NCI Article Library

High-Performance HVAC Resources

Dave DeRose, Masterworks Mechanical, Inc., Craig, Colorado

Dave DeRose, President of Masterworks Mechanical, Inc., December’s NCI Member of the Month

The Curse of Hot Weather

David Holt is Director, Business Training and Coaching for National Comfort Institute On June 21st, we officially transition from spring to summer in the northern hemisphere. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather statistics, the...

CSER Enters Its Second Year

CSER Enters Its Second Year by Rob "Doc" Falke Since the introduction of CSER™ (NCI's Cooling System Efficiency Rating), last year, the number of contractors that measure their system's total BTU delivery has skyrocketed. Many have enjoyed the benefits of measuring...

Creating Employee Motivation

Before tackling how to create employee motivation, it is important to first understand that there are basic externally motivated needs that must be met to create employee job satisfaction. In today's competitive environment, most employers understand they must provide...

Cracked Heat Exchangers – Test a Little Further?

Have you ever noticed a distinct change in CO readings when the blower comes on? Most technicians believe this indicates a crack in the heat exchanger. But could it be something else? We have found at least three scenarios that could cause this situation on Natural...

Coziahr Heating & A/C – Council Bluffs, Iowa

Dave Coziahr operates a small HVAC contracting and energy services company in Council Bluffs, Iowa. We selected Dave as August's NCI Contractor of the Month primarily because of his passion for testing HVAC systems. In college Dave was introduced to the SMACNA Systems...

Corcoran Heating & Air Conditioning – Schaumburg, IL

Member of the Month: Corcoran Heating & Air Conditioning - Schaumburg, IL Tom Corcoran is our April NCI Member of the Month. Tom got started in the HVAC business when he didn't make the hockey team in college and followed a buddy into trade school nearly 30 years...

Cool Weather Testing in Cooling Mode

Measuring wetbulb temperatures on a cooling system under a low or no load situation is a whole new ballgame. What happens is that a system operating in cool weather in a building with no load on it generates extremely rapid temperature changes. If you take the...

Converting High Static Readings to Diagnostic Sales

Include the ducts in your service agreements by adding static pressure testing. This test adds a new dimension to service by including the entire system, not just the equipment. It provides better service to your customers, more opportunity to increase system...

Converting Duct Area to Square Feet

What's a CIM? Hint: CFM = Area x Velocity. CIM is Cubic Inches per Minute. Typically, it's a huge number that you get when traversing a duct and calculating CFM, but you forget to divide the area of the duct by 144 to convert square inches to square feet. To save you...