What's the skinny on Proctor certification?

[bonneyman]

Heard this name bantered around work earlier this week concerning HVAC certification - I think the name was Proctor? Not really sure, but typed in a google search and a "Proctor Engineering" came up that seems to be in the climate controls research business. Says they've been around 20 years.

I've been around longer than that, and this is the first I've heard of em. Maybe I have the wrong company. Anybody have any insights?

 

[Trey T]

NATE cert?

 

[bonneyman]

NATE cert?

I thought about that, but they do NATE training, and the conversation wasn't about NATE. Maybe I just heard it wrong.

 

[ChaseDE]

They probably say "proper certification"

 

[Done That]

My recollection is they have been active in CA pushing for third party "Quality Install" verification. "Check Me" I think is one of their tools.

Anyway, the premise is that many systems are improperly installed, especially around airflow and refrigerant charge, and customers are for example paying for 16 SEER installs and not really getting it. A third party verification guy comes in and double checks the work and blesses it as a Quality Install (QI). I'm assuming this certification program is to create more QI approved install auditors.

Utilities are behind the effort, because it's cheaper for them to more efficiently use existing generating capacity than to have to build new, heavily regulated plants.

 

[bonneyman]

My recollection is they have been active in CA pushing for third party "Quality Install" verification. "Check Me" I think is one of their tools.

Anyway, the premise is that many systems are improperly installed, especially around airflow and refrigerant charge, and customers are for example paying for 16 SEER installs and not really getting it. A third party verification guy comes in and double checks the work and blesses it as a Quality Install (QI). I'm assuming this certification program is to create more QI approved install auditors.

Utilities are behind the effort, because it's cheaper for them to more efficiently use existing generating capacity than to have to build new, heavily regulated plants.

OK, so they're touting themselves as an "unbiased" consumer protection outfit. Sounds feasible. There is alot of shady work going on, and if someone claims to protect the consumer against fraud they'll probably get alot of calls.

 

[dfiler2]

Are you sure they aren't talking about a "Proctored Examination" where you might take a class on line but the final exam in order to receive your certification needs to be done in the presence of a "Proctor", around here it's done at the community college for a fee.

 

[Done That]

OK, so they're touting themselves as an "unbiased" consumer protection outfit. Sounds feasible. There is alot of shady work going on, and if someone claims to protect the consumer against fraud they'll probably get alot of calls.

Yep. Proctor requires you to do a days training and be certified by them to use their Check Me HVAC diagnostic software per their website.

 

[bonneyman]

Yep. Proctor requires you to do a days training and be certified by them to use their Check Me HVAC diagnostic software per their website.

OK, then that must be what they were talking about. I'll check out Proctors website for Check me and see what info I can glean from it. Thanks!

 

[bonneyman]

OK so it seems that Proctor partners with various public utilities and state environmental departments and offers precision testing and efficiency calculations for consumers. Apparently if you're units calculated efficiency is low enough (compared to a new one) you may qualify for a rebate on the new system.

And contractors get certified by Proctor (or whoever) and are thus authorized to do the actual customer testing. I guess then the contractor gets the install job if the consumer goes for the rebate? So the testing place gets the cert fee and the contractor gets the sale, and the customer gets a (small) rebate.