< PreviousNCI’s ALL-NEW conference design let’s you personalize your experience based on your knowledge and comfort level with each topic! THIS TIME High- Performance HVAC Summit 2022 MARCH 27 - 31, 2022 SCOTTSDALE , AZ.NCI’s High-Performance HVAC Summit has become the gathering place for Performance-Based Contractors from across North America. It’s the only event of its kind completely focused on selling and delivering High-Performance HVAC systems. This conference is open to the entire industry. Summit is a gathering that welcomes like-minded people who are open and willing to share with their fellow high-performance HVAC professionals. This year we decided to do things a little differently. We created a breakout session approach where each topic area will have three options: Novice – Choose this level if you’re just beginning to learn the specific discipline. Practitioner – This stage is for attendees who have begun practicing these skills, and want to take it up a notch – or just need a refresher Mastery – Choose this option if you’re already proficient in a specific area, and are ready for the next level This new conference design lets you choose sessions based on where you are today. You may need a Novice session in some areas, while in others you may be ready for Practitioner or even Mastery level training – you choose! BE SURE TO BRING YOUR KEY PEOPLE With the three different levels of sessions available, there will be 18 different break-out workshops to choose from! With so many breakouts we recommend you bring at least three people this year. Be sure to check out our special Three-Pack offer! Visit the Summit Week website at GoToSummit.com to reserve your seats for what is shaping up to be the best Summit ever. Seats are limited this year and going fast, so don’t delay, register for Summit 2022 today—and take your High-Performance HVAC business to the next level! SPECIAL EVENTS Welcome Reception & Celebration: Meet up with old friends and make new ones at this Welcome Extravaganza. Join your fellow Contractors from across North America to cele- brate our industry’s resilience during the tough times of the past year. NCI Partners Reception and Trade Show: Our Partners help make this conference pos- sible. Show your appreciation by attending the trade show events. You might find that next great product or idea! Idea Meeting: All contractor attendees are invited to this two-part event where each participant can propose one or more ideas in the areas of lead generation and sales. Don’t forget to bring your ideas and $20 entrance fee. The best ideas split the pot for great cash prizes! NCI Partners Educational Sessions: Pick from several special sessions hosted by NCI Member Re- wards Partners. Topics will range from new HVAC technologies, to software, to business improvement seminars. Awards Banquet: This long-standing tradition is one of the highlights of every Summit. Join us in honoring the best of the best High-Performance HVAC contractors. You may be one of them! Tee off at the beautiful Saguaro golf course: This year, we’re proud to introduce our Summit Golf Outing! We’ll have plenty of fun and surprises as we gather for a friendly game of golf. Lunch is included and club rental is available. For more information and to register, visit GoToSummit.com/golf/. Personalize your Summit experience!Session one: Airflow Diagnostics and Air Upgrade Workshops NOVICE: USE AIRMAXX LITE ™ TO EDUCATE YOUR CUSTOMER How A Simple App Can Help Customers Understand Static Pressure And Airflow Workshop Leader: David Holt Properly measuring and understanding Total External Static Pressure (TESP), provides clues as to why your customer’s heating and cooling system is not operating as well as it should. Poor airflow resulting from excessive static pressure at the fan can result in uncomfortable rooms and inefficient operation. Identifying and solving static pressure issues leads to happier customers and profitable sales. PRACTITIONER: AIRFLOW HOODS: THE GO-TO TEST INSTRUMENT FOR AIR UPGRADES Get The Most From Your Airflow Hood Investment! Workshop Leader: Rob Falke One of the key factors in designing an Air Upgrade is knowing delivered airflows at the registers and grilles. A flow hood or air capture hood is an essential tool for quickly identifying poor airflow. In this workshop NCI’s own “Doc” Falke will show you the different types of hoods, and what works best for residential diagnostics. MASTERY: IDENTIFY DUCT INSULATION DEFECTS IN THREE EASY STEPS Sharpen Your Duct System Diagnostic Skills Workshop Leader: David Richardson When ducts aren’t properly sized, sealed, and insulated they can cause long run-times, discomfort, and wasted energy use. Learn how to quickly identify duct insulation defects in three simple steps. You will also learn how system temperatures are so important to overall comfort and system performance. Session Two: High-Performance Sales Workshops NOVICE: GENERATE LEADS FOR