Building HVAC Science

"I've been struck again and again by how important measurement is to improving the human condition." Bill Gates Lend us your ears as Kaleb and Bill have a very fun interview with Ben Reed, VP of Products at TZOA, a relative new comer to the world of measurement products. TZOA's approach with the Haven product is totally unique: a retrofittable residential air quality monitor that lives inside the central air handler and can control 1 or 2 systems that can impact air quality. Not just measurements/sensors, but control/solutions. This product is exclusively available to qualified contractors and is NOT a DIY device. In addition to a great streamlined product, the dashboard is AMAZING, largely due to the tight ties between the contractor-beta testers and clever product developers. Learn more at these links: Tzoa: https://tzoa.com/ HVACRSchool: www.HVACRSchool.com The Haven product: https://www.trutechtools.com/haven-central-air-monitor.html This episode was recorded in December 2020.

"He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything." Thomas Carlyle Bill was honored to welcome Dr. Stephanie Taylor to the podcast where she shares the fascinating story of her career path from medicine to architecture to crusading for better building health by bridging these professional silos. He had a great time interviewing Stephanie, plumbing the depths of her knowledge and experience. We discuss many aspects of IAQ and focus in on the impact of humidity on human health. A key takeaway is our discussion of the invisible impact of a building on one's health. You can learn more about her work at www.40to60RH.com or follow her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-h-taylor-md-march-frsph-uk-cabe-ashrae-d-l-b6456b8 This episode was recorded in November 2020.

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces." George Santayana Bill is joined Marty and David Indursky, a father and son team that have built Encon, an award winning, NJ-based HVAC/building solutions company. Hear how David has reinvigorated the company by implementing modern technology techniques after he took it over from his father who founded ENCON in 1968. They share best practices and what sets ENCON apart. We also hear about and what David envisions for the future of the industry. You can follow Encon via their website, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube. https://enconmech.com https://www.instagram.com/enconmech/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/encon-mech https://www.facebook.com/enconmech https://www.youtube.com/enconmech This episode was recorded in August 2020.

"I grew up thinking that a research scientist was a natural thing to be." Stephen Hawking There's physical science. And there's a kind of science as to how the mind works and how people achieve their dreams. Blend one-part plasma fusion physics with one-part commercial real estate and stir this in an open and creative mind and you have Peter Capuciati, the Chairman and Founder of Bluon and the guest of today's podcast. Starting in 2011, Peter has led the team at Bluon to develop a true solution for R-22 replacement. It's called TdX-20 (R-458a), something unlike anything the HVACR world has ever seen. It truly is an energy saving product, as they are demonstrating amp draw decreases of 10-20% and increases in capacity of 3-6%. We love digging into the science of HVAC in this podcast, and Peter is the perfect tour guide for the challenging journey of creating a refrigerant chemistry that has been proven to perform in about 80% of R-22 systems. This is backed up by real-world testing on equipment, not just simulations After an easy, free registration and testing process, techs can gain full access to the operating manuals of over 22,000 types of R-22 units as well as individual retrofit instructions and compatibility ratings for each unit. Beyond all this, Bluon provides the training, know-how and demonstrates (sometimes in person) the skills necessary to successful do a successful conversion. If this sounds like a commercial for Bluon, it sort of is, as we sell Bluon at TruTech Tools. However, this is exactly the kind of product we love selling; smart, well supported and one that relieves a major pain point for our customers. Plus, it's fun working with the energetic Ninja team at Bluon, or as Peter calls them the Analog Renaissance Cowboys. You can learn more about Bloun at www.BluonEnergy.com and join the thousand technicians every month that are downloading and using the app.

"The only think I have learnt over the years is that if you enjoy your work and put in best efforts it will show. If you follow this process, things work out. But if you go chasing a formula, success will elude you." Mahesh Babu While building his own house, John Semmelhack's innate curiosity grew as he researched the best was to design and build a home. This lead him to start his own business, Think Little. The name of his business is deceptive as John is truly a big thinker, who acts in quiet ways to create comfortable, energy efficient and durable homes that have excellent indoor air quality. Lend us your ears to learn how following simple, yet important processes lead to amazing results. We discuss HVAC Air filtration and why and how to get super-inexpensive, extremely effective filtration He employs test and measurement at every appropriate juncture as well as post work, continuous monitoring for IAQ, energy and comfort. These factors are easier to measure than ever before! John also reviews aspects of running this type of business including the variety of services he has developed over the years. John Semmelhack is the owner of Think Little (www.think-little.com) and co-owner of Comparetto Comfort Solutions, a pair of home performance consulting and contracting firms based in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia. Think Little specializes in building enclosure and mechanical system design and commissioning for single-family and multi-family Passive House and zero-net-energy homes in the mid-Atlantic. Comparetto Comfort Solutions focuses on high performance HVAC installations for new homes in the Charlottesville and Richmond markets, as well as home performance contracting to help meet clients' comfort, indoor air quality, durability and energy efficiency goals.

"True genius lies not in doing the extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well." General Louis H. Wilson, Jr. Building science principles are few and fairly straightforward; ordinary, perhaps. HAM: A lot of it amounts to control the flow of Heat, Air and Moisture. But, like so many things in this world, the devil is in the details. Listen in as I chat with my good friend Nate Adams (a true genius) to get an update on his extraordinarily execution of ordinary measures in his new concept of Home Performance 2.0. This is a follow up to Episode 36, where I interview two of the HP 2.0 practitioners, Neil Comparetto and Michael Housh. Measurements (so near and dear to my heart) are at the core of what he and his HP 2.0 army are all about. For a more complete overview, tune in to a recording of his recent webinar on HP 2.0: www.bit.ly/NATE-HP20 Nate's book, The Home Comfort Book, is perfect for consumers or practitioners alike and can be found at TruTech Tools or on Amazon. You can reach Nate at Nate@EnergySmartOhio.com.

May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house. George Carlin Yep, Radon is force of evil. Pure evil. Colorless. Odorless. Deadly. But sneaky. It's deadly over decades. My good friend Dick Kornbluth joins me to unravel the intricacies of all aspects of Radon – a colorless, odorless, poisonous radioactive gas. Dick explains how and where radon is formed, how it gets into the air we breathe and the health impact it has on us. He reveals where the famous 4 picocuries per liter exposure amount comes from, underscoring that there is NO SAFE LEVEL. The US EPA has a treasure trove of information on Radon at www.epa.gov/radon Dick shares with us his extensive and practical experience in how radon gas moves through a structure, how it is measured and how Radon mitigation systems work along with a note about radon resistant construction. Dick is very engaged in the home performance world, and believes an improved understanding of Radon is key part of the home performance goals of healthy, more durable and energy efficient homes and buildings. You can reach Dick at Dick@DickKornbluth.com TruTechTools carries a broad array of radon detectors. Learn more at this link: https://www.trutechtools.com/radon

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. Jimmy Dean While we picked a specific topic, this is a wide-ranging episode with my friend in the industry, Eric Stromquist of Stromquist.com – 2nd generation controls distributor based out of Atlanta, GA. We discuss our thoughts and opinions on: How hard it is to actually get access to people – cold calling is basically dead Closed vs. open architecture in building automation systems C suite execs focus on productivity, which ties in to all building systems How the internet has changed the way information is shared- knowledge hoarding is done The psychological effects of improper lighting And much, much more. Eric teams up with Ken Smyers to manage a ton of educational and informative resources centered around building controls and automation that you will find at www.ControlTrends.org They even have their own Awards ceremony that takes place before the AHR Expo! Eric is an avid podcaster and actually had me on his show in Episode 311! YouTube link: http://bit.ly/YT-ControlTrendsBS Podcast link http://bit.ly/ControlTrendBS starting 31:39

To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. Buddha HVAC and building performance contractors are seeing more homes built or retrofit to tighter levels. Blower door test outs like 3, 2, 1 ACH50 or less. What do you do when the "house can't breathe?" Hopefully, you see the humor in that statement. Of course - you build it tight and ventilate it right! (Credit for that phrase likely goes to Earle Perera and Lynn Parkins as the title for their article in the June 1992 Building Services Journal a UK publication) Listen in as Ty Newell founder of BuildEquinox shares with us how he got to the point of feeling the need to create his own ventilation product, the CERV2: Conditioning Energy Recovery Ventilator. This unique product senses when to run, ventilates or recirculates the "fresh air stores" in the space using a small variable output heat pump. It incorporates slick controls and internet connectivity. Plus, I cannot wait to be using it the new high-performance home we are building for occupancy by the summer of 2020. Learn more about the product and more importantly the philosophies behind the product by surfing over to www.BuildEquinox.com The BuildEquinox site has numerous white papers, tech specs & installation info, recording and upcoming webinars and more. You can also learn about the net zero house (which includes the CERV 1) that Ty built.

In this age of high technology and Jedi Knights, we often overlook the need of personal involvement, but we do so at our own risk. William H. McRaven (American Solider) Attention all HVAC Techs: Soon someone will be looking over your shoulder. Not it's not the Homeowner, with severe coffee breath and a million little questions, it's going to be a Home Energy Rater giving a grade to your HVAC installation. What???!!! Yes, like it or not, this will happen. And it is justified. It's because the work done by HVAC Technicians is so important; important to the occupant's comfort, safety and health as well as their utilities bills AND the utility companies in general as they try to balance the supply and demand of energy. Residential HVAC energy demand is a big topic in the utility world. (We'll do a podcast on this later.) Listen in as Jeremy Begley of HVAC Design Partners of Cincinnati, OH shares with us how paying attention to standards as helped to shape his entrepreneurial career. Specifically, the upcoming ACCA/RESNET standard on Grading the Installation of HVAC Systems. One timely note here: the comment period on the first draft of a new RESNET standard (BSR/RESNET/ACCA 310-201x, Standard for Grading the Installation of HVAC Systems) closes on Aug 6, 2019. If you want to review and/or comment go to this link ASAP www.bit.ly/RESNET-ACCA-310 Jeremy's got a lot to share with the both the HVAC and Building Performance industries. He came on the podcast to encourage others to review and engage in this and other important HVAC Standards. The methodology in the standard has five steps – a design review, a total duct leakage test, a Blower Fan CFM test, a Blower Fan watt draw test, and a non-invasive evaluation of refrigerant charge (NIST found in MeasureQuick). These five tasks should be completed in sequence and upon completion the results are evaluated for compliance with thresholds. The result of this process is anywhere from a failing system to a grade 1, 2, or 3; with 1 being the top grade and all grades yielding extra points in the HERS rating. Besides being important to HERS ratings, it is basic physics and the methods described have positive impact outside of the rating world. Learn more about the standard itself by going to http://bit.ly/RESNET-310-INFO, where you will find a link to RESNET conference slides on this topic and a link to the other podcast I host, RESTALK, where I interviewed Wes Davis (ACCA) and Den Gamble (EPA) on this standard. If you want to learn more about the services and training (coming) that Jeremy offers you can reach out via the contact form on his website: www.HVACDesignPartners.com