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Techs are Under Pressure
The “Bad” Contactor That Wasn’t
How Private Equity Has Been Shaping the Industry (and How to Navigate It)
So You Want to Be a Space HVAC Tech
8 Tips for New Techs (So You Don’t Get Fired)
Top Residential A/C Maintenance Tips
Battery-Integrated HVAC Systems: The Concept of Load Shifting with Built-in Storage
Decoding Windows: Frame Types, Low-E Glass, and How They Affect HVAC
The EPAโs 15-Pound Refrigerant Threshold in 2026
Premature Coil Failure in Ductless Mini-Splits & VRF Equipment – Short #303
Advanced Refrigerant Recovery: Best Practices for Diverse Systems and Environments
The A2L & Refrigerant Transition – Short #302
Invented For Techs, by Techs: Inside Refrigeration Technologiesโ “The Lab”
The Ethics of IAQ โ Testing vs. Remediation Conflicts – Short #301
Is 400 CFM per Ton Always Right? w/ Ty
The MERV 15 Filtration Physics – Short #300
Tips for Being On Call w/ Ty
The Florida “M-Word” โ Legal Boundaries & Tech Communication – Short #299
#hvac
Tech Tips:
The amount of pressure you’re under depends on where you live. I live in Florida, so I’m very close to sea level. Therefore, the weight of the atmosphere is exerting exactly 14.7 pounds per square inch (PSIA) of pressure on every surface in every direction. There is no such thing as negative pressureโonly pressure lower […]
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I wanted to share a recent “rediscovery” with you out of pure humility. I call it a rediscovery because itโs a basic fundamental I already knew, but it just hadn’t come up recently enough to be top of mind until the other day. I found myself troubleshooting a single-pole Mars 91311 contactor. I had voltage […]
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My family tries to live as holistically as possible. We make a lot of our own food and stay away from things that are heavily processed and have a lot of additives, preservatives, and common allergens. That means we like to buy snacks from independent brands that are transparent about their recipes, and one of […]
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“It sounds very fancy, but it’s really the HVAC of the spacecraft โ controlling humidity, temperature and the whole atmosphere onboard.” โ Manuel Retana, NASA Project Manager, ECLSS Artemis II | University of Nevada, Reno, April 2026 A NASA engineer who spent five years building the life support system on the Artemis II spacecraft name-dropped […]
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If you are new to the trade, I’d like to welcome you. Like many skilled trades, the HVAC/R trade has many opportunities and can help you make a good living. We need those of you who are young and new to the trade, and we are grateful to have you. But as a word of […]
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A while ago, Bert made a video about his top residential A/C maintenance service tips. He showed some pretty good practices in there, so weโre going to revisit them in this article. Maintenance procedures are vital to any HVAC business, especially those specializing in residential A/C. When we do preventive maintenance, the customers see our […]
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Over the past several years that weโve been discussing electrification as an industry, weโve heard concerns about the electrical grid struggling with peak cooling demands. Within the past couple of months, the concept of integrating battery storage directly into HVAC equipment has emerged as a vital solution for load management. This concept turns a typical […]
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Windows might seem like the builder’s problem, but they play a big role in what we do every day. Poorly designed windows can spike heat gain in summer or loss in winter, messing with load calculations and forcing HVAC systems to work overtime. That leads to uneven comfort, higher bills, and more service calls. Getting […]
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As of January 1, 2026, refrigerant regulations in the United States have undergone YET ANOTHER big shift. Per Subsection H of the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law in December 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially expanded leak repair and recordkeeping requirements to a […]
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Videos:
Podcasts:
๏ปฟ๏ปฟ In this short podcast, Bryan and Roman discuss premature coil failure in ductless mini-splits and VRF equipment. These coils are susceptible to a few different types of corrosion. Warmer coil saturation temperatures and shorter runtimes result in lower latent capacity; whatever moisture is on the coil dries on the coil instead of draining out. […]
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๏ปฟ๏ปฟ In this live episode, Bryan sits down with Jim Bergmann of measureQuick and NAVAC trainers Zane and Jesse Stewart for a deep, technician-focused conversation about advanced refrigerant recovery. The group covers diverse system types and environments, including low-ambient recovery. Recovery machines cannot pump straight liquid, which we need to be mindful of during service. […]
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๏ปฟ๏ปฟ In this short podcast episode, Bryan and Roman talk about the A2L & refrigerant transition again, particularly sensors on R-454B and R-32 equipment. Since the beginning of the A2L transition, we have seen the equipment evolve and begin requiring accessories, including refrigerant sensors and blower recirculation systems (BRS) or dissipation boards. In a BRS, […]
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๏ปฟ In this episode, Bryan sits down with Mike Pastorello, owner of Refrigeration Technologies, and Ashley Lynds, director of education and brand management for Viper, to talk about the companyโs roots, its newest product launches, and where the brand is headed next. This podcast focuses on “The Lab” and how it integrates field technicians with […]
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๏ปฟ๏ปฟ In this short podcast episode, Bryan and Roman talk about the ethics of IAQ, particularly in terms of microbial growth testing vs. remediation conflicts, based on Roman’s recent experience hiring a mold assessor and then a remediation expert in his home. Remediation is governed by S520 of the IICRC. Microbial growth is tricky because […]
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๏ปฟ๏ปฟ๏ปฟ 400 CFM per ton is usefulโuntil it isnโt. In this episode, Bryan and Ty take on one of the tradeโs favorite rules of thumb. It can be a reasonable starting point for many systems under moderate, near-sea-level conditions, but it is not a universal target. Proper airflow depends on actual delivered capacity, sensible and […]
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๏ปฟ๏ปฟ In this short podcast episode, Bryan and Roman Baugh talk about indoor air quality and microbial control, specifically MERV 15 filter physics and how it all works when bringing in outdoor air. We filter indoor air to keep dust and particles off the equipment and keep them from circulating through the air. However, we […]
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๏ปฟ๏ปฟ In this episode, Bryan Orr sits down with Ty Branaman for a wide-ranging conversation about what it really takes to be a good on-call technician. They open by reminiscing about how dispatch technology has evolved over their careers โ from pagers, radio codes, and outdated paper map books to MapQuest, early GPS units, and […]
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๏ปฟ๏ปฟ In this short podcast episode, Bryan and Roman talk about Florida law and how it relates to the “M-word” (mold) and the legal boundaries our techs must respect when they communicate with customers. HVAC School and Kalos are NOT mold experts, but we have experience as HVAC professionals who encounter suspicious microbial growth in […]
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