< PreviousLEADERSHIP high-performance approach should stop shortchanging themselves. Look in the mirror and know the impact you have on the world. Imagine having the measurements and actual data to back up everything you promise your customers. Any- thing is possible for those who are willing! and instruments necessary to test and measure HVAC and duct systems properly. So far, we’ve ordered Sauer- mann Combustion analyzers and run CO analysis with the NCI worksheet on every maintenance call. We are now proud dealers of the NSA 6000 CO monitor as well. Knowing that our measurements are impacting lives is changing every- thing for our company. We look for- ward to continued growth through our partnership with NCI as we educate our team on testing and diagnosing complete HVAC systems. I know one other fact: I will NOT miss any High-Performance HVAC Summits if I can help it. I recommend that anybody on the fence about whether to consider the HOOKED ON HIGH- PERFORMANCE My experience at the NCI High-Per- formance Summit 2023 got me hooked. I left Branson fired up and ex- cited. When I got home, I spoke with our team about the fantastic possibili- ties I had learned about, and we imme- diately began implementing high-per- formance processes. We have jumped on as much of the NCI training as possible in the nine or 10 months since Summit. Honest Heating and Cooling hosted our first airflow class taught by NCI’s Jim Ball. I also attended a three-day CO train- ing class in Minneapolis with Mark Hunt. Since Summit, we’ve outfitted five service trucks with all the equipment John Whitehead is co-owner of Honest Heating and Cooling Inc., Marshalltown, IA. The company special- izes in residential and light commercial HVAC service and installations, including in-floor radiant heating, boiler service and repair, and more. He attended his first NCI Summit in 2023 and has become a strong advocate for the High-Performance HVAC Contracting approach. You can contact him at ncilink.com/ContactMe. 20 JANUARY 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY22 JANUARY 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAnd don’t forget to book your rooms at the Crown Plaza Asheville Hotel. Be sure to mention NCI to get our low room rate. If you have any questions, call the NCI Customer Care line at 800/633-7058. 2024 NCI Training Schedule As you pre- pare for your team’s train- ing needs in 2024, check out Nation- al Comfort Institute’s (NCI) classes. Our 2024 schedule of online live and in-per- son training is available online at ncilink. com/2024Schedule , with more classes being added over the next few weeks. Classes currently scheduled include: z Airflow Testing and Diagnostics z Commercial Air Balancing z Commercial Air-side Recertification Online Live z Commercial System Performance On- line Live z Combustion Performance and CO Safety Certification z Combustion and Carbon Monoxide Recertification Online Live z Duct System Optimization and Resi- dential Air Balancing Certification z High-Performance HVAC Design and Redesign z Residential HVAC System Performance and Air Balancing Certification z Refrigerant-Side Performance z Residential System Performance Online Live. Keep checking back for schedule up- dates, class additions, and more informa- tion. If you have any questions, contact our Customer Care line at 800/633-7058 . NCI Training Maiden Voyage at New Facility This summer, National Comfort Insti- tute relocated from Cleveland, OH, to Morristown, TN. It’s taken some time to get the offices and facilities renovated and ready to hold live classes there, and despite one or two setbacks, the build- ing is now ready. In fact, the first in-person class held at the 11,000 sq. ft. facility was Airflow Testing & Diagnostics, led by David Richardson, NCI’s vice president of train- ing, on November 30, 2023. Contrac- tors and technicians nationwide joined David and were eager to learn about static pressure and airflow. Long-time NCI member Jason Nikkel, a contractor from JN Electrical Tempera- ture Control, Bowersville, GA, attended and said, “This was an awesome train- ing class. Thank you to David Richardson and the rest of the NCI team for striving to keep the HVAC trade professional and rewarding.” Dominick Guarino, NCI’s CEO, says that upgrades continue to be made to build out the company’s live-fire labs. The plan is for this lab to house six or more perma- nent HVAC systems of different types, in- cluding boiler and hydronic systems. “We hope you will come to visit us for the training and stay for all the awe- some amenities this area offers,” Guari- no says. Late-Breaking NCI Summit 2024 News If you haven’t already done so, mark your calendars for the National Comfort Institute (NCI) High-Performance Sum- mit , which is coming to you in Septem- ber 2024. The dates are September 10 - 13 in Asheville, NC. This year’s Summit focuses on the rapid rate of technological change in the HVAC Industry. The theme is “ Outper- form Your Competition in a Rapidly Changing World .” Sessions will focus on the following technologies that will impact your busi- ness and your customers’ lives: z A2L Refrigerants z Inverter Technologies z Heat Pump Conversions z Electrification z ASHRAE Standard 221 z RESNET/ACCA Standard 31 z Inflation Reduction Act z And more. Join your fellow High-Performance HVAC Contractors at NCI’s Summit to delve into these and other essential top- ics as you set your priorities for 2025 and beyond. Learn more at gotosummit.com . Be sure to register at gotosummit.com/ summit-registration today and take ad- vantage of early bird rates. Remember, you can use your NCI Bucks to help re- duce registration costs. You can also earn NCI bucks on whatever fees you pay. NCI UPDATE JANUARY 2024 23HVACTODAY.COMHVAC SMART MART 24 JANUARY 2024HIGH-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. JANUARY 2024 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 ..................................................................................... 22 Evergreen Telemetry | www.EvergreenTelemetry.com ........................................................ 2 Lazco Corporation | www.Lazcocorp.com ............................................................................. 20 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com .......................................................................... 27 Sauermann | www.sauermanngroup.com ............................................................................ 14 TEC (The Energy Conservatory) | www.energyconservatory.com ............................... 22 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 24 Tru Tech Tools | www.TruTechTools.com ..............................................................................9, 24each floor of a building, above a drop ceiling. This means they are accessible with minimal disrup- tion or damage to the structure. While this may sound like a “no-brainer” for a commercial service company, most of them still never address major causes of unsafe, unhealthy, uncomfortable, and inefficient systems. This means tremendous opportunities for High-Performance HVAC companies. If you are a residential company, could you see transferring your knowledge and skills to light commercial – specifically to solve existing problems on the huge inventory of poorly performing buildings? If you’re already in commercial, have you thought about marketing your company as one that can fix poorly performing buildings? CUSTOMER EDUCATION IS THE KEY Poorly performing buildings desperately need your help. With proper education, many owners will invest in improving their building’s comfort systems. The key is customer education. Unfortunately, most building owners have learned to live with poor performance, and just don’t think about it anymore. As a High-Perfor- mance HVAC professional you can help bring these issues to light, and teach people about their buildings and why they don’t have to live with such deficiencies. In many cases, they also have old equipment, providing opportunities to both replace that equipment and upgrade their entire system. Take a look at this inventory through new lens- es, and you’ll see an opportunity to become the go-to HVAC service company in your market. As a High-Performance contractor you can sell prof- itable solutions that will help you build a substan- tial, loyal customer base and get valuable refer- rals for years to come. B ased on feedback from thousands of Na- tional Comfort Institute (NCI) students, we know HVAC systems in most small to medi- um commercial buildings are a mess. In fact, most have never been properly tested or balanced. Even if a system was tested after construction, years, even decades of poor maintenance and “Tenant Improvement” work often made that building uncomfortable and inefficient. Large commercial buildings have a better chance of working because they were probably balanced by certified TAB (Testing & Balancing) companies. But these buildings make up less than 10% of our commercial building stock. The bulk of U.S. buildings are conditioned by 20-ton and under packaged HVAC systems, and in many cases have never been tested or bal- anced. Even if they were initially tested, most were never tested again. The result is a huge per- centage of poorly performing buildings, both in terms of comfort and energy efficiency. AN UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITY What do High-Performance HVAC service busi- nesses call this? INVENTORY! Companies that invest in the tools and training to improve, bal- ance, and verify system performance are building significant profit centers around these services. NCI has been teaching these practices for de- cades in both the residential and commercial sec- tors, and we have trained and certified thousands of techs and salespeople in these disciplines. But I think we are just scratching the surface. The exciting thing about small and medium commercial buildings is they are a lot easier to diagnose, correct, and balance than the average home. Equipment typically lives on a roof so it’s relatively easy to get to and test. Air distribution systems typically live just under the roof or under 26 JANUARY 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY ONE MORE THING... By Dominick Guarino Commercial Buildings Need Your Help! 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 .JANUARY 2024 27HVACTODAY.COMNext >