NCI Article Library

High-Performance HVAC Resources

Lessons From a 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...

Learning to Test is a Process

Last month we had a contractor attend his first NCI Air Balance training. To protect his honor, we'll call him Brad. Brad was particularly attentive during the training, his questions were sharp and well thought out, and he scored super high on the certification exam....

Learning How to Test

The last couple of days I've been on a number of phone conversations with a great HVAC contractor who is just learning to balance kitchen exhaust systems. He's new to air balancing, but committed and eager to be good at it. I've been impressed with the learning...

Is Design Enough?

Many of our Dads handed us a little duct chart the day he taught us duct design. My dad's chart said a 6" duct gets 100 CFM, a 7" gets 150, an 8" gets 220 and a 9" gets 300, etc. I thought that was gospel until the day I got my first air balancing hood. I was shocked...

Is Airflow Measurement Enough?

Is Airflow Measurement Enough? Rob "Doc" Falke, NCI President Recently a long time successful NCI contractor contacted me concerning a light commercial project he was struggling with - a 7 ½ ton and a 5 ton unit servicing an office area with sixty uncomfortable women....

Include the Ducts in Your Service Agreements

Adding the ducts to your service agreements is one of the best steps you can take to move your company forward in implementing air diagnostics. It's a small thing that can bring great and immediate results. Spring is the perfect time to implement this new service....

Improving Duct Renovation Quality and Profits

NCI contractors have been testing and renovating duct systems for nearly a dozen years now. Every few years, we review the procedures and forms we provide to support your duct renovation work so they can be upgraded to keep up with the evolution of Performance Based...

Hydronic Balancing: A New Frontier for NCI Contractors

As we are in the process of developing a commercial air and water balancing training and certification program for larger systems, we have been creating hydronic balancing forms and procedures. Water systems have been an integral part of commercial air conditioning...

HSER™ Season is Upon Us

HSER™ Season is Upon Us by Rob "Doc" Falke In May of 2004 we released the CSER ™ and HSER ™ procedures to NCI Members. With the success many members have enjoyed with CSER this summer, several members requested that we address HSER again this fall with additional...

How to Use Static Pressure Budgets

How to Use Static Pressure Budgets by Rob "Doc" Falke, NCI President Static pressure budgets were originally developed to help new air diagnostic technicians interpret static pressure readings. These budgets provide a set of rules to compare pressure readings so they...