At www.achrnews.com, The NEWS’ Extra Edition page is home to hundreds of online-exclusive service and maintenance, technical, and business management articles. Here are some of the best.

BTU BUDDY 23: HANDLING A FROZEN OUTDOOR COIL ON A HEAT PUMP

The day had been very cold and damp when a customer called the dispatcher and said the coil on her heat pump was frozen solid. The fan was making a noise, which called her attention to the frozen coil. Bob told the dispatcher, “Call her back and tell her to switch the thermostat setting over to emergency heat.” Bob had other calls to make before he would be able to get to the frozen heat pump.

http://bit.ly/1jkKNI8

ENERGY RECOVERY WHEEL MAINTENANCE

The routine maintenance requirements of all equipment need to be considered in the initial system design. If equipment is difficult to maintain, chances are it will be ignored, reducing its effectiveness and life expectancy. The maintenance requirements of filters, blowers, and motors are well known, but the level of familiarity with energy wheels is lacking. Understanding and implementing maintenance requirements for energy wheels will improve performance, effectiveness, and the life of the wheels.

http://bit.ly/1RCZSjm

THE FOUR THINGS THAT DRIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS CRAZY

Have you wondered why the most irritated people in the world always call you? Actually it has less to do with you than it does with the kind of contracting business you’re in. Let’s face it — service contractors get phone calls from irritated people because the customer on the other end is usually very hot or very cold. Usually, an untimely breakdown has happened, and the caller’s panic button has been pressed. From this point, the service you provide can either soothe or increase these feelings of panic and irritation.

http://bit.ly/1Oxwifs

SYSTEM PUMPING EFFICIENCY MORE IMPORTANT THAN PUMP EFFICIENCY

This article is designed to help you realize significant savings through pump energy and flow balance analysis. It’s a universally accepted fact that pumps are oversized for almost all industrial and commercial installations. A major reason for HVAC pump oversizing and the resulting power waste is a fear of flow unbalance (short circuiting) and a consequent lack of flow for some terminal units. The following tips illustrate simple circuit flow analysis techniques that will enable readers to establish methods for flow balance in existing buildings and will permit a considerable reduction in pump power requirements.

http://bit.ly/1LK0eWJ

Publication date: 10/26/2015

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