A simple episode where Eric Kaiser (ELK) and Bill Spohn (OverKill Bill) riff on TruTech’s business philosophies: Core Values, Purpose and Niche and what kind of actions we take to put these words into action in the world. Also what we feel it means to be a good steward to the industry.

OH and cheer on #HVACLIFE team in the Maine 70.3 Ironman on July 30, 2023 featuring Chris Hughes (TEC-13.2 miles running), Chad Simpson (Simpson Salute – 56 miles bicycling) and our own Eric Kaiser – 1.2 miles swimming).

https://www.ironman.com/im703-maine

Links mentioned in the podcast:

Alabama Power training center: https://www.alabamapower.com/business/business-customers-and-services/hvac/hvac-training.html

RESNET 2023 Proposals: https://www.resnet.us/wp-content/uploads/RESNET_Session-Topics_TOC_06-27.pdf

RESNET 2023 Session Voting: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YQ0ezGAXFrmdwdaRht8K1Ga9YdGZQ7OhP9yWQDoxMGU/viewform?edit_requested=true&pli=1 RESNET Conference: https://www.resnet.us/conference-2023/

Magazine article on Building Science Summer Camp: https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/insulation/highlights-from-building-science-summer-camp_o

Article on the 2022 United Association Event: https://www.pmmag.com/articles/104405-ua-builds-toward-the-future-with-68th-annual-instructor-training-program

TEC Train the Trainer Event: https://energyconservatory.com/september-2023-hvac-system-performance-train-the-trainer/

HPC New England: https://building-performance.org/events/regional/new-england/

This episode was recorded in July 2023.

This episode should be helpful to business owners. 

However, anyone working IN a business should find it interesting to know more about one of the topics on the mind of many business owners: business succession planning.

After walking the walk of leading a $100M family-owned business through their transition, Laurie is now a guide to business owners providing a structured process to plan successful transitions of their companies.

Laurie hosts a podcast, Succession Stories (link below), has written a book: The Business Transition Handbook (link below) and is an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

I have both been a guest on her podcast and read her book.

Laurie has a tremendous depth of knowledge and experience and easily understood way of speaking and teaching on a topic so near and dear to her heart.

Laurie’s links:

Website: https://smalldotbig.com/

Podcast: https://thebusinesstransitionsherpa.com/succession-stories-podcast/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrCRoEBQhh-SP1BDwnhMZA/videos

The Business Transition Handbook: https://a.co/d/6HEY3Ap

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriebarkman/

This episode was recorded in June 2023.

Brian Uhler calls himself a naturally observant builder.

This personal characteristic has served him well as understands the residential construction market with some keen observations.

Join as Brian explains how he came to learn about building science, later building it into all projects.

Also, hear about how he found this podcast by mistake!

Here’s cool description from of his brother’s YouTube that shows these traits run in the family:

The purpose of this channel is promote knowledge and education in construction. Here in the US, many of us don’t have any formal training or education in construction, but we learn through experience. My goal with this page is to promote learning and to that end I will show what I’ve learned over the years. I want to be very clear, what I show here is just a starting point. I am not claiming the tricks and methods I use are the best way to do any one thing, but rather are the end result of 20+ years of refinement with many more years to go. What I hope is that you as the reader/viewer will have an open mind and be willing to share your suggestions. Let’s all view ourselves as learners first, teachers second. Then all of us will progress together.

Brian’s links:

Website: https://pioneerbuildersonline.com/

Contact: https://pioneerbuildersonline.com/contact/

Brian’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/pioneerbuildersinc

His brother’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiDg_Mo6aJAOEnlGI4iilQw

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-uhler-48537577/

This episode was recorded in June 2023.

Listen in as Bill chats with… himself!

Again!

He shares some recent, personal and business encounters and discussions that left an impression on him.

We hope you find them interesting.

This episode was recorded in June 2023.

Trevor Matthews shares with us his fascinating life story: from the moment he shifted his life interests from travel and surfing into the trades and as it led to forming the Refrigeration Mentor a training, education and mentorship program for the refrigeration trade.

Some notable thoughts from this episode:

“You can get a handle on anything with your mindset.”

“Be prepared to pay the price in time and effort to get what you want.”

“Important small experiences you have become your own.”

“You need to put in the reps: reading and studying to reach your goal.”

