< Previous10 JUNE 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY let us know who they are and why they are influ- encers. Send your “nomination” to me at mikew@ ncihvac.com. Here are four influencers who have had a direct impact on the High-Performance HVAC Industry: JIM DAVIS, NATIONAL COMFORT INSTITUTE, CLEVELAND, OH Jim has a long and storied career in the HVAC In- dustry. That career began back in 1971 when he went to work for an HVAC contractor before moving on to work for an HVAC distributor in 1977. That is where he became involved with selling the first digital com- bustion analyzers. He will be the first to tell you that back in the day there was a general lack of knowledge, including his own, on how to interpret combustion readings and overall mechanical operation of indus- trial, commercial, and residential systems. This is something that still plagues the HVAC industry today. So, Davis set out to learn and ended up dedicating himself to increasing this knowledge by spending thousands of hours in the field with customers collecting data. Eventually those customers asked him to write down what he knew to share with them. They also wanted him to TEACH them by conducting training classes. As a result, Davis developed the first combustion testing protocols and field diagnostics using a digi- tal combustion analyzer. He began teaching in 1983 T hese influential people are not only members of the Performance-Based Contracting™ community, they also work to help others be more successful. In fact, by their actions, they contribute to the High-Performance HVAC Industry’s growth and acceptance throughout the greater HVAC Industry and among consumers as well. They believe in education and training and always seek better ways of doing things. They lead by exam- ple. They take what they learn and implement it suc- cessfully into their businesses, then take the time to share what they learn during that process with others. How did they make our list? Over the years, members of the NCI team have traveled the country, visiting and working with many contracting firms, manufacturers, distributors, utilities, and trade as- sociations. They worked together on ways to evolve away from just selling equipment, to an approach that sees a system as much more than a set of boxes. The NCI team met people who believe in the te- nets of testing duct systems, equipment, even the overall building itself. They measure airflow, tem- perature, and more, then calculate their impact on delivered comfort and energy efficiency. The following are four such “influencers” of this industry. But they are not alone. We plan on fea- turing new influencers each year. The time or era in which they served is not considered — we look at what they have done or are doing and the impact of those efforts on the industry. If there is someone you think should be added, High-Performance HVAC Industry Influencers By Mike Weil LEADERSHIP Every industry is served by people who greatly impact it — whether it is from the invention of technology or processes, or from sales and/or marketing techniques. These are people who; because of their experience, knowledge, position in that industry, and relationship to others; impact its development. They make a difference in the industry’s direction and ultimately, it’s future. The performance-based segment of the HVAC Industry is no different. J i m D a v i s , N a t ion a l C o m f o r t I n s t i t u t e , I n c .JUNE 2020 11HVACTODAY.COM full-service company with a team of skilled professionals. Though he re- tired (sort of) from Masterworks in 2015, he laid the foundation that helped the company continue to grow into a primary plumbing, heating, cooling, and commercial refrigeration company serving Northwest Colorado. He grew the company over the years and eventually sold it to employees Victor and Amy Updike in 2015. Dave remains active in and as a servant leader for the HVAC Industry, particularly the High-Performance Con- tracting segment. He always looks to serve his customers, his team, and his communi- ty – whether it is through de- livering the very best in service via plumbing or HVAC contracting, to serving as the Mayor of the city of Craig, sitting on various boards of directors, or the organizer of af- ter-school programs for young children. He even helped NCI in the early years by securing a grant in Colorado where the state paid for 25 technicians to be trained in carbon monoxide and combustion efficiency testing. In a company profile written back in 2011, DeRose credits NCI “for helping to teach me to think out of the box. It’s a philosophy as much as it is a set of skills. It’s the way I have learned to ap- proach a system knowing that perfor- mance can be improved, that makes all the difference,” the article quotes him. He has been able to blend his staunch commitment to outstanding customer service, a great enthusiasm for giving back to the community, and a strong dedication to creating a quality work- place into a winning formula for busi- ness and life success. Having retired from running the day- to-day operations of Masterworks, Dave DeRose dedicates some of his time to giving back through training