Once these resources are in place, you need to make sure the skills are also in place to correctly capture the information. Software is only as good as the data you put into it.
Skills You Need to Rate Total HVAC System Performance
Now that you have a list of resources, you need to ensure your team has the essential skills. Before any testing begins, a certified technician must gather all the equipment and system information.
Much of that is equipment nameplate data that includes model numbers, airflow capacity, and maximum-rated TESP (Total External Static Pressure). Other information, such as fan speed settings and filter sizes, might not be accessible until the testing technician is on the job. Many of these steps are automated with measureQuick simply by taking photos of the equipment nameplates and system components.
In addition to gathering the correct information, the testing technician should be able to measure:
- Static pressure at the equipment
- Airflow from the equipment and system
- Temperature from the equipment and system.
Once the technician has these measurements, they must be able to interpret the readings to assure nothing is out of line or missed.
ComfortMaxx HVAC System Rating with measureQuick
The ComfortMaxx process is now built into measureQuick as a workflow. As you capture data into ComfortMaxx , measureQuick does the heavy lifting. It walks you through the testing process, gathers data from connected smart instruments, and provides all calculations. This is how you can automate and simplify HVAC system performance rating according to NCI testing principles.
ComfortMaxx collects the following:
- Customer information – a permanent Geo-tagged record in the cloud of your customers’ HVAC system information
- Location information – matches equipment and systems to specific locations in a home with more than one HVAC system. Simply drag the pointer to the right spot. You can rate each system for each location
- System information – keeps a record of past testing as a comparison for future measurements to assure the system remains operating in the best possible condition
- Test results and calculations – static pressure, airflow, temperature, and Btus are captured and compared to equipment and system specifications to create a final rating of the installed HVAC system independent of the HVAC equipment rating. The reports are visual and easy to understand for both the customer and contractor.
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Curious as to how this compares to the Measure Quick rating app?
Hi George,
Both follow similar principles, but gather the information in different locations. MeasureQuick looks at equipment performance (airflow, temperature, and Btus) while the Verify test looks at these measurements from the system, delivered into the living space. It takes both parts (equipment and system) working together for everything to perform as designed.
This is a great step forward and will lead to many customer referrals. Also, it won’t be that big of a step from here to actually measure the heat loss/gain of the home’s envelope and then match the HVAC equipment to those measurements.
Manual “J” is just guessing. The lower Temperature Rise ratings on new furnaces are going to force use of actual measurements; as many cases will require the CFM to double vs the old equipment. Measuring the heat loss will reduce the size of the replacement furnace in most cases. This allows the existing duct work to still be able to perform satisfactorily.