HVAC/R: Research Tools

SCC Library has magazines, trade publications and other periodicals which students may borrow.

Many are also available online in the SCC Library databases, including ProQuest and ​Associates Programs Source Plus

Print periodicals in the library:

• Popular Science
• Popular Mechanics

Examples of periodicals in ProQuest:

• Contractor
• Heating, Plumbing, Air Conditioning
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Industrial Heating
• Snips

Examples of periodicals in Associates Programs Source Plus:

• Air Conditioning and Refrigeration News
• Process Cooling and Equipment
• Reeves Journal: Plumbing, Heating, Cooling
• Heating and Ventilation Review
• Industrial Heating
• Process Heating
• Heating, Piping, Air Conditioning Engineering

Search in SCC library databases for articles on topics of your choice.

Search tips:

• KEYWORDS: Use keywords in your searching. Select words you predict will appear in an article title or description.
• PHRASES: Use phrase searching for a phrase of two words or more. Enclose a phrase in quotation marks.
• TRUNCATION: Truncate search terms using an asterisk. For example, the search term:  fabricat*  will retrieve instances of any word starting with f-a-b-r-i-c-a-t, like fabricate, fabricator, fabricating, etc.
• BOOLEAN OPERATORS: Combine multiple search concepts using Boolean terms: AND, OR, NOT

Example searches:

hvac*

hvac AND recycling

hvac AND "energy efficiencey"

"employee retention"

"employee retention" AND hvac*

"hvac industry" AND trend*

"ecm technology" and hvac*

Use search words and phrases you think will be in the article title, description, or full-text

refrigeration AND repair

"air conditioning" AND compressor AND maintenance

hvac AND trends

"leak detection"

"Air conditioning industry"

refrigerants AND "safety measures"

flanges

valves

Example search in ProQuest: hvac AND reuse

• narrow date
• select only: trade journals

Example article:

Example search in Associates Programs Source Plus: hvac AND trends

• narrow date 

Example article:

Use the library Search to find books on specific subjects. You'll find print books and some ebooks.

• Books that check out are on the library 2nd floor. 
• Reference books are on the 1st floor. They're a great starting place for research.
• Partner Libraries search will find books at Gonzaga and other area college libraries.

Your SCC Library has books on these subjects and more:

• Heating and ventilation industry
• Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery
• Air conditioning
• Heating
• Ventilation

And Reference books like:

• Handbook of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (Wang, 1993)
• How Products Are Made: An Illustrated Guide to Product Manufacturing
• International Building Code

eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) is an SCC Library database (accessible from home with SID). Here are just a few ebook titles you'll find in our SCC Library Catalog and in this database:

• HVAC Fundamentals
• Fundamentals of HVAC Systems
• Managing Indoor Air Quality
• Indoor Air Quality Case Studies Reference Guide
• Ventilation and Airflow in Buildings: Methods for Diagnosis and Evaluation
• Encyclopedia of Network Blueprints

 Which term should I use for HVAC?

Because the term HVAC/R can be written in a variety of ways (HVAC-R, HVACR, etc.) it's a good strategy to use a search technique called truncation when searching for periodical articles in library databases.

Databases like ProQuest and Associates Programs Source Plus allow this type of advanced searching where typing:

 hvac*

will retrieve articles containing any word in the article which starts with the spelling h-v-a-c. (The asterisk acts as a wildcard.)

Try a variety of search terms