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Editor’s Note: The following remarks were made on The NEWS’ group, The NEWS Network, on LinkedIn, regarding consolidating different trade functions into one organization.

Trades Working Together Creates Synergy

We not only have HVAC, plumbing, and electrical under one roof, but also have fire protection, airport services, millwright, steel fab, and install. We have individual professional tradesmen all specializing in their respective trades and leading the field. We do not have electricians and plumbers doing HVAC work and vice versa. The synergy that is created on bid day and in execution is refreshing to the customer, especially when you have so much finger pointing on jobs when something goes wrong. By the Grace of the good Lord it is working very well for us.

Dan Schultheis Jr.
Director
Service and Special Projects at Atlantic Constructors Inc.
Richmond, Virginia Area

Stick to One Trade

I am a C20 contractor. Even though a/c involves knowledge of plumbing and electrical, plumbers and electricians have no idea about airflow and refrigerant charge, etc. I hire electricians to do my electrical work, and plumbers to do the gas lines, but I have yet to see a plumber do a combustion analysis, or an electrician do balancing or heat-load calculations. I can go on. Stick to a trade you know.

Ric Chavarrie
Owner
Chavarrie Heating and Air Conditioning
Greater Los Angeles Area

Editor’s Note: The following remarks were made on The NEWS’ group, The NEWS Network, on LinkedIn, regarding HVAC contractors performing home automation work.

Primed to Drive Home Automation

With HVAC as the single largest consumer of energy and largest impact on home comfort, our industry is primed to drive home automation and connectivity.

Home automation providers do OK with connected thermostats until they get past the basic furnace/ac 4-wire legacy system. The leverage the HVAC contractor has in driving home automation is the technical expertise to manage the higher-efficiency equipment (heat pump, multistage, dual-fuel, etc.).

So, if we could get out of our own way and adopt open communication standards that drive smart systems that can be connected with other ecosystems and integrated for simple, impactful control, we could really make a difference.

As it is, every connected thermostat, every communicating HVAC system has to go through a proprietary portal, with single-branded solutions that consumers have repeatedly rejected.

Joann Donelon
Marketing Director
ClimateTalk Alliance
Greater St. Louis Area

Publication date: 8/19/2013 

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