Two of the most common sources for poor IAQ are mold and bacteria and Jon Zickermann knew he had a problem with both. As director of maintenance and operations at the Mequon-Thiensville School District in Wisconsin, he had the responsibility to protect the health and quality of life for students and faculty in six schools.

Often called “tools of the trade,” the instruments and tools a technician has in his bag are almost as important to him as his expertise. If one of his tools fails or is inaccurate, it can really ruin his day and do damage to his employer’s business. In the case of Warren Brader and his crew, lives could literally hang in the balance.

While accurate superheat and subcooling measurements have always been important, the push for higher SEER ratings has added importance to operating efficiency. That efficiency can be maintained with precise superheat and subcooling measurements.

Energy recovery ventilation (ERV) has been on the scene for years. More recently, however, all major HVAC OEMs and nearly all smaller manufacturers have engineered ERVs to be a standard option on DX systems. It also has a growing popularity among engineers, contractors, and building owners.

Instrument companies have found that HVACR technicians are demanding instruments that offer a more compact design that require less space, offer greater safety, and are easy-to-use when measuring the large number of parameters required by their jobs. The response by some manufacturers has been modular design.

Ever wonder how some of the case studies published in trade journals turn out a few years later? This article concerns one that appeared in the Jan. 19, 2004, issue of The NEWS. It covered chiller decontamination in the MSD Perry Township School District in Indiana.