< Previous20 MAY 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY when the manometer displays 3.5. Now let’s also look at that as a per- centage of what we’re measuring. To calculate the percentage, divide the er- ror by the pressure we’re reading: 0.2 ÷ 3.5 = 0.057 or 5.7%. So our measure- ment would be 3.5-in. W.C. ±5.7%. Let’s look at making that exact mea- surement with Manometer “B.” The specifications for Manometer “B” say that between 2 and 40-in. W.C., the accuracy is ±1% of the reading. Our reading is 3.5-in. W.C. One percent of 3.5 = ±0.035-in. W.C. So we expect the true gas pressure to be between 3.465 and 3.535-in. W.C. when the manom- eter reads 3.5. Suppose we keep repeating this ex- ercise using all three manometers. In that case, we must either convert an error in inches of W.C. into a percent, or convert a percent into an error in inches of W.C. Keep in mind that for Manometer B, it’s the opposite cal- culation above or below 2-in. W.C. For Manometer C, you must do both calculations, then pick whichever one is bigger. Figure 3 shows the result. TEST 1: THE GAS MANIFOLD TEST Any of the three manometers would be accurate enough to give a meaning- ful measurement. The errors are all within a few percent of the measure- ment, so it’s not likely you’ll think the gas pressure is OK when it’s too high or too low, or think it’s a problem when it’s actually OK. TEST 2: THE SUPPLY PLENUM PRESSURE TEST Now look at the supply plenum pres- sure. If measured with Manometer A, the error is 200% or 0.2 inches of water column. That could be a prob- lem. Imagine your manometer read- ing is 0.1-in. W.C., when in reality, there is 0.3-in. W.C. in the supply ple- num. It’s way too high! You’d think ev- erything is OK when it’s not OK at all. That measurement is so inaccurate that it’s not useful. Next, let’s look at Manometer “B.” It tells us that the pressure is 0.1-in. W.C., but it could be as high as 0.12-in. W.C. or as low as 0.08-in. W.C.: plus or minus 20%. That generally tells you whether there’s a problem, but you wouldn’t be too confident about the readings. The error will worsen if that pres- sure is lower at the next house. TEST 3: THE BEDROOM PRESSURE TEST Now for the hard one; a bedroom pressure of 0.01-in. W.C. In this ex- ample, you’re running the HVAC sys- tem at full capacity and measuring the pressure in each room with the door closed to see if there’s a clear path for the air to get back to the return. In this example, only manome- ter “C” provides a reading accurate enough to be useful. Red is not accurate enough, and yel- low is probably useful, but could occa- sionally be misleading. In the first scenario, we measure gas pressure with Manometer “A.” The manufacturer’s specifications are 0.5%. But any time you see a percent- age, you should ask yourself, “Percent of what?” In this case, it’s a percent of Full Scale. For this manometer, the full-scale reading is 40-in. W.C., and 0.5% of 40-in. W.C. is 0.2-in. W.C. So, this is really a fixed pressure error; the error is ±0.2-in. W.C. at any reading. FIGURE 3 – COMMON MANOMETER TESTS When we measure 3.5-in. W.C., it’s ±0.2-in. W.C. That means we expect the true pressure in the gas manifold to be between 3.3 and 3.7-in. W.C. TECHNICAL MAY 2023 21HVACTODAY.COM “fixed percentage” part of the graph. Manometer “B” starts ramping up at 2-in. W.C., and Manometer “C” starts ramping up way down at 0.055-in. W.C. KEY TAKEAWAYS: HVAC technicians must measure many different pressures accurately enough to make confident decisions. But manufacturer’s specifications can be complicated and make it more challenging to know if the instrument is right for the job. Hopefully, this in- formation will help you select the right manometer or know if the one you al- ready have gives you reliable infor- mation to make important decisions about system performance. half – that’s why it skyrockets at low pressures. But it’s hard to see what happens at low pressures with manometers “B” and “C.” It looks like they shoot up to infinity really fast. But that’s not what’s going on. To see it, we must change the graph to a log scale (see Figure 5). You don’t need to worry about what that means; you need to know that this lets you zoom in on the low- er pressures and higher errors. FIGURE 5: ENHANCED ACCURACY VS. PRES- SURE CHART Manometer “A” still shows an error of 1% at 20-in. W.C. and Ma- nometer “B” still shows an error of 1% down to 2-in. W.C., and then it starts to go up. But now we can see what’s happening with a tiny reading of 0.01-in. W.C., which is the bed- room pressure in our ex- ample. Manometer “C” has an error of 5% at that reading, and Manometers “A” and “B” are off the chart – over 100% error. This graph shows us how all three manometers will ramp up when they get to that “fixed pressure” error at the lower end of their specifications, but they start ramping up at differ- ent starting points. We can also see that manometers “B” and “C” have a flat line when they get down to the This measurement determines if you need to add transfer grilles, jump duct, or a larger door undercut to al- low air to flow back to the return when that door is closed. Manometer “C” will reliably tell you if that bedroom pressure is a problem. THE WHOLE RANGE If we want to see the entire accuracy picture, we can make a graph (see Fig- ure 4) to compare all three manome- ters over their full range. This is easiest to do by looking at the measurement error as a percent of the reading. Here’s what that looks like: FIGURE 4: ACCURACY VS. PRESSURE CHART This graph shows that at pressures above 25-in. W.C., Manometer “A” is the most accurate – the blue line has the lowest error. That’s because of that small percentage: 0.5%. But once you get down to 20.