by High Performance HVAC | Buyers Advice |

HVAC Consumers Buyers Guide | Heating & Cooling - The average homeowner or business owner does not know very much about HVAC systems. Therefore, when it comes to buying an HVAC System when it comes time to replace their comfort and conditioning system they simply want an HVAC contractor who will perform the work. Do the work for a reasonable cost and do it right. Finally, to help you with all this we wrote the HVAC Consumers Buyers Guide to help you.
Therefore, how do you find a good contractor that will install your new HVAC system correctly for a reasonable price? Let us explore the possibilities and rules to follow about how a smart homeowner or business owner approaches this and wins. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Thermostats |
Running New Thermostat Wire – It is possible that you may have to run a new thermostat wire from the air handler or furnace to the location where the existing thermostat is located. Running new thermostat wire can challenging even for professionals. If you must then following these instructions and helpful hints will hopefully help you in this endeavor. Pulling new wire should only be done as a last resort. The purpose of running new thermostat wire is necessary for certain reasons such as: (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Commercial HVAC |

Variable Air Volume Box with Hot Water Reheat – The variable air volume box or VAV box is a commercial solution to adding multiple zones to large buildings. VAV boxes offer zoning solutions so that separate zoning demands or temperature selections can be maintained in different areas of the building.
If the president of the company wants the temperature in their office to be 70 degrees Fahrenheit but the vice president wants their office to be 74 degrees Fahrenheit then it is possible with the VAV zoning system as long as their VAV boxes are on different zones. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Commercial HVAC |
Hot Water Unit Heater Protecting Mechanical Room - Unit heaters are used in various places to protect equipment and provide comfort to occupants. This hot water unit heater provides protection for a mechanical room where there is a large air handler and other associated equipment in the mechanical room. This system is controlled by DDC. A thermostat on the wall detects the temperature of the mechanical room. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Commercial HVAC |
Heat Trace Tape Control for HVAC Piping - HVAC Piping systems, especially in the Northern regions, need a way to freeze protect piping the runs outdoor which is a necessity in many different HVAC application. To protect HVAC piping from freezing heat trace tape is wound around the pipe and controlled by an outdoor thermostat or temperature control that energizes the heat trace tape and keeps the pipe from freezing. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Commercial HVAC |
VAV Box Types Fan Powered and Shut Off VAV Boxes - When attempting to name the different types of VAV boxes we find there are different names given to VAV boxes by different people and we find that no one is on the same page when VAV boxes are definitively defined.
We have fan-powered VAV and non-fan-powered VAV’s and we have series and parallel VAV’s and we have VAV boxes with a hot deck and a cold deck that mixes and one of the last projects I worked on some of the VAV’s were referred to as shut-off vavs. Variable Air Volume Boxes (VAV Boxes) regulates airflow into zones using a primary air source from a VAV air handler.
VAV Box Types Fan Powered and Shut Off
- Cool only single ducted series
- Fan-powered single duct series with reheat
- Fan-powered single ducted parallel with reheat - uses plenum air before using reheat for energy efficiency
Aside from the control aspect of VAV boxes, pneumatic, electric, electronic, or DDC, there are many different variations to VAV Boxes and we will attempt to define each type of VAV including offering a diagram of each type and matching it with a specific application. VAV boxes are simply an assembly of a damper, damper controls, and sometimes reheat such as electric heat strips or a hot water coil. VAV boxes get their primary air source from a central VAV air handler and then distribute air throughout a specific zone the VAV box controls.
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by High Performance HVAC | Commercial HVAC |
Data Center Perforated Tiles for Cooling Servers - There is a lot to consider with perforated tiles in data centers and depending on who you talk to you will get different answers. The server floor in a data center is typically built on a raised floor with cold air being pumped under the floor by large CRAH (Computer Room Air Handlers) or CRAC units (Computer Room Air Conditioners). (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Air Conditioning |
Prevent Poor Ventilation in the Home
Prevent Poor Ventilation in the Home - You already know that inadequate ventilation in the home can lead to mold, mildew, and poor indoor airflow. This, in turn, can trap pollutants indoors, leading to allergies and other, more serious health risks. So what can you do to prevent this? Fortunately, you have several options, including energy-efficient ones. Here are some of them. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Heat Pumps |
Heating with Heat Pumps | HVAC Systems - There are some people who say that heat pump heat is not as warm as other types of heat. Heating sources such as a hot water boiler or even a steam boiler. Even the forced air gas furnace gets more credit for providing better heat than the heat pump. Heat pumps are extremely popular in the southern states where the heating season is short. Additionally, where the temperature rarely dips below 35 degrees F. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Boilers |

Hot Water Boiler Piping Zone Valves - Boiler piping zone valves are used for zoning hot water systems where multiple zones are needed. Hot water system zoning can also reduce energy cost because hot water heat zones which are not needed can be shut down thereby reducing boiler runtime to provide hot water heat for those specific zones.
Zoning a hot water boiler system can be done by using these zone valves and separate thermostats for each zone. The boiler piping loop is separated using zone valves on a manifold type system with each zone originating at the manifold. The manifold is piped directly to the boiler. (more…)