The Unrivaled Power of YouTube

Power of YouTube

I remember the first video I ever made for my YouTube channel. It was a complete disaster. The audio was terrible, the video was a grainy desktop computer camera, and I had only the slightest bit of knowledge of what I was doing. But I posted it anyway, and to my surprise, a few people actually watched it! Encouraged by this, I kept making videos and got a little better with each one. I learned how to use editing software to improve the quality of my videos, and I became more comfortable in front of the camera. As my skills improved, so did my popularity; today, my channel has thousands of subscribers and I have learned the power of YouTube.

With the Power of YouTube, I have:

  • Tapped into the billions of people watching monthly.
  • Gotten found on Google more organically.
  • Created content that will never disappear from the internet.
  • Earned trust from people without having gone into their homes yet.
  • BONUS: Make monthly pocket change from Google.

I can honestly say that making these videos has been the single most cost-effective thing I have done for our marketing and branding presence. Not only are a ton of people in our immediate service area watching and learning from our videos, but they are also learning who we are and our business ethics. We have developed a lot of trust from people all over the country too. Ask my admin team, and they’ll tell you the funniest part of their day is when people call from the other side of the country, and even Canada, asking if we service their area. People are watching overseas too. It’s amazing. Just 6 to 8 hours per video has made us an industry name. In my service area, I have optimized them to stand out when people search for what may seem like mundane things like, “Why is my air conditioner so loud?” I am also creating a buzz amongst technicians in my area looking for a better workplace. I can stand at the food truck at Home Depot in the mornings, and a tech will come up to me and express how much our videos have helped him in the field. That’s powerful!

I have found that the more transparent we are while making my videos, the better response we get from them. Showing someone how to replace a compressor isn’t going to lose you business. It is actually going to demonstrate your expertise and what is involved in the process. I remember one comment from that compressor video: “Nope! When I saw the torches come out, I knew I was in over my head.”

I just continued making a video once a week or two and uploaded them to the second most popular search in the world, YouTube. I have oodles of topics to talk about. Every little facet of the HVAC world, from how a pressure switch works to starting a business from the ground up, may seem trivial to you, but to others trying to learn something, it isn’t.

Early adopters of content creation on the niche of HVAC were “grayfurnaceman,” “Dr. Zarklov,” “Zack Psioda,” “Lex Vance,” and “NorCal Refrigeration & H.V.A.C..” These guys were simply sticking a camera in front of their faces and chatting about what they were doing that day. Guys would hit the record button and say, “Hey guys, how are you doing? Today I wanted to bring you along as I troubleshoot a gas furnace.” And then, they would take their camera along, sit it down, and point it at the furnace with them in front of it. Now, these types of videos are still being produced by HVAC business owners and service techs all over the country.

What started out as a few guys putzing around making videos showcasing their personal lives and the life of an HVAC technician out in the field ended up being thousands upon thousands of views a month. Content creation is about repetition. Even if one video flops and you realize no one cares about that topic, you keep pressing on. More videos mean more views. I found myself making a video about something I thought was vague, “The Facts About Condensate Drain Lines.” Three years later, that video has over 72 thousand views! Are they all from my service area? Not likely. In fact, I can see from my YouTube analytics that not only people from Sacramento have watched it, but Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Melbourne, Australia, and Long Beach are the most popular cities the video has been watched in.

I had one lady from Phoenix, Arizona, call us in Sacramento and ask if she could fly me down there and put me in a hotel for the night, would I fix her system? In her search for a good company, she only trusted Fox Family from watching our videos. That was surprising, but I knew a company in her area and referred her to them. The problem got fixed, and at the same time, I bolstered my HVAC network by referring that company, which I know now, will refer me likewise.

HVAC is a niche that we are already passionate about. Why not demonstrate that passion and start building trust and familiarity for your company too? YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, and it is easy to see why. YouTube’s search algorithm is very effective, allowing users to find the exact content they are looking for. It’s also a great platform for businesses and creators. By uploading engaging content, businesses can reach a large audience of potential customers. There is no doubt that the unrivaled power of YouTube has helped grow my business.

How Much Money Do HVAC Workers Make an Hour? (2022 Update)

How Much Money Do HVAC Workers Make Per Hour
How Much Money Do HVAC Workers Make Per Hour

The HVAC industry is one of those jobs where going to college isn’t required. You can make a huge impact on people’s lives RIGHT NOW. When people don’t have heating, cooling, or refrigeration, you fix it. You see the results right now, you feel good, and you move on about your day. How much money do HVAC workers make to do that? We’ll talk about it in this video.

Hourly Rates for HVAC Technicians

HVAC techs make good money. You’re not likely to start out at minimum wage, but it’s possible.

Knowing this, you can expect the average salary for an HVAC to be from $20.00/hr (about $40,000/yr) to $50.00/hr (about $90,000/yr). The average technician makes $25.00/hr.

  • Alaska has the highest average pay rate at about $40.00/hr. Alabama has the lowest right now, with an average salary of $19.00/hr.
  • California has the most HVAC jobs available, paying over $50,000 a year. Alaska has the lowest percentage of HVAC jobs offering more than $50,000 a year.
  • Connecticut, Maryland, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Florida, Alaska, and New York all have at least one city where the average technician makes $40.00 to $50.00/hr.

Types of Jobs Within the HVAC Industry

In the HVAC industry, most people think about positions like installers, repair techs, and preventive maintenance techs. And those positions can be held in the residential field (homes), commercial (stores, offices), industrial (hospitals, high rise buildings), and refrigeration (grocery store frozen and fresh food items).

Each one of those types is going to make different money. Residential techs typically earn a little less than commercial and refrigeration techs, which usually make slightly less than industrial techs. You’ll also find that many commercial, refrigeration, and industrial jobs are typically associated with union jobs.

There are more than technician jobs in HVAC too. We need warehouse workers, truck drivers, front desk workers, administrative assistants and dispatchers, “Title 24 HERS” raters, “Home Performance” salespeople, HVAC equipment salespeople, sheet metal fabricators, pipefitters, department managers, territory managers, equipment manufacturers, parts manufacturers, air conditioning engineers, and system engineers.

