When Physical Plant Department (PPD) professionals with varying areas of expertise come together, amazing things can happen. PPD Engineering & Energy Services (E&ES) and the Area 1 maintenance group collaborated on an in-house project to upgrade the controls for the heating, cooling, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) system at Dane Smith Hall, a 20-year-old building. For the first time, two PPD groups, carried out a large and complex project avoiding contractors, change orders and the complications that can occur while working with entities outside of the University.

This $130,000 project was designed by the engineers in E&ES and the installation was performed by electricians, HVAC technicians and plumbers employed by PPD. Overall, the final cost of the project was $6,000 lower than budgeted, even with the added scope of work due to cost savings.

When we realized we were going to save so much money, we were able to include a lot more upgrades to the building systems than we initially anticipated, said Tommy Tafoya, E&ES manager.

State-of-the-art Variable Frequency Drives, HVAC controls, 90 valves for zone controls and 12 energy valves were installed to improve the efficiency of the six air handlers located in Dane Smith Hall. Area 1 maintenance was also able to explore and document where every controller and valve was located while troubleshooting problem areas based on their knowledge of the buildings unique set of circumstances.

Richard Van Damme, master HVAC tech in Area 1, said it was a nice change to be involved in every aspect of the project because it allows for the maintenance group to have a better understanding of the new technology and how its working in the building.

Now we know where every access point is so we can get to the problem quicker and ultimately provide a better service to our students and staff, said Van Damme.

With the new technology, it is anticipated that the building will require less electricity, steam and chilled water from the Ford Utilities Center, the Universitys power plant.

The most expensive part of operating a building on a daily basis is moving air. In Dane Smith Hall, the air handlers were running at about 68 percent of full fan speed capacity before we upgraded the system, and now they are running at 47 percent. A huge reduction in energy costs, explained Tafoya.

Automated Logic Controls, the computer program used by PPD E&ES allows technicians to see all spaces in the building to monitor the temperatures and the details of how the air-handlers are functioning. From a remote site, technicians can see if a classroom is too hot or too cold and can adjust the temperatures from afar.

Consistent climate-controlled classrooms, energy efficiency, and a complete working knowledge of the buildings systems for maintenance are the main benefits of this project. Another unexpected benefit was the workers were able to coordinate the work with the building occupants and build positive relationships.

There were no complaints throughout the project from occupants because the PPD staff made sure to communicate effectively and work around the classroom schedules, offices and computer labs. Everyone was really impressed by the professionalism of PPD, said Mark Orgeron, UNM graduate student and program coordinator in the UNM Provost office.

E&ES and Area 1 maintenance will begin their next collaborative project to upgrade the HVAC system at the Continuing Education building this summer.

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In-house PPD project saves time, money - UNM Newsroom

Ashburnham and Ashby are among the seven communities to receive Green Communities Competitive Grants, which they'll use to make municipal building more energy efficient.

Sen. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, a member of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, announced the grants last Monday.

"Congratulations to these seven communities on being awarded grant funding through the Green Communities program," Sen. Gobi said in a statement. "It takes hard work on the part of municipalities to be eligible for these awards and these communities all did their part for the greater good on the Commonwealth and the environment."

Ashby was awarded a grant totaling $100,981. The money will be spent installing two new boiler systems, in Town Hall and the Ashby Free Public Library, said Town Administrator Bob Hanson.

The Town Hall heating system costs $65,071 and includes the large-capacity tank and new programmable thermostats. The town will spend $35,910 on a new boiler for the library.

Ashburnham was awarded a $217,300 grant to install a new heating and cooling system in the town library, which, according to Town Administrator Heather Budrewicz, is "by far" the least energy efficient building in the town.

The library's current 30-year-old HVAC system is "obsolete by today's standards," according to Budrewicz.

The grant will help the town inch closer toward a goal set in 2013 to reduce municipal energy consumption by 20 percent.

From 2013 to 2016, the town cut energy expenditure by 11 percent.

