November 2018

What is the difference between R-Value and U-Factor and why should you care?

This episode is very exciting to me because we get to have Dr. Allison Bailes on the show to talk about friction rate and duct design.  To find out more about everything Dr. Bailes has to say about building performance and duct design visit his site at  The Energy Vanguard Blog

Now is the part where we get specific about start capacitors and inrush. If you haven't read the first three parts, please do so before reading this one, or it may not make sense. (You can find Part #1, Part #2, and Part #3 at these links.) I'm going to come out and say it […]

Before we get into the parts that will ruffle some feathers, let's talk a bit about what a “Start” capacitor is and what it does. First, let's review that both start and run capacitors connect between the leg of power opposite of compressor common and the start winding. Even though it seems like a run capacitor […]

Thought Experiment #3 – The Start Winding Has No “Inrush” with a run capacitor only  The name “start winding” is an antiquated term for the single-phase residential industry. It came from the days when CSIR (capacitor start, induction run) motors were still used commonly. In a CSIR motor, the start relay removes the start winding […]

This series of articles is one of those that will bug a lot of people because it will go against a lot of what you've been told about compressors, start capacitors, and inrush current. For that reason, I want you to work through a few thought experiments first and maybe even stop and try it […]

Rusty Walker with Hill Phoenix comes on and talks about CO2 triple and critical points and some best practices for refrigeration techs working w/ CO2

This tip was created by Jason Pinzak and originally posted on the HVAC Technician's Facebook group. It is reposted here with permission from Jason. Thanks! Contactors are useful in commercial and industrial applications, particularly for controlling large lighting loads and motors. One of their hallmarks is reliability. However, like any other device, they are not […]

We cover what you need to consider before soldering or brazing any type of joint