-W.C., the error is doubled to 1%. And when you go down to 1-in. W.C., the error dou- bles again. In fact, it just keeps doubling every time the measurement goes down by Steve Rogers owns The Energy Conservatory (TEC), a manufacturing company specializing in home performance. The firm pro- duces the MINNEAPOLIS brand precision diagnostic equipment and develops processes to solve building comfort, energy use, durability, and air quality problems. Steve can be reached at ncilink. com/ContactMe .22 MAY 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY z Idea Meeting: This contractor-only session was hosted by Vince Di- Filippo of DiFillipo’s Ser- vice, Paoli, PA and Mike Weil of NCI. The session was divided into two one-hour sections: one dedicated to High-Performance Lead Generation and the other to Sales . Attendees presented their ideas on each topic and then voted for those they felt were the best. The winning ideas were from Dawn Mroczek of GV’s Heat- ing (Lead Generation) and John White- head from Honest Heating and Cool- ing (Sales). z Exhibitor Showcase: Twenty-two ex- hibitors shared the latest technologies and services with attendees through- out the conference. Their tabletop dis- plays were in the general session ball- room providing contractors the ability to speak with them during breaks and reg- ularly scheduled show hours. Exhibitors also participated in NCI’s an- nual Preferred Partner Prize Drawing. At- tendees received “game cards” that had to be stickered by each exhibitor, then turned in to be eligible for the drawing. z State of the High-Performance HVAC Industry: Dominick Guarino de- livered the state of this segment of the HVAC Industry and the impact Rob Falke had on it. z Summit 2023 Awards and Recog- nitions: This event is the highlight of every Summit. Here the NCI manage- ment team recognizes excellence in the High-Performance HVAC industry. The 2023 conference marked the 19th year that NCI recognizes excellence in many different categories. Winners are as follows: — Small Contractor of the Year : JN Electrical, Bowersville, GA — Medium Contractor of the Year : Crossway Mechanical, Tomball, TX — Large Contractor of the Year : Cardinal Heating and Air Condition- ing, Sun Prairie, WI — John Garofalo Implementation Excellence Award : Getzschman Heat- ing, Fremont, NE — David Debien Award for Tech- nical Excellence : Cliff Dennis, Vass- ers Service of Richmond, Mechanics- ville, VA — Scott Johnson Training Excel- lence Award : Hearn Plumbing and Heating, Madison, OH — High-Performance Sales Ex- cellence Award : Will Horner, Canco ClimateCare, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada — The Rob Falke Servant Leader Award : This new award is in memory of Rob “Doc” Falke. The inaugural winner is Mike Greany, Aire Rite AC & Refrigera- tion, Corona, CA — The Spirit of Excellence Award : This also is a new award. The 2023 in- augeral winner is Tom Turner, Austin Energy , Austin, TX. — The Preferred Partner Award : Daikin Comfort Technologies — The Chairman’s Award : Greg Wal- lace, Progressive Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing, Newnan, GA We will cover the entire Summit in more detail online very soon. And stay tuned: Summit 2024 will be in Asheville, NC. Another Summit is in “The Books” The 2023 edition of National Com- fort Institute’s (NCI) High-Performance HVAC Summit took center stage in Bran- son, MO from April 17th to the 20th. More than 100 contractors, preferred partners, and other industry luminaries gathered to celebrate the importance of taking the critical steps to building a solid high performance maintenance program. This year’s pro- gram format was all interactive and driv- en by the attendees. Every session had a facilitator, but the conversation was driven by the at- tendees themselves. From the pre-con- ference kick off to the closing luncheon, excitement radi- ated as contractors networked, interact- ed with exhibitors, and spent three days learning. Some of the key highlights of this year’s program include: z Reach For The Summit: Returning champion Dawn Mroczek of GV’s Heat- ing faced off against Hunter Wallace of Progressive Heating. Contestants an- swered multiple-choice questions from real-world installation and service sce- narios. Then, the audience voted via the NCI Summit 2023 mobile app for the an- swer they thought was correct. Each question was followed up with commentary from the tag team duo of David Holt and David Richardson, who discussed the merits of each answer and which way they felt the audience would vote. The winner was Hunter Wallace. NCI UPDATE MAY 2023 23HVACTODAY.COMHVAC SMART MART 24 MAY 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAD INDEX HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM Publisher Dominick Guarino Editor-in-Chief Mike Weil Art Director Judy Marquardt Online Development Director Brian Roseman Circulation Manager Andrea Begany-Garsed To Subscribe to High-Performance HVAC Today: ONLINE: Visit HVACToday.com/subscribe for a FREE digital subscription. PRINT: 1 year/$72; single copy $7. Canada: 1 year/$92; single copy $9. Payable in advance with U.S. funds. Prepaid subscriptions may be sent to: High-Performance HVAC Today, PO Box 147, Avon Lake, OH 44012. Phone: 440-949-1850; toll free 800-633-7058; or visit HVACToday.com/subscribe to order online. Go to ncilink.com/ContactMe with your comments and questions. MAY 2023 25HVACTODAY.COM Arzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com ...................................................... 