with NCI to help other HVAC contractors become performance-based. And Dave’s commitment to training extends beyond just his own company. He also helps arrange training for oth- er businesses, and personally mentors many of them. Dave and Masterworks received the NCI National Training Excellence Award in 2013. They were also recognized at the Summit for their dedication to Per- formance-Based Contracting™, in particular for their efforts towards training not only their own people, but many other contractors in their community. STEVE CLINTON, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON ENERGY EDUCATION CENTER When it comes to High-Performance HVAC Training, there are few train- ers outside of National Comfort In- stitute (NCI) who put their entire support into promoting and teach- ing the performance testing, measur- ing, and diagnostics methods that are the backbone of Performance-Based Contracting™. But one such trainer, Steve Clinton of Southern California Edison’s Tulare Energy Education Center, is such a person. For years Steve has been a huge sup- porter of HVAC technician training in general and NCI training in particular. It makes a lot of sense. He is a techni- cian at heart. His background as a field and joined forces with the National Comfort Institute (NCI) in 2000. Jim says he is fortunate and grate- ful that NCI embraces the same values and allows him to continue his “com- bustion crusade.” All combustion class- es taught at NCI are based on hands-on field experience and actual results. NCI President Rob Falke describes Jim as being driven by curiosity – the kind “most often found in those who believe that truth may be discovered through experiment and observation of the outcome.” That curiosity led him to study, prac- tice, and to measure everything he en- countered. Early on he realized test in- struments were woefully inaccurate and that led him to eventually become in- volved with a manufacturer in designing the first CO analyzers. Read more about Jim in a biography written by Rob Falke at ncilink.com/CaptCO. Besides teaching thousands of HVAC professionals in the classroom, Jim also is a nationally recognized writer and speaker who is notably one of the foremost authorities on combustion and carbon monoxide. He has written national protocols for CO testing and operating guide- lines for proper combustion and me- chanical operation of fuel-burning ap- pliances. To this day he continues to research new information and feed- back from the field on the combus- tion process. This contributes to the continual update of knowledge to be shared with everyone. DAVE DEROSE, MASTERWORKS MECHANICAL, INC., CRAIG, CO DeRose founded Masterworks Me- chanical in Craig, CO in 1988. He took it from a one-man service shop to a D a v e D e R o s e, M aste r w o r k s M e c h a n i c a l12 JUNE 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY LEADERSHIP believer in that as well. So much so, that he has taken train- ing himself and gives back to the in- dustry by teaching classes with NCI on combustion analysis and safety. He has written articles on the subject (ncil- ink.com/COSafety) as well as on the myths surrounding CO (ncilink.com/ CO-Myths). And he has been recog- nized for his many achievements in the High-Performance HVAC Industry, in- cluding Contractor of the Year from both NCI and PHCC. You might even say that Tom has be- come a CO evangelist (ncilink.com/ CO-Expert) who practices, speaks about, and “preaches” his idea that “ev- ery technician who works on fuel-burn- ing appliances (furnaces, boilers, wa- ter heaters, gas dryers, gas stoves, etc.) should have extensive training in com- bustion and carbon monoxide.” In fact, according to Jim Davis, NCI’s resident combustion and CO expert, “Tom is as committed to and passion- ate about it as anyone I’ve ever met. He refuses to let his guys go into the field until they attend CO training, no mat- ter where that training is held. “He has implemented per- formance into his compa- ny and says it has made a major difference in his success,” Davis contin- ues. “Tom told me that he doesn’t know where his company would be to- day had he not attended the combustion training from NCI.” This dedication gives Tom a “WOW” factor that cannot be denied and it is for these reasons that High-Perfor- mance HVAC Today magazine rec- ognizes him as an industry influencer. nical trainer and he manages the overall training program. “Steve has always been a key to suc- cess with performance because he be- lieves it. He advocates it for doing what is right. To his credit, not only does he believe in it, but he embraces it and puts perfor- mance into practice for himself. “From my perspective, this enables the contractors whom he serves through Edison to be successful as well,” Johnson concludes. For these reasons, we are pleased to recognize Steve Clinton as an influ- encer in the High-Performance HVAC Industry. TOM JOHNSON, TM JOHNSON BROTHERS, INC., CAMBRIDGE, MN Tom Johnson is a third-generation plumber and HVAC contractor who is also a strong supporter of the Perfor- mance-Based Contracting™ model. Not only has he trained his team in the sci- ence of airflow and combustion