According to the famous Pennsylvania Groundhog,

Punxsutawney Phil, winter is only half over. Despite rising fuel prices, this winter has been kind so far. Don't count on it always being that way. We can't control the fuel costs but we can control what we do about it.

If you need advice about doing more to control your HVAC costs, we're available to offer independent, objective suggestions for any upgrades you wish to consider.

Make sure your boilers are tested for peak efficiency. If you have steam traps, it's essential that you check them for leakage. Make sure all your control devices are calibrated. There are big payoffs in doing some of the simple things.

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"If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?"
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IN THE NEWS

Free Healthy School Assessment Tool
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT V.1.0) software was developed to help school districts evaluate and manage their facilities for key environmental, safety, and health issues. HealthySEAT V.1.0 is designed to be customized and used by district-level staff to conduct completely voluntary self-assessments of their school facilities and to track and manage information on environmental conditions, school by school. The software can be downloaded for free on the EPA's Website. The EPA is offering a series of Webcasts to help acquaint school districts with the capabilities and features of HealthySEAT V.1.0 free of charge...[MORE].

Remediation and Cleanup of Mold in Schools and Buildings
The document Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings presents guidelines for the remediation and cleanup of mold and moisture problems in schools and commercial buildings. Included are measures designed to protect the health of building occupants and remediators, such as building managers, custodians, and others who are responsible for commercial building and school maintenance...[ MORE]

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"Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive"
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User's Manual to Help Apply Standard 62.1

A new user's manual is intended to help with the design, installation and operation requirements in ASHRAE ventilation standard. The User's Manual for ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, includes a CD containing a spreadsheet to assist in calculating the standard's ventilation rate procedure.

Read more

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"Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?"
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AHR Expo Review:

Thanks to all of the folks who stopped by to see our booth at the recent ASHRAE exhibition in Chicago. We are thrilled at the amount of traffic we experienced at our booth, and look forward to hearing from you all very soon.

We featured our new, 'USB-compatible' data loggers. The product drew a lot of interest, as we new it would. For more information and a peek at a 'Post-AHR' Special Price click here.

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"When they first invented the clock, how did they know what time it was to set it to?"
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PRODUCT CORNER:

Now Available through NECC:

Honeywell Water Management Solutions: -         Water Flow Control Products: o       Sparco Thermostatic Mixing Valves. o       Pressure Regulating Valves. o       Water Shut-Off Ball Valves. -         Hydronic Heating Products: o       Sparco Motorized Zone Valves & Fan Coil Valves. o       Commercial Expansion Tanks. o       Braukmann Thermostatic Radiator Valves & Actuators. o       Pressure Regulators. Click here to view the catalog, showing all of the available products from Honeywell Water Management Solutions.

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"Why are hemorrhoids called "hemorrhoids" instead of 'asteroids'?"
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TRAINING NOTES:

NECC is pleased to announce our Spring Training Schedule.

Classes will be held at our Training Center at:

308 Darby Road

Havertown, PA 19083

Classes are being offered in Pneumatics, VAV and DDC.

Click here to view our on-line training information. If you would like to bring a class to your location, contact Mark McGann at (800) 227-9800 or email at mmcgann@neccdelivers.com

UPCOMING EVENTS:

MCAA Annual Convention, March 19-23, Maui, Hawaii. Contact the Mechanical Contractors Association of America at 301-869-5800 or www.mcaa.org.

CMX/CIPHEX 2006, March 23-25, Toronto. Contact organizers at 416-444-5225, cmx2006@salshow.com, or www.cmxshow.com.

ACCA Conference & Indoor Air Expo, March 28-30, San Jose, Calif. Contact the Air Conditioning Contractors of America at 703-575-4477; www.acca.org

NAPE Philadelphia 76 Chapter Meeting, March 14, 6PM, Havertown, PA -Contact Mark McGann at (610) 449-9800 x 301, http://napephiladelphia76.org

Picture of the month:

Step 1: Remove shoes.
Step 2: Place metal ladder in a swimming pool!
Step 3: Begin using CORDED power tool on the ductwork while standing barefoot on metal ladder in a pool.

Step 4: Call a paramedic

Brilliant! (if he lives!)