hvactoday.comMARCH 2024 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM If You Don’t Measure, You’re Just Guessing! ™ AN EXCEPTIONAL BEFOREAFTER • Industry Partner Spotlight: Sauermann Group • Climate Resilience: Where the Rubber Hits the Road ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:MARCH 2024 3HVACTODAY.COM MARCH 2024 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 3 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM DEPARTMENTS Today’s Word .........................................................................................4 High-Performance Product Review ...............................................5 NCI Update .........................................................................................19 HVAC Smart Mart ...............................................................................20 Ad Index ................................................................................................21 One More Thing ................................................................................22 COVER STORY: The High-Performance System Renovation Difference Dawn Mroczek of GVs Heating shares how a system renovation solved a newly built home’s comfort issues. INDUSTRY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Sauermann Group: Looking at Contractors Differently Sauermann’s Tyler Nelson sees High-Performance HVAC Contractors as the “Curve” breakers. Why? Read more here. 6 10 14 TECHNICAL: Climate-Resilient HVAC: Where the Rubber Meets the Road What is a climate-resilient HVAC system and why does it matter so much? NCI’s Ben Lipscomb explains.4 MARCH 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY competitive naysayers who cry foul when they lose jobs to more expensive and competent high-performance professionals. IT’S NOT EASY, BUT IT IS DOABLE Over the last 30 years, these efforts have start- ed to pay off. The concepts behind what Nation- al Comfort Institute (NCI) calls system perfor- mance are more common today across all the channels in our industry. Though not everyone is taking a system performance approach (it isn’t easy, and most people prefer easy), it makes more headway every day. In this issue of High-Performance HVAC Today, HVAC Contractor Dawn Mroczek proves my point with a relatively simple system renova- tion that fixed acute comfort issues in a new con- struction home. You can read more about this at ncilink.com/GVReno. “Today, our company’s (GVs Heating and Air Conditioning) duct renovation installations have taken on a life of their own through customer re- ferrals and service technician leads,” she says. Another contractor, John Boylan of Lakeside Service, says that for his business, the processes needed to set your company up for high-perfor- mance help to make the company stronger, more efficient, and ultimately more profitable. “Since we’ve started a systems approach, I am beyond proud of the reviews and feedback our team receives from clients,” he says. These are only two of thousands of HVAC con- tractors who walk the high-performance path. The industry must recognize the importance of this and encourage more contractors to take the first step on that path. For those already doing it, congratulations, and thank you. For those who aren’t, please consider learning more about it. I believe it needs to be said: High-Performance HVAC™ Contractors should be recognized for their excellent work. You decided to invest the time and dollars into changing your approach to help your team AND help your customers understand that their indoor comfort and health is more than buying, installing, and servicing equipment. And that is not easy. As an industry, we have spent decade after de- cade selling based on price and efficiency. Mean- while, complaints about being uncomfortable, battling dust, and dealing with other indoor air issues went unresolved. These problems became more severe during the energy crises of the 1970s when government man- dates led to the tightening of building (and home) shells. This inadvertently reduced the amount of incoming fresh air and led to problems with in- door air quality, mold, radon, and other maladies. Manufacturers have creatively improved equip- ment efficiencies over the decades and continue to do so, but consumer utility bills haven’t neces- sarily come down as promised. TAKING A SCIENTIFIC STANCE The idea of testing and measuring certainly is not new. But in the HVAC Industry, it wasn’t un- til the concept of creating high-performance sys- tems by accounting for not just the equipment but also airflow through ductwork that the in- dustry could truly impact comfort, health, and efficiency. And for those contractors who saw the advan- tages of taking a scientific approach, they in- vested in learning how to measure and interpret resulting data. They invested in the