test- ing, but he has led his company to implement these practices both internally and external- ly. Today his technicians test every piece of equipment they touch! He takes his customers’ and his employees’ safety very seriously. Over the years Tom has become an outspoken leader in com- bustion safety and carbon monoxide testing. He believes it is every contrac- tors’ job to teach their technicians the vital importance of this and to practice it every single day. To do that requires education and Tom Johnson is a huge tech on the refrigeration side of the business enables him to relate well to the needs of technicians across the en- tire spectrum of the HVAC Industry. “His focus has always been laser- focused on customer satisfaction as well,” says Mel Johnson, a former director at Edison who worked closely with Steve for years. Johnson, who is vice pres- ident of utility programs for NCI, describes Clinton as a boots- on-the-ground technical trainer who was hired in 2009 by Edison to run the training at the Tulare training cen- ter. Then, the mission of Edison was to train HVAC contractors using pro- gramming that more closely aligned with their Workforce Education and Training efforts. Once Clinton attended an NCI class, according to Johnson, he saw their training approach and methodolo- gy focused on the technician. It was a grass-roots, down-to-earth train- ing approach where trainers worked alongside technicians, which was what he loved to do. He was all onboard. Says Johnson, “Because he came from the field, people knew him and trusted him. He would go to his dis- tributors with class information and get them to promote NCI classes. He knew so many contractors throughout the area because of his background and they trusted him. So he convinced many of them to attend. His success grew and in the process the Tulare center helped to train hun- dreds, if not thousands in the tech- niques of Performance-Based Contract- ing in Southern California. Two years ago, Edison promoted Clinton to pro- gram manager. Now he is both a tech- S t e v e C l i n t o n , S C E E nergy E d u c a t i o n C e n t e r T o m J o h n s o n , TM Jo h n s o n B r o t h e r sJUNE 2020 13HVACTODAY.COM T wo months of stay-at-home orders have generated demand for specific services that few HVAC companies are prepared to offer. Let’s take a look at unique COVID-19-related residential air balance solutions you can offer to permanently satisfy what many of your customers want. Currently, quick-fix, plug-and-play IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) solutions bombard our industry. Web searches filled with conflicting claims confuse your customers. Combine this with promises of complete protection from dreaded viruses and they are unable to distinguish between what is real and what may not be. Eventually, they drown in information overload. AIR BALANCING CERTIFICATION Commercial air balancers are the only profession- als certified to test, adjust, and certify building air- flows and pressures to meet strict job specifications and industry standards. National Comfort Institute’s (NCI) Residential Air-Balancing Certification is the only certification supporting professionals who test and verify these requirements are met in homes. Unlike ineffective silver-bullet cures, you can of- fer and deliver system solutions in homes that meet commercial building specifications. HOME IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SAFE PLACE Being confined to home almost 24 hours per day, week-after-week, while immersed in Covid-19 in- formation overload, has forced many homeowners to take a hard look at their HVAC systems. Many question their HVAC systems’ effectiveness and im- pact on their health. They also know summer is on the way. They have increased concerns that problems noticed during mild weather will worsen as the outdoor temperature rises. Given legitimate solutions to increase home health, many homeowners are far more likely to choose high- er-level system upgrades than ever before. Your abil- ity to deliver increased personal safety, health, com- fort, and energy efficiency has a broader appeal now than ever before. The pending relief from current government-im- posed health regulations will more than likely in- crease the chances of homeowners coming into di- rect contact with viruses. This can further increase the demand and value of a safe and healthy indoor environment at home. EXPLORE YOUR CUSTOMER NEEDS Chances are that few people will call your office asking you to make positive pressure in their homes and a negative pressure room for an infected family member. However, if you listen carefully, you will recognize many homeowners have safety or health concerns that only balancing solutions will effec- tively cure. Your opportunity to serve is based on your abili- ty to diagnose their problem, help them understand the proposed solution, and deliver the results they want. Here are the top four air-balance solutions you can offer. INCREASE HVAC SYSTEM CAPACITY Comfort, temperature, and humidity are the foun- dational principles of IAQ. If the home’s HVAC sys- tem cannot provide these basics, it’s doubtful the system can