"Five Years of Comfort"   The Comfort Zone    November 2000    by Maury Tiernan

The Comfort Zone column, written for this mobile/modular industry magazine, deals with the challenges related to HVAC systems in all commercial factory built structures. This is the second of three articles Office. Steven asked about the numbering system for the articles, and when the column started. Much to our surprise, we found that it has been five years. The Comfort Zone's "birth day" was the publication date of the May 1995 issue of the MBI Industry News (the predecessor of Factory Built Structures).

The birth was a miracle in it's own right, not to mention getting the column through it's crawling and walking stages, terrible two's, preschool years, and now moving onto the school years.

The Comfort Zone "writer" hardly fits the definition of one. The column was born out of a passion to help us, all of us in the commercial mobile/modular industry, deal with day-to-day questions, problems, and idiosyncrasies of HVAC systems and related issues.

I say help "us all" because the "writer" has learned a lot too. Putting something out in print for the entire world to see carries some responsibility. The facts must be accurate. It doesn't really matter how much I think I know, I still find myself researching facts for articles or workshops to make sure that only the correct information is being passed on.

For example, a future Comfort Zone article will discuss HEPA filters. I thought I knew (close to) enough to write the upcoming article. But not so. I learned as I began to write that the misuse, and misconception of the term HEPA is confusing in itself, not just to me, but to others as well. I'm growing with the column.

Thanks to all of you, The Comfort Zone has made it to be five. From your HVAC questions, to your HVAC problems, but mostly your support and kind words, you've given The Comfort Zone motivation and courage to continue as it "climbs aboard the bus for it's first day of school."

There are others behind the scenes of The Comfort Zone who need to be thanked also: ever patient Geary Pacific staff members, family members, and friends who have painstakingly read and commented on every draft to make sure each article and it's content made sense.

I thought you might enjoy an index of all The Comfort Zone articles.

Keep those topics coming, and take care of yourselves until we meet again in . . . The Comfort Zone.

Index of early articles:

• Introduction Of Comfort Zone Column, May 95
• The End Result Is Not A Coincidence, July 95
• How Does Site Voltage Affect An HVAC System?, Sept 95
• What Size HVAC Unit Is On A Standard 12 x 60?, Nov 95
• What Thermostat Do I Use?, Jan 96
• How Does Altitude Affect HVAC Units?, Mar 96
• Ampacity vs. Amperage...Are They The Same?, May 96
• How Important Are The Registers & Grills To Occupants?, Jul 96
• What is The Correct Application For An Economizer?, Sept 96
• Location, Location, Location . . . Of The Thermostat, Nov 96
• Indoor Air Quality, Jan 97
• To Filter, Or Not To Filter...Shouldn't Even Be A Question?, Mar 97
• What Does It Cost To Heat With Gas vs. Electricity?, May 97
• 24 Deg. C., Wow That Makes It Really . . ., July 97
• HVAC Noise In Classrooms, Sept 97
• The People Load, Nov 97