Building HVAC Science
Eric and Bill welcome Victor Hyman to the podcast. Victor is the Executive Director of Climate Care Cooperative, an Ontario-based HVAC contractors' cooperative focused on residential services. Victor explains that Climate Care has been operational since 1992, and he has been its Executive Director for three and a half years. He highlights the unique nature of a contractors' cooperative, detailing how it allows companies to share best practices, training, and financial benefits, likening the structure to a franchise system democratically controlled by its members. Victor discusses the role of...
info_outline EP157 Heat Pumps, Homes, and High Tech Amply Energy's HVAC Evolution With Ed Smith and Eric Fitz (February 2024)Building HVAC Science
In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, co-hosts Eric Kaiser and Bill Spohn welcomed special guests Ed Smith and Eric Fitz from Amply Energy. The group began by sharing their experiences at the recent HVACR school symposium in Florida, highlighting the significance of personal connections and shared knowledge in the industry. Ed Smith discussed his transition from operating businesses to co-founding Amply, driven by a desire to make significant impacts, particularly in sustainable agriculture and decarbonizing chemical manufacturing. The conversation touched on the growing...
info_outline EP156 Inside the Toolbox- Rethinking HVAC with a High-End Twist With Chris Wisniewski (December 2023)Building HVAC Science
In the episode Eric and Bill interview Chris Wisniewski, a high-end residential HVAC contractor. Chris shares his journey from having no initial interest in HVAC, influenced by his father's work, to taking over the family business after college. He emphasizes the importance of being in the field and understanding the technical aspects, leading to his interest in control systems and the evolution of his business from industrial to high-end and standard residential services. Chris discusses the business's transition towards high-end residential work in the city (NYC), incorporating standard...
info_outline EP155 Sustainable Spaces: The Journey from Efficiency to Humanity in Design With Vali Homes (November 2023)Building HVAC Science
In the podcast, Austin shares his experiences with sustainable building practices, particularly highlighting the initial venture into constructing a LEED platinum-level building to demonstrate that high sustainability standards can be achieved without excessive costs or complexity. He discusses the general approach where typical construction starts with existing methods and then adapts to earn additional certification points, which often leads to either more expensive or less effective outcomes. Instead, Austin advocates starting from scratch, focusing on creating healthy, durable, and...
info_outline EP154 Closing the Gap: AeroSeal's Quest for Net-Zero Buildings With Amit Gupta (January 2024)Building HVAC Science
In this episode of the podcast hosts Eric Kaiser and Bill Spohn welcomed Amit Gupta from AeroSeal, a company specializing in duct sealing technology. Amit shared the backstory of AeroSeal, which was originally founded based on technology invented by Dr. Mark Modera at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The technology struggled to gain traction under its initial ownership by Carrier, leading Amit, who was working at Carrier post-MBA, to see the potential for significant energy efficiency improvements in homes through duct sealing. Amit's passion for the technology led to the acquisition and...
info_outline EP153 HVACR Horizons: From 12-Year-Old Prodigies to Industry Pioneers With Eric & Bill (February 2024)Building HVAC Science
In this episode Eric Kaiser and Bill Spohn review their experiences and insights from the 5th Annual HVACR School training symposium. They start by discussing the symposium's popularity, noting it had a cap of 300 attendees, indicating a high level of interest and engagement within the community. A highlight mentioned is a 12-year-old attendee, Atley D., who exemplified passion and intelligence for the HVAC trade, showcasing the diverse range of participants and the potential for young talent in the industry. They also cover various aspects of the symposium, such as the focus on practical...
info_outline EP152 Ralph Wolf's HVAC Odyssey: Lessons, Laughs, and Legacies (December 2023)Building HVAC Science
In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Eric Kaiser introduces Ralph Wolf, a respected figure in the HVAC industry, known for his internet presence and contributions to the field. Ralph discusses his journey, emphasizing the impact of social media on his career and his current role in education. Despite his reduced online activity since joining Ferguson, Ralph's influence remains strong, reflected in his interactions with students who recognize and appreciate his teachings. Ralph reflects on his career trajectory, highlighting his start in the Navy, which introduced him to sheet...
info_outline EP151 From Ice to Inspiration: Highlights at the AHR Expo (January 2024)Building HVAC Science
Eric Kaiser and Bill Spohn share their experiences and observations from the 2024 AHR Expo, a major event for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) industry held this past week (Jan 22-24, 2024). Main points: There were thousands of vendors showcasing new products and technologies. We mention the educational sessions, standards committee meetings, and networking opportunities available at the event. New products and trends: We share some of the new products they saw at the expo, such as vacuum pumps from JB Tools, core...
info_outline EP150 Filtering the Future - The Journey of John Ellis in Reinventing Air Quality (November 2023)Building HVAC Science
Bill & Eric had a great time digging into the details of all things IAQ with John Ellis. Our conversation covered a new air filtration product developed by John in collaboration with Dustfree. Eric queried John on the applications for and design of the product. John with his 43 years of field experience, describes the collaboration with Dustfree's engineers and the development of this novel filtration system that employs all five filtration methods and has received ASHRAE 52.2 credentials with a MERV 16 rating. John elaborates on the technical aspects of the...
info_outline EP149 More Than Just Fixing Furnaces: Why NCI is the Heartbeat of the HVAC Industry With Dominick Guarino (December 2023)Building HVAC Science
Eric and I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dominick Guarino the Chairman & CEO of the National Comfort Institute (NCI) about its mission to improve the HVAC industry through education and training. Here are the key points: NCI's origin and mission: Founded in 1998 by Dominick Guarino and the late Rob Falke. Driven by the desire to improve comfort, energy efficiency, safety, and health in homes and buildings. Focusing on high-performance HVAC and the importance of measuring delivered performance. NCI's activities: Offers technical training classes on...
info_outlineSome of our listeners have likely heard of the term Home Performance.
But have you heard of Home Performance 2.0?
Michael Housh and Neil Comparetto join us to describe how they are helping to develop this new approach to serving customers with total home performance. This is a systems being developed by Nate Adams and Ted Kidd.
They describe a well performing home as one that is healthy, comfortable, safe, durable and, as a side benefit, uses less energy.
Michael and Neil are both trained and experienced HVAC technicians; mechanics in their own words.
They discuss how some simple changes in the approach to the way technical work is presented is resulting in better business and happier clients.
They describe the HP 2.0 process as consisting of 6 steps: client education, initial PAID consult, a comprehensive planning process, executing the project, QC, and continuous optimization with monitoring.
A large part of the client education consists of the resources available at www.NateTheHouseWhisperer.com – there you will find an inexpensive book that educates consumers (and techs!) on home performance, as well as 2 free downloads(chapters from the book) to share with Clients: Home Comfort 101 and HVAC 101.
These steps help to remove the pain of being a residential HVAC business owner:
(Much of this is based on the Sandler Selling Process)
- Avoid fights over stuff you can’t fix
- More Happy Clients - Actually SOLVE client problems, no band aids
- Smooth out monthly sales with large HP projects in off seasons
- Onboard Staff Faster-with something else for apprentices to do
- Fewer Unhappy Clients
- Reduce Mold Risk
- Reduce Boredom with Challenging projects and new twists all the time
- Reduce or eliminate free quotes
- Increase Ticket Sizes w/o Home Performance Jobs
- Lower sales and marketing costs, with better word of mouth and paid consultations.
- Bigger, more satisfying jobs vs Small jobs with lots of up-front work that often don’t solve problems
If you want to learn more you can reach Michael at [email protected] and Neil at [email protected] or Nate Adams and Ted Kidd at [email protected]