PROFITABLE AIR UPGRADES Help Your Customers Understand What An Air Upgrade Can Do For Them Workshop Leader: John Puryear It’s not enough to measure static pressure on your service and sales calls. To convince your customer to take action, you need to be able to communicate your findings and what the readings mean in terms the customer can understand. PRACTITIONER: SO YOU HAVE A DIAGNOSTICS-GENERATED LEAD. NOW WHAT? How To Build An Air Upgrade & Renovation Sales Machine Workshop Leader: Rob Falk e Each of your company’s customers is already an Air Upgrade lead. In fact, they already want it, but don’t yet know what it is, what it can do for them, or where to get it. When you perform static pressure testing on every service call, your company already has what it takes to generate these valuable leads. MASTERY: HOW TO PRICE PROFITABLE AIR UPGRADES & RENOVATIONS Price Air Upgrades And Duct System Renovations Based On Their Worth Workshop Leader: David Holt When pricing high-performance system upgrades and renovations, you must focus more on the lifetime value delivered and less on the estimated job cost. When you only consider raw costs, you minimize the craftsmanship involved in creating the high-performance results associated with your customer-built solutions. Breakout Sessions Click here for more info on Session One Click here for more info on Session TwoSession Three: High-Performance Implementation NOVICE: BUILD CRAFTSMEN, NOT LABORERS How To Overcome Flawed Perceptions With Your Installers Workshop Leader: Jeff Sturgeon Craftsmanship is no easy task. It’s not something you’re born with, rather it develops over time with mentorship.The truth is, to make a great system design work it takes a craftsman to install it correctly. Unfortunately, most installers don’t understand the important role that they play in delivering high-performance systems. PRACTITIONER: HOW TO CREATE CUSTOM AIR UPGRADES Make Air Upgrades The Center of Your High-Performance Strategy Workshop Leader: David Richardson Air Upgrades are the perfect starting point for improving equipment performance as well as improved comfort and energy efficiency. In this session you will learn how to assemble customized Air Upgrade kits based on the installation conditions you see most. MASTERY: ARE YOU LOSING MONEY DUE TO POOR INVENTORY MANAGEMENT? Minimize Job Cost With Better Inventory Management Workshop Leader: David Holt Your sales team can make a profitable sale on paper, only to have the profits evaporate due to ineffective inventory management processes. From truck stock to installation and Air Upgrade kits, this workshop will help you learn ways to be more profitable through a well-designed and executed inventory management plan. Session Four: Take it to the Next Level With High-Performance Software NOVICE: USE COMFORTMAXX AIR ™ ON EVERY SYSTEM YOU TEST! How To Make ComfortMaxx Air The Most Valuable Tool In Your Arsenal Workshop Leader: John Puryear Discover how NCI’s ComfortMaxx Air™ software can help you win over more customers and sell more Air Upgrades by demonstrating third party validation of your findings. PRACTITIONER: COMFORTMAXX PULSE ™ SYSTEM PERFORMANCE TESTING Help Turn Your Techs Into Diagnostic Machines Workshop Leader: Jeff Sturgeon In this session, you will learn how NCI’s ComfortMaxx Pulse™ software can aid you in your diagnostics and customer participation. This tool will help make your technicians diagnostic “machines.” The workshop will cover each of the steps needed to collect the right pressures and temperatures, and generate a Pulse report you can review with your customer. MASTERY: TOTAL HVAC SYSTEM RATING WITH COMFORTMAXX VERIFY ™ The Ultimate System Performance Verification Tool Workshop Leader: David Richardson Learn how to prove the performance of your field-installed systems with NCI’s ComfortMaxx Verify™ software. In this ground-breaking session, you’ll discover how system verification can provide your customers with the ultimate peace-of-mind — and how it sets you apart from your competition. Click here for more info on Session Three Click here for more info on Session Four Breakout SessionsSession Five: High-Performance Town Workshops NOVICE: DEVELOP GOOD STATIC PRESSURE HABITS Hands-on Workshop Leader: John Puryear Static pressure testing quickly opens the door to airflow diagnostics. This simple test can uncover unseen opportunities for technicians and salespeople, and help installers provide higher quality installations. PRACTITIONER: MASTER TRUE AIRFLOW DIAGNOSTICS Hands-on Workshop Leader: Jeff Sturgeon When it comes to HVAC system diagnostics, our industry has been using rules of thumb for far too long. These practices continue to cause misleading diagnosis and im- proper repairs—not to mention occupant discomfort, unhealthy homes, safety issues, and needless energy waste. MASTERY: AVOID THE TOP 10 Btu MEASUREMENT MISTAKES Hands-on Workshop Leader: Rob Falke Btu measurement is a critical and exacting practice. Errors of just a few tenths of a degree can result in a major misdiagnosis and improper repairs. Discover Btu mea- surement mistakes that can easily be avoided in the field so you can accurately provide correct equipment and system diagnostics. Session Six: Carbon Monoxide and Combustion NOVICE: TWO MUST-DO COMBUSTION SAFETY TESTS Keep Your Customers Safe! Workshop Leader: Tom Johnson Ambient CO and building pressure testing are critical to help assure both technician and customer safety. In this workshop you’ll learn how to measure ambient CO, what test equipment you need, the action levels your team needs to know, and how to discuss your findings with your customers. PRACTITIONER: VISION BEYOND SIGHT WITH COMBUSTION TESTING Give Your Customers The Value They Deserve Workshop Leader: Jeff Sturgeon The right knowledge and test instruments can help give you X-ray vision when it comes to combustion testing. There are a lot of myths out there that can lead you astray. We will expose the most common ones and debunk many of these misconceptions. MASTERY: ADVANCED VENTING AND COMBUSTION AIR SOLUTIONS Solve Even The Toughest Combustion Issues Workshop Leader: David Richardson In this session, David will focus on why proper combustion testing is crucial to identify the right repairs and how to determine the most effective solutions. You will discover why venting and combustion air repairs are important and ways to help your team understand and explain them. Click here for more info on Session Five Click here for more info on Session Six Breakout SessionsTo get the most from SUMMIT bring your whole team! Ask about our special Three-Pack Offer Visit GoToSummit.com or call 800.633.7058 Session Speakers Rob Falke NCI President Session One — Practitioner: Airflow Hoods: The Go-To Test Instrument for Air Upgrades Session Two — Practitioner: So You Have a Diagnostics-Generated Lead. Now What? Session Five — Mastery: Avoid the Top 10 Btu Measurement Mistakes Dominick Guarino Publisher of High-Performance HVAC Today and CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. General Sessions Award Banquest and Presentations Ceremony David Holt NCI Director of National Accounts Session One — Novice: Use AirMaxx Lite™ to Educate Your Customer Session Two — Mastery: How to Price Profitable Air Upgrades & Renovations Session Three — Mastery: Are you Losing Money Due to Poor Inventory Management? Tom Johnson NCI Instructor Session Six — Novice: Two Must-Do Combustion Safety Tests John Puryear NCI Customer Care Representative and Instructor Session Two — Novice: Generate Leads For Profitable Air Upgrades Session Four — Novice: Use ComfortMaxx Air™ on Every System You Test! Session Five — Novice: Develop Good Static Pressure Habits David Richardson NCI Curriculum Developer and Instructor Session One — Mastery: Identify Duct Insulation Defects in Three Easy Steps Session Three — Practitioner: How to Create Custom Air Upgrades Session Four — Mastery: Total HVAC System Rating with ComfortMaxx Verify™ Session Six — Mastery: Advanced Venting and Combustion Air Solutions Jeff Sturgeon NCI Field Coach and Instructor Session Three — Novice: Build Craftsmen, not Laborers Session Four — Practitioner: ComfortMaxx Pulse™ System Performance Testing Session Five — Practitioner: Master True Airflow Diagnostics Session Six — Practitioner: Vision Beyond Sight with Combustion Testing Mike Weil Editor-in-chief of High-Performance HVAC Today and Director of Communications at National Comfort Institute, Inc. General Sessions MC: Idea Session WinnersMONDAY, March 28 Pre-Summit Events 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Goodman Business Planning Bootcamp 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Advanced Airflow Diagnostics with Hands-on –Recertification Class 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Advanced CO & Combustion Diagnostics – Recertification Class 5:15 pm - 5:45 pm Summit Orientation Meeting - All Welcome! 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Welcome Reception Sponsored by TUESDAY, March 29 7:00 am - 9:00 am Breakfast and Interactive Opening Session 9:15 am - 10:45 am Breakout Sessions 1 – Workshops 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Breakout Sessions 2 – Workshops 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Luncheon and General Session 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Breakout Sessions 3 – Workshops 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm Idea Exchange Meeting – Optional 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm NCI Partner Trade Show Reception WEDNESDAY, March 30 8:00 am - 9:15 am Breakfast & State of High-Performance HVAC with NCI CEO, Dominick Guarino 9:30 am – 11:00 am Breakout Sessions 4 – Workshops 11:15 am to 1:15 pm NCI Partners Trade Show and Luncheon 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Breakout Sessions 5 – Workshops 3:30 pm - 4:15 pm NCI Partners