Reviewer
Sam Ortiz
HVAC installer, ACCA Manual J trained, 9 years field work
Sam is an HVAC installer working in the southwest US. He has put in roughly 800 residential systems across nine years on the truck, mostly heat pumps and split-system air conditioners on retrofit jobs, plus a meaningful share of new construction in production homes. He completed ACCA's Residential HVAC Design certificate program, which covers Manual J Eighth Edition load calculations, Manual S equipment selection, and Manual D duct sizing across the three-day in-person course taught by ACCA instructors.
Most of Sam's day is split between two tasks: walking new houses with a tape measure and a window count to build a real Manual J before quoting, and pulling out 20-year-old oversized condensers to replace them with right-sized variable-capacity equipment. He has watched the same pattern repeat for years, where a contractor quotes a 5-ton replacement for a 3-ton house because that is what is already there, and the homeowner ends up with humidity complaints inside a year. The sizing calculators on this site exist specifically to give homeowners a second opinion before they sign that quote.
Sam reviews the load-calc and equipment-sizing tools (Manual J, AC tonnage, HVAC tonnage by sqft, heat loss, R-value insulation, water heater sizing, dehumidifier sizing, humidifier sizing) and the gas pipe sizing calculator since most of the southwest install base runs on natural gas backup. His sign-off means a real installer would pull a permit with the numbers the calculator returns.
Tools reviewed by Sam
Every tool listed below was reviewed by Sam Ortiz against the published code, standard, or manufacturer data it implements. Sam signs off on the math, the inputs that drive it, and the edge cases the result panel flags.
How BTU Size uses reviewers
Every tool on BTU Size credits a named technician with field experience in the relevant trade. Reviewers check the math against published code (ACCA, ASHRAE, NEC, NFPA, IECC), against manufacturer engineering data (Carrier, Trane, Mitsubishi, Owens Corning, Slant/Fin), and against the edge cases that show up on real service calls. See the full reviewer roster and methodology.