Knowledge and the Tomato

Overview

By Keith Coursin, President, Desert Aire

“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. 
Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad.”
- Miles Kington

Desert Aire has been designing and manufacturing dehumidification and indoor climate control systems for over 40 years. One of the core reasons for our longevity has been our willingness to educate engineers, contractors and owners about this small slice of the HVAC market that deals with removing damaging moisture. 

Engineers don’t often encounter applications that have significant humidity loads and therefore may not have much experience with dehumidification. Meanwhile contractors and owners only learn about it when problems arise. 

Yet collectively our Desert Aire team has many times 40-plus years of experience to bring to this segment of the HVAC industry. So it has always been with pride that I recognize my team’s contributions to the art form of dehumidification.

We help to educate others on the design and application of dehumidification systems to be sure. But more importantly we use that knowledge to prevent the problems that moisture may bring into indoor pool rooms, grow rooms, commercial buildings and manufacturing facilities. The knowledge is the science. The wisdom comes from practical approaches and many years of experience.

One of the ways we help the industry is staying active in numerous trade associations and technical societies. This includes attending local events and chapter meetings but more importantly taking leadership roles on the national stage. This also helps Desert Aire to deeply understand new developments and the perspectives of others in the industry.

Desert Aire is off to a running start in 2019. At the ASHRAE Winter Conference held January 12-16 in Atlanta, our Craig Burg, vice president of engineering, and Channing Everett, southern regional manager, participated in many Project Committee and Technical Committee meetings. 

Craig and Channing are active as voting members on ASHRAE Technical Committees including TC 2.2 Plant and Animal Environments; TC 8.10 Mechanical Dehumidifiers and Heat Pipes; and SPC 190 Method of Testing for Rating Indoor Pool Dehumidifiers. 

Both Craig and Channing serve as the committee chairs of other important ASHRAE efforts. Craig chairs SPC 198 Method of Test for Rating DX-Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems. Channing chairs a newly formed subcommittee for TC 9.8 specific to Indoor Grow Facilities.

Our participation in these ASHRAE meetings was complemented by the good people we spoke with at the nearby 2019 AHR Expo. Our technical advisors talked up solutions to Expo attendees who stopped by our booth, including members of our national network of manufacturer reps.

Next up in January was The Ultimate Pool Conference, organized by Paddock Pool Equipment Co. I attended this event with executives from over 80 companies. We reached a consensus that technologies to arrive at the Ultimate Pool are known, but we must bring new construction up to the standards these technologies represent.

Desert Aire will be at numerous events throughout the year to discuss a wide range of indoor climate control topics. I invite you to stop by our website and LinkedIn page often for timely updates on our activities.

Beyond speaking at national events, Desert Aire also shares significant wisdom through our website. The site is loaded with technical bulletins and application notes on almost every conceivable topic in the world of dehumidification and indoor climate control technologies. I encourage you to explore our website and to see for yourself the knowledge and wisdom that is made available to you for free.

We have realized that when we pass along facts, information and skills we add value to our customer relationships and to the HVAC decisions our customers make. This helps everyone ensure the projects are a success and provides real value to building owners and users.

As Steven Covey has said, we must all “sharpen our saw” on a regular basis. So I challenge you to not only spend the time to gain knowledge, but more importantly convert that to wisdom by deeply understanding the message and skills provided to you through your educational experiences. Perhaps Desert Aire can be one of your guides in the process.

To all of you may 2019 be your best year ever.
Keith Coursin

Editor’s Note: the photos show Craig Burg, vice president of engineering, speaking at an ASHRAE Winter Conference project committee meeting; the Desert Aire booth at the 2019 AHR Expo; and Keith Coursin, president, leading a panel discussion at The Ultimate Pool Conference organized by The Paddock Pool Equipment Co.