of how they benefit. When you look at the perfor- mance approach in this way, it is obvi- ous that there is an endless stream of business out there for you.” DiMarco explains that the secret, at least for his company, is to get your field team to look beyond the symp- toms causing customer pain and to find the root of those problems. Again, he says he relies on Henry Sterling as a big part of this. “Henry has been an NCI ‘air-head’ for 20 years!” “This is not easy, and it takes time,” he adds. “I think we are way ahead of other companies in our area because we think like this, we are trained for this, and we work like this.” THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS DiMarco has been involved with and believed in the Performance-Based Contracting process practically from such transitions are only enhanced with the need for social distancing and new handwashing protocols. “For me, the difficulties of running this kind of operation are to focus on thinking ahead of potential hurdles and how to leap over them.” SOME HISTORY Ben DiMarco worked in and out of the contracting business (for his fa- ther’s company) for years and even- tually settled working for a nation- al consulting engineering firm with Cleveland offices. This company’s focus was on commercial/industri- al building commissioning. It was during this time that Ben began tak- ing classes with National Comfort In- stitute (NCI). In fact, he met Rob Fal- ke during an air balancing class at a local supply house. Later, when his employer decided to relocate Ben to their Washington D.C. office, Ben opted out and went back to work in his father’s HVAC business. “Part of why I am who I am today is because I was exposed to top-notch technicians in the field,” he says. “I also had an opportunity to see so much bad work in the field. Up until the late 1990s, my father’s company was disci- plined like you wouldn’t believe. The service technicians attended training classes regularly. There was also sales Henry Sterling8 MAY 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT “Their success depends on their buildings and systems functioning properly – whether it is an office facil- ity, processing plant, and everything in between,” he continues. “They un- derstand the importance of air quality, air exchange, airflow, and system reli- ability. So they are willing and able to spend the money.” But the residential business is a different animal. He says that busi- ness revolves around customer pain — they call when there is a problem and they want it fixed right away. In those instances, they will pull the trig- ger on repairs. But they often hesi- tate when testing shows the need for air upgrades, duct renovations and so on. For DiMarco and Associates, that doesn’t stop them from doing the test- however. Senior techs and apprentice techs are performing performance- based tasks and they are seeing the results for themselves. Why? “Because you have to build a culture that is different than your team is used to,” he says. “Change is hard. But our guys are slowly getting into it and we now have technicians who insist on getting airflow and com- bustion right. They follow our proto- cols for testing-in and testing-out. “Implementing performance is easi- er for us in the commercial arena be- cause there is more of an awareness for the need from our architect, engineer- ing, and building management clients. They are acutely conscious of expendi- tures. Not just first costs, but also long- term operational costs. the beginning of the foundation of NCI. He has been a member since 2000, was one of the first contracting organizations to become part of Na- tional Balancing Council (a subsidiary of NCI) in 2006, and has been training his team every year since then. “Training is paramount. We do as much training weekly as possible and each year we increase our spending on outside training for our personnel,” he says. “That training is both technical and non-tech.” He explains that they probably spend 2000 man-hours on training (formal and informal) across all Di- Marco’s employees. “And that is not enough. It should probably be twice that,” he adds. “The training has paid dividends MAY 2020 9HVACTODAY.COM tal-grade HVAC systems to combat future pandemics,” he says. “Unfortunately, it took an interna- tional crisis to make the world see the importance of this approach to build- ing systems, but it is something we’ve all known for years. Now it is at the forefront of everyone’s mind and I think it’s going to stick.” And that is the approach that is cen- tral to how DiMarco and Associates operates. As Ben likes to say, “System optimization, which includes the duct system, is the basis of who we are as a company. It’s in our DNA.” It is for these reasons and many more that High-Performance HVAC Today magazine is pleased to shine our spotlight on DiMarco & Associates of Cleveland, Ohio. are not interested in installing cheap equipment or poorly designed delivery systems. The good news for Ben DiMarco and his team is that they had a lot of this custom work on the books before the COVID-19 pandemic, and he says work still is continuing. THE FUTURE DiMarco says he sees opportunities for the HVAC industry as a result of the Coronavirus. “I am talking about an increased interest in indoor air quality, real measurements, data collection, and a test-diagnose-repair approach. I re- cently read some engineering articles that talk about a future where build- ings will be required to install hospi- ing on every job and making a Chinese menu of things that need to be done now and things that can wait. “This gives customers options and most homeowners like that. But they don’t always buy.” He says what works for his company is the residential custom home build- ing market. The customer is the builder of high-end homes that sell for between $2 and $4 million. DiMarco says they Recent Hydronics installation that demon- strates a return to craftsmanship.Next >