In this edition of the Btu Buddy series, a customer with a heat pump is seeing his auxiliary heat light stay on almost all the time. With Btu Buddy's help, Bob finds that a check valve in the refrigerant circuit is stuck open.
An ongoing study evaluating the performance of a new oil-free refrigeration compressor technology in a U.S. Navy facility in San Diego is showing promising results.
All employees responsible for answering the phone should have a basic approach that gets all the information needed. The best way to do that is to create phone scripts and practice them. Here consultant Al Levi provides his advice.
Here is a quick reference on heat transfer. The equations are designed for quick and easy application in the field. They're intended for the technician who needs to determine if a system or component is performing in the desired range of operation.
This article describes how to troubleshoot a compressor and the associated problems that can cause a system to fail prematurely. It discusses the proper methods of diagnosing and repairing system problems.
The benefits of blower door testing are multifold, and the contractors that have adopted its use are employing it in a variety of creative, valuable ways to strengthen the bottom line and improve quality of service to their customers.
In this installment of the Btu Buddy series, Bob services an oil furnace and discovers a plugged up oil filter. Btu Buddy explains the cause of the problem and assists him in correcting it.
Unfortunately, the failure rate of new businesses is staggeringly high. Often the problem lies with the technician, now business owner. He may have the technical skills, but not the necessary business skills.
Three years ago a team of researchers began developing an "intelligent" solar heating and cooling system. Today that team is exploring the likelihood of increasing the system's efficiency and adaptability by reducing it to the micrometer scale.
The next time you're faced with replacing an old steam boiler that was attached to a two-pipe air vent system, try the old-timer's trick. Remember that the replacement boiler is smaller in size and holds less water, thus requiring a boiler feed tank that acts as a reservoir for the new boiler.