Bob and Tim were just finishing a service contract call when they were contacted by the dispatcher about a no cooling call at a new installation at a small retail store. The weather was unusually warm for this time of the year.

During my 50 years in the HVAC trade, I have found that most technicians do not spend time learning about the compressor and the a/c system as much as they should. In their defense, they are simply too busy to take the time once they are out of school.

Bob and Tim have been sent on a routine service contract call to a new customer. The system is a gas furnace with central air conditioning. After changing the filter and oiling the fan motor, Tim went to the thermostat and caused the furnace to come on and they were looking at the burner when Tim said, “That gas flame doesn’t look right.”

In this month’s troubleshooting situation, we have a customer who has called to say that their condominium has no heat. The particular equipment in this case is a thru-the-wall package unit that provides cooling in the summer and employs a natural gas system to heat the building in the winter.

Bob and Tim are continuing a service call on a heat pump that has two failed auxiliary heaters. When they went to the supply house to get new heaters, they left wondering if the heat pump itself was operating up to capacity. After replacing the defective heaters, Bob suggested a visual inspection of the heat pump.

It’s a common winter woe affecting thousands of building owners and managers each year: frozen water pipes that burst. To minimize water damage caused by a frozen pipe burst, two critical steps must be taken. First, act fast to assess the situation, and then control the environment within the building.

Bob and Tim have arrived at a home where the owner is complaining that the heat pump is not heating properly. It has been getting cold in the home during the late night and early morning hours. It’s really cold outside, about 10°F at night and 25° during the day.

To prepare you for this month’s troubleshooting situation … you’re not the first technician to be called, nor are you the second technician. You’re the third one that’s been called in to solve this customer’s problem, which involves a heat pump that serves a residential building in a mild Southwest desert climate.

Tim and Bob have been sent on a service call to a new customer’s house. The homeowner has an unusual complaint. She said that she thinks she has a furnace problem because there is mold in her house. They don’t know what this can be all about.

I simply don’t know of any way to reduce chiller maintenance (recommended scheduled maintenance), below industry standards and manufacturer recommendations, without reducing the system’s long-term efficiency and working life.