So there are several jobs available within the HVAC industry. You find a lot of people who finish up their time in the field switching over to some of these less intense, physically demanding positions. Even HVAC business owners who retire from running their company will seek those jobs as a nice supplemental income to their retirement or just stay in the field and have something to do!

I hope this helps with the HVAC salary question.

PSC Motor vs Constant Torque Motor vs Variable Speed Motor – What’s the Difference Between?

PSC Motor vs Constant Torque Motor vs Variable Speed Motor – What’s the Difference Between?

The HVAC industry has come a long way since its first system was put out on the market.  A big part of that evolution has been the technology used to push the air into our homes.  Today we’re talking about three types of motors: PSC Motor vs Constant Torque Motor vs Variable Speed Motor. We’re going to talk about their operation and their uses in today’s residential HVAC systems.

INTRO – PSC Motor vs Constant Torque Motor vs Variable Speed Motor

We have standard PSC motors that are found in the majority of homes today. I’d say 80 percent of the systems we work on today have PSC motors. They’re the ones that have capacitors strapped to them to help start the motor and help it run efficiently. I’ll explain more about them down below.

Next is the constant torque motor.  One we use often is the Genteq X13 motor.  That motor is a high-efficiency motor that helped manufacturers meet the 13 SEER mandate implemented by the federal government in 2006, which is where the name X13 came from.

Manufacturers of these motors usually refer to them as a standard ECM motor or a constant torque motor.  To be clear, X13 is the Genteq brand name.  Other brands offer similar motors.  However, for the purpose of this video, the term constant torque motor will be used to describe all such motors.

A constant torque motor is not a variable speed motor. But both of them are ECM or electronically commutated motors.

Variable speed motors in HVAC systems are the premium option in today’s systems.  They allow systems to run from a very low speed up to 100% of their capacity.  Being able to dial in the desired speed precisely makes these motors the best choice for all types of advanced systems.

And just as a side note for folks in Sacramento County who might be looking for rebates available through our local utility company; SMUD has verbiage in their new rebate structure (and this is in 2021, so double check these rebates) that the new rebates revolve around furnaces and air handlers that have a variable speed motor.  In this case, ECM variable and ECM constant torque motors are the same to SMUD.  But in the real world, when we are talking to each other about these two different motors, it’s constant torque and variable speed motors.

So let’s expand a little now on the differences between the three motors: PSC Motor vs Constant Torque Motor vs Variable Speed Motor.

PSC Motors –

Ever heard of Nikola Tesla? I’m sure you have. He’s the inventor of the first practical design of these split-phase induction motors. He made them easy to use, low-cost, and compact in design, so well the industrial market started using them more and more. They got to be so useful, home appliances started using them in a variety of ways – like heating and cooling.

While simple to build and low in cost, they are being drowned out by today’s modern, higher-efficiency motors.

Three or four wires high voltage wires start and control the speed of the motor. They’re pretty simple to switch out. There’s usually a HIGH, MED-HIGH, MED-LOW, and LOW tap attached to these blower motors. When that winding receives 120 volts from the furnace’s control board, it starts up at that speed. But 120 volts isn’t the only thing that is needed to start that PSC motor. It needs a capacitor to provide the energy to get the motor up and running.

The capacitor winding stays in the circuit the entire time the motor runs, which is where we get the P in PSC for “permanent.”

The S in PSC stands for “split” because it’s a motor that uses single-phase AC which has been “split” by the utility into two equal proportions, just in opposite polarities.

And then C is for “capacitor,” which, as we already know, is the storage bucket of energy the motor consumes to start and run efficiently.

PSC motors are getting phased out because they build up heat, which decreases the motor’s efficiency. This earned them a rating of 60% efficiency.  But hey, that’s been the standard in residential heating and cooling for a long time

If there are restrictions in the airflow, like undersized ductwork, dirty filters, or dirty evaporator coils, PSC motors start to lose performance. They deliver less air because they tend to bog down, drawing higher amps. The system’s static pressure (or blood pressure) builds up and fights back against the PSC motor wearing it and the capacitor down through overheating.

PSC motors aren’t the quietest motors either. In fact, between the three motors we’re discussing today, the PSC motor is the noisiest. Having said that, PSC motors are the least expensive to buy and repair. The next two types of motors are much pricier to repair or replace.

ECM Constant Torque Motors (X-13 Motors)

Probably the most familiar name in ECM constant torque motors is the X-13 motor by Genteq. Genteq acquired General Electric’s motors and capacitors division in 2004, and in 2009 renamed themselves Genteq. I bring this up because the first high-efficiency residential HVAC ECM motors were made by GE back in the 1980s.

Even though they’re like upgraded PSC motors, they are a little more complicated in design because they use an integrated control board to send the signal for operation and at what speed (or torque setting) to run at. Because of this, they’re more expensive. Not quite as expensive as variable-speed motors, but significantly higher than PSC motors.

X-13 ECM or constant torque motors were designed in 2006 to achieve higher SEER ratings for the air conditioners being put into homes. The government sets the standard, so the industry has to keep up.  The SEER rating they were trying to achieve at that time was 13, thus the X-13 motor.

So, what does “constant torque motor” mean?

As a system gets dirty or ductwork is too small, maybe the filter hasn’t been changed in a year, the system’s static pressure (or blood pressure) will increase because it’s becoming restricted. So just like the PSC motor, it will start to decrease the amount of air it can push out, but not as drastic as a PSC motor. As much as 20% less impact on a semi-restricted system.

When the airflow decreases on an air conditioning mode, the system can freeze up with ice and completely restrict airflow. While in heating mode, low airflow means the system can overheat and shut down, wait for itself to cool off, start back up, overheat, shut back down, and over and over until it completely locks itself out. So, with a constant torque motor, the chance of the system shutting down because of airflow restriction is less because the drop in airflow produced isn’t as drastic as a PSC motor.

If you decrease the amount of air that a PSC motor moves because of ductwork, a dirty system, or a dirty filter, it will use less power and not deliver the same amount of air as if it were clean. It’s not a “smart” motor.

