Ken Summers is Aeroseal’s vice president of training and founder of the Comfort Institute. With more than 40 years of experience, Summers taps the depth and breadth of his industry experience to help HVAC contractors become duct experts. For more information, contact Summers at ken.summers@aeroseal.com.
In these tough economic times, this is a great opportunity to look
inward and see what you need to do to survive. Good, progressive
contractors will see that they can move into a whole new market. They
now have something a contractor can offer homeowners that other
contractors won’t be able to do. And, it’s called performance contracting.
In order to deal with summertime humidity issues in a home, a contractor needs to look at the infiltration of the home, plus deal with wet crawlspaces and leaky ducts. But once a home is repaired, a contractor should really dial it in, using specific types of equipment and/or controls.
With summer around the corner, those hot and humid days that contractors live for will hopefully be here. However, from a homeowner’s standpoint, these are the endless days of trying to control the humidity indoors.
We
all have heard that duct leakage is bad for system performance and loss of
energy. It
can cost the homeowner more money. However, controlling duct leakage is not
just about reducing utility bills. It also is about improving the indoor air
quality (IAQ) in the home.
The most important thing any contractor should know is that it is OK to make a profit. Period. Contractors must remember that profit is not a bad word.
Editor’s Note: This is the second of three articles by Ken Summers about the three most important items an HVAC contractor should know.
When asked to identify the three most important things a good HVAC contractor should know, the powered attic ventilator (PAV) comes to mind. In addition to sizing equipment using a load calculation program, a contractor must also know the pluses and minuses of a PAV.
