Avoid sharp turns

Flex ducts could be in imminent danger. A few months ago, I wrote about a recent proposal to severely limit the use of flexible (flex) ducts. Due to poor installation methods, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) is proposing to limit use of flexible duct to only five feet in length. How …
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Carbon Monoxide - What to Look For

Analytics — why are they so doggone important? To answer that, we need to know the terms and references required to understand marketing analytics, whether you are doing it by yourself or using a third-party web management person/team. Looking at analytics without knowing or understanding what you’re seeing is just like looking at your P&L …
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HVAC Airflow and leaf blowing -- the common denominator

Let’s talk airflow. We live back in the woods on a half-acre with fifteen 100-foot tall oak trees. For years I’ve imagined sharing leaf blowing airflow lessons with my fellow airheads. Let’s take a look at the mad airflow skills you can master while blowing leaves. Fascinating Statistics “If you don’t measure, you’re just guessing.” …
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Airflow has its own Bermuda Triangle

Airflow. It’s in our ventilation sytems. It’s the media through which our weather works. Off the South-Eastern coast of the United States, bounded by Miami (in Florida), San Juan (in Puerto Rico), and the north-Atlantic island of Bermuda, is an area known as the Bermuda Triangle. For years many ships and planes inexplicably disappeared when …
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Twenty-two years ago NCI set out on a mission to help the HVAC industry move towards measured performance. At the time, we envisioned a future where most systems would perform at over 90% delivered efficiency. We believed the industry would fix most of the HVAC systems in  homes and buildings once the issue was recognized. …
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Heat Transfer explained

or So what exactly is combustion energy and heat transfer anyway? This article is based on more than 30 years of field testing, measuring, and auditing equipment performance. Although some of the information requires interpretation, it’s still based on proven field performance. What is Combustion Energy? Combustion is the burning of some kind of fuel …
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Measuring static pressure

Like blood pressure in humans, static pressure impacts HVAC systems, positively or negatively, depending on what that pressure is. We all know that high or low pressure is bad for human health. The same is true when it comes to building static pressure as well. Taking a building’s static pressure lets you “see” the HVAC …
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What if you could offer your customers a system efficiency option of 57%, 78%, or 93%? No, this is NOT equipment-rated efficiency. It’s the operating system’s field-measured efficiency after installation and verification in a home. Here’s a sample proposal of the future. Field Measured System Efficiency Constant advancements in our ability to field measure the …
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When I was a kid, I didn’t know what my beliefs were, so I had a habit of constantly asking why. I questioned my mom and dad repeatedly on the things I didn’t understand. They patiently answered my questions and encouraged me to keep asking. If you’re a parent, you’ve no doubt experienced this with …
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Picture yourself troubleshooting the following CO call and think about the pattern that’s followed. Remember, you’re going to be the hero on this call! The Call Long-time customers of yours, the Smith family, have recently moved into a new home. The previous homeowners replaced their old furnace with a direct-vent 90% efficient condensing furnace before …
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