In the same situation, a constant torque motor will increase its power output to the shaft, which spins the wheel harder, to try and maintain more airflow through the duct system, preventing those issues we just discussed. And, there are safeties programmed into the motor to prevent it from destroying itself if airflow gets really bad.

The power block to the constant torque motor receives a high voltage and a low voltage signal. The upper portion of the block has connections for the high, and the lower terminals are for the low voltage taps. So instead of having high voltage determine the speed like the PSC motor, low voltage taps are plugged into either the 1,2,3,4, or 5 terminals which have been pre-programmed to a specific torque setting by the manufacturer.

And only some of those taps may have been pre-programmed. So maybe only the 1,2, and 3 terminals work on the low voltage side. The maker of the air handler decides it.

A constant torque motor is a brushless motor, which reduces heat within the rotor and stator area. They’re 80% efficient compared to PSC motors which are rated at 60% efficient. They also don’t need a capacitor to start and run.

They have integrated electronics built into the motor, which means if either the motor windings or the circuitry goes bad, the whole motor has to be replaced.  When I talk about variable speed motors, I’ll explain why I mentioned that.

Variable Speed Motors –

GE, which I said before was acquired by Genteq (on the motors side), introduced the first variable-speed motors for use in HVAC systems in 1987. So, it’s not a new technology.

So, you know how when you get in your car on a 100-degree day and set the AC with that AUTO button to reach 70 degrees? When the car first starts, the AC fan turns on about as high as it can to match the cooling effect the system is trying to produce. Then, as the system starts reaching that 70-degree set point, you may notice the fan actually starts to ramp down little by little because the demand isn’t as high.  Once you reach 70 degrees in the car, the airflow doesn’t really stop, does it?  No. The air stays on lightly while keeping you at 70 degrees.

Do you notice how that motor ramps up and down instead of the constant torque and PSC motors that have set speeds for specific demands from the thermostat? Variable speed motors can fluctuate between very low speeds and high speeds with their brushless design, which helps maintain an impressive 80% to 90% efficiency rating.

When airflow in variable speed systems becomes restricted, airflow volume stays the same (constant airflow) because they’ve been programmed to know exactly how much torque and airflow the system needs to function properly.

So, variable-speed motors are constant airflow motors. Constant torque motors can apply a little more power to the blower wheel in an attempt to maintain the airflow needed by the system.

The motor is made of two pieces – the mechanical part (the motor) and the control module. The control module has microprocessors and electronic controls, which increase or decrease the speed of the motor. One part or the other can be replaced if needed, so you don’t always have to replace the entire motor and module together.

That saves quite a bit of money when it comes time for repair. But – remember that these need to be programmed by the manufacturer, so you can’t just buy one on e-bay and think it will work for your specific application. Variable-speed systems are not cheap to fix. So, it’s like, yes, they save money by being more efficient, but they cost an arm and a leg to repair, so who’s really coming out ahead?

If the shaft is stuck and won’t spin, or the windings are out of sort, you can just replace the mechanical portion of it. If the shaft spins freely and ohms out correctly, and the motor is getting the proper voltage and communication, then you could have a bad module. It’s kind of hard to troubleshoot a module without special tools that can give the proper signal to the motor, in which case, if it didn’t respond properly, you’d know the module was bad.

The variable-speed motor is powered by high voltage plugged into a power block, just like the ECM constant torque motor. It also receives another signal to the power block very similar to the constant torque motor. Instead of individual taps with 24 volts applied to speed terminals, variable speed motors have a multi-pin communication connector. Previous versions of variable speed motors have used AC signals, DC signals, and in today’s motors, serial communication – another reason why technicians need those special devices to troubleshoot them.

Conclusion –

PSC motors are simple, fairly inexpensive, moderately efficient motors with a reputation for being loud and not very dynamic. They also come hitched with the always unpredictable capacitor, which can go out due to overheating.

ECM constant torque and ECM variable-speed motors are pretty complex in design, high-efficiency motors, known for being much quieter on start-up and shutdown. Their ability to control airflow better than PSC motors makes them smart motors because they can ramp up power as needed (the variable speed more so than the constant torque motor.)  All of this comes with a higher price tag, though, when it comes to repairs.

The practical side of me asks, “So the ECM motors are more efficient, saving money on the operation (of a low amperage blower motor) by 20%. But when it comes to repairs, I’m going to pay thousands for a technician to install a new motor?”

And this is the world we live in.

Thanks for reading the blog this week, and we’ll see you on the next one!

 

12 Reasons Why Being A Certified HVAC Technician Is A Good Career Choice

Hi, I’m Greg Fox from Fox Family Heating and Air in Sacramento, CA.  If you’re out there trying to find a career that is rewarding, challenging and pays well, I think HVAC is the right field for that.  Today I’m going to give you 12 good reasons why being a certified HVAC technician is a good career choice.  And I even have a bonus reason after that.

1. You Don’t Need a College Degree to Get Started

As a high schooler, I could tell I wasn’t going to college.  Unless I got a scholarship, my family didn’t really have enough money to send me to college.  I joined the Air Force right out of high school and when my term ended, I headed out for civilian life.  HVAC was a career I found easy to get into.  I started at the bottom while at my first job, but I quickly worked my way up amongst my peers.

2. Good Wages

When I started, I never realized that I could make enough money to support my family.  I started out very low in pay, but I didn’t have any experience either!  Within one year I had doubled my pay because my supervisors saw how hard of a worker I was and that I was pretty good at it.  With an HVAC career,you’ll find you can make a damn good living at something you’re proud of doing.

3. Independence

One of the greatest aspects of being an HVAC technician is the independence you have during your workday.  Whether you are an installation tech, a service tech, or a sales technician you’ll find yourself not having to be around a crowd at work. You get to go about your day and do or say pretty much what you want, how you want.  Sure, you have calls or installs that you have to go to, but you won’t have any supervisors looking down on you all the time like with some jobs.

