< PreviousDo you follow laws in your business, or do you strive to provide truth? Most contractors fixate on the rules of our industry. They believe that if they install HVAC equipment by following the codes and standards, they provide customers with the best systems. Unfortunately, code-compliant sys- tems usually only deliver 63% of that equipment’s capability. I understand why contractors fear not follow- ing the law — they worry about getting into trou- ble or failing inspections. These problems can happen when inspectors don’t understand why you did what you did. The only way to prevent an issue with customers and the powers that be is to test, install, and service based on truth. HERE’S A STORY In my early days, I was a technician who prided myself on following codes and standards. I’d sell a job based on code. I’d bad-mouth the install- ing contractor for their lack of compliance when I found something not installed to code. I’d tell customers, “The unit doesn’t work correctly be- cause somebody didn’t follow the code.” After a few years of working in the field, expe- riencing many comfort complaints, and seeing parts fail, I realized that following the law didn’t work. I lost faith in it. It wasn’t until I learned that HVAC products and equipment are simply com- ponents of an entire system that I learned what I call the truth. Part of this truth is that I needed to examine other areas of the system before touching the re- frigerant circuit. It was a hard truth to under- stand that only making an equipment repair of- ten did not fix the system. The truth goes beyond checking temperature changes (ΔT) or adjusting gas pressure to 3.5-in. w.c. T he NCI training team recently wrapped up our yearly Trainer’s Week event. It is a week jam-packed with learning, cama- raderie, and more food than anyone can handle. Every New Year’s, people worldwide decide to create their resolutions and go on a diet. Well, not us. We must make a Trainer’s Week res- olution because of the extra 50 pounds we put on. The group of guys I work with are amazing. I have never met so many who have a professional purpose to help the contractors and technicians in this industry. Many trainers teach for glory and self-worth, but not these guys. There was a distinct theme this year, and it was all about what we can do for the people we serve. THE BATTLE There is an ongo- ing battle between right and wrong, law and truth, and survival and pros- perity. The train- ers were asked to think about this question. Are we teachers of the law or teachers of the truth? In this scenario, the law includes the codes and standards created by the industry to meet government requirements. After kicking it around for a minute, we real- ized we were teachers of the truth. Sure, there are laws within what we teach. We consider these laws true because they have been proven through testing and verification. When there is a law that cannot be tested and consistently proven, we do not teach it. 20 OCTOBER 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY Should HVAC Service Be Based On Law or Truth? By Casey Contreras TECHNICALdo revolves around transferring heat. The equipment removes or adds heat to the air. Airflow across the indoor and out- door coil must be correct in cooling mode. Proper airflow allows the right amount of indoor air heat to be re- moved and the proper amount of heat rejection through the outdoor unit. This is the principle of taking heat from one place and transferring it to another. Lack of Airflow contributes to many of the issues you run into on ev- ery call. Among the issues are low su- perheat, high head pressure, intermit- tent pressure switch faults, refrigerant overcharge, erratic TXV (thermal ex- pansion valve) behavior, failed com- pressor, failed blower motors, high limit switch trips, etc. Low airflow results in excessive heat in heating mode, which wears out heat exchangers and other components. Ponder this for a second: you tune up a furnace to 3.5-in. w.c. on the gas valve, and your ΔT is 71°F. The equipment’s nameplate data specifies 3.5-in. w.c. with a 45° to 75° temperature rise. So all is good, right? Wrong! You have shortened the life of that unit. If you took some extra time and used a combustion analyz- er with the proper measurements, you would have discovered the airflow was only at 76% of what was required. SEEK TO UNDERSTAND One of my favorite sayings from Stephen Covey is SEEK TO UNDER- STAND. I always get a kick out of children who always ask WHY. When they are told not to do something, they will ask, “Why?” If I say I’m fixing something, they ask, “Why?” At every turn and every situation, they always ask that question. As adults, we’ve lost that. It goes back to the saying, don’t ask, just do. In the High-Performance HVAC world, tech- nicians should change that to ask why, to test, and then discover and confirm the truth of how well an HVAC system is operating. The laws in the books today are only useful truths if you can test and find them valid consistently. As technicians, I believe it is our job always to seek to understand by asking why at every turn. Doing this will help you recognize what is true or false and right or wrong. That is the key to your success and cus- tomers’ comfort and safety. By the way, this stuff isn’t always easy, so when you are stuck or unsure about a situation, I invite you to contact me at any time. HERE’S THE TRUTH We have all been indoctrinated to do our jobs according to what others have done for generations. They are tradi- tions. The scariest part is that most technicians don’t test their repairs or modifications to verify what they did works. If you think I’m full of it, I can prove it with these questions. 