NCI Article Library

High-Performance HVAC Resources

How to Get Diagnostic Work

Nearly all systems are in need of air-side and combustion diagnostic, but getting permission to test the systems, and getting the customer to agree to pay for repairs requires more than technical genius. We asked a number of successful NCI Performance-Based...

How Much Cooling Can Your Fan Afford?

The quest for higher efficiency cooling equipment is hitting a barrier. Unsuspecting installing contractors are being handed hidden liability that is difficult to identify and resolve. Certain cooling coils are being built for the highest possible SEER rating, but...

How Does Air Balancing Save Energy?

How Does Air Balancing Save Energy? by Rob "Doc" Falke, President, NCI Air balancing is a relatively small specialty profession with less than 3,000 commercial supervisors certified by four major organizations. There are fewer than 7,000 residential balancing...

How Change Orders Keep a Job Profitable

A substantial amount of the work many of us do is based on a fixed price quote, taken from a predefined scope of work. Plan and spec work has, just as the name implies, a set of plans and specifications that we are bound by contract to follow. But what happens when...

Heat Pumps Can Handle More Filter Pressure Drop?

It's true: heat pump air handlers can normally afford more filter pressure drop than furnaces with the same fan capacity. As filters continue to increase in efficiency, one parallel fact is that usually the pressure drop over the filter also increases as well....

Harvesting Summer Leads – Now Is The Time To Reap

That quiet time is just around the corner. Those days when the heat subsides, but it's not cold yet. The panic shifts from "How am I going to get all this work done?" to "We gotta sell something!" This is a great time to get caught up on the air diagnostic leads that...

Friday Morning Training

One common trait of successful NCI contractors is that they provide some form of continuous training to technicians, salespeople and installers. One traditional time slot for this training is Friday mornings. Few manage to hold training every Friday, but those that...

Fresh Air for Ventilation and Building Pressurization

Adding fresh air to a heating or cooling system accomplishes two primary indoor air quality goals: It helps control building pressures and improves indoor air quality by diluting polluted or stale indoor air. Outside air enters the system through a roof or sidewall...

Finding Heat Pump BTU Output

It's 30 degrees outside and the heat pump is running. Let's say it's a 3 ton unit. What airflow should the equipment deliver through the system and what should the BTU output of that system be under current weather conditions? Last month, NCT included a HeatMaxx...

Estimating Heating Equipment Size and Room CFM

Many members called our tech support line this last month as you've shifted gears to test in heating mode. A large number of the conversations have been about sizing heating equipment and how to estimate room heating airflow. So let's get back to the basics and review...