The High Performance Edge Podcast

Most contractors don't follow Google updates closely. But the Energy Circle team does, and we know when changes are important enough that high performance contractors should take note.

In this episode of The High Performance Edge, Peter Troast sits down with Abby Yolda, our Director of Solar and Digital Marketing Strategy, to sort through the Google changes in 2026 that are affecting HVAC, home performance, and solar contractors.

Topics covered include:

- Google's first search bar overhaul in 25 years and how it connects to the company's broader AI push

- A new review policy targeting reviews that mention employee names or incentivize techs (and why genuine detailed reviews aren't at risk)

- Google's AI Optimization Guide and why good SEO fundamentals still matter more than AI-specific tactics

- Ask Maps, a new AI feature inside Google Maps that's already driving a notable share of local contractor searches

No deep digital marketing background needed for this episode: listen in as we take technical industry news and translate it into plain language contractors can act on.

Episode Links:

- Listen on Apple Podcasts

- Listen on Spotify

-Watch on YouTube

- Energy Circle Website

- Energy Circle LinkedIn

- Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn

-Abby Yolda LinkedIn

Most HVAC contractors won't touch duct work. Too much labor, not enough margin, and a scope that slows everything else down. The result is systems that never perform the way they should… and a gap in the market waiting for someone to fill it.

In this episode of The High Performance Edge, Peter Troast talks with Zach Ortwine of Southeast Clean Air Solutions about how he built an entire business around duct cleaning and renovation, the exact work most HVAC companies want nothing to do with.

Zach has trained over a hundred duct cleaners on how to do this work the right way, relying on tools like static pressure testing, air quality measurement, and fiberglass duct coatings to move well beyond commodity duct cleaning (and command significantly higher prices in the process). For contractors thinking about where the white space is in a crowded market, this episode offers a clear example of what it looks like to own the niche everyone else is leaving behind.

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify
• Energy Circle website
• Energy Circle LinkedIn
• Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn
• Southeast Clean Air Solutions

For high performance contractors, permanent load reduction, the practice of improving the envelope before sizing and installing a new HVAC system, isn't a new idea. The harder question has always been the business one: how do you sequence it in a retrofit when envelope work can complicate the sale and increase the total cost of the job?

In this episode of The High Performance Edge, Peter Troast sits down with Chris Hughes of The Energy Conservatory to talk through what that actually looks like in practice.

Chris draws on years as an HVAC contractor in Louisiana to explain how he approached retrofits differently, modeling homes both as-is and up to code, then selling the right-sized system honestly, even when it meant telling homeowners the house had work to do first. He also shares a practical on-ramp for contractors that starts with diagnostic service offerings like load calculations, blower doors, and duct leakage testing.

If you've been curious about how envelope improvements could integrate into your HVAC retrofit business, this episode gives you a clear place to begin.

Episode Links:

- Listen on Apple Podcasts

- Listen on Spotify

- Energy Circle website

- Energy Circle LinkedIn

- Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn

- The Energy Conservatory

- Chris Hughes LinkedIn

For too many high-performance contractors, doing the best work often comes at the expense of running a healthy business. Custom diagnostics, complex quoting, and the paperwork burden of rebates and equipment registration eat into the margins that make quality work sustainable.

In this episode of The High Performance Edge, Peter Troast sits down with Furman Haynes, co-founder of WorkHero, to talk about how AI can change that trade-off. Furman draws a clear distinction between traditional software, automation, and true AI, and explains what that difference actually means for a small contracting operation.

He also walks through concrete, real-world examples of how AI is being used today to 1) automate job costing across disconnected systems, 2) generate custom, education-first quotes that help justify high-performance recommendations to homeowners, and 3) handle rebate processing without the manual legwork.

For contractors looking to improve their margins without sacrificing the quality of their work, this episode is worth a listen.

- Listen on Apple Podcasts

- Listen on Spotify

- Energy Circle website

- Energy Circle LinkedIn

- Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn

- Furman Haynes LinkedIn

- WorkHero website

Most high performance HVAC contractors are doing exceptional work in relative isolation. The Better HVAC Alliance was built to change that.

In this episode of The High Performance Edge, host Peter Troast sits down with Bill Spohn, CEO of TruTech Tools, and Kevin Hart, CEO of Haven IAQ, founders of the Better HVAC Alliance. The conversation covers the organization’s origins and its dual mission: connecting a community of professionals committed to continuous improvement, while helping homeowners find and understand the difference quality contractors make.

Bill and Kevin discuss the Alliance’s contractor directory, the "learn, do, share" pledge that anchors membership, and their growing partnership with Rewiring America. They also make a compelling case for why being an early mover in this directory matters, particularly as AI reshapes how homeowners search for and evaluate contractors.

Episode Links:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify
• Watch on YouTube
• Energy Circle website
• Energy Circle LinkedIn
• Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn
• Bill Spohn, TruTech Tools CEO
• Kevin Hart, Haven IAQ CEO
• Better HVAC Alliance
• NHPC Registration

What does high performance look like in solar? Sun Light & Power has been working out that answer since 1976, evolving from solar thermal to PV to storage, with each shift driven by a commitment to complete, well-designed energy solutions.

