By Bob Baker

Many HVAC contractors either have a company division that is in the business of cleaning air ducts or has those services as part of their normal operations. During the first week of March, the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) will meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico for its annual meeting. This promises to be a significant meeting as several huge items are on the formal agenda and a number of issues are sure to come up during less formal discussions.

NADCA has been a leader in bringing increasing professionalism and standards of performance to an industry where there have in the past been many allegations of shoddy work, inconsistent quality and aggressive marketing or possibly un-needed services. In the early 90s, they established a requirement for training and certification to a minimum level of work knowledge as a requirement for membership in the association and this has led to a significant rise in competence of the average provider of such services. Both consumers and ethical providers have benefited greatly. There are still those out there who provide shoddy, overpriced or un-necessary services. However, few of these display the NADCA emblem.

Raise the bar?
Once you establish a minimum level of competence in an industry, there is often a temptation to increase that level to attain even greater levels of competence and professionalism. This results in debates around "how much is enough". This will be an important area of discussion at this year's meeting. A proposal to require even greater levels of training for member companies will be considered. This, of course, raises significant questions of economics, as additional training is costly both in time away from the job and travel and class fees.

It also leads to a debate as to just how much there is to learn in order to competently and ethically provide services. These will be difficult discussions as there are solid arguments on both sides of the issue.

The ACR Standard
Many years ago, NADCA wrote and published the ACR Standard that quickly became the accepted minimum practice document for the industry. This document is referenced in many specifications, referred to by the US EPA and recognized by many such as ASHRAE, ACCA and others as an important industry source. The document was last updated in 2002.

In December 2003, the long awaited IICRC S520 Mold Remediation Standard was published. For the first time, this established minimum acceptable work practices for removal of mold from building interiors and HVAC systems. The NADCA Standards committee immediately set out to evaluate the impact of S520 on the ACR standard and recognized that the new mold remediation standard provided the opportunity to update the ACR in this area. They decided to make terms and definitions as well as procedures consistent between the two documents. That work is complete and the results will be presented to the NADCA membership at this meeting. As a result, there will be considerable discussion of both the ACR and the S520 documents.

What is Duct Cleaning?
Although not specifically included on the agenda, there is sure to be significant discussion among attendees of the basic definition of the scope of air duct cleaning. There has always been some difference of opinion in the industry. Many have taken the terminology literally and confine their services to cleaning of air ducts only. They hold that cleaning other associated equipment such as air-handlers, furnaces, cooling coils and other like pieces of equipment are tasks that are better performed by HVAC Contractors. Others point out that the cleanliness of all system components is critical to proper operation of HVAC systems and that duct-cleaning companies are more skilled and equipped to clean system components than contractors who are trained primarily in installation and repair activities.

Adding to this debate is the results of a study completed several years ago by the Research Triangle Institute and underwritten by the US EPA with the cooperation and support of NADCA. This study concluded that it was difficult to produce measurable results from air duct cleaning and where there were quantifiable results such as improved airflow, they came from cleaning cooling coils and other air handler components rather than just the air ducts.

NADCA member companies face competition from others who may not have adopted the high standards of NADCA members. Often these providers offer only duct cleaning (and may not even do that well). They can be much more competitive than a firm that cleans both the air duct interiors and air handling components. Therefore a NADCA firm will often not be able to successfully compete with the firms offering limited services. Increasingly, some NADCA member firms provide only duct cleaning in order to be more competitive. There is sure to be a debate throughout the meeting about the scope of services that is proper.

This promises to be an exciting and memorable meeting.

Mr. Baker's field of expertise is the control of contamination in air-conditioning and ventilating systems by mold, mildew and bacteria. He writes and speaks frequently about the efficacy, legal risks, and regulatory issues involved in various control strategies. He serves on ASHRAE Technical Committee TC 2.3, TC 2.4, TC 9.8, and Sampling of Airborne Particulate Concentration in Commercial and Residential Buildings GPC 17P. He also serves as a member of ASTM D22.06 (Indoor Air Quality) and is on the Board of Directors of the Indoor Air Quality Association and the Florida Public Health Foundation. Because HVAC applications encompass new uses from an U.S. EPA regulatory standpoint, Mr. Baker works closely with the EPA and industry groups, including serving as the chair of the IAQ committee of the Consumer Specialty Products Association, to help formulate policy in this area.

Bob Baker is Chairman and CEO of BBJ Environmental Solutions, Inc., a company specializing in providing clean air through environmentally responsible products, such as BBJ MicroBiocide , BBJ Micro Coil Clean , "FreshDuct Odor Eliminator ", and BBJ Mold and Mildew Remover™ as well as the revolutionary new Power Coil Clean™. For additional information, Mr. Baker can be reached at (800) 889-2251 or through the company web site at http://www.bbjenviro.com.