Since I started in the trade, we would take discharge line temperature in the winter on a heat pump system. You can easily check the discharge line in the winter, while suction superheat and even subcool can be more difficult to access. The old-timers who trained me would say that the discharge temp will be […]

Do you know how a solenoid valve works? Really? On the surface, I think we all understand how a solenoid valve works. The coil energizes, creating an electromagnet. That temporary magnetism lifts an iron plunger within the valve allowing refrigerant to flow. But is it really that simple? It turns out that the answer isn't […]

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 gain through windows, doors, skylights, etc., and they can make up […]