Ron Auvil is a senior instructional consultant for a major HVAC/controls manufacturer, specializing in staff and workforce performance issues. He is a leading voice in today’s movement toward operational excellence. An author and curriculum developer, he has worked with some of the world’s largest and most quality-conscious companies, providing custom training on how to improve the operations of their environmental systems. His clients have included NASA, the Pentagon, the University of South Carolina, and others. Ron.Auvil@jci.com
Using a vibration tester can enable technicians with no training in vibration measurement and analysis to test pumps, motors, compressors, and other HVAC equipment and get both diagnoses and recommendations for required action on the spot within just a few minutes.
When the weather is warm outside, it’s imperative to make sure that your building’s mechanical cooling systems are working at maximum efficiency. Since budgets are still tight, nobody wants high energy costs or, worse, an equipment failure. The best way to avoid these bad scenarios is to perform a cooling system tuneup.
If capital expenditures at your customers’ facilities for new equipment have been frozen or eliminated, one way to save money and free up financial resources is to tune up existing HVAC equipment. The checklist provided here should generally apply to most main equipment types and energy waste areas.
The vast majority of commercial buildings today include direct digital control (DDC) systems. These systems are also known by other names, such as facility management systems (FMS) and building automation systems (BAS), and they’re typically maintained by an HVAC controls technician.
When someone asks whether a ventilation system is adjusted correctly, who determines whether it’s correct? The leading standard for ventilation system design is American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE’s) Standard 62.1-2007.
