NCI Article Library

High-Performance HVAC Resources

How to Select a Spill Switch

Spill switches provide additional safety whenever barometric dampers have been installed on equipment by sensing heat that may spill from the flue. If the flue becomes blocked, or if the negative pressure in the room causes the chimney to back draft and begin...

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 Airflow Affects Heating Efficiency

Airflow is critical to proper heat transfer in heating and air conditioning systems. Most of us know the rule that temperature drop over a cooling coil should be 18 to 22 degrees. If the temperature drop increases, it is evidence that airflow is low. If the...

Heat Strip BTU and Performance

Since the cold has set in we have received many calls and e-mails on PerformanceTalk from contractors and technicians wresting with electric heat systems. The two main topics discussed are: How to determine and rate electric heater performance and how to figure the...

Halco

2011 February Member of the Month

Performance is the Future of the HVAC Industry

All Pro Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, Contractor Spotlight, owner Richard Black, service manager Mike Greany.

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...

Estimating Heating Equipment Size and Airflow

An essential part of diagnostic testing is communicating your findings to your customers. Your success will be in direct proportion to your ability to help them understand the impact of system performance on their comfort, pocketbook, health and safety. Back when...

Estimating Heating Energy Usage

Should I use Natural Gas or Heat Pump? What about Oil or Propane? What is the most efficient way to heat your home? To begin to make these decisions we must first look at the difference in fuels and what quantity of each fuel it takes to produce a certain amount of...

Don’t Put That Analyzer Away!

While some of us are already dealing with summer air conditioning work, in many parts of the country some of us are still dealing with heating. There's also a large number of contractors that aren't doing heating or cooling work because it is between seasons. This...