Every once in a while, especially on humid days, you’ll sit on an airplane waiting for takeoff and see fog pouring from the ceiling vents like a low-budget concert. Someone always panics and asks if something’s on fire. It’s not smoke—it’s condensation. You’re looking at thermodynamics and psychrometrics in action. So, why does it happen, […]

I admit it, I'm a sauna guy now. The ones at the gym are pretty gross, so I got a small one at home because I guess I’ve missed sitting in attics or something. If you’ve ever sat in a traditional sauna, you know the drill: the heat’s already intense, and then you or someone […]

The ignitor of a furnace (or a gas pool heater or other gas-fired appliance) is the heat source, and it can come in one of four varieties: standing pilot, direct spark (DS), intermittent spark (ISI), and hot surface (HSI). We have a tech tip explaining each of these ignitor types in detail, but we’re going […]

In today's podcast episode, Jamie Kitchen talks about refrigeration controls and applications. He also tells us about the Danfoss ERC 213 universal digital controller. Electronic refrigeration controls tend to have greater accuracy and flexibility than traditional electromechanical controls. These electronic controls also allow you to perform many more tasks than traditional ones. Electromechanical controls also […]

Jamie Kitchen from Danfoss talks all about variable-speed motor technology. He discusses why those motors exist, what they do, and how to think differently about the future of HVAC/R. Most techs think about variable-speed motors as the X13 and ECM blowers in residential applications. Those motors can adjust their performance based on ambient temperatures and […]

In this episode, Bryan talks with Jamie Kitchen from Danfoss about why and how thermostatic expansion valves (TXVs) fail and how they function in the first place. As fixed orifices become a dying breed with the development of higher-efficiency systems, TXVs take over the mantle as the primary method of expansion. Expansion valves meter the […]