Fenestration is a fancy architectural term that means “openings in the outside of the building.” You will see this word a lot when you read ACCA Manual J or when you are doing a Manual J load calculation. Fenestration loads include heat losses and gains through windows, doors, skylights, etc., and they can make up […]

Photo Courtesy of Parker/Sporlan There are many brands and styles of evaporator pressure regulating valves (EPR), but none as common as the Parker/Sporlan SORIT and ORIT valves. The diagram above clearly shows some of the common applications. An EPR or “hold back” valve maintains a set suction line pressure and, therefore, coil temperature. That is […]

I hear the following phrase a lot: It's the amperage that kills you, not the voltage. While there is truth to the statement, it is sort of like saying, “It's the size of the vehicle, not the speed that kills you when it hits you.” OK, so that's a pretty bad example, but hopefully, it […]

Eric Mele, Eric Kaiser, and John Oaks come on the podcast to talk about commercial PM best practices and what matters most. Drain cleaning is a critical part of the standard commercial PM. You must assess the drainage situation (pitch, length, location, etc.) to plan your cleaning strategy and arrive at the best result: the […]

In today's podcast, I talk to John Oaks about his experience as a VRF tech in the field, including branch boxes and two-pipe vs. three-pipe technology. John primarily works on the troubleshooting and service side rather than the installation and programming side of the field. Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems, also called VRV systems when […]