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Universal Condenser Fan Wiring Options
Combustion Testing Doesn’t Stop in the Summer
The HVAC Technician’s Guide to Ensuring Comfort: Lessons from a Real-World Experience
My Dad Changed HVAC & Me
3 Bad Reasons To Work Overtime
Mounting the TXV Bulb
Setting and Adjusting Superheat on a TXV System
Kitchen Exhaust and Makeup Air
Equipment Changes, Ducts are Forever
From Plumber to HVAC Owner w/ Manly Arnanson
EER in the Field – Short #231
Heat Pumps / Comfort and Electrification w/ Copeland
Efficiency and Production on Larger Projects
Q&A – Circuit Board Troubleshooting – Short #230
Are you using AI to Troubleshoot w/ Refrigeration Mentor
The New Sensi Equipment Interface – Short #229
The Buyout Epidemic – Manifesto
Standing Pilot – Short #228
#hvac
Tech Tips:
Assessing the Situation It is fairly common for a service technician to come across a failed condenser fan motor in the field. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about really old or fairly new equipment—condenser fan motors sometimes fail. The issue is deciding whether to use an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or a universal […]
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This tech tip was written by Casey Contreras. Casey is a field coach and instructor for the National Comfort Institute (NCI). Thanks, Casey! As HVAC technicians, our careers often focus on either cooling or heating. Because of this split view, we typically ignore gas-fired appliances during the cooling season. There are dangers lurking in any […]
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This tech tip was written by Luke Peterson, the president of The Maintenance Department in Louisville, KY. Luke was a speaker at the 5th Annual HVAC Training Symposium in 2024 and has been on HVAC business panels at the symposium in 2023 and 2024. Thanks, Luke! As an HVAC technician, your primary goal is not […]
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With Father's Day passing recently, I have been reflecting on my relationship with my Dad and how he has helped shape my journey through HVAC. It is more common than not to find people in residential HVAC to be a second or even third-generation tradesperson. Deciding to get into trade is easy when you grow […]
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It’s easy to see yourself as a hero during the summer months. Desperate families in sweltering houses sing your praises after you quickly swap out that capacitor or install that new unit and the first blast of cold air comes out of the vents. Most companies make or break in the summer months, using the […]
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This is a quick tip from the “Expansion Valves – What Does and Doesn't Matter?” livestream on our YouTube channel featuring Joe Shearer, Matthew Taylor, and Corey Cruz. Thermostatic expansion valves (also known as TXVs or TEVs) don’t have little brains that tell them when to open or close to maintain a specific superheat. They […]
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This is a quick tip from the “Expansion Valves – What Does and Doesn't Matter?” livestream on our YouTube channel featuring Joe Shearer, Matthew Taylor, and Corey Cruz. As metering devices, TXVs can adjust the size of their orifice to maintain a constant superheat. Some TXVs are set to maintain a specific superheat from the […]
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This is a quick tech tip derived from a short podcast episode in response to a question by one of our viewers, Gunther. You can listen to that episode HERE. If you would like to submit a question for the podcast, you can submit a voice recording on Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/hvacschool. Restaurants are commercial facilities […]
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I’m installing the HVAC system for a house that is being completely gutted. It has vaulted ceilings throughout, and a small attic area was designated for mechanicals. The duct system can’t go in the attic because there basically isn’t one. The engineer intended the equipment to go in the attic mechanical space, and then the […]
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Videos:
Podcasts:
In this episode, Bryan speaks with Manly, an HVAC professional from Manitoba, Canada, about his journey from working in his family's plumbing business to running his own HVAC company. Manly shares his experiences working in extreme cold weather conditions, where temperatures can drop to -30°C (-22°F), and discusses the unique challenges and emergency response […]
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In this short podcast episode, Bryan talks about EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) and SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) and how to calculate EER in the field. EER and SEER are ratings that we often see on equipment (as are SEER2 and EER2) based on a ratio of an output to an input. Whereas coefficient […]
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In this informative episode, Josh Souders from Copeland joins Bryan to dive deep into heat pump technology, discussing everything from basic operations to advanced features in cold climate applications. The conversation begins with a fundamental explanation of how heat pumps work, describing them as essentially air conditioners with a reversing valve that allows them […]
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In this podcast episode, Bryan, Jacob, and JD provide an in-depth look at a significant HVAC project that tested their team's ability to adapt, learn, and improve. The discussion centers on a large-scale apartment building project that presented numerous challenges in project management, team dynamics, and installation processes. What began as a chaotic and […]
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In this short Q&A podcast episode, Bryan answers a listener-submitted question about circuit board troubleshooting: is there a quick way to learn how to check circuit boards, and if so, where are those resources? A circuit board is a bunch of components put together on a printed circuit board (PCB). There isn't a lot […]
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In this episode of the HVAC School Podcast, Trevor Matthews and Bryan dive deep into the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the refrigeration and HVAC industries. They explore how AI is not a new concept in their field, discussing how manufacturers like Copeland, Sporlan, and Danfoss have long incorporated AI-driven tools and […]
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In this short episode of the HVAC School podcast, Bryan and Tom Lorenz from Copeland talk about the new Sensi equipment interface. This product has been in field trials for months and will be launching in February. It will also be featured at the 2025 AHR Expo in Orlando. You can learn more about […]
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In this episode of the HVAC School Podcast, Bryan shares his perspective on the growing trend of private equity buyouts and investments in the trades, particularly in home services businesses. He addresses the “buyout epidemic” with a balanced view, acknowledging the significant financial opportunities these deals present while expressing concerns about their long-term impact […]
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In this short podcast episode, Bryan talks about the standing pilot gas systems and the ignition strategy in gas-fired appliances. Standing pilots are very simple devices that are common in fuel logs, water heaters, and some pool heaters. These devices have a thermocouple or thermopile; in a thermocouple, two dissimilar metals are connected at […]
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