Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine January 2024

News Magazine January 2024

FEATURE STORY

become a nightmare. Regretfully, I have been unable to find a clear legal determination when a registered engineer is required. That would protect us from ourselves as well as give us an out when a good residential customer pleads with us to help them out. Along that line, why are they asking us for a commercial load, etc.? Obviously, they are trying to avoid the cost of an engineer. On the other hand, who will they look to when the design goes south? By the way, it is more likely to go south in these situations because they are trying to save money by cutting corners. It is always good to “know your limitations.” Better to miss an opportunity that is outside your comfort level than to get a bad one.

Second, design issues. It is not uncommon for a homeowner with business property to enlist a residential contractor to do service work. That is fine unless the commercial contract is $50,000 or more. We’ve covered that; but sometimes the same person may ask the residential and light commercial contractor to take on design work; i.e. running a Manual N or commercial load program. Many projects seem to be “glorified residential projects” not exceeding 5 ton equipment. While that seems non-threating, a commercial load is fraught with calculations for internal heat gains and occupancy loads including the number of times the door is opened, etc. A strip mall or small restaurant can