The new HVAC system is expected to reduce consumption by another 5 percent, bringing the total amount cut to 16 percent.

The HVAC system is expected to improve air quality in the library and make way for the removal of a 50-year-old underground oil tank. Town plans to apply for additional grant funding to finance the removal of the 3,000 gallon tank.

Green Communities Competitive grants are administered by the Department of Energy Resources.

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Ashburnham, Ashby win 'Green Communities' grants - Sentinel & Enterprise

Today, using the internet-of-things channel for building CRM victories seems to be a demonstration of more hype than reality. But there is vast potential, as early adopters reap wins, executives said at a recent Salesforce IoT demo.

No topic is off limits in this expert guide devoted to Salesforces much-hyped cloud-based BI platform.

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"A lot of companies are still figuring out what their strategy is," Chris Weld, Salesforce IoT Cloud go-to-market director, told SearchSalesforce after presenting at the Boston stop of the Salesforce World Tour. While he acknowledged "not a huge amount of companies" have figured out a game plan for monetizing IoT, many Salesforce customers are trying to figure it out. Today's data systems are more agile, making them more conducive for IoT than just a few years ago, he said, and narrowing the scope of implementations that can affect business goals.

"[Enhancing] service is the low-hanging fruit we've seen for IoT," Weld added. "When you look at the operational change that's required for connected device data, that's where we've seen the highest value."

Some of the early adopters showcased in the Salesforce IoT demo included Emerson Climate Technologies, a connected-thermostat maker that added value to its product by conducting diagnostics on newly installed heating and cooling systems. While many new home heating and cooling systems feature potentially excellent efficiency specifications, Weld said in his presentation, improper installation begets poor performance and inefficient energy use. When a thermostat can measure efficiency and report performance metrics back to consumers, it's a reality check and new data point about the job a household's local installer performed.

In the future, Emerson plans to expand those diagnostics beyond new system installs to more general efficiency tests to help consumers conserve energy and lower their bills. In this way, the company hopes to prove to consumers the worth of its "smart thermostat" that typically costs twice as much as ones that aren't IoT-connected.

Also in the Salesforce IoT demo was a hypothetical large-format printer manufacturer using a combination of Salesforce IoT Cloud and Service Cloud features to track wear and tear on printers and help the businesses using the printers troubleshoot and replace parts as they wear out.

To figure out if investing in IoT to boost CRM capabilities is worthwhile, Weld said Salesforce customers he's worked with on IoT projects have to innovate rapidly. This means, typically, they have to fail fast and iterate again if the original concept doesn't quite work out in real-life tests.

They also need to add customer context -- examples include service history and service-level agreements (SLAs) in place -- to be able to act upon data the IoT sensors are outputting into the CRM system.

It is early in the game, early in the technology evolution. Wayne Kurtzmanresearch director, IDC

The most forward-thinking customers, Weld said, take advantage of real-time tech and thinking about IoT service implementations as proactive instead of reactive. "If we were doing this session four years ago, we'd be talking about Hadoop and HBase and [retrospectively analyzing] this incredible amount of data," Weld said. "We want to shift away from that and say, 'It's great to know what happened two days ago, but I really want to know what's happening right now so I can prevent problems before they occur.'"

The potential problem with IoT for CRM: thinking too big. Wayne Kurtzman, research director for social and experiential solutions at IDC, said the trick for companies to turn their CRM IoT pilots into money-making implementations is picking the right spots. Getting too ambitious too quickly can potentially eat up returns on investment before the projects get off the ground.

"That is a challenge," Kurtzman said. "It is early in the game, early in the technology evolution -- there's some risks at the beginning of any adoption curve. But if you play it right, if you play it where you are versatile, you can in fact reap significant benefits."

Salesforce Einstein: What's the benefit?

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IoT, Salesforce and VR meet your field service crew

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Salesforce IoT demo shows it's becoming easier to meld CRM and IoT - TechTarget

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology is relatively new to the U.S., yet it has quickly become a very popular option in the commercial market.VRF is now moving into the residential market as well as more and more high-end homeowners and custom home builders are learning about the technologys ability to provide on-demand heating or cooling in multiple zones.