5 Baker Distributing Company | www.BakerDist.com ........................................................... 24 Duct Saddles | www.DuctSaddles.com ..................................................................................... 14 Evergreen Telemetry | www.EvergreenTelemetry.com ........................................................ 2 Goodman Manufacturing | www.GoodmanMfg.com ....................................................... 22 Lazco Corporation | www.Lazcocorp.com ............................................................................. 25 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com .......................................................................... 27 Sauermann | www.sauermanngroup.com .............................................................................. 9 TEC (The Energy Conservatory) | www.energyconservatory.com ............................... 14 The New Flat Rate | www.TheNewFlatRate.com ................................................................ 24 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 24 Tru Tech Tools | www.TruTechTools.com ...................................................................................13 Advertiser IndexAdvertiser Index26 MAY 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY PAINT A PICTURE One of the best ways to make your company stand out is by showing them you are a high-per- formance HVAC organization, and what that means for your employees and your customers. For starters, paint a picture of what a day in the life of a service tech, comfort advisor, or installer looks like working for a company with a High-Per- formance culture. You must show them how you are different. Also show how there are clear paths for advancement within your organization. To attract Gen Z’s and Millennials, you also need to structure your company so it can accom- modate varying life-work balances. I’m not sug- gesting you coddle employees. Just the opposite: find out what motivates a prospective hire, and make the position work for both of you with clear, written expectations. A DIFFERENT POND A contractor recently shared with me that he rarely hires talent from other companies, and candidates fresh out of trade school typically have to be retrained. Instead he “grows his own,” and takes advan- tage of every opportunity to look for talent out- side our industry. His favorites include car deal- erships, both in the showroom and the shop, and other in-home service companies. The bottom line is we have to learn to “fish in different ponds.” HVAC can be taught. Other at- tributes like a great attitude and people skills are harder to teach, often impossible. In the book, Good to Great, author Jim Col- lins emphasizes the importance of getting the right people on the bus. When you have the right people, you can always figure out the best seats for them on the bus. Let’s be more open-minded as we look for the right people on our buses. I n March 2022, “One More Thing” column was about our shortage of HVAC technicians. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the current rate of employment in HVAC, we are inching closer to only having one in two techni- cian slots filled by 2027 – four short years away! As an industry, we must work together to not just stem that tide, but reverse it — ASAP. So where is everyone? Some are living in their parents’ basements trying to figure out if they real- ly ever want to work again. Others have joined the “Gig” economy, basically selling their time. This includes ride-share driving, providing day labor, subcontracting, and trying any other way they can to make a living outside of a traditional job. OVERCOMING THE STIGMA The HVAC industry and other trades are feeling the pinch more that other service industries. Why? The trades are saddled with the stigma of being where kids who aren’t college material end up. The trades are viewed as dead-end low-paying jobs. However, a closer look, shows that nothing is further from the truth. We have a growing, thriv- ing industry filled with opportunities, whether people want to work with their hands, like to be challenged by cutting edge technologies, or real- ly enjoy helping customers make their homes as safe, healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient as possible. In comparison to other service industries, HVAC pays quite well. Many technicians can grow to make six figures and have a lifestyle that often exceeds that of a college graduate. So how do we get across how different HVAC service is from the stereotype that has plagued us for decades? We must start pro- moting ourselves as an industry of well- paid professional craftsmen, not tradesmen. ONE MORE THING... By Dom Guarino High-Performance HVAC Can Help Solve Our Technician Shortage Problem Dominick Guarino is publisher of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine and CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at ncilink.com/ ContactMe . MAY 2023 27HVACTODAY.COMNext >