Educational Sessions 4:30 pm - 5:15 pm General Session: Idea Session Winners and Partner Prize Drawing 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Sponsor Appreciation Cocktail Reception 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Awards Banquet and Presentation Ceremony THURSDAY, March 31 8:00 am - 9:30 am Breakfast & General Session 9:45 am – 10:30 am NCI Partners Educational Sessions 10:45 am – 12:15 pm Breakout Sessions 6 – Workshops 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm Closing Luncheon with NCI President, Rob Falke EVENT & LODGING 10438 WeKoPa Way Fort McDowell, AZ (855) 957-9467 Reserve your room now to get the special NCI rate $189 00 / per night including resort fees http://ncilink.com/2022hotel Register today at GoToSummit.com or call 800.633.7058 Schedule of Events HVAC SUMMIT 2022 HIGH-PERFORMANCEHVACTODAY.COM FEBRUARY 2022 17 How You Can Avoid the Top 10 Btu Measurement Mistakes By Rob Falke TECHNICAL can accurately provide correct equipment and system diagnostics and troubleshooting once you understand them. BTU MEASUREMENT IN HALF THE TIME AND DOUBLE THE ACCURACY Our Btu measurement procedures and test in- struments were archaic in the early days. It took two to three hours to measure a system’s Btu, and we were lucky to measure and calculate within ± 15% accuracy. Today, many experienced and cer- tified professionals can measure system Btu in about an hour with an accuracy of ±7.5%. National Comfort Institute’s (NCI) original Btu test procedures were once bogged down by what we didn’t yet understand. Since an operating heating or cooling system constantly changes air temperature, detailed procedures had you chas- ing readings all over the building, then running to verify the rate of change and estimating what the Btu deliver might be. Our lack of knowledge about temperature probe location also evolved rapidly as we overcame bar- riers through testing and technical support with many of you in the field. Gaining testing experi- ence also increased both speed and accuracy. Temperature measurement instruments have been upgraded many times since the days when we carried a pocket full of analog thermometers. Back then, we had to manually calibrate the batch of thermometers and then run from thermometer to thermometer to write down the readings be- fore the system temperatures changed. Today, we use a tool bag full of Bluetooth tem- perature probes that report indoor and outdoor ambient, equipment, and system entering and exiting temperature values in precise measure- ment units. And best of all, our instruments D ecades ago, when NCI first began to teach system and equipment Btu mea- surement, our test procedures pulled you into a deep and detailed science experiment that used test instruments consid- ered antique by today’s standards. Current Btu test procedures and instruments reduce your test time by more than half and double the accuracy. With this in mind, there is little reason for NOT doing Btu measurements and even less reason for not doing them correctly. BTU MEASUREMENT MALPRACTICE Although you aren’t a medical or legal practi- tioner, the term malpractice fits well with poor- ly executed Btu measurement. Malpractice is de- fined as “a dereliction of professional duty or a failure to exercise an ordinary degree of profes- sional skill or learning.” Typical mistakes include three common cal- culation errors, five typical temperature testing faults, and two airflow testing inaccuracies. Btu measure- ment is a criti- cal and exacting practice. Minor errors can result in major misdi- agnosis and im- proper repairs. As you discov- er Btu measure- ment mistakes, you will find they are easily avoid- able, and you 18 FEBRUARY 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY Meet Rob Falke at NCI Summit 2022 Rob “Doc” Falke, president of National Comfort Institute (NCI) will provide hands-on Performance Town training at NCI’s An- nual High-Performance HVAC Summit in Scottsdale, AZ from March 27th to 31st. So if you want to see this article come to life, join us there. You can learn more about Summit 2022 at our web- site: gotosummit.com. There is still time to take advantage of early bird regis- tration. It ends on February 15, 2022 . You can still save hundreds on your registration costs. And don’t forget to book your hotel. Go to ncilink.com/WeKoPa22 to reserve your rooms today. If you have questions, be sure to call 800-633-7058 and ask for a Customer Care Representative. HVAC SUMMIT 2022 HIGH-PERFORMANCE wet bulb temperatures. Then you plot equipment rated capacity. Once you measure and calculate de- livered Btu, you divide it by equip- ment-rated Btu to find the percentage of Btu the system delivers. To avoid all three calculation prob- lems, consider using Comfort- Maxx™ (ncilink.com/CMaxx4-0) software. When entering system test data into the software, each of the above mea- surement units, multipliers, and cor- rections are pre-selected for you. A new ComfortMaxx™ feature in- cludes an autofill equipment-rated Btu capacity. FIVE TYPICAL TEMPERATURE TESTING MISTAKES Using old school test instru- ments – That’s a mistake. Accurate Btu testing requires you to use tem- perature probes that simultaneous- ly gather and report all equipment and system temperatures. If you don’t have enough probes to capture all the data at once, you can test the grille and register air temperatures, then test the equipment immediately after. Improper test probe locations – Temperature probes placed near the outlet of the equipment may pick up radiant heating or cooling and throw temperature readings off by up to 25%. So place probes out of sight of heat ex- changers, cooling coils, or heat strips. Not knowing when to capture test data – Timing is an essential consideration when gathering tem- perature field data. When a system is operating, air temperatures constant- ly change. For example, simultane- ously collecting equipment and reg- ister information is ideal and impacts accuracy. Adjust the thermostat or equip- ment so the equipment continues to operate during the test. Then assure the equipment is operating at full ca- pacity and stabilized before testing. Inaccurate supply and return grille temperature averages – To avoid this, find average grille air temperatures, take grille temperature measurements to the nearest tenth of collect every needed reading and re- cord it simultaneously. Converting wet bulb readings to en- thalpy using charts and conversion factors are also slipping into history. THREE COMMON CALCULATION ERRORS Typically, you juggle up to 100 air- flow, temperature, and system data values during Btu field testing. It’s not uncommon to lose your place or flip- flop numbers when making calcula- tions, especially when filling out paper reports using the calculator on your phone. Is it Delta T or Delta H? – Del- ta T (temperature difference) and Del- ta H (enthalpy difference) are often swapped when testing and making Btu calculations. Since many tempera- ture probes show all types of tem- perature values at one time on your smartphone, a repeated error is re- cording the opposite temperature unit of measurement. Remember, in heat- ing mode, use ∆t, and in cooling mode, use ∆h. Btu multiplier substitution – Using the incorrect Btu multiplier is one of the most common mistakes made in the field. Using the wrong multiplier is easier than you think be- cause measured Btus are often so low that the calculated Btu value is hard to reckon immediately. When calculat- ing cooling Btus, the multiplier is 4.5. The heating mode multiplier is 1.08. Adjusted equipment rated ca- pacity – Equipment rated capacity at the time of testing is the divisor in the formula that makes Btu diagnos- tics easy. To be accurate, you measure and re- cord ambient dry bulb, and entering HVACTODAY.COMFEBRUARY 2022 19 TECHNICAL cy regularly improves as you practice, gain experience, and grow your skills. I remember the day when David Richardson had less than one month of Btu measurement experience un- der his belt and hit his first barrier. His opening words on the phone were, “I have learned system testing doesn’t work for me.” When I asked why, he responded, “I just measured 122% of equipment rated Btu on a system, and that’s impossible!” You will face many obstacles as you learn to measure system Btus accurate- ly. The question is, will you be like Da- vid and overcome and learn from each obstacle? Or will you be easily derailed by a few barriers you will undoubtedly face as you take your career far beyond the rest of the industry? verse location near the equipment. Ideally, you will build your systems with reliable traverse locations. You can measure static pressure and plot fan airflow, but at times this may not be accurate enough to satisfy your equipment Btu calculation needs. Airflow at the supply registers – To- tal airflow entering a building through supply registers is required to calculate system delivered Btu. A balancing hood is easy and accurate when you can get to all the registers. When you can’t, tra- verse the grilles and be sure to make a custom field correction factor. OVERCOME BTU OBSTACLES Although you learned the basics of Btu measurement when you were cer- tified, you’ll discover that your accura- a degree, add them together and di- vide by the number of readings taken. Hitting the wrong numbers on your phone is way too easy for most of us. Confirm your calculation twice. No outdoor ambient or enter- ing wet bulb readings – Outdoor dry bulb and equipment entering wet bulb readings in cooling mode are both required to determine current equip- ment rated capacity. Unfortunately, since we don’t do any math with these two temperatures, we only plot their equipment-rated capacity; it’s easy to skip collecting them in the field. TWO POSSIBLE AIRFLOW INACCURACIES Airflow at the equipment – It’s of- ten difficult to find a good airflow tra-Next >