Many manufacturers are responding to this trend by offering VRF systems that are designed specifically for residential applications. These units often feature smaller footprints, lower profiles, and quieter operation as well as higher efficiencies, which are designed to appeal to the most discerning homeowner.

Homeowners do not lack options when it comes to choosing HVAC equipment for their high-end homes, so why should they consider VRF? It all comes down to efficiency, said CJ Corbet, southwest sales engineer, Fujitsu General America Inc. Our products, such as the J-II line, use algorithms to optimize highly efficient components, such as variable-speed compressors and fan motors, internal subcooling, and electronic expansion valve modulation, which help VRF systems out-perform traditional central heating and cooling in like-for-like applications.

But in residential applications, zoning is where VRF systems really shine, noted Corbet.

With VRF, we are able to put a unit in each room and only heat or cool the room that is occupied, he said. This eliminates heating or cooling rooms that arent occupied, which saves energy.

Energy savings, precise temperature control, and exceptional comfort definitely make VRF systems attractive to homeowners, said Chuck Hughes, director of commercial sales, LG air conditioning technologies, LG Electronics USA Inc.

Unlike conventional systems, which set a single temperature for an entire home, VRF systems offer the flexibility to create dedicated zones that allow for precise temperature control based on homeowners preferences. This lends itself to increased efficiency and improved comfort in a way that conventional systems simply cant rival.

Some VRF systems, such as LGs Multi V S line, also offer heat recovery technology, which enables homeowners to heat and cool different areas of their homes simultaneously. This is especially beneficial for homes that have gyms, for example, which the owners would like to keep cool during the winter, even though heat is required for the living areas.

In this case, heat recovery systems could repurpose the return heat from the gym to warm up the living area, which in turn, increases the energy efficiency, said Hughes. The return heat can also be used to heat a pool, which means homeowners are getting multiple uses for the energy they are paying for.

In addition to energy efficiency and personalized comfort, VRF systems offer design flexibility and quiet operation, inside and out, said Michelle Robb, director of residential marketing, Mitsubishi Electric US Inc. Cooling & Heating division.

VRF systems feature a compact footprint, which requires less outdoor space, and with long line lengths, the system allows maximum flexibility in installation, she said. There are also a variety of indoor unit styles available depending on the preference of the homeowner or the installation requirements.

While some might think VRF systems are expensive, they can actually cost less over the course of their lifetimes than traditional systems, said Robb. In a retrofit, there is existing infrastructure that may be reused depending on the choice of indoor units. In new construction, the initial cost of the equipment is typically slightly more expensive, but between reduced installation, labor costs, and operational costs due to impressive efficiencies, VRF systems can quickly become a more economical option all while providing better comfort.

Thanks to advancements in cold-climate technology, VRF systems can now be installed in just about any geographic area. For example, Mitsubishi Electrics S-Series and CITY MULTI VRF systems, both of which can be used in residential applications, can provide up to 100 percent heating output at 0F and 83 percent heating capacity at minus 13F, thanks to its Hyper-Heating technology.

With this technology, VRF systems are now a good fit for any home regardless of location, layout, or homeowner needs, said Robb.

It also does not matter whether VRF systems are being installed in existing homes or in new construction, as they work well in both types of applications.

With older homes, space often doesnt allow for the addition of bulky ductwork, but with our duct-free VRF, homeowners are able to preserve architectural features without requiring a redesign of the space or any major construction, said Hughes. In the case of new construction, owners desiring a clean aesthetic can eliminate building soffits for ductwork, which also translates to more usable square footage.

In Corbets opinion, all large homes would benefit from a VRF system rather than a traditional system, because the more rooms there are in a house, the better options there are for zoning.

VRF systems are also very well rounded for both extreme heating and cooling situations, so they cover a wide variety of geographical locations. And homeowners benefit from low energy costs and the comfort of on-demand heating or cooling through zoning.

