< Previous(NCI) Commercial Air Balancing class with Scott Fielder. To this day, I haven’t looked back. This class changed my perspective on imple- menting a High-Performance HVAC approach to contracting. The result is that GVs Duct Renovation Instal- lations have taken on a life of their own over the last few years through customer referrals and ser- vice technician leads. The best part about being a Comfort Special- ist is evaluating a client’s comfort system and collecting the data. I don’t only do furnace or air conditioner equipment changeouts. Frankly, that got a little too boring. The high-performance approach makes my job fun because I get to solve problems no other con- tractor can solve! Recently, I had the privilege of presenting an educational seminar with NCI’s Dominick Guari- no at the AHR Expo in Chicago. During our presentation, titled “Why and How to Sell High-Performance HVAC,” we discussed three types of sales calls: zTraditional Replacement Leads zService-Generated Call Turnovers z Homeowners Seeking Solutions. FINDING REAL SOLUTIONS IS MY FAVORITE SALES CALL During that session, we asked the audience which type of sales call was their favorite. For me, hands down, my favorite is the last one — work- ing with homeowners seeking solutions. Over the last few years, I’ve received multi- ple leads for homeowners who newly renovated their homes or built a brand-new home that had comfort issues. They were irritated with hot and cold rooms, furnace/air conditioners not running M y dad started GVs Heating and Cool- ing in 1990 before I was born. You can say I was raised in the HVAC industry. As a child, I asked him to take me to work every year on Take-Your-Daugh- ter-To-Work Day. So, it was no surprise that in 2006, I decided to join the family business, doing odd jobs around the office, and eventually, somewhat reluctantly, took sales training at the recommendation of our Trane territory manager. TRAINING CHANGED EVERYTHING That changed everything for me. Fast forward to 2017, when I earned my first certification from the National Comfort Institute 10 MARCH 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY Making a Real Difference with High-Performance HVAC Renovations By Dawn Mroczek TECHNICAL Diagnostics testing includes taking static pressure and temperature drop measurements, among several other tests.I also measure return tempera- tures at each return grille, measure all ductwork, and count how many sup- plies and returns are in each room. This process also includes mea- suring airflow and evaluating blow- er wheel conditions and speeds. Per- forming these diagnostic tests takes about two to three hours, depending on the extent of the diagnostics. While doing these tests, I always try to in- clude the homeowner and then teach them what our measurements mean. This can be very eye-opening for them. I collect all the data, take pic- tures and videos of the furnace and ductwork, then start the evaluation. OUR FINDINGS When evaluating Mr. Silver’s fur- nace, I saw the system going off on lim- it, which made me immediately think this was why the system wasn’t heat- ing some of the rooms in the home. The Silver furnace was installed upright in a “room” in the attic. The height of the supply plenum off the evaporator coil was only seven inch- es high! How could the air remove the heat from the heat exchanger? It couldn’t! I measured a 148°F supply tempera- ture and a 79°F return temperature (69°F Delta T). This furnace was rated for 35-65°F. The return trunk was “slapped” to the side of the furnace with a filter that was wide open to the attic, along with a bypass humidifier on the re- turn trunk. The system was perform- ing within the static pressure range, but after further inspection, I also found duct leakage as a culprit. That clarified why my hair was moving af- ter opening the attic access. After collecting all the data, mea- surements, pictures, and videos, it was time to assemble a solution. How do you educate your client and present your solution? During the day of the evaluation, there is a lot of in- formation for the client to absorb. At GV’s Heating & Cooling, we put to- gether a Performance Report. In efficiently, furnaces not running safely, and high utility bills. Imagine how frustrating this would be, especially if the problems happened in a brand-new house!! In one case, the customer gave up on the installing contractor and just want- ed a solution. CASE STUDY: THE SILVER HOME This client, The Silver family, lived in their new- ly constructed home for about six months before experiencing extreme room tempera- ture differences on the second floor. This home had two systems: a base- ment furnace (provided heat for the basement and first floor) and a fur- nace located in an attic to condition the second floor. Mr. Silver provided a tour of the sec- ond floor, pointing out that the stor- age room and kid’s playroom were extremely cold during winter. I will never forget how, after pulling down the attic access ladder, I was hit with a breeze that blew my hair like a fan was blowing on it! I was so excited to dive deep into evaluating this system. So, where do you start? Using my High-Performance HVAC™ training, I always evaluate homes from scratch, testing and measuring to collect all the data necessary to provide a solution. This from-scratch evaluation means performing a Manual J room-by-room load calculation, measuring static pressure and temperature rise, and taking supply temperatures in each register. MARCH 2024 11HVACTODAY.COMTECHNICAL In this situation, I did just that