4. It’s a career that will always be in demand — growing at about 15% as the baby boomers start retiring

As you’ve probably heard already, HVAC is a career that is never going to go away.  Robots and AI are far from being able to walk into a home, business or grocery store, walk around, troubleshoot the problem, get the repair part, braze copper lines together, enlarge returns, cut in supplies, install an HVAC system, and the list goes on.  The fact is, it takes real people with real skills to do our job.  And the field is only going to grow for the next several years, meaning there will be more and more jobs available for you to acquire.

5. The Job Isn’t Very Repetitive

As an HVAC technician, your job isn’t very repetitive.  Sure, you’re out there repairing systems every day, or installing equipment regularly, but the application of where you’re doing it not only changes daily but from call to call.  You never know what you’re going to get into on the next call.  That’s too challenging for some people, and HVAC isn’t for everyone. But for some of us, we thrive on it.

6. Helping Others/Health/A Place to Serve

Nothing feels better than getting customers back up and running again.  Whether it’s at the end of the day on an install, or after a challenging service call.  Heck, you’ll probably feel like a genius when you find something as simple as a dirty filter that wasn’t allowing air through a system.  The best feeling we get as HVAC technicians is when we can get an older couple, a family with children, or someone with medical conditions that really need a comfortable home cooling again.  When a grocery store with a lot of food at risk of spoiling is saved by your expertise, you’re probably going to feel like Superman as you walk out the door with your tool bag and your head up high.

7. Mechanical Aspect

Our goal as HVAC technicians is to provide thermal comfort and good indoor air quality.  We work with thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer.  A lot of people find this industry confusing because air isn’t something we can see.  We can feel it!  But trying to explain what we just did to get someone’s system back up and running can be a challenge.  Installing, servicing and maintaining equipment engineered for this is what HVAC technicians all around the world love to do.  It’s one of those trades that not everyone can just pick up in a day or two.  This makes our jobs more secure than some other blue-collar trades.

8. Multi-Talented/Jack-of-All-Trades

You can really become a jack-of-all-trades in the HVAC field.  This is especially true if you go into the installation side of the field.  As installers, we must be able to read blueprints from an engineer. Not only are we setting equipment, but we’re also involved in plumbing gas lines and condensate drainage, working with high and low voltage, constructing new platforms, cutting in supply registers in rooms, enlarging returns and even cutting holes through rooftops to place new units.  After replacing some of those units on the roof, we sometimes will also need to patch up the area around the curb to get it looking good again.  

We’ve already discussed the other areas you’ll be good at with thermodynamics, balancing airflow, heat transfer, refrigerant flow and how to make the air quality better in a home.  This is probably my favorite reason I became an HVAC technician because it really makes you a jack-of-all-trades.

9. The Challenges/Troubleshooting

If you’re really up for a challenging career, you’ll find HVAC a great career.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to be good in this field.  But it does take a solid understanding of the fundamentals and a good deal of patience.  Just when you think you have the answer to a problem, something else comes up and then you must deal with that.  All the trades we just talked about — plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, thermodynamics, and others — can all come into play when it comes to solving the myriad of troubleshooting issues we face in the HVAC field every day.

10. You Learn Sales

Some of us get the opportunity to sell to our customers.  We’ll pinpoint the problem and need to persuade the customer to spend money on the repair to get their system running again.  Other times the cost to get the system running again isn’t worth it to the owner, so you end up selling them a new system.  You also are out there trying to sell indoor air quality to homeowners so they can more fully enjoy their homes.  Many people don’t know the air in their homes is sometimes worse than the air outside. 

Selling can be a sensitive subject because some people think HVAC technicians and salespeople take selling a little too far.  Our industry has gotten a bad reputation compared to others because some companies only pay their technicians by how many parts they sell.  It’s a fine line because technicians can get greedy and not care about taking people’s money just to line their pockets, but at the same time, they do have to be able to put food on their tables and support themselves during the off-season.

11. Seasonal

Which brings me to my next reason HVAC is such a good job choice.  Most people don’t use their AC or heating all year.  This creates what we call shoulder seasons.  During these times, some companies don’t have any work for their techs.  Other companies have maintenance contracts that need to be fulfilled.  But, if you’re in the residential and commercial field, I’m sure you’ll feel the seasonal changes in your hours at work, which is why you’ll need to discipline yourself to save money when you’re busy during those slower times of the year.  The refrigeration side of the industry is usually a year-round job, but some people can’t stand some of the stuff you have to work on every day, like slimy bacteria, for example.

12. Take Home Van/ Save on Gas Money

Last but not least, some companies will let you take your work van home with you.  This saves a lot of time and money since you don’t have to drive to work to get your van, just to be at your first call which could turn out to be right by your house! Having your own van means being able to stock the truck your way, have certain tools and other knick-knacks set up just the way you like it.

BONUS!

I noticed in the first year of doing this trade I built quite a bit of muscle from all the carrying, lifting, squatting, crawling and other activity on the job.  It’s a physical line or work that can add some weight to your body, hopefully the right kind.  Some guys get bigger in the belly because they’re working harder and they go home and eat a lot more than they normally would.  I feel like my first year in install I added around 10 to 15 lbs. of muscle on my body which really filled out my shoulders, arms, chest, and legs nicely.

Summary

I hope this helps in your quest to find the right career for 2020!  HVAC is a field that isn’t going away.  People will always need to be comfortable in their homes and offices.  I have truly enjoyed my time as an HVAC technician.  Sure, I’ve found myself in some interesting positions I’d rather not be in at times.  But I think that happens with every job.  The pay is good, the job is interesting and different every day.  The challenges we face keep us at the top of our game.

Thanks so much for stopping by and we’ll see you on the next blog!

Don’t miss the video on this topic:

Starting My Own HVAC Business – Get Your Contractor’s License First

Doing Side Work Without a License

This series is set up to compliment my video series from 2016, “Starting My Own HVAC Company.”  I  thought I’d review some of the things I talked about before and give you my thoughts on them now that I’ve been doing it for a while.

Intro

When I was starting my HVAC business, I didn’t realize how much I would need to know.  I was just another technician who was tired of working for someone who didn’t have the same values and ideas I did.  Some people don’t think the journey should be too hard.  Get a truck, get your tools, get some customers, and go to work.