“Stay Focused. Don’t drift.”

Trevor’s links:

Website: www.refrigerationmentor.com

Contact: https://refrigerationmentor.com/contact-us/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RefrigerationMentor

Trevor’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tejmatthews/

This episode was recorded in June 2023.

The 349 common connections Eric Kaiser and I share in LinkedIn speak a lot to the common perspectives we share.

Yet, it’s in the differences, in the weeds, where the conversation gets interesting.

Please welcome Eric Kaiser as TruTech Tool’s new Industry Engagement manager. And new co-host of this podcast.

We call Eric the ELK, his initials, to differentiate him from my Co-Owner, Eric Preston.

Let’s get to know him a little better in this episode.

Eric’s links:

Email: [email protected]

Eric’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-kaiser-323a1563/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/grapevinetv/

YouTube video on Entering the trades: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqsSiT5dnRk

The National Comfort Institute www.NCIhvac.com

HVAC School Symposium: https://hvacrschool.com/events/4th-annual-hvac-r-training-symposium/

The Energy Vanguard blog: Allison Bailes: www.energyvanguard.com

Building Science Corp seminars: https://buildingscience.com/upcoming-events-and-training

This episode was recorded in June 2023.

Jeremy’s been studying the details for many years.

Details like:

Building and energy codes are becoming more and more stringent. 

Green building programs are driving more and more high-end construction. 

Products and construction techniques are rapidly evolving.

He’s also paid attention to what is sorely needed and missing.

That's why he’s helped to define the full HVAC use-case: requirements, performance, technology, architectural integrity, installation, and maintenance.

Listen in as Jeremy give clues and hints on how we can all do better in HVAC design.

Jeremy’s business: https://www.hvacdesignpartners.com/ Jeremy’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdbegley/

Links to the “order of Operations for Heat Pumps” blog posts

https://information.insulationinstitute.org/blog/order-of-operations-matters-with-heat-pumps https://information.insulationinstitute.org/blog/its-the-order-of-operations-with-heat-pumps-part-2

A couple of Jeremy’s favorite resources:

The National Comfort Institute www.NCIhvac.com

The Energy Vanguard blog: Allison Bailes: www.energyvanguard.com

Bryan Orr’s HVAC School: www.HVACRSchool.com

The Comfort Institute: www.comfortinstitute.org/

ACCA: https://www.acca.org/certification

This episode was recorded in May 2023.

Zac Reed, Product manager at Aeroseal, joins us today to share the technology, history and applications for Aeroseal products.

Aeroseal was developed in Dr. Mark Modera’s California garage in 1993.  

For the first time ever, it was possible to seal leaks and holes in air ducts from the inside out. Up until that time, the only way to seal ductwork was messy, labor intensive, and not an option for most homeowners.

The simplest explanation for the Aeroseal process is fix-a-flat for homes: both ducts and the home structure.

Aeroseal’s mission is to help homeowners retain their “expensive air”: which delivers comfort, healthy air, and substantial energy savings.

Contractor’s interested in getting trained and becoming Aeroseal dealers can learn more about this and the products at www.Aeroseal.com

Learn more on Aeroseal’s YouTube channel: YouTube

Zac’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-reed-060a46225/

This episode was recorded in May 2023.

Listen in as Bill chats with… himself!

He shares some recent, personal and business encounters and discussions that left an impression on him.

We hope you find them interesting.

This episode was recorded in May 2023.

Listen in as Bill chats with Ben Walker, the Co-CEO of Retrotec about a wide range of technology related topics from sensors to programming to AI-Artificial Intelligence.

Ben shares with us his experiences over his career in tech companies, primarily with Retrotec, one of TruTech’s major vendors of air tightness and air flow testing gear.

We learn about the history of the digital manometer at Retrotec, as well as the important topic of enclosure integrity testing and how to manage large building testing.

Other topics of note include the move to DC motors, rCloud an app based test data platform (and so much more), the long list of new features on the DM32X digital manometer and more.

Retrotec products: https://www.trutechtools.com/retrotec

THE ALL NEW Retrotec DM32X digital gauge: https://www.trutechtools.com/retrotec-dm32x-digital-gauge.html

Ben’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-walker-4a05901/

As Ben suggests, try ChatGPT yourself at www.openai.com

This episode was recorded in April 2023.