Whenever the seasons change and your work changes from cooling to heating or vice versa, take a minute to review which of your measurement practices result in the greatest payback. On the technical side, surely one of the very best practices is benchmarking.

This year as the price of oil and gasoline sharply rose, the impact of high energy prices weighed heavily on the United States economy. To find out how readers feel about the energy issue, an informal online survey was conducted on The NEWS Website, keying on oil drilling and renewable energy.

Field modifying fittings and duct can save time and money. If you install residential ductwork on a performance basis (X number of dollars for the job) as I do, it is sometimes a real benefit. You have to know how fittings are made before you can alter them.

Having a specification that allows for any system option and protocol leads to a more complex system, one that is more cumbersome to install, commission, and maintain. It is recommended to pick one common protocol for the entire building control system infrastructure. Costs go down and maintainability goes up.

The concept of sustainability has gained interest in direct proportion to the recent increases in energy costs. There is a frequently overlooked initiative that can have the most significant impact on reducing energy usage in buildings and can set the stage for future efficiency initiatives: retrocommissioning.

Designing, constructing, or renovating high-performance buildings requires a whole building approach. This differs from the traditional design/build process, as the design team examines the integration of all building components and systems and determines how they best work together to save energy and reduce environmental impact.

Green school programs are touted mainly for saving energy, but research at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) indicates that bettering a school’s indoor environment also increases health and comfort, which in turn promotes increased attendance, student attentiveness, and teaching effectiveness.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched an effort to help Americans save on their summer cooling bills with advice on how to properly program their thermostat. HVAC contractors can pass along these tips to customers to help them stay cool while keeping more cash in their pockets.

The energy used by HVAC systems is based on the resistance of the air passing through the filter; the lower the filter’s resistance, the lower the energy consumption will be. However, even though one speaks of filters, it is really the filter media that has the biggest effect on minimizing energy consumption.

The operating environment, conditions of use (or misuse), and quality of preventive maintenance determine how quickly motor parts degrade. The best safeguard against thermal damage is avoiding conditions that contribute to overheating. Bearing failures account for nearly one-half of all motor failures.