David Richardson, NCI Curriculum Developer and Instructor

There is so much more to installing a static pressure testing port than meets the eye. It involves drilling – a scary thing for both your service technicians and homeowner customers.

The art of installing these ports involves more than the hardware and technology required to do it. There is a psychology to it. It means having a certain amount of finesse and good communication skills.

In fact, when you talk about this, the words you use makes a big difference in how customers perceive what you’re doing. Your words can either benefit you or create unnecessary risks to your customers, depending on how you say them.

Drilling test holes has a destructive tone to it. Homeowners really don’t want you drilling holes in their stuff. You’re likely to have a homeowner slam on the brakes to vital testing if you mention drilling holes in the same sentence.

The Finesse Part …

On the other hand, by explaining  you are installing a test port, well that implies you’re adding a needed accessory to complete your job correctly and perform a proper evaluation. This discussion also provide you a perfect opportunity address why the test ports haven’t been installed until now and how performing this service makes your company different.

Installing them is a true sign of quality and professionalism. The one who installed them cared enough to measure the vital signs of the HVAC system. The sad fact is if test ports aren’t installed in a system, true performance has never been measured and verified. It was nothing more than a guess.

So, do you want to learn more about the art of installing test ports? If so, please click here and read my entire article on it.

If you’re an HVAC contractor or technician interested in learning more about measuring system performance, contact David at 800-633-7058. NCI’s website nationalcomfortinstitute.com is full of free technical articles and downloads to help you improve your professionalism and strengthen your company.