Verify

How do you know if your students have actually learned the material? Most teachers verify the results using tests. You check the student’s knowledge against a standard. If the student falls short, you provide some remediation and then test again until they meet the standard. In education, you would not assume that someone has mastered a subject simply because they read a book that had all the material in it or attended all the right lectures. You verify that they have learned the material using written tests, lab exercises, or some combination of both. How do you know that an air conditioning system performs efficiently as designed by the manufacturer? For many people this has involved using design using tools like ACCA Manual J and D, and installation using skilled personnel. These two steps are certainly important, but they can be compared to reading the book and attending the lecture. Without testing to verify your results, you really cannot be sure that the system is performing correctly. After installation, system performance should be verified by testing crucial system operating characteristics. The 2010 ACCA Quality Installation Standard provides a good format for keeping track of all aspects of a quality installation that need verification. Verification is becoming a very big deal in our industry. Increasingly, energy codes, utility rebate programs, and government programs such as Energy Star are insisting on performance verification. It is no longer enough to install a high SEER unit, you must now test and seal the ductwork and test system performance against manufacturer specifications. You can download the ACCA Quality installation Standard from their website https://www.acca.org/industry/quality/quality-installation