adequately maintain a safe and healthy indoor environment. Trying to assure a healthy and safe home when the system is operating at half capacity won’t get the job done. The first step is to test, diagnose, and prescribe system repairs so it functions as it should. Typical system repairs that reduce risks associ- ated with COVID-19 are often addressed while im- proving system performance. This includes: ● Evaluating air filtration which will improve as system performance increases ● Measuring fan capacity helps you engineer the Residential Air Balancing: Meet the Demands of the New Normal By Rob “Doc” Falke LEADERSHIP Trying to assure a healthy and safe home when the system is operating at half capacity won’t get the job done. 14 JUNE 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY Air-balance test methods identify these system problems and verify re- pairs have the desired outcome. IMPROVE VENTILATION AND AIRFLOW Until you measure and evaluate the home’s airflow and ventilation rates, you won’t have the right information to properly adjust and correct nega- tive impacts on the system. When infection spread is suspected in a medical facility, balancers are often the first team called in to discover and identify defects causing it. In many cas- es, the balancer’s information is what directs industrial hygienists toward solutions. Air is the medium that often moves a virus throughout a building. The same principle applies to homes. CREATE POSITIVE BUILDING PRESSURE An HVAC system adjusted to cre- ate positive pressure (picture air pres- sure inflating a balloon) will constant- ly purge indoor air, forcing it out of the home. The heating and cooling system pulls outside air into the building to re- place polluted air. Did you know that supply duct sys- tem leakage negatively affects build- ing pressures? Plus, bath, kitchen, and other exhaust fans also negatively af- fect a home’s pressure. Building pressure is caused by air movement in a building that is not widely understood outside the HVAC industry. But it makes a measurable dif- ference in building pollutants. Building pressures are measured and document- maximum filter resistance, which re- veals whether the fan and system can handle higher efficiency filters ● Simply installing a higher-efficien- cy filter on an existing system often re- duces system capacity. Remember: overly restrictive filters may reduce system airflow and shorten equipment life. When you replace air filters that serve a suspected infectious environment, be certain to use person- al protection equipment (PPE) and fol- low all applicable protocols. Lower humidity significantly reduces the life span of viruses. Dehumidifica- tion increases as system cooling capaci- ty increases. You can lower total airflow through the coil to improve the system’s latent removal capacity and provide a drier, healthier environment. LEADERSHIPJUNE 2020 15HVACTODAY.COM tect healthy people in health care fa- cilities to protect the rest of the fam- ily. Place an exhaust fan in the room and operate it continuously. This negative room pressure prevents air from being pushed out into other rooms. You can use similar strategies in a home. Ideally, you should design the room airflow for 12 air changes per hour. Room supply airflow should be mea- sured and compared to exhaust air- flow as a separate backup verification method. EDUCATE YOUR CUSTOMERS We often communicate the air bal- ance principles mentioned here in a language that customers rarely un- derstand. Your challenge is to patiently teach customers, in a language they CAN un- derstand, the why’s and how’s of each system improvement and its health benefit to them. Once you do this, they will see past the silver-bullet IAQ solu- tions and have confidence that their heating and cooling system contrib- utes to their healthy home. ed by air balancers and may be includ- ed in an additional report to authenticate the performance and health of the home. In some commercial buildings, con- stant ventilation is specified to keep building pressures safe. When prescrib- ing this method for use in homes, edu- cate homeowners regarding the cost to maintain constant pressure. Added heating or cooling capacity may be needed to offset outside air brought into the home. It could cause the heat- ing or cooling system to run longer. Also, ducts located in unconditioned spaces pick up the additional tempera- ture and deliver it into the house. NEGATIVE PRESSURE ROOMS When an occupant in a home is sick, you can employ a method used to pro- Rob “Doc” Falke serves the industry as president of National Comfort Institute, Inc., an HVAC-based training company and membership organization. If you’re an HVAC contractor or tech- nician interested in a free test procedure to calculate room air changes, contact Doc at robf@ncihvac.com or call him at 800-633-7058. Go to NCI’s website at nationalcomfortinstitute.com for free infor- mation, articles, and downloads.HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY rience has been devastating to many people around the world, there are many positive things we have learned within the HVAC industry. First, the world learned that the HVAC industry