And the good news for contractors is that VRF design is handled the same way in both residential and commercial applications.

Zone loads are required to select the appropriate unit for specific spaces, and once the units are selected, our design tool is used to lay out the configuration, said Corbet. That tool will catch any limitations that the project might exceed so that each project is designed correctly. For all VRF applications, controls are universal in that they can be used in any configuration.

While the controls for VRF systems are basically the same for all types of applications, residential controls may be slightly different.

Since VRF can be installed in large-scale commercial applications, such as school campuses, we offer additional controls for those types of installations, said Robb. VRF systems are also compatible with our kumo cloud programmable controller app, which offers remote control from anywhere in the U.S. through a smartphone, tablet, or computer. The interface has the ability to control multiple locations and indoor units, program cooling and heating events, indicate filter replacement, and monitor errors in the system.

For any VRF installation, be it residential or commercial, contractors still need to run a room-by-room load calculation to determine the number of indoor units required to appropriately condition the space, said Hughes. Since VRF systems can be ducted or non-ducted, contractors are able to select the systems that work best for each application, and end users can choose the indoor units that best complement their interior dcor. Combine that flexibility with zoning control, energy efficiency, and low maintenance, and there is no question that homeowner demand for VRF will continue to grow.

Publication date: 6/26/2017

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VRF Moving Into High-End Homes - ACHR NEWS

The Northeast branch of the Reading Public Library will be closed for the summer because the building will not have air conditioning.

The library is expecting the installation of a new heating and air conditioning system, but it won't be ready in time for the hot summer months.

Bronwen Gamble, executive library director, said the delay is frustrating for everyone involved.

"The city has been very proactive in trying to get this done, but it's a big project with many moving parts," she said.

The system will cost more than $150,000 to install, which is being paid for in a Keystone grant and community development block grants, each of which have specific requirements in the bidding process.

To lessen the inconvenience, Gamble said the Northeast branch will have outdoor hours on the front porch of the building where people can check out books, including new releases, and a selection of other media.

In addition to the regular hours, the Northwest branch will be open Mondays and Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Gamble said the newly revised bid specifications were released Monday and that the city is eager to expedite the process as quickly as possible.

"We're sorry for the inconvenience," she said. "We know it's frustrating. We're doing the best we can."

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Lack of air conditioning forces Reading's Northeast branch library to close for summer - Reading Eagle

Board Member James Bibbs, second from left, joins with others from GLEAMNS and SCE&G in a cooperative effort.

By James Bibbs, GLEAMNS Bd.Member

For over 50 years, GLEAMNS has been committed to helping improve the living conditions of our low-income families. Our services in Edgefield County include:

Head Start/Early Head Start promotes school readiness of children ages birth to 5 years old from low income families by supporting their development in a comprehensive way through: Health, Education, Nutrition, Disability Family Services, Parent Involvement and Mental Health.

Workforce Development Program which provides services to youth, adults and dislocated workers, who fall within the poverty income guidelines. This program assist with Workkeys testing, job search/employability skills, counseling and career planning, on-the-job-training, referrals, internship, and education assistance.

Community Services Program available services are Rental assistance, residential heating and cooling bills, air conditioners, HVAC repair/replacement, and educational assistance.

Weatherization Program The programs goal is to reduce energy costs to low-income persons by improving the energy efficiency of their homes while ensuring their health and safety. Weatherization specifically focuses on assisting low-income people primarily the elderly, persons with disabilities, families with children, and households with high energy burdens.

Weatherization specialists inspect and test combustion appliances; air seal ducts, holes and cracks; insulate attic, sidewall, floor and hot water heater and install base-load measures for electricity reduction. You may qualify for Weatherization if your total household income falls within the Poverty Income Guidelines listed below:

Family size ONE; Gross Monthly Income is $1980.00; for each additional person add $690.00.

Applications are available at our main office in Greenwood. To request an application, please contact us at 864-229-8836 or 864-229-8818.

