Tech Tips

This article was written by Neil Comparetto. Neil is one of the smartest and most thoughtful techs I know online. Thanks, Neil. Why measure static pressure? Because it's fun. I enjoy drilling holes in things. I rarely leave a house without drilling a hole in something. I also believe it’s an essential step to commissioning […]

Whether you’re a business owner or want to create an HVAC education program, you’re going to need to create an identity for your organization and put it out there. That’s called “branding” or “creating a brand.” Nowadays, we hear the term “brand” thrown around quite often with influencers and large corporations. As such, the word […]

This article was written by Michael Housh and was inspired by a discussion that took place on the HVAC School Facebook group. If you are already a member of the group, you can look at the oversized furnace discussion yourself HERE. I'd like to give a special thanks to Michael and everyone who contributed to the conversation. […]

Old-timers always used to say that running plumbing and condensate drains wasn't rocket science because “water flows downhill.” While that may be true, water also floats in the air, goes uphill, and forces its way through concrete. Here is a look at some of the ways that water moves that impact building comfort and integrity. […]

Testo 557 vacuum gauge and Appion core removal tools shown I've had a change of heart. Back in the early 2000s, during the big construction boom, I did many system startups on residential units for a large company I worked for. When installers ran the line sets prior to startup, they weren't always very careful […]

Time and time again, low-voltage wiring gets the better of HVAC technicians everywhere. Sure, the wires are color-coded, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to understand. On top of that, schematics sometimes look like ancient tablets written in hieroglyphics or something. But that’s where HVAC School comes in. There is a new 3D animation video […]

Bert recently made a video about his top residential A/C maintenance service tips. He showed some pretty good practices in there, so we’re going to revisit them in this article. Maintenance procedures are vital to any HVAC business, especially those specializing in residential A/C. When we do maintenances, the customers see our faces, and when […]

When we say that there is “flash gas” at a particular point in the system, it can either be a bad thing or a good thing, depending on where it is occurring. Flash gas is just another term for boiling. It is perfectly normal (and required) that refrigerant “flashes” or begins boiling directly after the […]

A guide to the “House As A System” approach to understanding comfort, IAQ, durability, and energy consumption issues caused by building air leakage and HVAC-driven pressure imbalances in single-family homes. This article is a collaborative effort between Sam Myers of Retrotec and Genry Garcia of Comfort Dynamics, Inc. Sam and Genry will be giving a […]