training nec- essary to do that. They also had to (and still have to) battle the Making the HVAC Industry Better: One System Renovation at a Time TODAY’S WORD By Mike Weil Mike Weil is editor- in-chief and director of communications and publications at National Comfort Institute, Inc. Contact him at ncilink. com/ContactMe.HVACTODAY.COMMARCH 2024 5HVACTODAY.COM The applied friction rates allow maxi- mum airflow to maintain the equipment manufacturer’s rated total external static pressure. It has some wiggle room built in just in case installation limitations may require a couple of extra turns. Using the tables can be tricky, espe- cially if it’s your first time. There are three different tables: one each for flex duct, round metal, and rectangular duct. So, be sure to use the right table. Duct sizes are listed from 5 to 20 inches for flex and round metal ducts and rectangular ducts from 4-in. x 6-in. to 42-in. x 12-in. and ev- erything in-between. Each duct size will have a designated airflow. When the airflow you need does not appear on the table, select the airflow greater than what is needed and add a damper during installation so you can throttle it down if necessary. Whether designing a new system or a small air upgrade, the NCI duct design system is the way to go. It hasn’t failed me yet, and it shouldn’t fail you. For more information, call your NCI Customer Care Representative at 800- 633-7058 . — Casey Contreras, NCI Instructor NCI Duct Design Tables Sweet, simple, and on-point are the words I use to describe the NCI Duct De- sign Tables . Most technicians use un- tested and unverified methods when it comes to sizing ducts. Before you get angry, test and verify that the duct sizing method you use works. If it does, disre- gard this tool review. But if it doesn’t, check out what Na- tional Comfort Institute (NCI) put to- gether years ago to improve duct sizing methods to help contractors and their customers increase safety, health, com- fort, and efficiency. The Duct Design Table customizes the .10-in. WC traditional friction rate to a re- al-world value of .05 for flex duct, .06 for round metal, and .07 for rectangular duct. Written for HVAC Professionals by HVAC Professionals HIGH-PERFORMANCE PRODUCT REVIEW Flexible Duct 5” 6” 7” 8” 9” 10” 12” 14” 16” 18” 20” 50 75 110 160 225 300 480 700 1000 1300 1700 Duct SizeDesign Airflow Round Metal Pipe 5” 6” 7” 8” 9” 10” 12” 14” 16” 18” 20” 60 85 125 180 250 325 525 770 1200 1500 2000 Duct SizeDesign Airflow Flex Duct = .05” Metal Duct Calculator Round Metal Duct = .06” Metal Duct Calculator Rectangular Duct - Net inside dimension in inches 4”CFM 6x4 8x4 10x4 12x4 14x4 16x4 18x4 20x4 22x4 24x4 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 6”CFM 4x6 6x6 8x6 10x6 12x6 14x6 16x6 18x6 20x6 22x6 24x6 26x6 28x6 30x6 60 110 160 215 270 320 375 430 490 540 600 650 710 775 21/2 x10 21/2 x14 21/2x30 40 70 150 31/2 x10 31/2 x14 100 220 8”CFM 4x8 6x8 8x8 10x8 12x8 14x8 16x8 18x8 20x8 22x8 24x8 26x8 28x8 30x8 32x8 34x8 36x8 90 160 230 310 400 490 580 670 750 840 930 1020 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 10”CFM 4x10 6x10 8x10 10x10 12x10 14x10 16x10 18x10 20x10 22x10 24x10 26x10 28x10 30x10 32x10 34x10 36x10 38x10 40x10 120 215 310 430 550 670 800 930 1060 1200 1320 1430 1550 1670 1800 1930 2060 2200 2350 12”CFM 4x12 6x12 8x12 10x12 12x12 14x12 16x12 18x12 20x12 22x12 24x12 26x12 28x12 30x12 32x12 34x12 36x12 38x12 40x12 42x12 150 270 400 550 680 800 950 1100 1250 1400 1600 1750 1950 2150 2300 2450 2600 2750 2900 3050 Rectangular Duct = .07” on Duct Calculator Step One - Identify the volume of air that will be passing through the duct Step Two - Select the duct size from the table that can carry that volume of air Step Three - If desired airflow exceeds the CFM rating, increase to the next duct size Step Four - Listed CFM is based on typical field results and may vary, install dampers Step Five - If duct run exceeds 25’, or has excessive transitions, increase to the next size Step Six -Design alone is inadequate, always prove design by test and balance NCI DUCT DESIGN TABLES C2024 National Comfort Institute, Inc.The C-folks went crazy because the A-people crushed the curve,” he says. “The high-performance contractors that Sauermann caters to are the ones we elicited feedback from when de- signing our analyzer products. They lead the field. We chose them because they are the best contracting firms out there.” IN THE BEGINNING … As a company, Sauermann began life in Europe, in Belgium, to be exact. It was started in 1976 by Robert Sau- ermann to manufacture condensate pumps for the European marketplace. He secured a strong foothold in the HVACR wholesale market, specializ- ing in fluid regulation components, and, according to their website, cap- tured 80% of the market share held by the leader in just four