No
one can accuse Mark Breslin of holding back. On more than one occasion during
the 2008 Partners in Progress Conference at Caesars Palace, the CEO of the
Engineering and Utility Contractors Association (EUCA) let those in attendance
have a tongue lashing.
I always start my preventative maintenance training with a
quote from Henry Petroski, civil engineer, who said: “Success is foreseeing
failure.”
It’s only four words, but it defines what every
preventative maintenance (PM) program should strive for.
Refrigerant manufacturer Ineos Fluor has announced it has
become a member of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) GreenChill
Advanced Refrigeration Partnership.
Ineos became entity No. 14 to join GreenChill in the 18
months since it was first announced.
The use of drives in commercial applications is one of the fastest-growing segments in the HVACR industry, not only in new construction but also in retrofit applications. So, what is preventing installing contractors from mainstreaming this technology even more than they do today? Confusion.
If you can save them money through energy savings, building owners are interested in what you have to say. Just ask contractors, consulting and specifying engineers, as well as facility managers who have embraced the technology and benefits of variable-frequency drives (VFDs).
When
refrigeration contractors hear a lot of promoting of technologies like scroll
compressors, electronic-commutated motors, antisweat heaters, and high-efficiency
wall insulation, there may be more than just hype to the talk. It may be the
way refrigeration equipment meets what are expected to be a multitude of new energy-efficiency
standards.
Building owners and facility managers continually look for ways to save energy and money. Since HVAC systems in particular are huge energy consumers, highly efficient systems offer the opportunity for great savings. And savings are achievable with variable-frequency drives (VFDs).
This is the first of three columns on systematic air conditioning troubleshooting and diagnostics. It will deal with airside and the evaporator. In a/c system diagnostics, a service technician must realize that system problems fall mainly under two major categories: airside problems and refrigerant cycle problems.
Our industry has many different types of specialized refrigeration and air conditioning systems. Servicing and maintaining these systems normally requires a higher level of expertise than generic systems. Depending on the application, these systems can operate quite differently from generic systems.
In an industry that deals with lots of chemicals, words like biodegradable, nontoxic, and nonflammable are not all that common - especially when the product is supposed to remove oil, moisture, and acid from a system. Mainstream Engineering claims it has come up with such a product with its Qwik System Flush™.
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