at the Silver’s home. The furnace “room” was only 7 feet wide x 7 feet deep x 5 feet 2 inches high. To make this system work efficiently, I knew the way it was installed was not working. In this case, there was more room horizontally than vertically. We needed to uninstall the furnace, evaporator coil, and ductwork in the utility room. The good news was that Silver’s furnace and air conditioner were sized correctly. The only piece of equipment GVS had to replace was the evaporator coil because it could not be installed horizontally. By re-installing the furnace in a hor- izontal position, adding a new supply plenum, increasing the supply trunk to the east side of the home (main suite, storage room, and playroom), adding a properly sized return duct, installing a new automatic humidifi- er, sealed filter cabinet, and sealing all the ductwork, we drastically increased this system efficiency. The ComfortMaxx “Test Out” scored a Heating Equipment Performance Score of 100% and a Heating System Performance Score of 93%. The sys- tem was now delivering 1,139 CFM! Plus, our solution eliminated the ex- cess attic pressure. We no longer have blowing hair! verification test. Using this software, I found that the Silver residence had the following: z66% Heating Equipment Per- formance Score z65% Heating System Perfor- mance Score. This system required a fan airflow of 1,200 CFM, but I measured only 658 CFM. This brand-new system only performed at 55% of the required fan airflow. GV’S SOLUTION PROPOSAL How many times do we go into a home and have tunnel vision? We only see what is in front of us. I want to give a shout-out to NCI’s John Puryear, who, during a class he was teaching, mentioned that just be- cause you see a furnace in an up-flow position, it does not mean it has to stay that way. He said, “We have to go into these homes and open our vision to a new perspective.” this report, we number each issue and include a corresponding remark and pictures. For the Silver Residence, we discov- ered the following seven issues: 1.Supply Plenum was restricting air- flow 2.Return Air Drop was restrictive, and the filter was open to the attic 3.The Evaporator Coil was only an up- flow coil 4.The Supply Trunk was undersized for the east side of the house (Mas- ter/Storage room and playroom) 5.A dirty Blower Wheel 6.The furnace was short cycling, going off on limit due to low airflow, re- strictive supply/return, and bypass humidifier on return 7.Smelled gas – found numerous gas leaks by the furnace. Along with this report, I also at- tach a “Test In” Visual Report from ComfortMaxx™. ComfortMaxx is a third-party software-based system Dawn Mroczek is the com- fort specialist at GV’s Heating & Cooling in Buffalo Grove, IL. In 2007, she moved into the sales position. She is certified in Commercial Air Balancing, Duct System Optimization, and was recognized as one of the ‘Wonderful Women in HVAC Sales’ with Sharon Roberts. She is also the 2020 recipient of NCI’s High-Performance Sales Excellence Award. You can reach out to her with ques- tions at ncilink.com/ContactMe . 12 MARCH 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYMARCH 2024 13HVACTODAY.COMfossil fuel usage, both on the energy supply and the demand side of the equation. According to the Rewiring America web- site, there are $369 billion in tax credits and in- centives available in the U.S. These credits allevi- ate the costs of replacing gas and oil furnaces and boilers with electric heat pumps, to replace gas wa- ter heaters with heat pump water heaters, install solar panels, and otherwise “electrify everything.” Granted, it’s an idea that has its detractors, but electrification is taking hold and will change how we do business in the heating and air condi- tioning industry. A similar push during the 1970s energy crisis helped initially propel heat pumps to popularity. But the heat pumps of yesterday were less efficient and weren’t up to the task of heating in climates with colder winters. Their adoption was mostly limited to warmer-weather areas with lower elec- tric rates. Texas and Florida come to mind, for ex- ample. As oil prices regulated, the focus on heat pumps waned, and gas furnaces remained the go- to heat source for most Americans. Fortunately, the renewed effort to promote effi- cient electric heating coincides with decades of im- provement to heat pump technology. Modern heat pumps are around 60% more efficient than in the 1970s, and some cold-climate heat pumps can be effective down to below-zero temperatures. These technological improvements mean heat pumps are a viable option in many more regions than they were back then. Combine these with the public funding and marketing push to electri- fy homes, and we find ourselves in the beginning stages of a heat pump revolution. If you’re not seeing increased interest in heat pumps in your area yet, odds are you will soon. While this is great news for our environment, H ave you noticed that the frequency and significance of weather-related disas- ters seem to be increasing year after year? Scientists have linked this trend to human-caused climate change. Global aver- age temperatures are increasing, and sea levels are rising, which can shift weather patterns and intensify droughts, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and even winter storms. Another term – global warming – implies that it’s mostly higher temperatures that we need to worry about. Still, paradoxically, the shift in the climate can lead to extreme cold temperatures in areas where that’s not usually an issue. The devastating