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.

4 Components That Make Up The SEER Rating

4 Components That Make Up The SEER Rating

If you have been in the market for a new central air conditioning system, you have been doing research online or getting quotes from a few HVAC companies installing new systems.  Undoubtedly, you have been hearing terms like SEER and EER ratings.  What is the SEER rating (pronounced like a steak you’d “sear” to perfection), and what influences the actual rating of the system you will buy?

Using a quote from Trane.com, “The SEER measures air conditioning cooling efficiency, which is calculated by the cooling output for a typical cooling season divided by the total electric energy input during the same time frame.  A SEER rating is a maximum efficiency rating, like the miles per gallon for your car.”

If you go on to AHRI Directory to find out what is involved in measuring these SEER ratings, you’ll find terms like Wet-Bulb, Dry-Bulb, Static Pressure, Enthalpy, Steady-State Tests, and Cyclic Tests.  But it really comes down to a few things.

  1. The outdoor condenser coil.
  2. The indoor evaporator coil.
  3. The compressor.
  4. The blower motor in the furnace pushing the air across the coil.

The condenser coil – Ever wonder why the outdoor air condensers we are installing today are larger than the ones 20 years ago?  Heat transfer and surface area.  The outdoor condenser coil can take the heat absorbed inside and get rid of it easier when the unit’s surface area is larger.

The evaporator coil – Jeez!  Talk about getting larger.  The evaporators are almost as big as the furnaces we are installing today.  Some of the larger evaporator coils are 30 inches tall or more.  Again, it’s all about efficiently absorbing heat and humidity from the house and sending it outside.

The compressor – Today’s modern scroll compressors have minimal moving parts.  There are single-speed compressors, two-speed, all the way up to fully modulating.  The scroll compressor can move more refrigerant in a single cycle than previous versions, like the rotary and piston compressors.

The blower motor in the furnace – Motors are more efficient when they run at lower speeds.  A 3-ton air conditioner blower motor will run at one amperage, while a 5-ton blower motor, with its speed taps adjusted down to a 3-ton capacity, will run at less amperage than the 3-ton motor.  That lowers the amount of energy used by the system, increasing its SEER rating.

SEER ratings on AHRIdirectory

SEER ratings on AHRIdirectory.org

Let’s look at the SEER ratings on AHRIdirectory.org for a Trane split system where the AC/condenser is located on the side of the house, and the furnace is located in the garage, closet, or attic.

In the example, we have the same 4TTL6036A1 condenser.  In model number nomenclature, the first “6” in “6036” means 16 SEER.  The “36” stands for 36,000 btu capacity – a 3-ton system.  We can adjust the actual SEER rating of this “16 SEER” condenser by changing the evaporator coil and furnace matched up with it.

4 Components That Make Up The SEER Rating

So, unless you see the actual copy of the AHRI certificate listing the model numbers of the furnace, condenser, and evaporator coil, you might think you are buying a 16 SEER 3-ton split system but only be getting a 15.50 SEER system. Then again, if your contractor matches that outdoor unit up with a larger furnace and coil, you could be getting an even more efficient system than 16 SEER.

Let’s get into how higher SEER systems save you money in the long run in another blog, but for now, I wanted to share this particular information.

Furnace Repair Giveaway Follow Up – Sacramento, CA

WALL FURNACE GIVEAWAY

You may have seen our recent contest for a FREE furnace repair giveaway. We were fortunate enough to have our giveaway featured on Good Day Sacramento and as a result we were able to get the word out to more Sacramento families needing repair work done on their furnace during the holidays.

Check out the first video here:

Owner, Greg Fox talks with Nha Nguyen about giving back during the holidays and common part failures on a furnace. 

Follow Up: We have a winner!

Congratulations Donald! It was a pleasure to help you out!

Happy New Year Everyone!

A Day in The Life of an HVAC Technician: Episode 4

Should I go to HVAC School

Fox Family Heating and Air wants to show you our team and what it is they go through on a regular basis to be an HVAC company.

Check out our latest video to see a day in the life of an HVAC Technician.

In this episode, Fox Family Heating and Air takes on a house that wants to convert from an all-electric heating pump to a gas furnace. The tricky part is, it’s under the house and the furnace and coil won’t fit. Check out this episode to see how we get the job done.

Liking our Day in The Life HVAC Technician episodes? Check out the other episodes here.  Contact us for all of your Sacramento area repairs.

 

 

Sacramento HVAC Company Reviews

HVAC company reviews Sacramento

Fox Family Heating, Air and Conditioning | Sacramento HVAC Company Reviews

Learn what our clients say about working with us. Owners, Greg and Melissa are focused on customer experience over sales every single time. We believe that repeat and loyal customers are the backbone of any company’s longevity. In the competitive HVAC market of Sacramento, our goal is to deliver honest, fast, and friendly five-star service every single time we are invited into a customer’s home.  Here’s one customer’s story.