In this episode from the 7th Annual HVACR Training Symposium, Alex Meaney delivers a live conference talk he calls “Airflow Serenity,” built around the idea of knowing which duct problems are worth chasing and which changes will actually move the needle for a customer.

He opens by describing and reframing how technicians identify airflow problems, including the “complementary failure” situation where both the ductwork and the equipment are improperly sized. The way we communicate with homeowners plays a massive role in how well we can identify these problems. The time spent learning about a homeowner’s comfort complaints is a sales tool in itself.

The middle of the talk is where the technical takeaways come in, including how to measure system airflow with anemometers, manometers with static pressure probes & a blower chart, and the TrueFlow Grid. The main engineering takeaway is that friction, not duct size alone, governs airflow, and that friction increases with the square of velocity — so relatively small increases in duct size or reductions in restriction along the path can produce outsized gains.

There are several practical, low-cost fixes technicians can make: pulling slack out of flex duct, adding return capacity, using proper transitions and radius fittings instead of abrupt ones, avoiding compound fittings, and making sure supply plenums have a proper end cap rather than dead-ending against a wall. These can be bundled into a system replacement.

This episode contains embedded sponsor messages from Refrigeration Technologies, Carrier, Copeland, Santa Fe Dehumidifiers, and TruTech Tools.

Resources

• Mean HVAC Consulting & Design (Alex’s website)
• HVAC School calculators
• Submit a podcast question
• Learn about the GRIT Foundation

Purchase your tickets or learn more about the 8th Annual HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium.