HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs

In today's podcast episode, Bryan talks to west-coast commercial tech Jim Loring about pneumatic controls and variable air volume (VAV) systems.

People sometimes confuse pneumatics and hydraulics. Hy…

Jeremy Smith goes over floating suction and floating head refrigeration strategies. He also talks a bit more about low-ambient equipment operation.

Floating suction controls developed when we started…

Bryan talks with Jesse and Nathan about setting up dehumidification for residential equipment in general. They also discuss some of the required and recommended settings on an Ecobee thermostat.

On t…

In this episode, we cover the skills and traits needed to be the best residential service techs you can be. We follow up on the last episode's tips for getting a raise and discuss how to become more …

As we ring in the new year, this episode focuses on how people in the HVAC/R trade can get a raise, promotion, or bonus without facing rejection or sounding selfish.

Before you think about asking for…

In this podcast episode, we discuss power distribution and some practical tips about three-phase, single-phase, and split-phase power.

The power company generates three-phase power; a power pole tran…

Learn about large-scale desiccant dehumidification from the expert, Tom Peterson. Tom works with CDI (Climate By Design International).

Dehumidification has several different methods and applications…

Carter tells us why compression ratio is important, what it means, why it changes so much on heat pump systems, and the effect it has on system operation. We also talk a bit more about heat pumps and…

In today's podcast, Bryan talks about voltage (volts) and resistance (ohms), specifically using a voltmeter and an ohmmeter for diagnosis. We also discuss voltage drop.

In many cases, Ohm's law is im…

Jamie Kitchen from Danfoss talks all about variable-speed motor technology. He discusses why those motors exist, what they do, and how to think differently about the future of HVAC/R.

Most techs thin…

Jack Rise returns to the podcast to share some duct design facts with us and talk about his Manual D book on the ACCA website.

Before we can even start thinking about duct design, we need to think ab…

Nate Adams joins the podcast to describe the method behind his madness of removing gas meters and installing heat pumps in Ohio. Nate is in the home performance business, and he focuses on its inters…

Bill Johnson is one of the great educators and writers of our time in HVAC/R. In this podcast episode, he shares some information about his career and some of his top tips on keeping systems leak-fre…

Jim takes us all the way through the history of furnaces, from the Stone Age when he was a child to modern modulating condensing types.

The goal of a furnace is to move heat, so a furnace uses heat e…

This podcast episode on electrical circuits is a class recording. In it, Bryan discusses transformers, ground, common, and line vs. load sides of a circuit.

Transformers use induction to pass alterna…

In HVAC work, we deal with quite a few electrical components. But where does electricity come from? Why do electrons move? In this podcast episode, we talk about differential charges, sine waves, and…

Do you think of the building envelope as a duct? Do you test it? In this podcast episode, Joe Medosh talks to us about envelope testing and why it’s the future of building health and comfort.

The bui…

Ductless expert Jesse Claerbout talks about his best maintenance practices for ductless air conditioners and heat pumps. This episode is part 2 of the two-part series. 

Ductless outdoor units tend to…

Ductless expert Jesse Claerbout talks about his best practices for maintaining ductless air conditioners and heat pumps. This episode is part 1 out of 2. Ductless maintenance can be a bit more extens…

In this episode, we cover some common misconceptions about run capacitors, some easy ways to test them, and some tips on working with them.

A run capacitor is a power storage device; it contains oil …