At www.achrnews.com, The NEWS’ Extra Edition page is home to hundreds of online-exclusive service and maintenance, technical, and business management articles. Here are some of the best.
REAL PROFITS — ACCOUNTABILITY
In sales organizations, every sales rep is responsible for generating a specific amount of revenue per cubicle or workstation. These are called sales quotas. The reason why quotas are in place is simple; each cubicle has operating costs and the company must see profits. Cubicles, however, are fairly inexpensive to operate, but in the contracting industry, the operating costs for each service truck are enormous. The rising cost of auto insurance alone is crippling many companies.
BTU BUDDY 29: OUTDOOR UNIT WITH RESTRICTED AIRFLOW
The dispatcher has called Bob and given him a service call at a residence. The homeowner’s system was running but not cooling. Bob arrived and went out back to the outdoor unit and found the problem quickly. The owner added an extension to the wooden deck in the back of the house, and the unit was now under the deck. There was only about 2 feet of clearance above the unit, and the fan discharge was upward. Hot air had to be hitting the deck and recirculating back into the unit. This would cause the compressor to overload and shut off. Bob fired up the unit and could hear the condenser fan running but not the compressor. After cooling the compressor, Bob considers relocating the condensing unit.
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH IAQ PARTICULATE PROFILING
IAQ has generated so much awareness that you may want to consider offering IAQ assessments and particulate counts to all of your customers as an extra service — just like when the mechanic charges you for a diagnostic check. If you can present a convincing case, many facilities managers and homeowners will agree that measuring particulate pollutants, such as plant pollen, animal dander, fiberglass, combustion particles, or airborne bacteria, is important.
LAYING OUT RECTANGULAR DUCT TRANSITIONS
Transitions are needed in almost every duct run to change the size or shape of the ductwork. This article explains how to lay out rectangular transitions. A duct run is often kept flat on the top to keep it against the overhead. A transition is also likely to be flat on top. If the duct is relatively small and the change is only in the height of the duct, such as a 12-by-12-inch duct changing to a 12-by-6-inch duct, the transition is often made in two pieces. A two-piece transition can be cut out of a sheet economically and has only two seams.
Publication date: 7/18/2016
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