1. Is hooking up your gauges the first thing you do when you ser- vice an air conditioning unit? 2. Do you adjust gas pressure to a certain inches of water closet (in.- w.c.) when tuning a furnace. If you answered yes to either ques- tion, you have been brainwashed to think this is the correct process. Test-ins are the most crucial test you can do on any system. Test-ins al- low you to see all the invisible issues that occur. The discovery of the hid- den issues starts with Total External Static Pressure (TESP). Indoor fans can only operate cor- rectly under maximum rated TESP — when TESP is too high, equipment airflow is reduced. High TESP often results in airflow of around 285 CFM (cubic feet per minute). That’s far less than it should be — 350 CFM to 450 cfm. Typically, this is what you need for a unit to operate correctly. Of course, that’s dependent on climate. Here’s a thought: As HVAC tech- nicians, you are not refrigerant pres- sure checkers; you are heat trans- fer detectives. Everything that you OCTOBER 2023 21HVACTODAY.COM Casey Contreras is an instructor for National Comfort Institute since 2015. He has many years of residential, light commer- cial installation, and service experience. He became NCI certified in residential and light commercial air balancing, HVAC system performance, duct system optimization, and CO and combustion. He can be reached at ncilink.com/ContactMe.22 OCTOBER 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYDecember 31, 2023, to have this access. If you have questions, call your Custom- er Care Representative at 800-633-7058 . Welcome to Our New Members The National Comfort Institute (NCI) team is pleased to welcome the latest contracting firms to join our High-Per- formance HVAC Contracting member- ship. You all just joined the largest exclu- sive network of High-Performance HVAC professionals nationwide. What does this mean? NCI offers an unparalleled approach to contracting that virtually guarantees you’ll make more money while providing best-in- class service to your customers. New members should visit nationalcomfor- tinstitute.com to learn about member- ship benefits, training opportunities, and more. By the way, while on the site, be sure to register so you have access to all of NCI’s special member benefits. Without further ado, welcome to our newest members: z Southeast Clean Air Solutions LLC, Henrico, VA z Cardinal Heating & Air Conditioning Inc., Sun Prairie, WI z JC Mechanical Heating & Air Condi- tioning, Denver, CO z Detmer & Sons, Inc., Fairborn, OH. We are pleased you all opted to join our family and look forward to hearing from you. Please look for regular member ben- efit updates here, on our social media feeds, and in our email announcements. If anyone has questions about their membership, or would like to join today, call our Customer Care line at 800-633-7058. NCI’s David Richardson Promoted NCI is pleased to announce that David Richardson was recently pro- moted to Vice Pres- ident of Training, effective immedi- ately. According to NCI Chairman and CEO Dominick Guarino, David has done an incredible job rising to the challenge of “filling some very large shoes over the past year and a half since the passing of Rob Falke .” “I think David is the right person for the job. His passion for our mission and core values is immeasurable. He has worked tirelessly since last May balancing man- aging the training team along with cur- riculum development.” Richardson will continue to lead the NCI instructors in his new capacity while building a solid curriculum team. Read more about David Richardson’s promotion at ncilink.com/DR . Ladies and Gentlemen — The High- Performance HVAC Summit 2024 hotel reservation site went live on September 25. In case you haven’t heard, the up- coming Summit event will be held at the Crowne Plaza Asheville in Asheville, NC, from September 10-13, 2024. There are four ways you can reserve a room: 1. Attendees can take advantage of spe- cially negotiated room rates of $174 per night by going to www.ashevil- lecp.com. Enter the dates of your stay, then use the NCI Room Block code of NCI to get the low rate. 2. You can also use the following link, which will automatically add the NCI block code for you: NCI_ Summit_2024. This link is NOT Mobile Compatible! 3. If you’d like to reserve rooms the old-fashioned way, call the Asheville Crowne Plaza toll-free number 844- 330-0296 (open 24/7) and mention the group name of NCI Summit 2024 to receive the special group rate. 4. Finally, for In-House reservations, at- tendees can call the local number during regular business hours — 828- 285-2603 — and mention the group name, NCI Summit 2024 . DON’T FORGET TO REGISTER FOR SUMMIT! No worries if you haven’t already locked in your spot at Summit itself. You can still do so here: gotosummit.com/ summit-registration . Early registrants get several bonuses, including access to the FULL 2023 SUMMIT RECORD- INGS . But you must register for 2024 by NCI UPDATE Summit 2024 Hotel Registration Is Now Open New Members OCTOBER 2023 23HVACTODAY.COMHVAC SMART MART 24 OCTOBER 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAD INDEX HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM Publisher Dominick Guarino Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher 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. OCTOBER 2023 25HVACTODAY.COM Advertiser Index Arzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com ...................................................... 5 Baker Distributing Company | www.BakerDist.com ........................................................... 24 Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, Inc. | www.northamerica-daikin.com 25 Duct Saddles | www.DuctSaddles.com ..................................................................................... 19 Evergreen Telemetry | www.EvergreenTelemetry.com ........................................................ 2 Lazco Corporation | www.Lazcocorp.com ............................................................................. 14 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com .......................................................................... 22 Sauermann | www.sauermanngroup.com ............................................................................ 27 TEC (The Energy Conservatory) | www.energyconservatory.com ............................... 19 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 24 Tru Tech Tools | www.TruTechTools.com ..............................................................................9, 24to IAQ issues, especially in higher humidity ar- eas. An oversized cooling system will short cycle, dropping the indoor temperature but never run- ning enough to remove the moisture. The symp- toms are typically a cave-like, cold, clammy inte- rior space, where mold and mildew easily grow – check shoes in a closet for mildew! INDIRECT CAUSES Some of the indirect HVAC causes for IAQ is- sues include poorly designed or imbalanced air distribution systems. The results include draw- ing dust, dirt, insulation, and moisture from un- conditioned spaces through can lights and other building envelope openings. Poor air distribution systems with high stat- ic pressures and low airflow can condition some areas while others are hot or cold. As a result, parts of a home or building can be comfortable and healthy while others remain uncomfortable and unhealthy due to stagnant air, high CO 2 lev- els, and other related issues. Finally, a major issue caused by pressure im- balances is carbon monoxide. Negative pressures near combustion appliances including furnac- es, water heaters, boilers, even stoves, can cause back drafting or spillage. This leads to re-burning of combustion gases producing carbon monoxide levels that can range from unhealthy to dangerous. The bottom line is when you’re in a home or commercial building with IAQ issues, it’s import- ant to know how to test the performance of the HVAC system in addition to looking for visual clues for sources of indoor pollution. When you take the time to thoroughly test, you also help protect yourself from liability. Plus you can make more accurate recommendations to fix the building or the HVAC system – or both. W hile many IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) problems are caused by building is- sues, the HVAC system can also have a direct or indirect impact on poor air quality. Some indoor pollutants including Volatile Or- ganic Compounds (VOCs), Radon, biological growth (i.e. mold), and dust can be caused by the home or building. Sources of these pollutants in- clude poor construction practices, foundation and/or slab moisture, poor insulation, even lack of maintenance. With some good building science training, as an HVAC contractor you can help identify the caus- es of these problems. But unless you are ready to take on remodeling and other building-side cor- rective actions, it’s usually a good idea to refer that work to another professional. WHEN IS THE HVAC SYSTEM TO BLAME? Many IAQ issues are a direct result of an im- properly designed, installed, or maintained HVAC system. Certainly, you can recommend some of the traditional remedies like better filtra- tion, dehumidification, even UV lights and other products. However, unless the product truly tar- gets the source of the issue, it will be just a band- aid, and the actual causes will continue to exist. So when is the HVAC system a direct or indirect culprit? Let’s start with some of the more obvious direct issues. These include return duct leakage bringing in dirt, dust, and other pollutants from unconditioned areas like attics and crawl spaces. Moisture buildup in and around the air han- dling equipment, especially in coil drain pans, can cause IAQ issues. Indoor coil blow-off from high air velocities also introduces moisture into the duct coil-condenser matches. Improper sys- tem matches can reduce dehumidification as well. Improper system sizing can directly contribute 26 OCTOBER 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY IAQ and HVAC System Performance Are Joined at the Hip Dominick Guarino is publisher of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine and President & CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at ncilink. com/contactme . ONE MORE THING... By Dom GuarinoOCTOBER 2023 27HVACTODAY.COMNext >