HVAC: Keeping you cool

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jon Hanson
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Most people either love them or hate them. Maybe it isn’t that melodramatic, but when people are sweating at their office or while trying to sleep they don’t have many good things to say about the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, shop.

The HVAC shop here is responsible for more than 500 environmental conditioning units, commonly referred to as ECUs, a half dozen refrigeration boxes and more than 250 commercial-style air conditioning units. A lot of routine maintenance and repairs are required to keep all of them running.

“We take one day at a time,” said Master Sgt. Kevin Meyer, 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron HVAC shop noncommissioned officer in charge. “I have very knowledgeable and concerned individuals who know the workings of HVAC equipment and how to keep our fellow Airmen comfortable, while dealing with the heat, sand and bugs.

“Personally I think half the people probably hate us,” said Sergeant Meyer, who is deployed here from the Indiana Air National Guard. “But, what they don’t realize is this equipment is very old and we keep nursing these units back to health; they don’t repair themselves.”

During this rotation the 10-person shop has fixed more than 400 ECU units, air conditioners and refrigerators, Sergeant Meyer said. They also service and do routine maintenance on every unit each month. 

Blocked air ducts, sand and weather cause wear and tear on the electrical components.

“This job is harder to do here mainly because of the different climate,” said Staff Sgt. Steven Reed, an HVAC specialist also from the Indiana ANG. “Dust and sand are constantly being sucked into condenser coils and we are dealing with hotter temperatures than back home.”

It isn’t just dust being sucked into the units. The shop has pulled out other items, from ping pong balls to soccer balls.

“One of the units that we brought back to our shop to repair (had) at least 50 Styrofoam cups in the return section of the unit,” said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Winchester. “It looked like an entire package of cups had gotten sucked into the return air duct.”

Most jobs can be challenging while in a deployed location, but they can be rewarding too.

“You can’t just go downtown if you don’t have the correct parts,” said Sergeant Winchester, who has been doing HVAC work since joining the Vermont ANG in 1985.

“But, it is extremely rewarding when you consider we are a 100 percent Air National Guard shop. Some (of the HVAC specialists) do not do this sort of work for a living, and now they can go to a unit that is not operating properly, troubleshoot and repair it," Sergeant Winchester said.