HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHVAC TODAY TM If You Don’t Measure, You’re Just Guessing! ™ hvactoday.comSEPTEMBER 2020 Summit Goes Summit Goes VIRTUAL!VIRTUAL! ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Summit 2020: Why Coaching Is So Important for Your Technical Team Summit 2020: Coach Managers on Implementing High-Performance into Your Business Why Pressure is the First Step to Airside PerformanceSEPTEMBER 2020 3HVACTODAY.COM SEPTEMBER 2020 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 9 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHVAC TODAY TM MANAGEMENT: Coaching Your Managers on Implementing High-Performance Contractor Dave DeRose shares his insights on how your managers are key to having a successful Performance-Based Contracting™ company. MANAGEMENT: Why Coach Your Technical Team? If you want to prove your team is deliver- ing the comfort, efficiency, and safety you promise, you MUST coach them as to how to do it. Here is why this is so important. TECHNICAL: Take the PATH to Airside Performance: Part 2 David Richardson discusses what it takes to begin static pressure measuring and testing. This is the first step on the Performance PATH. 19 12 9 DEPARTMENTS Today’s Word .........................................................................................4 High-Performance Products .............................................................5 Contractor Spotlight: Albemarle Heating and Air ..................6 Photo of the Month .........................................................................23 Member Update ...............................................................................24 HVAC Smart Mart ...............................................................................25 Ad Index ................................................................................................25 One More Thing ................................................................................264 SEPTEMBER 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY Gmail, your Promotions tab. Prior to the conference watch for reminder emails, even if you think you have what you need to attend. Change happens and the organizer sometimes sends information about newly add- ed sessions, networking opportunities, or crucial updates as the event date approaches. ❏ Make It a Priority - Take virtual confer- ences seriously. Block time on your calendar to show up for live sessions and don’t overbook. ❏ Turn Off Distractions - It’s too doggone easy to react to notifications that pop up on your phone or computer. Turn notifications off so you can stay focused on the session. ❏ Use Interactive Features - These include Polls, Chat, Q&A, and even raise-your-hand fea- tures that are part of the virtual experience. Sometimes there is even a mobile app that you have access to. All of them enable you to inter- act with others attending the session, the overall event, as well as speakers, panelists, and so on. ❏ Take Advantage of Virtual Networking Opportunites - Join social media chatter by skim- ming through conference hashtags for commentary from fellow attendees. Share your comments too. In many instances, you can post through the confer- ence software as well as Twitter and Facebook. ❏ Take Notes and Review Them - You won’t remember everything you learn in each session, so be sure to jot down some notes and then re- view them later to jog your memory. ❏ Make Connections - Pay attention to peo- ple who ask the best questions or share the most insightful comments. Look them up and connect via social media. Then follow-up using email. You can take full advantage of any virtual event by committing time to attend, participate, and connect. Isn’t that the whole reason for attending a conference in the first place? V irtual conferences are just as valuable as in-person events if you know what to look for and take the right steps to make the most of the experience. The fact is, virtual events don’t diminish the power of peer-to-peer networking or group learning, they just change things. Here are four advantages to any virtual event: Cost and Time Savings - Virtual events elim- inate the costs for travel, hotels, and food. Plus the registration fees are typically less. Convenience and Accessibility - You can join an online conference from anywhere there is an Internet connection on any device. Attend All Sessions - For the most part, vir- tual conferences are set up so attendees won’t miss any of the sessions or other events. This is usually done by recording sessions and making them available to attendees at no extra cost. Comfort - What’s more comfortable than attend- ing from a favorite chair in your home or office? CHECKLIST TO ENHANCE YOUR EXPERIENCE The fact is a virtual conference is different and requires a few modifications in approach. Here are a number of tips that can help: ❏ Put it on Your Calendar - Add the virtual conference to your calendar as soon as you sign up and set