It was a liberating feeling for me, at first.  I quickly found out if I wanted to grow my business, I would have to learn more about the business side of HVAC.  I knew I was a good technician. But I started developing a great desire for more input, more knowledge of the business side.

Getting off the ground seems like the toughest part of the process, but I can honestly say now, that it’s not.

Reviewing the Series

This series is set up to compliment the 2016 video series, “Starting My Own HVAC Company.”  I  thought I’d review some of the things I talked about before and give you my thoughts on them now that I’ve been doing it for a while.  If you want to see that series before reading this post, you can find it here.

Get a Contractors License

The first thing we should talk about is, if you want to this right, you’re going to have to get your contractors license.

In California, if you want to do any HVAC, plumbing, electrical, handyman, and other types of work for someone and you plan on collecting more than $500, you need to get your contractors license first.  Why?  Let me give you a few reasons.

First, and most obvious, it’s the law, and you can get arrested and fined thousands of dollars for contracting without a license.  If you get caught contracting without a license, it’ll make it that much harder for you to go to the State and apply for one with that strike against you.

Lending Credibility

Second, having a license lends credibility to your name and builds trust.  When your future customers see you’re legitimate on the government website, it shows people you’ve gone through the process like everyone else, and you don’t cut corners. You can control your own business and its reputation when you’re doing things the right way.

Setting a Standard

Third, contracting legitimately keeps the quality of work you do at a certain standard.  For any work that alters the electrical, plumbing, gas lines, or structure of the building, a permit is needed.  To get that permit, a contractor’s license is needed.  And when you’re done with that work, a local city or county building inspector comes in and verifies your work to close out the permit.

You’ve heard me talk (and complain) about the system of inspectors and administrative personnel in the building departments.  Even though I feel the way I do about them, I realize the need for inspectors to confirm the work we’ve done.  It’s a system of checks and balances which provides a separate set of eyes to see the job we did and give the homeowner their seal of approval based on the local building codes.

Protecting Customers

Finally, being a part of a group of people in your field who has gone through the steps of becoming contractors creates a force that inhibits non-licensed people from scamming and taking advantage of homeowners and endangering their property with shoddy workmanship (which still happens anyway.)

Summary

I wanted to review these steps again, not to discourage anyone, but to enlighten those of you who are interested in starting up your own company.  Start by being legit.  I don’t condone the people out there doing side work while still working for someone else.  But that’s another topic.  If your state allows for high dollar HVAC work and there’s no insurance requirement or state bond obligation to protect the homeowner, should you burn their house down with sloppy, unvalidated workmanship, then more power to you.

Take the time to do it right from the start, no matter what state you’re in.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and we’ll see you on the next blog.

Don’t Miss our Video and the Series on This Topic:

  Starting My Own Business - Revisited 5 Years Later - Part 1: Contracting

HVAC Training: 5 Reasons Making Mistakes Creates Better HVAC Technicians

5 ways mistakes make you a better hvac tech

Making mistakes means better technicians

In an industry that that has a recruitment field that is slowly diminishing in size year by year, HVAC technicians entering the field need to know their hopes of being a good technician won’t be demolished if they make a mistake.  Making mistakes creates better technicians in one way or another.  Sometimes it removes them from the position of BEING a “technician” altogether.  One thing’s for sure, everything has a way of working itself out and no one is immune to that fact.

Intro

It’s funny. Today on social media, most people will only post their positive achievements.  God forbid should we post any of our mistakes in front of a world that will likely bash us with replies that drive the point home even further than the mistake itself.  Making mistakes is going to happen.  Generations before us in the HVAC industry as well as others have made many mistakes that got us to where we are now.  Best practices and technology have improved greatly since the first waves of this trial and error began.

In actuality, some people do post their mistakes on social media.  And bless those brave souls who do.  One electrician posted a picture of himself in the hospital wrapped in bandages head to toe after he received second and third-degree burns when he touched the wrong piece of metal inside an electrical panel.  A great learning experience for everyone.

Another posted a picture of himself in the hospital with a disgruntled, almost painfilled face after he touched the wrong part of an electrical component he’s worked on hundreds of times in the past.  This time, touching it in the wrong place, caused his heart to stop, his body to seize, and blackout until his partner on the job site literally had to kick him off the live part.

This leads me to my first reason why making mistakes creates better technicians in one way or another.

#1 – Mistakes help us slow down and pace ourselves as we get the job done.

Those of us who have done an HVAC maintenance on a furnace or air conditioner can probably go through the routine of it with our eyes closed after just one season of doing them.  Although most systems throughout the day are made by different manufacturers, they operate pretty much the same.

I remember a mistake I made on furnace tune-up in my first year on my own.  I was working on a rooftop gas package unit when I was checking the outlet pressure at the gas valve.  When I was done with it, I sort of just moved on to the next item on my list without screwing the pressure port screw back in.  So, when I went to fire up the system and the flames ignited, about three seconds later the flame rolled out towards my face and actually singed my eyebrows a little.  Mmmm, nothing like the smell of burnt hair in the morning.

Obviously, this taught me to be more purposeful when I work on equipment and ultimately made me a better tech for it!

#2 – Mistakes point us to something we didn’t already know.

They teach us little nuances in different equipment.  I see so many technicians just blow through the installation of a new part or full HVAC system and not even read the directions.  Then when the system doesn’t fire up correctly, they don’t know why.

A prime example of this is on the White Rodgers 50 A 55843 control board.  It’s a universal replacement that we like to use for most single-stage gas furnaces in the residential field.  Most of the time, control board change out are like-for-like changeouts.  Plug and play.

Well, when you use this board to replace a Trane XB80 gas furnace control board, there is an adapter you have to use from the box to include a couple of roll-out switches into the Molex connector that plugs into the board.

Almost every time a technician has called to tell me their problem with the start-up after changing the board, I ask if it’s a Trane furnace.  A lot of times they say yes, and I tell them about the paragraph in the installation instructions that speak to this adapter.  And… that technician never calls again about that issue.  In fact, they likely become someone who can be called by junior techs in the field that incur the same problem.