is an “essential business.” We already knew that, but it’s great that the rest of the world is finally ac- knowledging our importance! In fact, a handful of HVAC-related actions are suggested in an article titled “Guidance for Building Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” written by Lawrence J. Schoen, P.E., in the ASHRAE Journal Newsletter, March 24, 2020 (ncilink.com/COVIDGuidance). Some of these include: n Increase outdoor air ventilation (use caution in highly polluted areas). With a lower population in the building, this increases the effective dilution ventilation per person. n Disable demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) n Further open minimum outdoor air dampers, as high as 100%, thus eliminating recirculation (in the mild weather season, this need not affect thermal comfort or humidity, but clearly becomes more dif- ficult in extreme weather) n Improve central air filtration to the MERV-13 or the highest compatible with the filter rack, and seal edges of the filter to limit bypass. (He didn’t men- tion static pressure issues but that does need to be considered, too!) n Keep systems running longer hours, if possible 24/7, to enhance the two actions above n Consider portable room air cleaners with HEPA filters n Consider ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, pro- tecting occupants from radiation, particularly in high-risk spaces such as waiting rooms, prisons, and shelters. While these recommendations target commer- cial buildings, many of them can be applied in res- T his year will go down as a significant turn- ing point in our history. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world as we knew it upside down, sideways, and inside out! Many of you have experienced significant per- sonal and financial loss due to the novel coronavi- rus outbreak and our hearts break for you. We will never be the same. Neither will our customers. The fear associated with this pandemic is real and it is changing the way we serve our clients. NEVER WASTE A GOOD CRISIS A former pastor of mine regularly reminded us to “never waste a good crisis.” I’m not sure where he got that quote, but it is wise counsel indeed. When my wife was diagnosed with cancer, we were told to “watch for the blessings along the way.” While it seemed like crazy advice at the time, we set out on our cancer journey with expectant hearts, searching for the blessings. We were blown away by the many positive experiences we had on the path. When we approach life with a more positive outlook and expectation, our results are typical- ly more positive. Your mindset plays a major role in how you get through any crisis. Is your mindset positive or negative? If you want better results, it all starts with a better mindset. POSITIVE PANDEMIC RESULTS How in the world can you find anything posi- tive about this global pandemic? While this expe- The Importance of Virtual High-Performance HVAC Sales By David Holt SALES “We’ve learned that existing technology can play a huge role in the HVAC sales process”JUNE 2020 17HVACTODAY.COM public records freely available on the Internet. Many communities have tax records online. Real estate services like Zillow offer lots of intel but it may not be as reliable as you’d like. Google maps are an incredible source, espe- cially in satellite view. Do your initial research online, then verify what you learned when you speak to your customer in the next step. 2. Customer Surveys Via Video Chat. Nobody knows more about the comfort of their home than the peo- ple who live there. While you may have earned every NCI certification offered and you own a whole truck full of test instruments, there is no way you can know what the house feels like at 2:00 pm on the hottest day of the year. Your customer’s experience is invalu- able, and you can certainly perform a Home Comfort Analysis Customer Sur- vey with them right over the Internet using something like FaceTime, Zoom, or Google Duo. This initial survey takes 10-15 minutes to complete. The information gained is the very foundation for the best high-perfor- mance sales calls – virtual or in-person. 3. Technical Survey via Custom- er Photos and/or Video Chat. Based on what you learn in your initial custom- er survey, you can ask them to be your “eyes” as you learn more about their home and their HVAC system. You’d be amazed how much information you can acquire by having them take pictures of the equipment and duct system, then emailing or texting them to you. Even better, have them take you on a “guided video tour” of their home us- ing their cell phone or tablet. “Mrs. Smith, first, I’d like you to take me to your thermostat. That’s great. Can you open the front door so I can see what programming options you have?” As they take you around their home, you can capture screen shots of what you see along the way. 4. Brief “Measure Call” with Ex- treme Social Distancing. Based on what you learned in the previous three steps, you may need to make a brief vis- it to the home for final measurements (It will be really tough to get your cus- tomer to take static pressure measure- ments via video chat). You can explain to them that this phase