years. In 1985, Sauermann acquired a French-based instrumentation com- pany called Kimo, which specialized in measurement instruments for indoor air quality (IAQ). Eventually, Sauermann opened U.S. offices (2005), targeting the North American air conditioning industry with condensate pumps. Nelson says, “In 2018, we pur- chased E Instruments, which sold a combustion analyzer line made by a third party. “In 2020, we ended our contract with that third-party manufacturer and, in September of 2021 we launched our own analyzer instrument line. “Those instruments are designed and manufactured by Sauermann us- ing our engineering expertise,” he adds. THE HVAC CONTRACTOR PERSPECTIVE Nelson, who joined the Sauermann Group in August of 2019, had been in the HVAC contracting industry since 1997. He says he started on the techni- cian side of things and, over the years, worked his way into management for a contracting firm based in New Jersey. During his tenure with that con- tracting firm, Nelson earned his Mas- ter’s in HVACR certification, became a NATE and a BPI instructor. Nelson also served as president of the North Jersey Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) chap- ter for two years. Today, he is a member of the Na- tional Carbon Monoxide Awareness Association (NCOAA), serving as a spokesperson to the media regarding CO poisoning. “I’m also a carbon monoxide in- structor,” he adds. O ne of the founding precepts of National Comfort Insti- tute (NCI) is that If you don’t measure, you’re just guessing™. As we all know, to measure correctly means not only having and using the best measure- ment tools and technology avail- able but also understanding how to interpret the resulting data and apply it to benefit customer health, safety, system efficiency, and comfort. Many instrument manufacturers are serving the HVAC Industry, but few seem to have taken it upon them- selves to focus on the High-Perfor- mance HVAC™ segment. One such company, Sauermann Group, Americas, has spent time and energy working closely with this sub- set of the industry in general, and with NCI in particular, to develop customer instruments to do combustion analy- sis, measure static pressures, airflow, and temperatures more accurately. According to Tyler Nelson, Sauermann’s Americas In- strumentation and Industrial Sales Manager, “High-Perfor- mance HVAC contractors are the curve breakers. They’re the kids in school who always earned the “A” grades when everyone else got “C’s.” 6 MARCH 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY INDUSTRY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT By Mike Weil Sauermann Group: Looking At Contractors Differently Tyler Nelson“I met Dominick Guarino at the HARDI conference in December of 2021. Dom talked about how NCI used tools in their training and was inter- ested in testing our analyzer. At that time, they used instruments produced by two different manufacturers, and I thought it would be amazing if they tried Sauermann products as well.” Unfortunately, COVID-19 swept the planet, and things were put on hold. Eventually, Nelson says he met with NCI’s vice president of training, Da- vid Richardson, to review the analyz- er’s features and discuss its benefits. Then, they shipped him a few to test. Apparently, Nelson says that after receiving the instruments, the NCI team really “kicked the daylights” out of the analyzer, then had one of their High-Performance HVAC contractors test them. NCI-SAUERMANN PARTNERSHIP Several months later, Dominick and David got back to him and said they were interested in the analyzer but had one or two suggestions for mak- ing the instrument fit better with NCI protocols. “The major ask was for a separate draft probe that could test draft and combustion simultaneously,” Nelson says. “The thing is, we already had such probes. We just never thought to share them. So it all worked out fabulously. “We then shipped them seven ana- lyzers and probes. We created a cus- tomized kit with the NCI logo for sale through TruTech Tools.” The two kits are the residential NCI Si-CA 030 and the commer- cial NCI Si-CA 130 combustion an- alyzers, including an O2, CO, Flue gas, and draft probe for High-Performance HVAC contractors. The CO monitor that comes with these kits includes a wireless connection to Sauermann’s smartphone app and can generate ser- vice reports and certificates based on the measurements. “We have a saying at Sauermann, an ethos if you will, that our products are designed by technicians for techni- cians. These two kits are an example of just that,” Nelson continues. “We elicit feedback from the indus- try as we develop different products. Sauermann has some products sim- ilar to those of other manufacturers, His background, however, wasn’t originally in HVAC. He was a col- lege-educated finance/economics