#3 – It humbles us

Making mistakes can bring even the most experienced techs back down to reality very quickly.  It keeps us humble when we make mistakes.  Admitting these mistakes can add some humility back into our lives that will ultimately make us better technicians in the long run.

I’ve heard of some technicians and DIY homeowners who screwed up wiring something as simple as wiring a capacitor wrong.  When they finally realize what they’ve done, whether it’s burning up a compressor, causing the fan spin backward, or something else, they’ll say, “Well, that was a humbling experience.”

Some people just don’t know when to ask for help, or take the time to read the directions.  As the saying goes, it doesn’t matter who’s right, it matters what’s right.

#4 – Mistakes create change

Technicians who have made mistakes in the past and then went on to become great technicians have all asked themselves some internal questions.  “What went wrong?” “What did I learn from this?” and “What could I do better next time?”

Nothing is more humbling than putting your foot through the ceiling while working in the attic.  It’s easy to learn from that mistake.  Watch where you’re stepping, make sure it’s wood that you’re stepping on.  And even then, step squarely onto the wood.

People who have improved their skills by making mistakes reduce the chances they’ll mess up again.  They develop a plan that will help them avoid making similar mistakes.  Ultimately, that might not be the most perfect reaction to your mistake, so be flexible and forgiving to yourself and others who make mistakes on the job.

#5 – Mistakes reveal our true passions.  Is it time to move on?

Not every mistake is going to relate to making us better technicians, but rather better or happier people.  Since I’m in the mood to make myself the example here, I’ll tell you another quick story of a mistake I made, which led to another path.

Before I was an HVAC technician, I was a bartender for 15 years.  I started when I was 20, and by the time I was 35, I had a family, didn’t drink anymore, and didn’t even go out to bars anymore.  But it’s all I knew how to do.  And I was pretty good at it.

One night I asked the wrong person to leave the bar for the night after he called me a not so nice name that involved a couple of cuss words.  My boss had always let us stand up for ourselves and our co-workers who were abused in any way.  Drinkers can get a little feisty sometimes.  Apparently, this person I asked to leave the bar for the night (in a not so nice way) was the wrong person to kick out.

A few days later my boss and I agreed to go our separate ways.  It was likely a culmination of things, like I wasn’t the party guy I used to be, which might have led me to not be as understanding and forgiving toward intoxicated name-callers.  Either way, my final mistake there made me realize that this might not be the job for me anymore.

I started a new job in HVAC and became very passionate about it, which has led me to where I am now.  Funny how life steers you in the direction you didn’t even know you were going.

Closing

So why can’t we be more forgiving of those who make mistakes out in the field?  Maybe it’s because we don’t have the patience for new apprentices trying to learn the trade.  Maybe it’s because that mistake has been made by the same person more than once.  I get it.  I’m not saying extra training, disciplinary action or removal from a certain position doesn’t need to happen.  Because it does sometimes.

But, we should all recognize that mistakes will be made by today’s technicians, which is just another generation to make mistakes as we plow forward in this game called life.  Realizing that mistakes are going to be made, we can relax a bit more.  By doing so, we might make fewer of them.

Each one of us is a part of that human tradition of learning and experimenting.  As our pool of future technicians grows smaller every year, we as the journeymen need to recognize that we made mistakes as we came up in this field, which has led us to where we are now, as valued members of our teams.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and we’ll see you on the next blog post.

Where Should HVAC Technicians Wisely Invest Their Money?

Where Should HVAC Techs Invest

Blue-collar workers like HVAC technicians may not be the first people you would think of as savvy stock market investors. As a company owner, I provide our workers with a Simple IRA that acts much like a 401K. We match a certain percentage of their contribution to their retirement account. In that account, they are encouraged to invest their money in a variety of stocks or ETF’s.  These options can help them gain some free money in the form of capital gains.  The stock market has, on average, provided more interest than leaving an employee’s money sitting in their account, gaining no interest — not even the 1% to 3% a traditional bank would generate for their customers.

Buying Shares in Familiar Companies

Warren Buffet, Benjamin Graham, and Peter Lynch are some of the greatest investors of all time. Their advice when it comes to investing is to invest in what you know.  Should HVAC technicians focus on investing in banks and biotechnology? Probably not. But a technician would have great insider information on the HVAC industry. Trane, Lennox, Carrier, Daiken, Johnson Controls, Honeywell, AAON, Comfort Systems, Watsco, Mitsubishi Electric, and Fujitsu are all very popular names in our industry.

HVAC Equipment Shortages

The pulse of the industry is like second nature to HVAC technicians.  As I write this at the end of a very busy summer and hopefully near the end of the COVID-19 crisis, insiders know there is an unprecedented and vast shortage of HVAC equipment and parts.  Raw materials, control boards, compressors, switches, copper, aluminum, sheet metal, and everything else that goes into an air conditioner or furnace are slow in getting to manufacturers. 

Companies like Trane, Lennox, Carrier, Ruud, Goodman, among others, are being delayed.  Some delays are not necessarily due to temporarily closed factories, worker layoffs, or everything else COVID-19 has brought with it.  Snags in transportation or the receiving docks receiving those deliveries also affect the process.  Delays persist.

How do all these factors affect stock prices now? How will they affect stock prices moving forward into 2021 and 2022? And how is the industry growing in general? These are questions HVAC technicians and other industry experts are much more likely to know the answers to than biotech experts. Therefore, it’s important we blue-collar experts invest in what we know. Should we be investing in pharma stocks that might create the vaccine for the COVID virus?  Not if the only thing we know about it is what we’ve seen on TV.

HVAC Market Demand in 2021

Commercial and industrial HVAC companies can tell you that 2020 saw a significant slowdown in certain sectors of the buildings where they service and replace equipment. Data centers, health care, and warehouses remained a reliable source of work. But retail stores, hospitality, and restaurants suddenly became incredibly soft markets. All the major HVAC manufacturers like Watsco, Johnson Controls, Trane, Carrier, and Lennox expected the softness now seen in the light commercial segment. It will create some pent-up demand going into 2021. That is good for earnings for these publicly traded companies, and who better to gain from it than our own industry experts?