will only take about 15 to 20 min- utes and you will call them when you arrive at their home. All they need to do is unlock the front door, then go sit on the back porch while you get your fi- nal measurements. Assure them that you will be wearing appropriate personal protective equip- ment and that you will wipe down any- thing you touch while in their home. Once you are done, tell them you will lock the front door behind you and call them from your truck as you sit in the driveway to discuss any questions you or they have. 5. Findings & Recommendations via Screen Share/Video Chat. Once you are ready to discuss your findings and recommendations, you can recon- nect with them via a screen share/video chat service. In this phase, you “con- nect the dots” you discovered in the first four steps above. Always be sure to personalize your recommendations (“ … to alleviate Ste- ven’s allergies, I’d recommend that you install this high-efficiency air filtration system”) so they know that you are ad- dressing the concerns they shared with you during the customer survey. idential applications as well. These are just some of the good things we’ve learned since this outbreak began. If we apply these lessons, our world will be better off. SOCIAL DISTANCING … BLESSING OR CURSE? Probably the best thing we’ve learned in the past several months is the basic principles of social distancing include surface cleaning, disinfection, hand- washing, and other strategies of good hygiene. These are important tools for fighting the spread of COVID-19. A simple definition of social distanc- ing is “a set of non-pharmaceutical in- terventions or measures taken to pre- vent the spread of a contagious disease by maintaining a physical distance be- tween people and reducing the number of times people come into close contact with each other.” However, many people are so fright- ened of the Coronavirus that they are practicing “extreme social distancing” – they don’t want anyone to enter their home or office! Can this social distanc- ing practice really be a blessing if you can’t get in front of customers face to face? It all depends on your mindset. TECHNOLOGY TO THE RESCUE In the past three months, we’ve learned that existing technology can play a huge role in the HVAC sales pro- cess during the COVID-19 pandem- ic. When customers are practicing ex- treme social distancing, you can offer to perform much of the sales process from the comfort of your office via the Internet. Here’s how: 1. Initial Online Research. You can gain a significant amount of infor- mation about a person’s home from 18 JUNE 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY SALES IS THIS (OR SHOULD THIS BE) THE NEW NORMAL? How cool would it be if you could do all your sales calls like this? Imagine how many more sales you could make if you didn’t have to waste so much time driving to and from prospect locations all day. Wouldn’t that be great? There are HVAC contractors who were doing this type of selling even be- fore COVID-19 hit. Why? Because they live in major metropol- itan areas where travel is measured in hours, not miles. These progressive contractors figured out ways to perform sales calls “virtually” because they were wasting too much time sitting in traffic or trying to find an expensive parking space. Instead of beating their truck horn trying to get to the next call, they are beating their competition and dou- bling or even tripling their sales be- cause they are much more productive. And, the customers love it too! So, can social distancing be a bless- ing? You bet it can… you just have to look at ways to make it work for you and your customer. Be safe and successful out there with this high-performance selling approach. n Tell them to read the material when they receive it and respond as if they were a real customer. n Perform the six high-performance virtual sales call steps described above with them so they understand the process. This approach is a triple win! First, your teammates better understand how this powerful method works and will be better equipped to share the concept with your cus- tomers. Second, you get more practice which will de- velop your trust and confidence in leading your future customers through the process. Third, your custom- ers will be much better off because you are well prepared to serve them, whether virtually or in person. GET THE WORD OUT! Once you are comfortable with your new process, be sure to let the world know about this innovative service you provide. Post images on your social me- dia platforms and create a page on your website describing your “virtu- al sales visit” process. Fellow NCI member, Tom Kohberg- er, with Comfort Control Heating & Air in Buford, Georgia has taken this approach very seriously. On their website, customers can schedule a “Virtual Service Techni- cian” or a “Virtual HVAC Replacement Specialist” appointment with the click of a mouse! Check it out on their webpage or Facebook page to see how they are getting the word out. 6. Scope of Work, Pricing, Fi- nancing, and Scheduling via Screen Share/Video Chat. In this last phase of the virtual sales call, you can once again engage with them via vid- eo chat