Heating and Cooling Essentials provides a thorough, easily understood, and up-to-date textbook for persons entering the refrigeration, heating, and air conditioning field. The text is a practical blend of theory, on-the-job skills-building procedures, and customer service soft-skill training. It is designed for use by first-year students in HVACR programs at vocational schools, technical schools, adult continuing education classes, or community colleges. This text may also be used in apprenticeship programs and can serve as an excellent reference for working technicians. Heating and Cooling Essentials was written from a service technician’s point of view, but the service experience is appropriate for the HVACR student. Being able to combine on-the-job skills with theory is a must to become a successful service technician. The content of the textbook provides a solid foundation in the basics and integrates practical service procedures with technical theory. The book is a complete and accurate guide to troubleshooting and performing essential service procedures on many types of systems. An important change in this edition of Heating and Cooling Essentials is the addition of a new chapter titled “Careers in Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration.” This chapter covers an overview of the HVACR industry, explains why HVACR is a good career option, and discusses different career paths in the HVACR industry. Also discussed are some of the physical, mental, communication, and technical skills needed to be successful in HVACR. Most importantly, this new chapter explains how to get the most out of an HVACR education. Some of the other changes in this edition include the following: • Content and photos have been updated to reflect the latest practices and equipment. • New tools and procedures used to improve the installation of copper and plastic tubing are introduced. • Newer refrigerants and steps for proper system evacuation are also covered. • The operation of 80% and 90% furnaces are discussed. To help students learn to work in and create a safe working environment, personal safety issues are highlighted in Safety Note box features. Caution box features contain information used to help prevent equipment damage and system failure. Pro Tip box features explain information that is hands-on common practice and the bits of know-how that distinguish an expert from a novice. Heating and Cooling Essentials is organized into areas of study based on a progression of concepts and systems from simple to complex. Learning objectives are stated at the beginning of each chapter, serving as an overview of content. A summary and review questions are provided at the end of chapters. Review questions are a convenient means of assessing whether the chapter material has been mastered or whether additional study is needed before moving on. The colors of the line art illustrations in the book have been selected and used consistently to represent specific aspects of a system (such as the different physical states and pressures of refrigerant in a system). A color key is provided to facilitate use of the book and understanding of system operations. A textbook is not a story book that is only read once. It is designed to be read over and over again. Just because you master a chapter today does not mean that you will remember everything about that chapter later in your training or even when you enter the workforce. Refresh your knowledge by rereading chapters already covered even after finishing your education. This textbook will provide the reader with a sound foundation for further study of more specialized aspects of the HVACR field. Remember that to be a success means not only mastering your hands-on-skills, but also understanding operational theory and having great customer soft-skills. Jerry Killinger LaDonna Killinger Don Crawshaw Preface iii Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.