alerts for a day or two in advance. ❏ Get Full Access - The price is often much low- er than a live event, so why not get access to ev- erything? For example, instead of just registering for the trade show portion, why not register for the full event and have access to everything! You still save money over the cost of an in-person event. ❏ Check Your Email - After registering, you will usually receive an email confirmation with the information you need to attend. If you don’t see it immediately, check your spam folder or, in Get the Most From Virtual Conferences and Trade Shows Mike Weil is editor- in-chief and director of communications at National Comfort Institute, Inc. You can reach him at ncilink.com/ContactMe TODAY’S WORD By Mike WeilSEPTEMBER 2020 5HVACTODAY.COM HIGH-PERFORMANCE PRODUCT REVIEW BOSCH GLM50C DISTANCE METER Have you ever had a job that had to stop because the physical dimensions of the space were not accounted for when designing a system? The Bosch LM50C Distance Meter is a laser distance measuring device with application-based support. By using the GLM50C and a tablet or smartphone with Bosch’s GLM Measur- ing Master app, you can enter measurements directly into an image. The app is available at both the Google Store (ncilink. com/GLMApp1) and the Apple App Store (ncilink. com/GLMApp2) . The laser distance measurement has a range of 165 feet at an accuracy of 1/16 of an inch. That range is decreased outdoors in sunlight. Functions in the device can calculate line-of-sight linear feet, square footage, and cubic feet. Other functions are avail- able such as level and wall area. There are a number of ways you can use this tool. For example, with it you can: u Do sheet metal ductwork takeoff and layout u Gather more accu- rate and clear data for system designers u Measure cubic feet for air changes per hour calculations u Measure distances for crane lifts u Calculate filter area u Calculate area for traverse calculations u Create installation location images for your installation crew u Reduce the need to revisit job sites to take additional measurements. More information can be found at ncilink.com/BoschGLM50C . – by Justin Bright, NCI Field Coach & Trainer6 SEPTEMBER 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY replacement departments. He changed their customer base so that today more than 80% of the business is in residen- tial service and replacement. The oth- er 20% is custom residential new con- struction, renovations, and a little light commercial, according to Sachs. MANAGEMENT CHANGES When Ralph Sachs joined Albemar- le, he began in a sales position. At that time, Albemarle was still heavily involved in new construction and that was Sachs’ strength. His ini- tial focus was on new construc- tion sales. Eventually, he too began working more in replace- ment sales and helped to build up that side of the business. “Around 13 or 14 years ago I left Albemarle and went to work for Lennox Industries as a terri- tory manager. It was just time for a change for me and I left on very good terms. Albemarle became my custom- er, so on some level, I never really left,” Sachs explains. “I worked for Lennox for not quite two years and found I missed the con- tracting side of the business. Tom Ka- vounas wanted me to come back, I wanted to come back, and eventually, we made that happen.” When he rejoined Albemarle, he did so as the sales manager. Some years later, Ralph Sachs became the gener- al manager and remains so to this day. In 2015, Kavounas wanted to reduce his daily involvement and, according to the cheapest price. “My attitude is that I’m never re- ally interested in cheaper,” Sachs ex- plains. “I’m interested in better. Tom Kavounas called on me and his pitch was different. He said he couldn’t nec- essarily do it cheaper, but he could do it better and he would guarantee that my customers would be comfortable in their new homes. “He was the one guy I took the time to talk with. Albemarle wound up do- ing all my work. Over time Tom and I became very close and one thing led to another and I came to work for him in 1999 or so.” How’s that for a revolutionary change? It’s not every day that a home builder goes to work for an HVAC contracting firm. Sachs says as larg- er home builders moved into the area who focused more on price than value, Albemarle shifted its focus to custom new construction/renovation, and residential service and replacement. Kavounas adapted to those chang- es by expanding both the service and C harlottesville, Virginia is a place of historical signif- icance. It was home to two U.S. presidents, Thomas Jef- ferson and James Monroe. Plus, a mere 26 miles northeast, is the hometown of a third president, James Madison, in the town of Orange. Charlottesville is also the seat of Albe- marle County. Cool fact: Albemarle was named after the British Queen Consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Stre- litz – wife of King George III. Another cool fact: Albemarle County