to finalize the scope of work, pric- ing, financing, and scheduling details. When you do everything right in the first five phases, this step is a breeze! All the images, videos, and notes you’ve taken along the way are sure to make the job go smoother, assuming you share the appropriate information with your installation crew. In our Performance-Based Sell- ing Online Live class, we do a live demonstration of this process. In less than 30 minutes, students witness this approach in a live demonstration (minus the “Measure Call”) and gain confidence in their ability to expand their high-performance sales powers through this virtual method. GETTING YOUR TEAM ONBOARD A great way to get the rest of your team exposed to this high-performance sales approach is to practice it with them at their own home following this simple plan: n Set your teammate up in Comfort- Maxx Air™ as a new customer and en- ter a typical “high-static” sample test. n Print the ComfortMaxx Air visual report. n Personalize and print an “Important Test Results” (ITR) letter. n Put a copy of the ITR letter, the ComfortMaxx Air™ visual report, and a “Static Pressure - Why Does It Matter?” Home Comfort Report fly- er into the letter. n Put the words “Important Test Re- sults Enclosed” on the front of the en- velope and drop it in the mail. David Holt joined NCI in 2011. He is the director of national accounts and also is responsible for the content development for a number of the classes NCI develops. In addition, David, a former HVAC business owner and current NCI business coach, teaches that con- tent for the company’s in-person training events. He can be reached at DavidH@ncihvac.com .NCI MEMBER UPDATE to access these tools through this Pow- erPack portal during the current month. So, without further ado, let’s drill down and take a look at the June 2020 Power- Pack, which focuses on the importance of taking and interpreting static pressure measurements: n Static Pressure Diagrams (Download) n Measuring Total External Static Pressure (Article) n Static Pressure - Why Does It Matter? (Download) n How to Plot Fan Airflow (Article) n Measuring Static Pressure (Online Training). Be sure to share your June PowerPack with your entire team! Go to ncilink. com/PwrPak . If you have any questions, or if you are unable to access any of the tools in this program, please contact your Customer Care team at 800-633-7058. NCI Bucks Are A Mighty Membership Tool!!! Do you know that when you buy prod- ucts and services through NCI’s TIPP (Training Incentive Partnership Program) partners, you earn NCI Bucks on every purchase? Do you know that those Bucks are very valuable? They can be used by you to help pay for NCI training, attendance to spe- cial events like the Annual High-Perfor- mance HVAC Summit , and more? Learn more about TIPP at ncilink.com/TIPP. Do you know that you can use sepa- rate membership discounts WITH your earned Bucks to get advantageous pric- es on all the courses in NCI’s Online Uni- versity (ncilink.com/OnlineU)? What other HVAC organization helps you pay for your training? Questions? Call 800-633-7058 today and ask for one of our Customer Care representatives. NCI Membership offers so many ben- efits that it is simply overwhelming! The Monthly PowerPack is one of these. The PowerPack includes items curated just for members to help you as you grow your High-Performance HVAC business. Each month we include some tools that may not be normally accessible with your current membership subscrip- tion package. However, you will be able NCI MEMBER UPDATE New Online Live Airflow Testing and Diagnostics Course National Comfort Institute (NCI) recently added a new Online Live version of their Airflow Testing and Diagnostics Course to their Distance Learning series. Now you can get in on the ground floor and offer HVAC Performance Solutions that work with NCI’s simple Air Upgrade approach! This live online course provides technical training on performing static pressure testing, correctly installing static pressure test ports, and measuring and interpreting static pres- sures. Air Testing and Diagnostics is ideal for HVAC contracting firm owners, managers, and technicians. It is a two-day program where attendees will learn how to: n Identify fan types and speeds n Locate and use fan tables to plot airflow n Diagnose and perform Air Upgrades on HVAC equipment AND duct systems. This class can only be taken by quali- fied HVAC professionals. The training also qualifies for NCI Residential Air-side Re- certification. So, stop guessing and start measuring! Learn how to add $2,000 to $3,000 to most residential installations at incredible 60 to 70% gross profit margins! Go to ncilink.com/ATDOL to learn more. Or click ncilink.com/ATD-OLReg to register for this training right now. Important Note: To participate in NCI Online recertification classes, you must al- ready be NCI certified. As a member, you qualify for a discount on this training, and you can apply NCI Bucks, or earn them. For more information on exactly what Distance Learning Courses are available to you, just go to ncilink.com/DistLearn . Your June 2020 PowerPack is Available! JUNE 2020 19HVACTODAY.COMNext >