NCI Article Library

High-Performance HVAC Resources

Diagnosing a Long-standing Water Heater Pilot Problem

It appears that certain water heater pilots may have been undersized in the field for the last 15 years or more. For over a decade we have received reports from NCI technicians working on pilot outage problems finding pilot orifices sized for propane pilots on natural...

Developing a Customer Referral Plan

Developing a Customer Referral Plan By Nita Brooks, NCI Business Solutions Development Manager Your company should invest in developing a good customer referral plan to reward and give incentives to your loyal customers to spread the word on your products and...

Design Vs. Redesign

We've looked, but can't find it. There are mountains of information about how to design a new HVAC system, but nothing much that addresses how to redesign one. It would take hundreds of pages to completely detail the process, but let’s take a stab at the basic ideas....

Delivering Peace of Mind for a Living

Don Ball, Ball Heating & Air Conditioning Contractor Spotlight.

Declare Independence from the Weather

Declare Independence from the Weather by David Holt Outdoor temperatures have been exceeding 100° F all across North America this summer. HVAC contractors in these "hot spots" have been racking up some serious overtime trying to handle all the emergency no-cooling...

Dealing With Venting-Related Moisture Issues

Most technicians are familiar with the term Pre-Purge used to define the mechanical operation of a burner fan or draft fan prior to ignition of a burner. The main purpose of pre-purge is to operate the fan or blower to clear the combustion chamber or heat exchanger of...

Dealing with Low Enthalpy Change Across Coils

Over the past couple of months we had a number of tech support calls concerning low enthalpy change across cooling coils. Here's some information to consider next time you perform this wet bulb test. When taking wet bulb temperature readings before or after a cooling...

Dealing With Condensing Furnace Venting Issues

The winter of 2007 delivered several extremely cold blows across the country that was not only good for business, but made evident condensing equipment deficiencies that we don't see too often. Before winter slips away, it's a good time to identify and file away three...

Davis Services, Inc. – Spartanburg, South Carolina

Davis Services, Inc., of Spartanburg, South Carolina is June’s NCT Contractor of the Month.

David Richardson, Richardson Heating and Air, Frankfort, KY

David Richardson cut his teeth in the industry in the low bid game of residential new construction air conditioning and heating. He works in a small family business and was thinking about getting out of it. He knew there was more to the HVAC industry, but didn't know...