As a GLEAMNS Board member, representing Edgefield County, it is important to me to make sure Edgefield County citizens are aware of the services GLEAMNS provides and has full access to those services. It is also important to me, that GLEAMNS continue to develop partnerships that help to leverage our limited resources for our communities.

GLEAMNS joins with SCE&G

Today, GLEAMNS joins SCE&G in helping ensure low to moderate households are using energy as efficiently as possible. We applaud SCE&G for their efforts, as all measures and supplies provided today are at no cost to our residents. We are thankful for our partnership with SCE&G and look forward to increased collaboration in the future.

Like today, and always, you have my full commitment to continue working with GLEAMNS and other partners to further develop and improve our communities.

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GLEAMNS' Commitment to Low-Income - Edgefieldadvertiser

INDIANAPOLIS Chris Cunningham didnt have the honor of serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, but hes always had a deep respect for those who do. He gives veterans priority status when he hires, but he wanted to do more.

On Thursday, June 22, he and a crew from his company, Service Plus Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, spent the day in Franklin, Indiana, installing a new furnace and air conditioner for a disabled Marine.

The project, valued at $8500, is Cunninghams inaugural Salute to Service program, through which his company will annually donate and install a new air conditioner for a veteran in need.

This absolutely is a life saver for him, said Debra Gahimer, who nominated her husband for the program but didnt tell him about the possibility for fear of him being disappointed if he wasnt selected. After weeks of waiting for word, shed given up but took some comfort in thinking that whoever won surely needed it more.

Cunningham said it would be difficult to find someone who needed the project more.

Mark Gahimer left the Marines after only a year due to knee injuries but went on to spend 33 years in Indiana law enforcement, serving with the Capitol Police, Hendricks and Johnson counties, and the town of Whiteland. Now 60, he suffered a stroke last year. Hes diabetic, has recurring issues with dehydration, and severe back and neck issues. He uses a walker to get around. Summer is especially difficult as heat worsens his dehydration issues.

For the past three years, the Gahimers have relied on window air conditioners because they havent been able to afford to fix their central air conditioner. They dont really do that much good, Debra Gahimer said.

Cunningham was moved by Mark Gahimers nomination, but when he visited the couple to assess their needs, he said he had to do more.

Heres a guy whos spent his life protecting and serving others. First as a Marine and then as a police officer, Cunningham said. His a/c didnt work at all, and his furnace was 30 years old. Were going to rip out everything and give them a system that will help them all year round.

Mark Gahimer was a bit skeptical of the program at first, thinking it was likely a bait-and-switch kind of offer. He said he kept waiting for Cunningham to tell him what the catch was.

Id kind of forgotten there are still some really great people in the world, Mark Gahimer said.

For more information, visit: serviceplusnow.com.

Publication date: 6/27/2017

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Retired Marine/Police Officer Gets 'Life Saving' Gift - ACHR NEWS

Situated on 11.8 acres, Viega LLC's Broomfield campus will be home to a state-of-the-art, 55,000-square-foot North American headquarters as well as a 24,000-square-foot training facility. The new headquarters will be a Class A office building featuring a sweeping curved roof, a design inspired by Viega's innovative fittings. The building will incorporate a variety of Viega solutions including press fittings, fire suppression systems, radiant heating and cooling, carrier systems and manifolds. A courtyard will feature Viega's radiant snow melt systems.

The new training facility is in addition to the company's existing training facility located in Nashua, N.H. and will expand Viega's training capacity. The facility will offer hands-on, interactive training on Viega systems and solutions. The training facility will also incorporate and highlight Viega fittings, radiant heating and cooling systems, fire suppression systems and carrier systems.

Glass curtain walls in both buildings will let in natural light as well as showcase great views. Estimated completion for both buildings is late 2018.

"We've received such a warm welcome in Colorado already and are excited to establish our new campus. Our new state-of-the-art headquarters and training center will provide a working environment that our colleagues and customers deserve and will highlight our innovative products," said David Garlow, CEO, Viega LLC. "The growth in this area shows no signs of slowing and there is a wealth of talent here that has already strengthened our team."