Texas winter storm in 2021 is a prime example of this paradox. Regard- less of the cause of these obvious changes, it’s up to us to figure out what to do about it. In an endeavor to slow climate change, signifi- cant public investments are being made to reduce 14 MARCH 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY Climate Resilient HVAC: Where the Rubber Meets the Road By Ben Lipscomb, P.E. TECHNICALpush for heat pumps and electrifica- tion, but contrary to political talking points and marketing campaigns, achieving the reductions needed re- quires more than just simple “box swaps.” A heat pump that isn’t thoughtful- ly selected and skillfully installed will likely not perform near its rated effi- ciency. Carbon reductions can evap- orate depending on how “clean” the electricity supply is. It’s up to skilled contractors to ensure the heat pump efficiently delivers what it can deliver. 2. Limit increasing and more un- predictable demand on the- electric grid. Replacing furnaces with heat pumps increases demand on the grid. Electri- fication may lead to new wintertime peak periods in some areas where they were never considered. Overusing electric heat strips for backup or supplemental heat could exacerbate periods of high demand, increasing prices or even causing blackouts. We must achieve high-per- forming heat pump installations and carefully consider equipment siz- ing and alternatives for any required backup or supplemental heat. In cold and very cold climates, it makes sense to consider dual-fu- el systems that use a furnace when temperatures fall below the point where heat pumps can keep up. 3. Minimize high utility bills. This is the customer side of the two previous goals. A well-selected and in- stalled heat pump, with thought put into backup or supplemental heat, minimizes the potential for high elec- tric bills. Selecting a cold climate model for areas where temperatures regularly reach 30 degrees or lower reduces the cost of running expensive heat strips. Better yet, dual-fuel setups usually provide the cheapest heat when tem- peratures are frigid. They provide some insurance if electric rates in- crease to cover necessary grid system upgrades. The same demand response controls discussed above help with grid stabil- ity and help customers optimize when being aware of potential downsides and risks is essential. The very attri- bute that makes heat pumps a more climate-friendly solution – they run on electricity – also leaves them vul- nerable to power outages and high electricity prices. As discussed earlier, power outag- es are often caused by extreme weath- er events, which are becoming more common. They can also be impact- ed by grid capacity and load-balanc- ing issues. These issues could become more common as we collectively work to electrify vehicles, homes, and busi- nesses simultaneously. Adding loads to the grid will like- ly require significant investment into grid infrastructure to minimize capac- ity and load balancing issues, poten- tially driving up costs for electricity just as we become increasingly reliant on it. When outages coincide with ex- treme weather events such as a freak winter storm, buildings, and lives can be put at risk. As more of our customers look to adopt heat pumps, our job as HVAC experts is to advise on these risks and offer solutions to help keep custom- ers safe, healthy, and comfortable. All this leads to a clarified concept of what makes a great HVAC system – enter Climate-Resilient HVAC. Climate-resilient HVAC systems do more than work okay most of the time — a lot more. Consider these goals of a great HVAC system that is ready to handle any demands thrown at it, now and into the future: 1. Dramatically reduce pollution and carbon emissions relative to fossil fuel heating. This is the big reason behind the MARCH 2024 15HVACTODAY.COMTECHNICAL particulate levels and protect occu- pants from long-term health issues. Don’t forget to assess the pressure drop from higher MERV filters when selecting equipment and scoping duct upgrades. THE NEW GOLD STANDARD Modern heat pumps hold a ton of potential for helping to reduce emis- sions from burning fossil fuels. How- ever, this widespread shift to electric heating coincides with many challeng- es, from weird weather to possible grid instability. In this environment, broadening design considerations and installation practices to meet the above goals protects your custom- ers, your reputation as a high-perfor- mance contractor, and even society. Climate-resilient HVAC will become the new gold standard in High-Perfor- mance HVAC contracting in a world that will continue to warm and change for the foreseeable future. If a power out- age coincides with a winter storm or extreme cold snap, failing to plan for backup heat prop- erly can become hazardous or even life-threatening. For all-electric systems, backup generation needs to be appropriately sized to handle not just the running load of the heat pump (plus any other connected loads), but also the starting load, which can be several times higher than the running load. Inverter units or the addition of a soft start can significantly reduce gen- erator capacity requirements. Always use inverters if a customer plans to run the system on a generator or bat- tery backup. Dual-fuel systems dramatically re- duce backup power requirements – all that’s needed is a small portable gen- erator to run the furnace blower and controls. 