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Commercial vs. Residential w/ AK HVAC (Podcast)

By Bryan Orr

In today's podcast episode, we have a conversation about the pros and cons of commercial vs. residential HVAC with Andrew Greaves. (You may know him as AK HVAC on Youtube. Check out his channel HERE and his comedy channel, HVAComedy, HERE.)

In many cases, young people don't know if they want to go into commercial or residential HVAC, or residential techs may think about getting into commercial HVAC. Commercial HVAC may include RTUs, chillers, market refrigeration, or industrial refrigeration. Commercial HVAC/R also includes a lot of control systems. By comparison, residential HVAC almost exclusively deals with comfort cooling.

Even though it may seem as though commercial HVAC requires more specialized schooling, that isn't necessarily the case. Schooling will especially help with commercial HVAC, but it's not required. The desire to learn is much more important than schooling. (Be willing to unlearn your bad habits, too.) If you enjoy working on large equipment and machines, commercial HVAC may be right for you.

Hours are also a bit different in commercial vs. residential HVAC. In many cases, commercial HVAC still has on-call time, and the hours may be slightly more regular than residential HVAC. (However, some facilities like hospitals may require work at irregular hours.)

If you wish to become an entrepreneur, you'll probably have more success with residential HVAC. The business models are very different, and you'll have more freedom with pricing when you start up a residential business. Commercial work is process-oriented per the customer, and there is a lot of negotiation that goes into a contract. (You'll also be more likely to stumble across lawsuits in commercial HVAC.) If you want to start up a business or have an entrepreneurial spirit, then residential HVAC might be right for you.

We also discuss:

Mechanical/technical aptitude
People skills
Commercial vs. residential shops
Service contracts
Corporate environments
Commercial HVAC technologies
Commercial HVAC specializations
Profitability as a tech vs. a business owner

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies at refrigtech.com.

If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.

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Author:

Bryan Orr

Company: HVAC School

Position: Founder

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In this episode, HVAC veteran Adam Mufich of National Comfort Institute (NCI) pulls back the curtain on one of the industry’s most overlooked problems: the majority of residential HVAC systems in the United States are not delivering the correct amount of airflow. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience, Adam opens up about his own journey from confident installer to humbled diagnostician, sharing the moment he started measuring his systems and realized how much he had been getting wrong. His candor and expertise make this a must-listen for any HVAC professional serious about doing better work.

Adam walks listeners through a sobering picture painted by a Department of Energy study covering 44 research projects across the country. The data reveals that between 50 and 93 percent of systems tested moved less than the minimum 350 CFM per ton of capacity, and between 67 and 100 percent of systems leaked more than 100 CFM to the outside. Equipment oversizing is rampant, with some studies showing that up to 93 percent of systems exceed what Manual J calculations would call for. The ripple effects are enormous: compressor failures, blown blower motors, cracked heat exchangers, wasted energy, and homeowners who are simply not comfortable in their own homes. Adam argues that the single most powerful fix is also the most underused one — properly sizing the equipment in the first place.

The bulk of the episode dives into two distinct approaches NCI teaches for addressing these problems. The first is the Air Upgrade, a targeted set of repairs focused near the equipment to reduce static pressure and increase fan airflow. This includes reworking the filter system (a commonly undersized 16x25x1 filter can triple the allowed pressure budget on its own), improving duct fittings with lower equivalent lengths, cleaning evaporator coils and blower wheels, adjusting fan speed, and sealing duct joints. The second approach is full Duct Optimization, a more comprehensive renovation that addresses the entire duct system, incorporates Manual D calculations, installs balancing dampers, improves insulation, and uses tools like flow hoods and MeasureQuick to verify that every room in the house is receiving the correct airflow and BTUs.

Adam also spends time on the practical and human side of this work — how to talk to homeowners, how to prioritize what matters to them, and how to overcome the very real obstacles that keep technicians from doing thorough airflow work. He addresses everything from fear of opening walls (his solution: build relationships with drywall contractors and offer turnkey repairs) to the simple but powerful mindset shift of treating airflow as something to be measured, not felt with your hand. His closing message is clear: the tools and methods exist, the training is available, and virtually every house in the country has a problem worth solving. The only thing standing in the way is the willingness to do it right.

Topics Covered

The current state of the HVAC industry based on a DOE meta-analysis of 44 studies
Why equipment oversizing is the number one contributor to airflow problems and how to address it
How a 50 percent oversized AC system can increase energy consumption by up to 91 percent (per the ASME Journal of Sustainable Buildings)
Tools for proper load calculations, including Ample Energy and Conduit apps
Why most systems are not moving enough airflow and what the consequences are (heat exchanger failures, compressor failures, comfort complaints)
Duct leakage to the outside and its effects on comfort, indoor air quality, and building pressurization
The four pillars of NCI’s approach: safe, healthy, comfortable, and efficient systems
The Air Upgrade approach: targeted repairs near the equipment to reduce static pressure and increase fan airflow
The Duct Optimization approach: full duct system renovation with balanced airflow to every room
Static pressure profiling: taking four measurements (before/after filter and before/after coil) to pinpoint restrictions
Static pressure budgets and how to use them to identify which part of a system is the biggest problem
Fan Law 2 as a planning tool to predict system performance before making changes
The TrueFlow Grid and its forecasting feature for planning equipment changes
Filter sizing and its massive impact on total external static pressure
Duct fitting equivalent lengths and how to reduce resistance near the equipment
Sealing duct joints and why it adds static pressure that must be planned for
The importance of rechecking and adjusting refrigerant charge after any airflow improvement
Air balancing with a flow hood to verify delivered CFM at every register
Measuring delivered BTUs using tools like MeasureQuick, JobLink, and NCI’s ComfortMax workflow
Overcoming obstacles: technician buy-in, access to ducts in walls, attic space limitations, and homeowner hesitation
Building relationships with drywall contractors to offer turnkey duct repair solutions
Why airflow is invisible and why measuring it is non-negotiable