Beautiful Heat, anti-spam legislation, and residential heat loss and heat gain calculations were hot topics at the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada’s (HRAI) GTA chapter meeting on February 26.
More than 55 people attended the meeting at Fontana Gardens in Vaughan, ON to hear presentations from Tom Cates, HRAI SkillTech Academy instructor; Julie King, senior partner at Biz-Zone Internet Group and editor of CanadaOne.com ; and Jeff House, training manager at Jess-Don Dunford.
Cates discussed the many benefits both beginners and industry veterans can gain from taking the three-day residential heat loss and heat gain calculations course he teaches at HRAI. The program is invaluable for those installing new or retrofit heating and air conditioning equipment in residential buildings.
“Whether you’ve been in the industry for two months or twenty years, you’ll get something out of all HRAI courses,” said Cates, a 28-year HVAC industry veteran. “We’re in the business of providing comfort to our customers. That’s not an easy thing to do.”
The event’s second speaker, Julie King, explained the nuances of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), which takes effect on July 1. The sweeping legislation will transform the way we all do business, she said, as companies will have to receive explicit consent from customers in order to send them electronic commercial messages.
“Most Canadian businesses are not aware the landscape is about to change,” she warned, adding the penalty for violating CASL is $1 million dollars for individuals and $10 million for corporations, politicians excepted.
Rounding out the evening, Jeff House presented a number of ways to integrate beautiful heat into the HVAC home, as he flipped through a slide show of some good and other not so good installations he has come across.
In parting, he offered attendees five tips for making a job easy: simplify piping, find your iterative process, ask customers a lot of questions (and listen to their answers), keep everyone informed during construction, and keep it simple and respectable. “Keep it neat,” he emphasized.
The next HRAI GTA chapter meeting is scheduled for March 25. It will include a discussion forum with Linda Jones from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Royden Trainor from the Ontario College of Trades, and John Marshall from Technical Standards & Safety Authority.
Editor’s Note: Look for more on CASL in HPAC March 2014, available online soon.