Land use has been optimized to position the company for future growth and development at the site. Close proximity to the Denver International Airport will also make Viega more accessible to customers and partners.

Viega LLC employs nearly 600 people in North America, with a central manufacturing and distribution center in McPherson, Kansas, as well as distribution centers in Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania, and a training facility in New Hampshire.

About Viega:The Viega Group, with a tradition of innovation for more than 115 years, has more than 4,000 employees worldwide and is among the leading manufacturers of pipe fitting installation technology. In metal press systems for industrial, commercial and residential projects, the company is the global market leader. In the U.S., Viega LLC employs nearly 500 people and offers more than 3,000 products. These include Viega ProPress for copper and stainless, Viega MegaPress for black iron pipe and Viega PEX Press systems in Zero Lead bronze and high-performance polymer. Viega also specializes in the design, production and installation of ProRadiant heating and cooling systems. For more information, visit http://www.viega.us.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/viega-breaks-ground-for-new-headquarters-in-broomfield-300479744.html

SOURCE Viega LLC

http://www.viega.us

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Viega Breaks Ground for New Headquarters in Broomfield - PR Newswire (press release)

To deal with expected increase in private spaceship traffic at the International Space Station in the coming years, two US astronauts are set to embark on a spacewalk on Friday (August 19) to install a special parking spot for them.

Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins will step outside the orbiting laboratory to attach an international docking adaptor launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship last month.

NASA describes the equipment as a metaphorical gateway to a future that will allow a new generation of US spacecraft , the first since the space shuttle program ended in 2011 , to carry astronauts to the space station.

The docking adaptor will be the first of two such additions to the space station. The second is expected to be shipped in 2018.

ISS operations integration manager Kenneth Todd called the installation a very significant milestone on the path to establishing commercial crew capability.

The spacewalk is set to start at 8:05 am (1205 GMT) with veteran NASA astronaut Williams emerging from the space station airlock on his fourth career spacewalk.

Flight engineer Rubins will be making her first venture outside the ISS.

But the work will be hardly brand new for her. She has already practiced the necessary maneuvers, including mating the cables, in NASA's neutral buoyancy laboratory in Houston.

A series of spacewalks last year have helped prepare the groundwork for the adaptor's arrival.

The space station's robotic arm pulled the docking adaptor from the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship on Wednesday, placing it inches away from the station's Harmony module, where it will be installed.

Once the spacewalkers also known as extravehicular (EV) crew are outside the space station, an extension of the Canadarm2 robotic arm, called the "Dextre" Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), will push the bulky adaptor even closer to its installation point.

The plan is for the robotic manipulator to push the adaptor into place so the astronauts will have only to tether it.

The operation will remain delicate, however, because the SPDM is highly sensitive to external pressure, lead spacewalk officer Glenda Brown said.

This is the first time that the EV crew members have actually taken a handoff from the SPDM, she told a news conference this week.

We have to be very careful about putting loads into the SPDM, she added.

In space, it has got a lot of capability, but on the ground it can barely support its own weight.

Built by Boeing, the circular adaptor measures around 42 inches (one meter) tall and about 63 inches (1.6 meters) wide.

The adaptors will work with Boeing'sCST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon, two spaceships under construction that are planned to ferry astronauts to the space station.

The docking adaptor is more sophisticated than past equipment because it will allow automatic parking instead of the current grapple and berthing process managed by astronauts.

It also has fittings that will enable the space station to share power and data with the spacecraft.

NASA is planning a second spacewalk on September 1 for a separate operation to retract one of the thermal radiators outside the space station. Astronauts unsuccessfully tried to push it back into position last year, Todd said.

We will go back here in a couple of weeks and restow that guy for its final time.

However, a problem with an American spacesuit that appeared to allow water to build up inside an astronaut's helmetin January has been resolved, he added.

Tests on the suit back on Earth showed an apparent flaw in a piece of hardware called a sublimator, which manages condensation in the suit's heating and cooling loops.

Although it worked well in simulation tests, a blockage in a secondary set of holes might still react differently in zero gravity, Todd said.

The issue was not as severe as a spacesuit breakdown in 2013 that flooded Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano's helmet, forcing him to end his spacewalk early, he added.

NASA has been using the same spacesuits for some 30 years, continuing to study what makes them work and fail, Todd said.

We are still learning how to use this suit and how to care for them in a zero-gravity environment and it is not the same as what we do on the ground.

Read more:
US astronauts prepare spacewalk to install new docking port - Garavi Gujarat (press release)

Some experts believe our basic personality traits are set in stone by age 15 and there will be few major changes after that. They base this on genetics and what we are exposed to in school and life. For instance, what we learned in kindergarten helps set the tone in how we should treat others. Maybe some need to go back to kindergarten?

Anyway, a book that hopefully most third graders have read is a version of the 1930s The Little Engine That Could by Platt and Munk. This story is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work.

There are various versions of the story. A basic storyline is that more powerful locomotives built to pull the trains up the steep terrain refused to perform that task. They felt it was too difficult. The little locomotive heard this and took the challenge. It said, "I think I can, I think I can" as it pulled hard up the terrain. The little locomotive struggled, but reached the top and then said, I thought I could, I thought I could."

Stories like this at an early age can be part of the foundation of our beliefs. We learn most difficult things can be possible if we try.

At the same time, if that terrain was steeper, longer, or the load was heavier, that little locomotive would've failed because it was barely able to perform that difficult task.

Another version of this story could be about our heating and air conditioning systems instead of a little locomotive. Our Nebraska weather is like a very steep terrain and odds are our HVAC equipment is not designed for the huge task.

The reason HVAC equipment often struggles is typical sizing is approximately 90% of maximum demand capacity according to ASHRAE energy standard 90.1. In many ways, its like the little locomotive that has to go over steep terrain.

The theory on designing HVAC equipment to a lower capacity is to promote energy savings and comfort during average conditions. There are many variations to ASHRAE standards, so lets use them only for reference reasons and move on. The main point is because of these standards its vitally important for HVAC equipment to be well maintained. Our HVAC equipment needs to pull us up the Nebraska weather terrain, so it must be in tip-top shape.

Some may try to outsmart the design standards and install larger HVAC equipment. The old theory of installing the biggest equipment that fits through the front door will cause problems in energy consumption and comfort. Larger equipment will consume more energy, cycle more often reducing comfort, and cause a rise in humidity levels in the summer or lower humidity levels in the winter.

Refrigerant levels are also very important. Unfortunately, according to some sources refrigerant levels are not accurate 90% of the time. It takes well-trained, caring technicians to understand and install the proper amount of refrigerant.

HVAC equipment that is low on refrigerant will work harder and fail quicker. Low levels cause compressor temperatures to increase as the refrigerant that helps cool them is not available. If its not cooling, shut it off before the compressor is damaged even more.

Its rare that refrigerant leaks can be fixed. Adding refrigerant each year is typically throwing money away. Evaporator coils are often a source of leaks because the materials are too thin to improve energy efficiency.

The perfect HVAC system that will perform well enough for the best comfort to pull through the tough Nebraska weather terrain is readily available. You may have it already or at least parts of it.

The best system for our community is a heat pump with an electric or natural gas furnace for backup. It will have a high efficiency air filter that removes at least 95% of the impurities and a good quality humidifier. A 3 or thicker pleated air filter will end the need to change filters monthly.

The next step will be to have that HVAC system serviced twice a year by qualified HVAC technicians that receive regular training and are managed well. A good service maintenance agreement will provide at least three levels of service to meet your needs.

Its at this point you can relax and let the experts take care of your HVAC system. Gone are the performance questions of your HVAC system that will be able to say, I knew I could, I knew I could.

Continue reading here:
I Think I Can..I Knew I Could - Lincoln Journal Star