COVID-19 is Inspiring Home Improvements

In an earlier post last month, I discussed what happened to those of us in the residential HVAC market. There’s been a demand for equipment changeouts, unlike anything we have seen. What was happening? Those workers directed to work from home started investing in their homes. Hardware stores, gardeners, construction crews, and HVAC companies all started working harder than ever before! I cannot think of one contractor I have talked to that did not smash sales records this past summer.

The Working From Home Trend

Homeowners found they had more disposable income to work on their homes since vacationing and going out to the movies was not going to be happening anytime soon. When offices begin opening again, the commercial sector will see a rise in sales. That is good for stock owners. I think a little over half of those working from home will remain working from home. And they will continue sprucing up their homes to ensure a comfortable workspace. But we as HVAC technicians already know that. Therefore, investing our hard-earned retirement money in something we know follows the advice of a few of the greatest investors of all time:  investing in what we know.

Getting Started

Give it a shot! You don’t have to be a super slick Wall Street investor to be invited to the party. Apps on your phone will let you buy shares of stock one at a time. I personally have my IRA and another account on Robinhood, which takes no extra fees for me to invest my money through them. If I only have a hundred dollars to throw into my account that week, I can purchase $100 of a $275 share of Lennox. It all builds up over time, and the younger you start, the sooner you will have enough money in your retirement fund to support you when your knees finally go out.

Invest in Companies You Know

Instead of letting your money sit in an account making no money beyond what you put in there, invest in some of these companies, companies you already know well enough to know that they make good profits every year. This industry will only increase in size every year due to technology upgrades, population growth, and new homes being built further out into suburbia, to name a few.

Thanks so much for stopping by and we’ll see you on the next blog.

Good Customer Service or Good Technical Skills: Which is Better to Have?

good customer service

Technical Skills Without Customer Service Can Be a Bad Mix and Vice Versa

Having both good customer service and good technical skills is super important.  But if we had to decide one or the other when it comes to hiring a technician or having a technician come out to your house for service, which one would it be?  I have my own opinion, and that’s what I’m going to share with you today.

Technical skills without customer service can be a bad mix and vice versa.  Is professional customer service needed as much as your need to have a seasoned technician who lacks the social skills to be a lady or gentleman in your home while performing that service? 

Is Good Customer Service Necessary?

Some people think customer service isn’t needed as much in the industrial or commercial sector because those technicians aren’t having to convince or deal with owners of the building right on the spot.  Even if they did, most building owners and landlords aren’t concerned with anything but getting the repair made. They also want it at the lowest expense possible.  They’re not concerned with how old the system is or the quality of the parts. Usually, they want to get as many years as possible out of their one system. To an extreme! I understand, though.  It’s a business decision where quality isn’t as important as function in most cases.

Residential customers, on the other hand, are more connected to their HVAC system.  They spend their hard-earned money on repairs and want their systems to last as long as possible, too.  When those systems get to a certain age, usually 15 to 20 years old, they start thinking about changing out that system because quality and efficiency are much more important to them.  Residential customers also feel more connected to their service technician and the company they represent.  Relationships develop between company and customer.    

Focusing on Customer Service

As our company grows and we are looking for our next technician to hire, this question comes up every time.  Do we employ an experienced tech that might come in with deeply ingrained habits that might not line up with policies and procedures we have at Fox Family?  Experienced techs that have always done it a certain way for years may not be focused on the customer service aspect.  

What About Technical Skills?

On the other hand, should we hire a technician who we know has a great personality and necessary technical skills?  This type of person is someone we can develop and mold into the kind of technician we want representing our company.  It will take months, sometimes even a year, for that tech to get to the point where they can even go out on repair service calls.  But, when it comes to deciding which technician to send into your home, it can be a tough decision.

My point is that some technically skilled people come into a company that may have worked for a shop that didn’t emphasize manners and common courtesies.  I’m referring to things like wearing shoe covers, wiping down attic accesses when they come out of the attic, wearing face masks during COVID-19 in 2020, tucking in their shirts, being clean-shaven, etc.  Things like these can make a difference when it comes to deciding whether or not I want that tech in our customer’s home.

A Better Tactic

A better tactic is to interview the most technically competent people available and, during subsequent interviews before hiring, work to discover the candidate’s collaborative abilities or willingness to learn such skills.

Summary

In talking about the relative importance of technical and people skills, it’s tough to suggest that one is more important than the other.  I read somewhere that an opera is comprised of both words and music. It doesn’t work if either is missing. Similarly, technicians must have both technical and people skills to do their jobs successfully.  Yes, technical skills come first.  But people skills allow us to convince others of our ideas, to collaborate successfully, and to build successful long-term customer and coworker relationships.

Thanks so much for reading this week, and we’ll see you on the next blog.

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Protecting Fox Family Customers and Employees During the Covid-19 Season

protecting customers during covid-19

The steps we take to prevent the spread of the virus in the Sacramento Valley are essential to us and you

I’m sure tired of talking about it.  It looks like there could even be another wave of it reemerging.  COVID-19 has turned out to be the most diabolical event to happen in my lifetime.  Restaurants and small businesses were the hardest hit.  The heating and air conditioning industry also saw it’s share of technician layoffs and even closing shop until things get back to some sense of normalcy.

The spring season is when we typically spend a lot of our days running preventive maintenance calls.  Pretty much all of our customers were telling us to stay home during the lockdown.  It was a stressful time for everyone.

Fox Family had one technician on call every day during this time.  That tech knew he could be called at any time to go on a service call.  Everyone else stayed home to protect themselves.  During that time, Melissa and I made sure our techs were still paid, and medical benefits were still intact.  We were able to take advantage of the federal PPP fund.  The Fund allowed us to take care of our techs, which, I’m sure, gave some relief to them during a solid two months off of work.

When May hit, the coronavirus started settling down across California.  People started letting us into their homes.  Our focus was not only to provide the same level of service to our loyal customers but to do so with extreme care.  It became mandatory during this pandemic that we show up to the door of people’s homes with our facemask and our gloves on as well as the usual shoe covers we wear to protect their floors.