6. Provide clean indoor air and prevent biological growth due to excess humidity. With the potential for higher and more frequent high-humidity days comes an increased risk for mold and bacteria to take over a home. That means you must seriously consider the impact of dehumidification loads. Doing an “extra” load calculation for peak dehumidification loads is pru- dent. Climate change also increases the occurrence and severity of wildfires, bringing smoky and unhealthy air. Where wildfires are a concern, MERV-13 or higher filtration can keep indoor air from reaching unhealthy and for how long heat pumps run. This can limit the impact of high peak elec- tricity rates on utility bills. In the future, it may be possible for systems to dynamically select from electric or gas heat based on operating efficiency and rates at any given time. 4. Handle the potential for more frequent and extreme weather events. Climate change doesn’t just bring higher average temperatures. It also contributes to higher precipitation and less predictable global weather patterns. This could place demands on systems that exceed today’s design values for high and low temperatures and high humidity. With that said, I don’t advocate ex- cessive oversizing to accommodate these changes. Instead, I prefer per- forming careful load calculations and evaluating different systems to see how they may handle temperatures that are a bit higher or lower than the design. Many modern inverter systems can operate above their maximum rated capacity when called to do so. Higher temperatures and sea levels also mean more atmospheric moisture and higher dehumidification loads in some areas. After a big rainstorm or hurricane, elevated humidity could cause mold or bacterial growth. Consider adding dedicated dehumidification in places where it gets sticky outside. 5. Provide essential services in an extended grid outage event. Whether the power goes out due to excessive grid demand, a weather-re- lated issue, or some other reason, it’s never fun to suffer without heating or air conditioning for long periods. Ben Lipscomb, P.E. has more than 16 years of experience in the HVAC industry, including labo- ratory and field research, Design/Build contracting, and utility energy effi- ciency program design. He is National Comfort Institute’s director of engineering and utility programs and may be contacted at ncilink. com/ContactMe . 16 MARCH 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYMARCH 2024 17HVACTODAY.COM18 MARCH 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYsilk-screened right onto the board. They are clear and easy to read. The four-inch clip has great gripping strength so your papers won’t blow away. Order your Refrigerant-Side Perfor- mance clipboards today. Call 800-633- 7058 and talk to your NCI customer care representative. Videos and Podcasts with Your NCI Team The National Comfort Institute (NCI) is hitting cyberspace across the HVAC In- dustry via podcast interviews and video recorded panel discussions. In the last two months they have addressed every- thing from attracting new people into the industry to the latest technologies that will impact the High-Performance HVAC approach to HVAC contracting. In January, NCI CEO Dominick Guari- no provided the high performance view- point on a streaming panel discussion of industry experts during the annual AHR Exposition in Chicago. The panel included Guarino, and also Talbot Gee of HARDI, Ginger Scog- gins of ASHRAE , Greg Walker of ASHB , Steve Yurek of AHRI, and Bryan Orr of HVAC School and Kalos Services . Check out this lively debate and dis- cussion on the state of today’s market — the challenges and opportunities it pres- ents and what lies ahead. Go to vimeo. com/910000787 and watch the entire discussion today. You can also listen to Dominick moder- ate another panel of experts who discuss HVAC Industry Workforce Develop- ment in this additional AHR Expo video. Participants included representatives from industry training institutions, con- tractors, and manufacturers who shared their views on how this industry needs to build its workforce up to meet current and future needs. Check out the stream of this discus- sion at vimeo.com/910005758 . NCI also participated as facilitators and moderators during a number of train- ing sessions at AHR Expo. If you missed them, no worries: just go to ncilink.com/ AHRppts and check out the PowerPoint presentations today. Additionally, if you want to listen to three experts discuss the opportunities and challenges facing plumbing and HVAC contractors in 2024 and beyond, check out this video from the 5th An- nual HVACR Symposium : ncilink.com/ BOrrVid. Watch Bryan Orr of Kalos Services and HVAC School interview Dominick Guari- no of NCI and Richard Trethewey from “This Old House.” NCI Introduces New Refrigeration Clipboard National Comfort Institute’s (NCI) Re- frigerant-Side Performance clipboard has 10 different tables and charts printed on it to help you complete refrigerant- side troubleshooting and diagnostics. The two-sided clipboard has the essential information so it is always at hand. It includes the following reference charts and tables: z Wet Bulb to Enthalpy Conversion z Refrigerant-Side Troubleshooting Quick Chart z Target Enthalpy Change Table z Target Refrigerant Line Temperature Table z NCI Generic .30 in. of WC Constant Speed Fan Table z NCI Generic .50 in. of WC Constant Speed Fan Table z NCI Generic .80 in. of WC Variable Speed Fan Table z Residential Equipment Nomenclature z NCI Generic Heat Pump Performance z NCI Generic Cooling Capacities Table. The clipboard is made of high impact plastic and all the tables and charts are NCI UPDATE MARCH 2024 19HVACTODAY.COMNext >