per- son whose skills lay in analytics. “I was wooed into the HVAC busi- ness by a recruiter, so I changed ca- reers and began working in the con- tracting business,” he explains. “During these years, I began hearing about the idea of high-performance contracting and the company teaching it, National Comfort Institute (NCI). “At that point, we hadn’t sent any of our technicians to an NCI class but were told by several different distrib- utors to consider taking training by these guys. Those distributors told me that NCI was one of the best train- ing entities in this country and in the world. As it turns out, they were right. “But it took me changing careers to discover it. “ MAKING MORE MOVES Nelson says that toward the end of his tenure in contracting, he was ap- proached by different manufacturers to work for them. “At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it, but working six, sometimes sev- en days a week became arduous over time, and I came to a point where it was time to make a switch. It was time to listen to these offers, and that’s when the Sauermann name came up.” The rest, as they say, is history. While learning the ropes and Sau- erman’s product line, Nelson says he became very interested in how NCI training might help his customers. It wasn’t until Sauermann launched its new analyzer product line after ending its relationship with the third-party manufacturer that he says he reached out to NCI. MARCH 2024 7HVACTODAY.COM One reason for the partnership between NCI and Sauermann is the fact that Sauerman listened to what High-Performance HVAC™ Contractors needed and built an instrument that provided it. Pictured here is the co-branded NCI Si-CA 030 Combustion Analyzer.the best job; they feel any other way is just a race to the bottom. At Sauer- mann, we want a rising tide to raise all boats. We want that level of craftsper- sonship to raise all the levels of all the contractors around them. If not, they will be left behind. Everybody needs to perform.” LOOKING AT THINGS DIFFERENTLY Nelson says that he believes being in an industry partnership with NCI has made the team at Sauermann look at things differently. He cites a quote originally credited to the late Wayne Dyer, an American self-help author and motivational speaker. The quote is, “When you change how you look at things, the things you look at change.” “That is what our partnership with NCI is like,” he continues. “It changed how we looked at our products to con- sider whether a new feature would benefit NCI and their high-perfor- mance contractors. We also consider whether NCI trainers can train using that product. “From my standpoint, when our tools resonated with NCI, it reaffirmed our efforts. That gave us more enthu- siasm to create the next product. It gave us more impetus to improve the product because we realized we did something approved by the most crit- ical of eyes.” Furthermore, he says that Sauer- mann’s overseas partners also recog- nize the importance of this relation- ship with National Comfort Institute. “There are no organizations like NCI in Europe. They want our guidance based on what we learn from NCI and NCI-trained contractors.” but we also have instruments with features and benefits that stand alone and are in a class by themselves. “For example,” he continues, “NCI uses our analyzers because of their ro- bust feature set. That feature set came from asking contractors what they needed and wanted. And we got an ex- haustive list from them! “The good news is that we delivered everything the contractors request- ed. That is our mindset. We learned through the years that you win if you really listen to what your customers tell you, document it, and then de- sign those features and attributes into what you are making. “With regard to high-performance contractors, we find they are the com- panies with the soundest business practices, who look at buildings as in- dividual ecosystems and seek answers to questions on how heating and air conditioning equipment will play in those ecosystems,” Nelson continues. “They focus on how air quality and airflow should play nicely together in the sandbox. “From my perspective, these con- tractors are the ones who care about doing the best job for their custom- ers,” Nelson adds. “The team here at Sauermann loves this approach. It’s the same reason we’ve teamed up with Mea- sureQuick. We’re the only analyzer on the MeasureQuick platform right now. We can cast a wider net because technicians using MeasureQuick typ- ically work for High-Performance HVAC contractors. They go through an entire system performance evalua- tion from soup to nuts. “They then make recommendations based on their results. They want to do INDUSTRY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT 8 MARCH 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYNext >