There have been many adaptations of A Christmas Carol over the years, but it all started with a novella written by Charles Dickens in the 1840s. It was early in the Victorian Era, fresh off the heels of the Industrial Revolution. The British were reflecting on past Christmas traditions, like caroling, and exploring new ones […]

Since heat pumps work by extracting heat from the outdoors to bring it inside, the outdoor coil will almost surely freeze up. To mitigate the freezing, heat pumps enter a defrost cycle in which they run in cooling mode to send hot, high-pressure refrigerant back through the outdoor coil and melt the ice. While the […]

‘Tis heating season once again. It’s getting colder outside, and the heat pumps are starting to frost up outdoors. The defrost cycle helps get rid of the frost, and there are a few different ways we can do that; the methods themselves may differ between systems (time & temperature vs. demand defrost), as may the […]

In today’s podcast, Eric Mele and Bryan explain the planning, layout, and execution of HVAC projects. They mostly cover commercial ductwork but also touch on piping and some residential projects. Planning The first step is to review the construction plan WITH a site visit. It is best to see how a plan works within the […]

In this short podcast episode, Bryan and Eric Mele talk about re-tapping transformers for single-phase equipment in 208v applications. Most single-phase equipment can work for 230v or 208v, meaning that they can operate with low voltage. However, we typically see 208v in commercial buildings. The sine waves of 208v equipment are 120 degrees out of […]

In this podcast episode, Bryan and Eric Mele discuss the diagnosis and prevention of compressor overheating in HVAC and refrigeration. The main causes of compressor overheating are inadequate cooling back to the compressor, low charge, restrictions, and sometimes even poor suction line insulation. We want to keep the suction temperature low while maintaining appropriate superheat. […]