Occasional notes from the firm.
Engineering perspective, research notes, and the firm's view on heat pumps, the Inflation Reduction Act, the SEER2 transition, and the changing climate of the Southeast.
Why we install heat pumps in the Southeast — and why we still recommend gas backup.
A field-tested view from the firm's director of engineering on heat-pump performance in Triangle winters, the SEER2 transition, and the case for a dual-fuel system in 2026.
Read →What Manual J actually measures. And why your last contractor probably did not run one.
Manual J is the ACCA-defined load calculation that determines correct system size. Most of the Triangle's HVAC firms skip it. Here is why we do not.
Read →The IRA, 25C, and the new heat-pump rebate landscape for North Carolina homeowners.
A plain reading of the federal 25C credit, the IRA HEEHRA program, and how North Carolina homeowners qualify in 2026.
Read →Duct design is a separate engineering discipline. Most HVAC firms do not practice it.
Manual D, the ACCA duct-design methodology, and what gets lost when sheet-metal fabrication is outsourced to a third-party shop.
Read →On the SEER2 transition and what it actually means for replacement cost.
SEER2 took effect for the Southeast in 2023. Three years in, here is the firm's read on what the transition actually changed about residential replacement budgets.
Read →Why our maintenance plan is not the cheapest in the Triangle.
A defense of the Concierge Plan's pricing relative to the $14.95-per-month "comfort club" offers across the region.
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