is also the namesake for Albemarle Heating and Air, Inc., a residential HVAC firm that employs around 80 people. Founded in 1988 by Tom Ka- vounas, Albemarle’s mission was to deliver the best job pos- sible for a fair price. Kavounas never believed in getting jobs at all costs – he was always focused on delivering value. EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES In the beginning, Kavounas’ company focused primarily on new construction. If you think about it, 32 years ago new homes were being built everywhere, many of them by small builders. One of Kavounas’ early customers managed a small home-building firm. His name is Ralph Sachs and that company built between 25 to 30 new houses per year. In those days, as a builder, many trades called on Sachs and tried to land contracts based on giving him CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT By Mike Weil A Revolutionary Approach to the HVAC Business Tom Kavounas (left) and Ralph Sachs of Albemarle Heating and Air.SEPTEMBER 2020 7HVACTODAY.COM teaches and are committed to using what we’ve learned.” DIFFERENTIATION WORKS For the team at Albemarle, the se- cret sauce to their success is standing out from the crowd. It’s about creativ- ity. It’s about finding the best ways to improve their customers’ lives. Much of that effort revolves around the duct systems which, according to Sachs, has been the case since day one. But it’s not just about testing and diagnosing. He says sometimes dif- ferentiation can be as simple as put- ting what he calls “pump-ups” under outdoor heat pump units. Pump-ups are feet which raise the outdoor unit so that in winter when a heat pump goes into defrost mode and creates water melt (that then flows out to the ground), which keeps the heat pump raised above it. “You don’t want the unit sitting on the ground in all that water in the win- ter. So, we raise the units six inches off the ground,” Sachs explains. “We are also one of the very few companies to use a duct blaster for measuring duct leakage. We then find and seal those leaks.” Sometimes differentiation comes in the form of how you explain techni- calities so customers can better un- derstand them without their eyes glazing over. For example, Sachs tells a story of how, when he first joined Albemar- le, he just couldn’t grasp the idea of what static pressure is. No one at Al- bemarle could explain it in a way that helped him understand. “Then I attended one of NCI’s air- flow classes taught by Rob Falke. During class, he blew up a balloon, held that up so the class could see it, and said that is an example of stat- ic pressure. The light bulb went off for me and I finally got it. That train- ing and the other classes I took with NCI gave me a pretty good foundation for how statics work and, maybe even more importantly, how to talk about it with customers,” Sachs explains. NCI has been training the team at Albemarle almost from the beginning of NCI’s existence and continues to do so today. Ralph believes those skills have led the company to the successes they enjoy today. PANDEMICS AND THE ALBEMARLE WAY Fact: every single business organi- zation in the U.S. has been impacted by the outbreak of the Corona-19 pan- demic. For Albemarle Heating, Sachs says that meant making tough deci- sions to keep the company alive and that meant losing some employees on the service side of the business who had to stay home. “Like so many businesses, we are off- plan financially compared to this time last year. In addition, we had one of the mildest winters in a long time here.” Sachs, he sold Albemarle to his employ- ees (it is now an Employee Stock Op- tion Plan or ESOP). Kavounas is still in- volved and remains the president of the company’s board of directors. THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING Since Kavounas founded Albemarle Heating, his mission was to provide the best value to customers for a fair price. From day one, Albemarle focused on customer comfort which always in- cluded the ductwork connected to their equipment. But to do all of that required Ka- vounas and his team to be at the top of their game and he understood that re- quired training. This is a philosophy that Ralph Sachs continues to this day. He says part of that is making the Per- formance-Based Contracting™ approach a part of who Albemarle Heating is. “We believe in and practice the Na- tional Comfort Institute (NCI) approach to system diagnostics, testing, and re- pair. Our challenge is to reinforce NCI best practices day in and day out.” Sachs adds his technicians take stat- ic pressure measurements on every call. They also do a basic duct analysis when they replace a system. “Plus, all my guys are NCI-trained and certified in carbon monoxide (CO) and combustion analysis. But we still have not taken full advantage of the Comfort- Maxx™ software and some of the oth- er tools NCI provides. We understand the benefits of implementing what NCI 8 SEPTEMBER 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT “As a result of the pandemic, we now get a written approval on every service call. We can sign off for them if that is what they’d prefer. All customers are different. Some have no concerns about us being in their homes and oth- ers are completely concerned.” In the end, the team at Albemarle fo- cuses on whatever the customer needs and continues its tradition of provid- ing value for a fair price – something their customers seem to appreciate and desire. That is their revolutionary approach to customer service. It is for these and many more reasons that Ralph Sachs and the team at Albe- marle Heating and Air, Charlottes- ville, VA are the focus of the September 2020 Contractor Spotlight. Congratula- tions to the entire team. with the customer.” Some of the strategies the Albemarle team uses to overcome this deficit is meeting with customers over Zoom. They also chat with them on the phone. Sometimes they have cus- tomers use their mobile devices to show the tech- nicians their systems, and even operate the thermo- stat remotely. “Of course we also all wear booties and facemasks, wear gloves when nec- essary, wipe down all our equipment, and clean up when we are done with our work. We enforce practicing so- cial distancing with our technicians,” he says. He says COVID-19 changed how they communicate because it prevents the team from sitting face-to-face and sharing things with customers. “Social distancing and having to wear masks has created social bar- riers that didn’t exist before, so we must be creative in how we “connect” Albemarle maintains their own sheet metal shop on site.SEPTEMBER 2020 9HVACTODAY.COM WHAT YOU’LL TEACH YOUR TECHNICAL TEAM Here are six skills team members need to know and be confident in. These include how to: 1. Install static pressure test ports – Installing test ports is not difficult. However, it can be intimidating for technicians to do the first few times. Show them how and where to install test ports. Even go a step further and allow them to practice on used equipment in your shop to help their confidence grow. 2. Locate and document the static pres- sure rating – Equipment nameplates have more information on them than most realize. This is where manufacturers post the equipment’s max- imum rated total external static pressure (TESP). The nameplate provides a guideline to what TESP the fan should not exceed. 3. Measure total external static pres- sure – TESP is the pressure measured in and out of the equipment, then added together and com- pared to the equipment rating. TESP will also help your technicians determine how much airflow the fan produces. In addition to TESP, they’ll take the fan size and speed, then plot out the fan airflow. 4. Measure pressure drops – Finding airflow restrictions requires measuring pres- sure drops across coils and filters. Static pressure measurement across components is as sim- ple as measuring air where it enters and exits the component, then subtracting the lower number from the higher number. The tech compares that pressure num- ber to a static pressure budget (ncilink. com/PSIBudgets). From that he or she can then see if the component is the issue. 5. Measure duct system pressures – Don’t forget about the duct system. Single T alk is cheap, but action moves moun- tains. How do you motivate a technical team to do something new? Companies around the country often struggle to implement new procedures into their business. They get tired of the fight and eventually give up. Teaching a technical team can be difficult. Es- pecially if you add unnecessary obstacles. We can all agree that no two technicians are the same and your style of leading will need to constantly change. Teams need a leader, someone who is will- ing to do the same work that’s expected of them. When you struggle with a team that doesn’t want to do a task, ask yourself whether you’d be willing to do it yourself. If the answer is yes, then you’re in the right place. Former marine drill instructor, movie actor, and motivational speaker R. Lee Emery – aka Gunny (ncilink.com/RLErmey) – stated, “you will not laugh, you will not cry, you will learn by the num- bers, I will teach you.” Gunny stated this perfectly. He didn’t say ‘tell’ you. Instead, he used the word ‘teach.’ That is the key. You need to coach your tech- nical teams verbally and teach them actively. But first you must understand all the prin- ciples and skills that you expect them to use in the field. Once you’ve got a grasp of the information, share it with your team and practice with them. Set aside an hour a week to focus on one specific topic. Be sure to help your team when they need it. If they need you at the job, go there and use that moment as a teaching opportuni- ty to make them better. Stop being a boss and be- come a leader. Why Coaching Is So Important for Your Technical Team By Casey Contreras MANAGEMENT “YOU WILL NOT LAUGH, YOU WILL NOT CRY, YOU WILL LEARN BY THE NUMBERS, I WILL TEACH YOU.”Next >