We’ve never before faced having to wear face masks and rubber gloves in people’s homes to make people feel safe.  Wearing these PPE’s not only protected the customers but protected our tech’s loved ones when they got back home!  But we immediately noticed customers appreciated this step taken by Fox Family Heating and Air.  We always get great online customer reviews, but our latest reviews also mention the extra measures we’re taking to prevent the spread of the virus in our customer’s homes.  It’s a great feeling to contribute to our community.

Fox Family will continue looking out for our customers during and after the COVID crisis rears its ugly head.  The steps we take to prevent the spread of the virus are essential to us and to you.  Our techs are looking forward to serving you in your home.  You can feel safe knowing we are concerned for your safety as well.

Is Doing Side Work Illegal? Why Doing Side Work is a Bad Idea

is doing side work illegal?

Is it okay to do side work if I’m employed by someone in that field already? Let’s talk about what side work is, if it’s illegal, and when it might be okay to do it.

Intro

In California, it’s illegal to perform your normal blue-collar construction jobs on the side.  This means jobs like plumbing, electrical, HVAC, carpentry, windows, roofing, and other handyman type jobs.  Performing those on the side is illegal if you’re collecting more than $500.  If you were looking for the answer to whether or not that side work is illegal, it is.

Building a Reputation

Just like so many other people who entered the trades, I thrived on any knowledge I could gain in my field to be as good as I could be.  I was just appreciative of having a job I could dependably go to and have work on a steady basis.  All I wanted to do was earn the respect of my peers and be considered someone customers would ask for, and managers would send to the tough jobs.

As people settle into their jobs though, they become complacent.  They start getting itchy and looking for more.  “I can do this!  I can change out that part on this air conditioner for less money than the company I work for and make way more than my hourly pay for doing it.”

What is Side Work?

Here’s what side work is.  Once, I was on a residential call and quoted the customer $275 for a part that only cost about $25 online.  They asked me if they bought the part, would I come back out after hours and install it for $100.

I’ve always been one who considers right and wrong.  I not only let the customer know I wouldn’t do it, but I let my boss know, so he could either address it with the customer himself or just leave it alone and chalk it up to knowing that there are people out there who will always try to get the cheapest deal.

It’s funny because that person knows it’s wrong to ask me to do the side work.  If he didn’t, do you think he’d call my boss up and ask him if it was okay for me to come back out after hours and install the part he found online for cheaper?  Probably not.

Thinking Ethically

Entering a world of doing side work on your own while you save enough to start your own business cuts your own throat, to an extent. It’s like tradesmen who knowingly buy stolen tools to use on their job site instead of going to the store or going online and paying legitimate prices for legitimate tools.  If you do this, don’t get angry when you start your own company someday and discover lowballers are undercutting your prices now that you have more expenses than they do.

Contractors have substantially more expenses than technicians who wait until they get off work to come back and do a job the customer didn’t want to pay for when they were on the clock.  A person doing this kind of side work, whether legitimately or not, has the same risks as a real contractor… not getting paid, fire, injury, lawsuit, warranty, etc.

Expenses

Contractors have many bills.  We have to carry general liability insurance.  My company has a $1,000,000 policy we must pay each month.  Before starting as a licensed contractor, I had to write the state license board a check for $15,000 for a bond.  Although we’re a small-to-mid-sized HVAC company, our monthly bills, including paying employees, top out in the tens of thousands of dollars. This is why we charge the prices we do.

Follow me for a second.   A very experienced contractor who sends their guys out into the field, on average, bills out their service techs for less than 50% of the actual time they’re on the clock.  The rest includes rent, payroll, administrative costs, attorneys, drive time, stocking up the warehouse, paperwork, weekly training sessions, running for parts, return visits that aren’t even charged to the customer, and a myriad of other expenses.

Consider the $30,000 service van you’re driving around in that’s only going to last five years and maybe be worth $5000 when the company goes to trade it in for your next van. It’s shocking if you think about how much it costs to roll a van to a service call or an installation.  There are even business owners themselves who don’t entirely understand that cost.

Common Decency

But getting back to it, I’m not saying doing a little work for family and close friends isn’t right, because no one is going to turn down family. Everyone’s got someone they know who can do the work; a buddy who’s a mechanic, an aunt who’s a seamstress, an uncle who’s a roofer. That’s not a person running some underground business. That’s just common decency.

I’ve gone over to my next-door neighbor’s house when I worked for someone else and replaced a bad capacitor on their AC.  Was that wrong?  Some would say yes, but as a contractor myself, I would say no. But there’s always going to be some line you shouldn’t cross.

But I will say this.  If you’re going to do side work, don’t use my tools, my parts, my equipment, my van, or my name and reputation.

Technically, if there’s any legal requirement to be a ‘contractor’ in your area and you don’t meet those requirements, there’s no legal requirement that a customer pays you for your work, even if you’ve completed it to their satisfaction.

Crossing the Line

Even if you have a contract signed by both parties, you’ll lose any legal attempt to collect. Take the customer to court? The court will simply deny your claim, as the courts can’t rule on an illegal act.  And operating without any of the required licenses, insurance, bonds, registration, etc. is also an illegal act.

That’s the line you’re crossing when you decide to take on that side work.

I know I’m not going to change the minds of the masses of side-jobbers out there.  Many think lowballing their bosses for one reason or another is okay. I’m all for healthy competition and real contractors keeping each other in check with pricing.

Weighing the Odds

Good contractors don’t suffer from a lack of work because of all the people doing side work. It’s simply the principle.  Contractors have worked for years building up their business.  Years spent finding employable technicians who can be insured and who carry out their duties safely, precisely, and professionally.

My point is to think about what you’re doing before you take on that side job.  Is it worth your job if you’re caught and fired?  Probably not.  Is it worth doing a little bit of side work while you’re waiting for your state license to process?  Or while you’re building savings to even get started?  Probably not.

Your Turn

Let me know what you think about his topic in the comments below.  Do you think it’s harmless, or are you not willing to cross that line to keep things legit?

Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you on the next blog post.