Everything You Need to Know About NADCA’s General Specification for HVAC System Cleaning is Right Here

The NADCA General Specification, written in collaboration with the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), is the world’s most respected specification for air duct cleaning. For those not familiar with the requirements and importance of specifying HVAC system cleaning, the plug-and-play three-part format is easy to use. The document eases the burden of spec writing, and provides a thorough, customizable solution that will save valuable time for architects, engineers, facility managers, and specifiers.

Did you know that NADCA has a full-time team member who’s dedicated solely to marketing the General Spec and other NADCA standards? We sat down with NADCA’s very own Jeannie Cekala, Standards and Specifications Marketing Manager, to learn more about the General Specification for HVAC System Cleaning. Here’s what she had to say:

Q:  What is the NADCA General Specification? 
A: The NADCA General Specification describes the minimum requirements necessary to coordinate a successful commercial HVAC system cleaning project. 

Q:  Why was it created?
A: Creating this specification aligns perfectly with NADCA’s goal for its members to be the number one resource for consumers and other entities seeking air duct cleaning and/or HVAC inspection, cleaning, and restoration. Creating this specification supports our commercial consumers, and goes a long way toward ensuring the highest quality service. 

Q:  Who should use it?
A: This specification is for anyone tasked with developing commercial HVAC system cleaning specifications. Professionals such as engineers, architects, specifiers, and facility managers regularly use the NADCA General Specification. 

Q:  How is it used?
A: The NADCA General Specification is a template, and it can be modified to accurately reflect each project’s requirements, and also account for the unique system variations within an individual building and cleaning project. The use of this specification alone is not a guarantee of a successful project. Selecting a qualified contractor is just as important as well-written specifications!

Q:  What is the benefit of using it?
A: Because it is written in the Construction Specification Institute’s (CSI) 3-part format, the General Specification provides a uniform standard to arrange specification text. This reduces the chance of omissions or duplication in a specification section. 

Q:  What does it include?
A: Included in the General Specification are items such as administrative requirements of the project, submittals, qualifications of contractors, products to be used, and other important details to ensure the successful completion of the HVAC system cleaning project.  

Q:  Is it global?
A: The NADCA General Specification was created for projects performed in the U.S. Users outside of the U.S. should consult the applicable laws, standards, and regulations of their own country to ensure that the contents of this specification do not conflict with such statutes.

Q:  How does the General Spec differ from the ACR?
A: ACR, the NADCA Standard for Assessment, Cleaning, and Restoration of HVAC systems, is the industry standard for HVAC cleaning and restoration. The comprehensive standard is specified for commercial projects worldwide, as well as by residential consumers who want assurances of effective air duct cleaning.

Jeannie’s full-time marketing role is to grow the number of architects, engineers, and facility managers who not only know about the ACR and General Specification, but understand why they need to specify. Why does she do this? The answer is simple! Her work is actually a huge benefit for NADCA members. Every time she gets the General Specification into the hands of an architect, engineer, or facility manager (who may not be fully aware of NADCA or our members), it potentially increases members' customer base since the professionals who use the General Specification will be specifying ASCS-certified technicians and/or NADCA member companies. This ultimately provides our members with a significant edge over non-member companies when they’re bidding on projects!

The NADCA General Specification includes guidelines for administrative requirements, submittals, qualifications, products to use, cleaning methods, how to execute the job, equipment maintenance, and quality control. It’s a tool every engineer, architect, facility manager, and construction specifier should have handy. 

Since the General Specification is a free tool that makes their job easier, in a format they are already familiar with (CSI specification format), Jeannie often uses the free General Specification to build the foundation of her relationships with architects, engineers, and facility managers. The General Specification references ACR throughout, since it’s the standard to which ASCS-certified techs are trained and certified to clean to. 

Jeannie also curates and shares content on LinkedIn, which helps her build relationships with those same architects, engineers, and facility managers. These professionals quickly learn that if they have questions about HVAC inspection, cleaning, and restoration, NADCA is their go-to resource; and they don't have to figure it out on their own. 

NADCA’s General Specification for HVAC System Cleaning in CSI 3-Part Format can be downloaded for FREE at: https://generalspec.nadca.com.

Click Here to Download the General Specification for HVAC System Cleaning in CSI 3-Part Format.