BACK
Ventilation Strategies: ERVs, Dehumidifiers, and More
How Do Communicating Systems Work?
Manual J Field Data: Windows
Troubleshooting 90%+ Gas Furnaces
Practical Uses of Combustion Analysis
5 Terror-Inducing HVAC/R Stories & Facts
The Case for Buying a Combustion Analyzer
Manual J Field Data: Walls
The Wide-Narrow-Wide of Manual J
History of Gas Furnaces – Redux
Heat Exchangers and Temperature Rise – Short #227
Manufacturer Responsibility – Manifesto
Q&A – Tips for Moving to HVAC Sales – Short #226
White Shirt Techs – Manifesto
Q&A – Double Flares – Short #225
Can You Coat Fiberglass?
Redux – The Lost Art of Steam Heating w/ Dan Holohan
Q&A on Superheat – Short #223
#hvac
Tech Tips:
This tech tip recaps the livestream by the same name, featuring HVAC School contributors Matt Bruner and Adam Mufich, as well as special guests Corbett Lunsford and John Semmelhack. You can watch that livestream on our YouTube channel HERE, and you can learn more about the great educational opportunities Corbett has to offer at https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/. […]
Read more
This tech tip recaps the livestream by the same name, featuring HVAC School contributors Matt Bruner and Adam Mufich, as well as special guest Steve Cook from Hisense. You can watch that livestream on our YouTube channel HERE. We also owe special thanks to Roman Baugh, who added some extra information on the topic. Communicating […]
Read more
A manual J load calculation will require you to input the U-value for the windows or “fenestrations” on the house. Fenestration is a fancy construction word for window. Figuring out the U-value and SHGC of a window on an existing home is very difficult. But first, let’s dive into what the terms U-value and SHGC […]
Read more
This tech tip recaps the livestream by the same name, featuring HVAC School contributors Matt Bruner and Adam Mufich and special guest Ty Branaman. You can watch that livestream on our YouTube channel HERE and visit Ty’s at https://www.youtube.com/@love2hvac. While 80% gas furnaces are relatively commonplace in the Southeastern United States, where HVAC School is […]
Read more
This tech tip reviews the live stream by the same name aired on November 1st, 2023. You can watch the full live stream HERE. We want to give special thanks to the guests: Jim Bergmann, Jim Davis, Tony Gonzalez, Louise Kellar, Bill Spohn, and Tyler Nelson! Gas furnaces (or any combustion equipment) create a controlled […]
Read more
As the evening approaches on this All Hallow's Eve, Reformation Day, or Halloween (depending on your preference), let us take a moment to focus on some of the truly terrifying elements of our trade—because the scariest stories are TRUE. Real Ghost Stories The year was 1921, and a wealthy family purchased a new home in […]
Read more
Last year, I bought my first combustion analyzer. I had just started my own company and felt the additional weight of responsibility to sit down and determine the best way to verify that the furnaces I was servicing were working safely. In the past, the most extensive testing I had done was a visual inspection […]
Read more
This article will cover how to collect field data for walls on an existing home for an ACCA Manual J calculation. In full disclosure, I had never collected any field data for a Manual J before I wrote this article. Many of the methods discussed were suggested by HVAC technicians and contractors in an online […]
Read more
Starting to work on a Manual J load calculation can feel extremely overwhelming. How do we know what to focus on? What does normal look like? What if I’m way off on something and install way too big or small of a unit? On a practical level, what is the payback or value of spending […]
Read more
Videos:
Podcasts:
Jim takes us all the way through the history of furnaces, from the Stone Age when he was a child to modern modulating condensing types. The goal of a furnace is to move heat, so a furnace uses heat exchangers to facilitate heat transfer. Furnaces have primary and secondary air. The primary air goes […]
Read more
In this short podcast episode, Bryan talks about heat exchangers and temperature rise in gas furnaces, especially 80% open-combustion gas furnaces. Temperature rise is the difference between the return air temperature and supply air temperature; in cooling, we usually refer to this difference as a delta T or temperature split. The manufacturer sets a […]
Read more
In this episode of the HVAC School podcast, Bryan shares his “Manufacturer Responsibility Manifesto,” a document he wrote over two years ago but held back from publishing until now. The manifesto addresses growing concerns about the burden being placed on HVAC contractors, particularly smaller businesses, due to manufacturing quality issues and warranty policies. The […]
Read more
In this short Q&A podcast episode, Bryan answers a listener-submitted question and gives some of his tips for moving to HVAC sales from field technician/installer roles. The world of sales has a different pay structure, which makes it an appealing option to many technicians. Salespeople need to be able to have money conversations with […]
Read more
This unique podcast episode is a commentary on the phenomenon of “white shirt techs” in the HVAC industry – a term that refers to technicians who focus heavily on sales and maintaining a pristine appearance rather than technical expertise. While there's nothing inherently wrong with having good sales skills or maintaining a professional appearance, […]
Read more
In this short podcast episode, Bryan answers a listener-submitted question about double flares and their application in the HVAC/R industry. Flare connections are common in certain types of equipment, and they connect the copper to the appliance. As a result, when we make a flare, our goal is to make it leak-free. A regular […]
Read more
In this episode of the HVAC School Podcast, Bryan interviews Zach about duct coatings and their applications in HVAC systems, particularly focusing on the Hardcast RE500 product. The discussion delves into the importance of proper duct coating applications and their benefits for both contractors and customers. Zach, who has extensive experience in duct cleaning […]
Read more
In today's podcast, Bryan talks with legendary Hydronics author and trainer Dan Holohan about the history of steam heating and some practical applications of old ideas. Recently, Dan has been working on more novels, having published two of them over the past few months. Steam heating is a “lost art” nowadays; it has become […]
Read more
In this short Q&A podcast episode, Bryan answers a listener-submitted question about superheat, including what it is and how we measure it. Superheat is the number of degrees a refrigerant is above its saturation point. The saturation point is where you will have a liquid-vapor mix, so superheat only exists when a substance is […]
Read more