In this episode of The High Performance Edge, Peter Troast sits down with Chris Mink, Sales & Marketing Manager at Sun Light & Power, to talk about what it takes to build a solar company designed to last. With California's latest changes to net metering and the federal solar tax credit gone, that resilience is being tested. They discuss the financing innovations keeping residential solar moving, including SLP's recent addition of PPAs, how the residential customer mindset is evolving, and what being an ESOP means to a business when conditions get tough.

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify
• Watch on YouTube
• Energy Circle website
• Energy Circle LinkedIn
• Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn
• Sun Light & Power
• NHPC Registration

The National Home Performance Conference is the largest gathering of building science professionals and high performance contractors in the country.

In this episode of The High Performance Edge, host Peter Troast shares a preview of this year’s event, which will be held April 13-16 in Columbus, Ohio. Peter has helped lead the development of the conference's business track sessions for the last several years.

You’ll hear directly from a dozen of this year’s presenters, across many of the conference's diverse tracks, about the sessions they’ll be delivering and what makes the conference such a valuable event for the industry. Topics include contractor marketing, humidity control, HVAC design calculations, healthy homes, dense-pack wall insulation, AI tools, contractor sales strategies, and more.

There's still time to register and attend NHPC '26! Listen to the episode for a special discount code on registration fees. 

Episode Links:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify
• Watch on YouTube
• Energy Circle website
• Energy Circle LinkedIn
• Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn
• NHPC Registration Discount Code: nhpc-ec
• Nikki Krueger, AprilAire & Santa-Fe Dehumidifiers
• Denny Duchene, Snug Home
• Chris Hughes, The Energy Conservatory
• Clint Shireman, Knauf
• Ken Allison, IDI Distributors
• Kevin Kennedy, Environmental Health Scientist
• Dan Perunko, Balance Point Home Performance
• Dr. Allison Bailes, Energy Vanguard
• Jeremy Begley, HVAC 2 Home Performance
• Furman Haynes, WorkHero
• Hal Smith, Halco

Most high-performance contractors know measureQuick as a commissioning and diagnostic tool. But its impact goes far beyond reducing callbacks.

In this episode of The High Performance Edge, Peter Troast sits down with Joe Medosch, measureQuick’s Client Success Manager, to explore how the platform is also a powerful homeowner communication and differentiation tool.

They discuss how the measureQuick Vitals Report translates technical rigor into clear, homeowner-friendly scores and metrics that build trust and make quality visible. The conversation also covers how leading contractors use measureQuick to stand apart from commodity competitors, support ACCA QI certification, and reinforce company-wide standards by streaming diagnostics back to the office.

If high performance depends on data, this episode shows how to turn that data into something homeowners understand and value.

Episode Links:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify
• Watch on YouTube
• Energy Circle website
• Energy Circle LinkedIn
• Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn
• Joe Medosch, Director of Training at measureQuick LinkedIn
• measureQuick

For years, Energy Circle and Amply have talked with high-performance contractors who do exceptional work but struggle to clearly communicate that value through their websites.

In this special co-hosted episode of The High Performance Edge and The Heat Pump Podcast, Energy Circle founder and CEO Peter Troast joins Amply co-founder Ed Smith to walk through a new contractor website prototype they collaboratively built to address the problem.

This free learning tool shows it’s possible to translate complex building science and high-performance processes into language homeowners understand and value, and to do so in a way that drives action. Peter and Ed break down the site page by page, explaining how its messaging, structure, and functionality work together to differentiate high-performance work, build trust, and turn expertise into qualified leadsIf you’re a high-performance contractor, this prototype and podcast conversation is both an invaluable resource and a practical opportunity to rethink how your site communicates value, attracts the right clients, and supports real business growth.

Episode Links:

• Watch on YouTube
• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify
• Energy Circle website
• Energy Circle LinkedIn
• Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn
• Ed Smith, Amply Co-founder and Co-CEO LinkedIn
• Amply Website
• Amply & Energy Circle Demo Site

For years, some have argued that ultra high-performance contracting only works as a small, boutique model. Keith O’Hara and Eco Performance Builders prove otherwise.

In this episode, Energy Circle CEO and founder Peter Troast talks with Keith about how he built a nearly $9 million high-performance contracting business by focusing exclusively on comprehensive projects, combining envelope upgrades, ductwork, and heat pumps into a single, performance-driven scope of work. Keith explains why measurable results matter and how an obsession with quality fueled word-of-mouth growth. He also details what sets his operations apart: rigorous SOPs, ambitious performance targets, internal training, career ladders for technicians, and the role peer groups played in benchmarking and accelerating his growth.

If you believe high performance should lead to stronger homes and a stronger business, this episode offers a clear, real-world blueprint.

Episode Links:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on Spotify
• Watch on YouTube
• Energy Circle Website
• Energy Circle LinkedIn
• Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn
• Keith O'Hara LinkedIn
• Eco Performance Builders
• Forum on Measured Home Performance