Rob "Doc" Falke
How to Measure Residential Hydronic System Btu
Since winter has arrived, let's take a look at how to measure the Btu delivery of a residential hot water heating system. This will be a brief introduction to water system Btu measurement. ...
Test, Teach and Sell with These Four Air Diagnostics Tests
Once upon a time, our ability to sell HVAC equipment was based on a marketing piece from a manufacturer, or claims we made of our exquisite service. ...
A Short Investigation
Before you replace HVAC equipment, it’s a good idea to assess the condition and performance of the existing system and evaluate its capacity to accept the new equipment and new accessories. The odds of new equipment working on an old duct system are not great. ...
Practice What You Preach
How can you recommend something to your customers that you don’t use? That’s a valid question that each of us should answer. Surely, if you use the same products at home that you sell at work, you’ll be able to speak with conviction and offer valuable advice to your customers with confidence and first hand experience. ...
Look Before You Leap
Before replacing HVAC equipment, how many of us take time to assess the performance of the existing duct system? Although the number is small, the idea...
RESIDENTIAL OVAL DUCT AIRFLOW PERFORMANCE
A contractor called our office with a question about oval duct airflow performance. Its a typical concern that we hear from time to time, usually because...
Can Heat Pumps Handle More Filter Pressure Drop?
As filters continue to increase in efficiency, one parallel fact is that usually the pressure drop over the filter also increases. According to Fan Law...
ADD DUCT RENOVATIONS TO EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENTS
Over the last decade the term duct renovation has been heard a lot in the HVAC industry. The term refers to the process of testing, diagnosing, repairing, and balancing duct systems....
Measuring Fresh Air With a Thermometer
We had quite a number of calls about my previous article regarding the correct amounts of fresh air to bring into HVAC systems. One recurring question was: “Is there a way to measure fresh air if I don’t have a full set of air balancing instruments?”...
HOW TO REDESIGN A DUCT SYSTEM
e redesign duct systems because they don’t perform as they should. Have you ever stuck new equipment on an existing duct system assuming the old ducting worked just fine? If I were your daddy, I’d say “shame on you!...
BALANCING A ZONING SYSTEM
The whole idea behind zoning HVAC systems is to deliver the correct amount of air to the right place. Balancing a zoned system is even more critical because of design complexity and constantly changing airflows, temperatures and pressures. Balancing is also a very profitable add-on sale to any zoning system installation. ...
FRESH AIR FOR VENTILATION AND BUILDING PRESSURIZATION
Adding fresh air to a heating or cooling system accomplishes two primary Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) goals: First, it controls building pressures and secondly, it increases IAQ by diluting polluted or stale indoor air....
Measuring Static Pressure
Manometers or pressure gauges have been used to measure air pressures for more than 200 years. The fathers of our industry used these gauges to learn about the mysteries of fans and duct systems....
Finding System-Required Airflow
When it comes to diagnosing the airside of a heating or cooling system, start with equipment model number. Once you know the equipment size, you can calculate the required airflow, which is expressed in cfm. (Cubic Feet per Minute) Then you can compare measured airflow to required airflow as the foundation to your diagnostic testing. ...
WE LEARN A LOT FROM OUR DADS
Many of us became HVAC professionals because of our Dads. For decades, HVAC Dad's have handed down their passion to serve others by bringing us into the trade. If that's your story, I'd encourage you to take some time to record the events and memories of how your father wielded his influence on your profession....
HOW FANS REALLY WORK
The fan turns and the air moves, right? But there are a few basic principles governing airflow with residential constant speed fans that are frequently...
IS GREEN CLOSING IN ON YOU?
We have all seen contractors wrinkle their noses when the topic of "green" is introduced into a conversation. Why is it that so many of us contractors quickly change the subject when we feel green closing in on us? Have the friends of the environment pushed way too hard and accomplished way too little in the eyes of the typical HVAC contractor? That’s what I hear....
ARE YOU COSIDERING ADDING SERVICES?
I enjoyed a conversation recently with a long-time successful contractor from California. He was considering adding duct cleaning to the services his company offers to their customers. It was interesting that he described the proposed venture as "a temptation he had resisted for decades." Considering his quandary, what new services have you been tempted to add to your company recently?...
HOW TO FIND FAN AIRFLOW
Each furnace or air handler has its own peculiar air moving characteristics. So how can you figure out what the fan your working on it supposed to be doing? There is no single source for this information, but hopefully this article can guide you in your search for this essential data....
USING VARIABLE SPEED MOTORS AND STATIC PRESSURE
A number of years ago when variable speed fans began to become popular, their primary benefit was promoted to be their ability to overcome airflow issues in poorly performing duct systems....
MEASURE HEAT STRIP PERFORMANCE
Since the cold has set in, we've received many calls and e-mails from contractors and technicians wresting with electric heat systems. The two main concerns are: How to determine and rate electric heater performance; and how to figure the right amount of airflow to safely increase or decrease supply air temperatures. Let’s take a closer look....
Fast Money At the Quick Lube
We all make mistakes as we evolve our businesses. Each of us can probably tell a few exciting stories about failures we’ve experienced, and hopefully, enough time has passed so we can finally chuckle about them. I was on the receiving end of a sales experience recently where I was doing the chuckling and the service provider didn’t have a clue how quickly he was exterminating any chance of a lasting business relationship....
Two Kinds of Activists
The flight into Portland, Oregon was bumpy and delayed, but I was excited to get there. I wasn’t in the usual business mode — Hugs from my Grandkids would soon greet me at the airport and I was daydreaming of Opa’s weekend with Galla and Finn, a one and two year old that make me feel young again....
Build Safety Clauses into Your Proposals
If you think back over your career in this industry, undoubtedly you have learned a few hard lessons. One way to leverage the value of these lessons is to add a layer of protection into the proposals that you offer your customers. The official name of these clauses is proposal conditions. Let's review a few of them just to get you thinking....
Profiling an HVAC System
While profiling may be an unpopular word in airports these days, it remains the title of one of the best diagnostic procedures you can use to diagnose an HVAC system. You can profile an HVAC system by talking a series of temperature, pressure or airflow readings across it, and recording them on a system schematic. Studying the profile makes apparent system defects that may not become visible by any other means. ...
