Performance Contracts, Commissioning Agents, Sun Angles, oh my! Interview with HVAC Veteran Michael Pratt by the GreenFolks at PlanetShifter.com

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Performance Contracts, Commissioning Agents, Sun Angles, oh my! Interview with HVAC Veteran Michael Pratt by the GreenFolks at PlanetShifter.com

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I have been in the HVAC industry in some aspect for the last 30+ years. The company that I work for now engineers performance contracting. Which is we do energy management projects for universities, K-12 school districts, government facilities along with industrial buildings. We assess and implement energy savings plans from insulation, windows, solar, water, HVAC and computerized control systems operating the HVAC equipment.

When doing a performance contract the customer has very little upfront investment in the project. Where applicable the money to pay for these projects is directly over a period of years extracted from the savings these projects produce.

My portion of the project is as Commissioning Agent. Where I travel the country testing the HVAC system to insure that it has been installed and operating correctly along with the Automated controls that operate the HVAC equipment. I also provide training for the end user and ongoing support when needed.

Now I mentioned that I have spent 30+ years in the HVAC industry. Before I became involved in the portion of the industry that provides performance contracting. I spent 15 years directly installing, servicing and working with customers to maintain their home or business HVAC system in top energy efficient condition and advised my customers on avenues to making their home or business energy efficient. I have worked and installed all brands of HVAC equipment such as. Carrier, Lennox, Goodman, Bryant, and many more.

The last 16 years directly in performance contracting. I hope this has answered your question. But please do not hesitate if you have further questions.

Thank You,

Michael Pratt

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What is important to know about installing solar equipment?

There are many things that are needed for the proper installation of solar equipment. One is the optimum angle of the sun as it passes across the sky. Now this is dependent upon your location in the united states or for that matter anywhere you maybe in the world.

What are the pros and cons in a performance contract?

Pros: it is generally a win, win for the customer if it is true performance contracting than the customer has little out of pocket expense. On the other hand the customer must keep the equipment in top running condition and maintain the parameters that are set in the contract to be able to obtain the savings projected. This sometimes is difficult because of restrictive maintenance budgets. If the customer abides by all the conditions of the contract and the system fails to make savings than the performance contractor writes a check to the customer to make up the difference. (Hope this answers that question for you).

Are the unions stronger now? Weaker? How do you view this landscape?

Depends on which union you are dealing with.

Unions can be helpful and hurtful. I generally find union help to be highly educated in every aspect of the trade that they have chosen. Not that non-union workers are not as educated as their union counter parts. It is just that unions require this level of education where as the non-union worker has to have a desire to get to this level on their own. But union help can be very costly to a project compared to non-union workers.

How many of the HVAC systems that you inspect are failing?

About .5 %

What are the top safety issues in your line of work?

Not knowing how to do your job correctly and in a safe manner. Fall issues for one someone falling from a high structure. Electrocution for another.

What do you find of interest at PlanetShifter.com?

I am interested in the conservation of our natural resources. And this is what interested me in your site.

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Connections -
Go Ahead, Contact Mr. Pratt
mmprattks1 at msn dot com