Residential Equipment & Services
A New Standard for Home Performance
A new standard on the way from the Building Performance Institute (BPI) will help standardize and clarify how to conduct a whole-building, science-based energy evaluation of residential homes. The standard, BPI-1100-T-2010 (formerly BPI-101): Home Energy Auditing Standard will not replace BPI’s long-standing Building Analyst (BA) Professional Standard; instead, it expands upon the energy auditing components of a home analysis...
Air Balancing: The Final Step in Every Installation
In an ideal world, every technician would be aware of the importance of two words: air balancing. The concept is well-known (if not always well-implemented) on the commercial side of the business, but a very low percentage of residential homes are balanced. And that's a shame, because having the proper amount of air delivered to each room dramatically affects both customer comfort and a home's energy efficiency....
Marsh Madness
The system that Hickmann, Comfort Matters’ president, and Jon Burfeind, home comfort expert, envisioned for the McPhails incorporated a 5-ton geothermal system backed up by a 95% efficient variable-speed gas furnace. It also included an energy recovery ventilator, humidifier, and zoning system. ...
Embrace a Holistic Approach to Energy Efficiency and Grow Your Business
Isaac Home Energy Performance is closer to a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) model, in that we take a more holistic view: We start with a thorough "physical" exam of a customer's whole house, and offer a "diagnosis." Next, we prescribe upgrades that will increase the "health" (that is, energy efficiency) of their homes, from the attic to the basement. ...
How a Team Builds Home Comfort
This winning Quality Home Comfort Award project demonstrates what can be accomplished when a team bonds together in pursuit of a common comfort goal, and when participants take full ownership of a project. ...
Designing Quality IS an Art Form
The Quality Home Comfort Awards provide an opportunity for contractors to show off their best designs to the rest of the industry. To do this requires an effort, yes, but it’s worth it for the recognition and market value it adds to their firms. ...
HVAC Team Gives a Gift of Comfort
Among the many ways HVAC contractors find satisfaction is through the daily opportunities they have to enrich customers’ lives through quality home comfort. Greg Miscally, project manager at Environmental Air Conditioning Services, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, company founder Howard Stalls, and the engineers at Indoor Environmental Solutions, Inc. are no exception. They have an overwhelming concern for the customer, and they won’t let up until every project is perfect....
A Perfect '10'
Super-insulated homes can present a unique set of challenges for HVAC contractors. But the home of Paul Collins in Sheffield, MA, boasts a comfort system tuned and tailored to its specific needs, thanks to Jim Patterson and Orchard Valley Heating and Cooling. The home netted Patterson his 10th Contracting Business Quality Home Comfort Award....
Walking the Walk in Phoenix
Now in its second generation of ownership, and looking forward to a third, Hobaica Services represents everything an HVAC company can be by following the highest standards of service, ethics, and business management....
Tools of the Trade
Thomas & Galbraith Heating and Cooling was founded in 1977. Early on, it primarily served the residential new construction market. ...
HERS and HVAC: Common Goals, Common Ground
A home energy rating is supposed to be a thorough analysis of a home's energy consumption. An HERS (Home Energy Rating System) analysis consists of a review of building plans, multiple onsite inspections, performance testing, and software modeling. A HERS rating can be performed on both new and existing homes and apartment or condo units in multi-family structures of three stories or less. ...
It's Time to Share Your Best Work
Residential HVAC contractors are reminded to submit entries for the annual ContractingBusiness.com Quality Home Comfort Awards by April 23....
Welcome to Water World
Don't be afraid of the water. That's the message from Dave Yates, owner of F.W. Behler, York, PA, and John Barba, contractor training and trade program...
Communication Melts the Ice Between Contractor, Customers
Fry Heating/Coolng/Plumbing keeps customers warm during the hard winters in Sylvania, OH. They also keep customers confident that they'll always provide service, in any season. That's a double blessing for homeowners in uncertain economic times....
Residential: Ducted/Non-ducted Air Conditioning, Geothermal SystemsCommercial: Chillers, VRF systems, and Applied Equipment
RESIDENTIAL American Standard American Standard's Allegiance 20's two-stage cooling system includes AccuLink, which automatically communicates and coordinates...
Win1 + Win2 = Win3
When you first enter the Estes Heating and Air Conditioning building, you find yourself in a plush reception area equipped with a smiling receptionist...
2010 Residential Construction Outlook: A Split Decision
There's some good news for residential HVAC contractors: residential construction markets are poised for a partial recovery in 2010. Single-family construction and improvements to existing properties should finally turn higher, while multi-family work continues to slump....
Oil-to-Gas Boiler Conversions
Converting an oil-fired boiler to a water-based system is a major home comfort project. A job well-done provides more livable space, and eliminates higher heating bills in times of skyrocketing oil prices. ...
Staying Positive in a Negative World, Part 13
51. Remember, Bad News Outsells Good News. For nearly 75 years Pensacola, Florida dodged all hurricanes. Then, Erin struck. We were staying at my family’s condo on Pensacola Beach at the time. Everyone was evacuated from the island and for two days we couldn’t return. ...
IAQ for Homes
At Atlas Butler Heating & Cooling, we believe a key component of good residential IAQ is education. So, on all of our service calls, our technicians ask the homeowners a number of questions to see if indoor air quality products would be right for them. We educate ourselves about our customers' needs, then we educate them about how our products and services can help them....
Morris-Jenkins Charlotte, NC
Each month, Contracting Business picks a leading contractor and takes a look at the products, tools, and services that they've chosen to help make the company successful....
The Philosophy of Comfort
The Greek philosopher Socrates said, The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. As their multiple Quality Home Comfort Awards over the years...
Pioneer Spirit Meets Modern Comfort
Early American settlers lived off the land, building their homes from the materials supplied by the rich wilderness. However, it's highly unlikely that...
Solutions for Four Seasons
The rolling mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania make a beautiful setting for a home. The area is deep green in the summer, ablaze with color in the...
