Source: Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Industry figures are estimates that are derived from the best available figures supplied by a sample of AHRI member companies.

We all know anyone quoting a new heating and cooling system should always perform a load calculation on the structure. I’m sure 95 percent of us do, right?

For this column I want to discuss a real life situation regarding poor cooling in a residence and reduced airflow coming from the registers in the house. The air conditioner is a three ton (36,000 btuh), HCFC-22, split type, air conditioner with the A-coil in the plenum of the furnace located in the basement.

Source: Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Industry figures are estimates that are derived from the best available figures supplied by a sample of AHRI member companies.

Going where only some HVAC products have dreamed to go, the winners of The NEWS’ eighth annual Dealer Design Awards’ HVAC High-Efficiency Residential Equipment category have staked out gold, silver, and bronze positions with their abilities to provide improved technology in new applications.

In the case of the winners of the 2011 Dealer Design Awards in the category of Residential Equipment, the fame and recognition bestowed on these units is rightly earned, especially from contractors and technicians for the ease of installation and service the products provide.

The condenser is the component that rejects the heat from the system. Most equipment is air cooled and rejects heat to the air. The coils are copper or aluminum and both types have aluminum fins to add to the heat exchange surface area.

After 85 years, it takes more than cosmetics to keep a publication fresh; the right attitude needs to permeate the organization. “This publication, The NEWS, was started by my great-grandfather in 1926,” said BNP Media co-CEO Taggart Henderson.

Congratulations to Bernard Nagengast, an engineering consultant and industry historian who found the oldest NEWS issue among our readers. His oldest issue was dated Nov. 30, 1926. The very first issue of the magazine was published in September of that same year.

After being in the HVAC industry as a contractor and a rater for 30 years, I’ve seen a lot of things that have been done wrong. But really, there has never been a system in place that required contractors to do things correctly - and verified that they had. All that is changing with the Energy Star for New Homes version 3.