Most common to fittings so if you can access them you may find oil residue. Tough problem

Improper refrigerant charge/refrigerant leaks. Especially if your comparison is with similarly or worse constructed buildings with the same style of heating

Actually not entirely prescriptive. If the audit comes from an insulation company you'll have insulation recommendations whereas HVAC auditors will recommend system replacement. Empowering consumers requires transparent, evidence-based directives. Gatekeeping is obviously antithetical to this

As in "oh man my hands are so dry they're cracking... But I guess it's nothing compared with Joel's mom's banana bread"

The biggest leaks will be frame-drywall, holes in wall plates for electric and piping, and holes in drywall for electrical fixtures/junctions. Also frame-frame (eg subfloor to joist), and frame-foundation

Specific to most US homes post ww2. If you think of a building cross-sectionally, you'd want to trace the layer that's tightest. In most cases this will be mainly drywall on exterior surfaces, which will connect with framing plates, doors, windows, electric fixtures

This is a manometer, which is connected to a blower door measuring leakage in a home. This is the pre and post air sealing test. In this case we've reduced air leakage in a home by nearly 30% in a single day which is fairly typical. We've retrofit roughly 2k homes

Iirc Vancouver BC actually does mandate ASHP vs AC

No, NJ allows standard AC, just that they push for heat pump conversion via rebates and loans

Yes, minimum of 2 permits, although typically zoning and HVAC. HVAC is administered via bldg dept and zoning is usually separate. Many jobs also require an electrical permit

3) NJ has some of the most aggressive policies and rebates promoting heat pump conversion, and replacing outdoor AC units with heat pumps is a mandatory part of most conversions. We're needlessly adding weeks to this process

2) It's politically untenable to deny people heat or cooling so it's not clear there's a path for rejection even when the original - and thus replacement - units run afoul of a zoning rule

1) Zoning is mainly concerned adding impervious area or encroaching on adjacent property. Neither of these are changed absent unit relocation

More evidence that I missed my true calling

Precisely. This is the only acceptable solution anything else is eugenics

Same but for me it's because saving one is quantifying and saving neither isn't

Sorry bud you're appallingly ignorant and show no inclination whatsoever to engage in good faith. Blocking you

Sounds suspiciously like an attempt to quantify which I know you don't believe in