The first two winners of the “Showcase Your NATE” Sweepstakes have been named, with two additional winners yet to be selected throughout the remainder of the year. BNB Mechanical of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and Parrish Services of Manassas, Virginia, each submitted winning entries in the sweepstakes, which rewards contractors for promoting their NATE-certified technicians.

Bob Johnston, owner of BNB Mechanical submitted an example of a newspaper advertisement featuring the new NATE logo, while Linda Couch, chief operating officer for Parrish Services, submitted examples of their marketing collateral, company website and technician lanyards that prominently feature NATE. Their entries were randomly selected from numerous submissions received from contractors throughout the country, including brochures, vehicle signage, videos, business cards and other examples of how each company highlights their NATE-certified technicians.

Both BNB Mechanical and Parrish Services received a $1,000 prize to be used towards local advertising and/or NATE promotional materials.

Two additional winners will be selected throughout the remainder of the year. To enter, contractors are invited to submit descriptions and pictures of the various ways that they use NATE to build consumer confidence and attract new customers. With each submission, the contractor is entered into a regular drawing for a chance to win the $1,000 prize.

The “Showcase Your NATE” entries can be submitted via email to sweepstakes@natex.org or by mailing them to “Showcase Your NATE” Sweepstakes, 2111 Wilson Blvd #510, Arlington, VA 22201. Many entries will be featured on NATE’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/natecertification) and in other communication materials. For more information about the sweepstakes, visit www.natex.org.

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An Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) transfers heat and moisture between the incoming and outgoing air streams. There is a standardized testing protocol (CAN/CSA – 439) that determines how efficiently this transfer takes place. These measures, along with others, allow customers to compare the many ERVs currently on the market.

Apparent Sensible Effectiveness (ASE) relates to the temperature of the incoming fresh air after it passes through the heat exchanger. The higher the percent at a given air flow, the warmer the incoming air. However, temperature is not the sole determinate of comfort. Humidity must be considered. In the winter, the goal is for a reasonable amount of humidity (say 40 – 55% RH) to stay in the house. In the summer, you want to keep the humidity outside. There are two tests that determine the capacity to either retain or exclude humidity.

Net Moisture Transfer (NMT) relate to the percentage of moisture that is returned to your home in the winter. In the summer, Total Recovery Effectiveness (TRE) includes testing to determine how much humidity is left outside. The more humidity kept outside, the less work the air conditioner or dehumidifier must do.

Energy savings are critical to consumers. So it is also important to test the amount of energy savings realized at specified air flows in comparison to opening a window and bringing in an equivalent amount of fresh air. The Sensible Recovery Efficiency (SRE) percentage takes into account the amount of energy utilized to operate the unit, as well as the energy required to reheat the amount of air exchanged. The energy savings depend on the climate of the area, the type of heating system, and its efficiency. The higher a SRE percentage, the more energy will be saved.

Also it is important to rate ventilators and compare them based on how well they actually deliver and exhaust air. Testing provides a graph of the ability of a ventilation system to deliver inlet and exhaust air at differing pressures measured in inches of water (in W.C.) or Pascals (Pa.) This is a important because it indicates the ability of the blowers to deliver the called for fresh air over the resistance that the air encounters as it travels through the duct work of the home. Electronically commutated motor/blowers are programmed to deliver the called for air through a range of static pressures and can ensure that the incoming and outgoing air-flows are, and remain, balanced.

Learn more about UltimateAir®’s Value Added Reseller program and receive exclusive information to better sell our RecoupAerator® air filtration/ventilation system in your service area.

Online or on the phone, you can earn one hour of NATE continuing education hours for every live session of Honeywell eLearning listed below that you attend and complete.

With increasing numbers of customers making green and energy-efficient decisions, it’s becoming even more important for HVAC contractors to pay attention to their customers’ air quality.

“As the energy-efficiency focus of the green movement continues to gain momentum and even existing homes are being tightened for energy savings and carbon footprint reduction, the importance of proper ventilation is often lost in the rush to implement associated measures,” said Allen Rathey, president of the Healthy House Institute (HHI).

“Air is the No. 1 route of exposure to unhealthy substances in the indoor environment,” he said. “What’s healthy for people should not be neglected in favor of what’s healthy for the planet; rather, the two goals should peacefully coexist. Adequate fresh air should be an equal priority to energy savings. Controlled mechanical ventilation is the best way to achieve both intelligently.”

The most important thing for contractors to be doing now, to increase their IAQ work, is the most important thing many have been advising them to do for a long time: “Educate, educate, educate the consumer about the tradeoff that exists between tightened homes and indoor air quality, and offer solutions to address both,” said Rathey. “Contractors should learn to measure indoor air contaminant levels using handheld devices, then inform the consumer about available solutions which they can provide.”

NEW WHITE PAPER

HHI and the Home Ventilating Institute (HVI) jointly released a White Paper, “Victory over VOCs – Energy-Saving Fans and Other Devices Help Keep Indoor Air Fresh.” It explains that “IAQ has been a growing concern, particularly when it comes to newer, energy-efficient homes.

While tight, well-insulated homes save money and are better for the environment, they may also trap unhealthy indoor pollutants inside.”
While energy-saving homes are good at keeping in heat or air conditioning, this may cause them to retain high levels of harmful compounds, the paper points out. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be up to 10 times higher indoors than outdoors. (VOCs are carbon-based gases emitted into the air by common household products or furnishings.)

The paper points to source removal and adequate, year-round ventilation as solutions. Ventilation products cited in the paper include:

• Exhaust fans with high-efficiency motors, which remove pollutants and moisture in specific areas of the home such as in bathrooms, showers, kitchens, and workshops and utility areas.
• Whole-house comfort ventilators; properly located, it draws cooler outside air through screened windows and doors, pulls it up through the house, and exhausts it, usually through static vents in the attic.
• Heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs); for whole-house ventilation, HRVs and ERVs bring in outdoor air, circulate it through the home, and expel stale air to the outside while preserving energy. The heat from the exhaust air is retained by the unit’s core and used to warm the air coming in from the outside. In the summer, the process works in reverse. An ERV can also modulate the moisture that is retained or lost.

Answer:

Technicians

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Contractors

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