Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine May 2021

HVACR NewsMagazine May 2021

was in our trade name, HVAC. Today we are required to be the experts in ventilation. Houses with improper ventilation can have high humidity causing mold. Regretfully, that is part of the HVAC contractors responsibility-- as if he needed more. • Inverter technology yielding 40 to 45 degrees off the coil. As a result of the industry’s success in creating these cold coils, we also have the unintended consequence of condensation on the duct. R6 on attic supply may not be sufficient to prevent sweating duct and damaged sheetrock. • Load calculations on houses are revealing loads with much greater sensible ratios than in the past. The old 70/30 split is seldom the case now which means matching condenser to evaporator requires more than 3 ton to 3 ton defaults. • New Energy Code requirements will ask for a duct tightness test. While we may not like it, our industry is responsible for a significant reduction in equipment efficiency and increase in utility bills for consumers due to duct leakage. We only have ourselves to blame. You will need to invest in equipment and training to do your own Duct Blaster tests or hire someone else. It is obvious that staying current with technology and code is critical. For over 25 years I have watched Licensing Board hearings where “good ole’ boys” have made serious mistakes because they did not know better. The dealer spent time and money trying to fix something they did not know how to design and install in the first place. In so doing they lost money, lost reputation, and had to pay a fine. Being uninformed is expensive.

HB1712 Continuing Education Why?

There are two camps of opinion on the issue of continuing education as a requirement to renew one’s HVAC license. 1. The first says, “The government should stay out of my business. I’m too busy to go to all that stuff. It will cost me too much…etc.etc.” 2. The second says, “I already spend too much time and money on training. I don’t need to have anymore.”

Let’s look at both of those opinions.

Is continuing education needed?

§ First, “The government should stay out of my business…”. Our industry is virtually 100% agreed on the government staying out of our business. There are already lots of regulations. AND, we all are busy and don’t need to spend time and money needlessly. That is the key question, “Is continuing education neede d?” Well, this “ain’t” your Daddy’s business anymore. Just in the last 10 years, the industry has been turned on its ear. For example — • 90+ furnaces are becoming popular and how to run the condensate is a not nearly as simple as it sounds. Unlike AC condensate drains, the installer of a 90+ furnace must contend with freezing pipes — a problem that the entire industry is wrestling with. • Super insulated houses and ventilation. Ten years ago we didn’t know why “V”