Building HVAC Science

(He blinded us with science) (Science) (Science) (Science) Actually he spends a lot of time illuminating us with details about building science.   Join us as Allison Bailes, "a well known troublemaker and a general pain in the asterisk" shares with us the career path that lead him to form the Energy Vanguard. You see, a vanguard is the group of people who are at the forefront of a new movement or...

Wes Davis joins us to provide some definitions, insights, and perspectives on HVAC Codes and Standards from his role as Director of Technical Services at ACCA - The AirConditioning Contractors of America. We dig into details of the ANSI/RESNET/ACCA Standard 310, The Standard for Grading the Installation of HVAC Systems, published in June 2020.  The 310 standard was written mainly to help builders...

Let me take you back to a time, long, long ago, when Jim Bergmann did not understand everything in HVAC. Listen in as we delve into the story of Jim Bergmann and how the communities of HVAC, and more recently building science, helped to encourage and challenge Jim to become the HVAC guru that we know today. From his self-described times of annoying the crap out of Bill Spohn, to his overlapping ex...

Connect and support: a kind and noble mission that can span all elements of humanity. Connect in one way to understand.  Connect in a second way to bring information streams together. Conduit Tech is developing a means of rapidly connecting technical information to help HVAC contractors excel - what a cool basis for the name of a new company!   In this episode, I am joined by Shelby Breger cofound...

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...

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 successfu...

Bryan 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 Bryan 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...

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 tim...

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...

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, p...

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 m...

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 Retr...

In this episode, Bill interviews Chris Stephens Refrigeration Business owner and Social Media Influencer extraordinaire!   There are so many nuggets to mine out of this episode, I hope you spend the time to listen to all of it. Chris is truly a multidimensional person, not like in the SciFi way though where he can walk through walls. His Big Picture concept, which he uses in all aspects of his lif...

In this episode, Bill interviews Michael Rubino founder of HomeCleanse.com We discuss the technical & business aspects of mold removal and where it fits in to addressing and solving mold problems in a home or building. Michael is a forward thinker, having created his own mold remediation school for employees. At the school, they utilize the concept of I Do, We Do, You Do, that is you must be able...

In this episode, Bill interviews Adam Mufich, AKA A-Team Adam. You may know Adam from his video podcast, HVAC OverTime , which is a big collaboration he does with his friends Chris Stephens ( HVACR Videos on YouTube), Bill Russell ( Curious HVAC Guy on YouTube) and OT Joe (HVACR OverTime North on YouTube) In their words: "We never sugar coat anything; we tell it like it is. If you want the real un...

In this episode, Bill chats with Kevin Hart, the founder of HAVEN, a start up that makes a unique IAQ sensor/control system. Hear from Kevin about his background as an electrical contractor and how he came up with the idea for Haven, as well as all the iterations the product has been through. In the episode he describes RDCV: Residential Demand Control Ventilation and why it is important for contr...

In this episode, Bill explains some of the activities that are keeping him busy lately. The National HVACR Education Conference https://www.escogroup.org/hvac/nhetc/default.aspx   The National Home Performance Conference https://building-performance.org/events/national/   The National Comfort Institute (NCI) HVAC Summit https://www.gotosummit.com/sessions/   Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business FRE...

What's it like to build a tech product from the ground up?   How do you validate that a market exists?   What tools can you use to gain confidence that you are on the right track?     In this week's podcast, Bill Spohn is joined by John Hoehn , CEO of Duckling.   Duckling's mission is to help contractors help their customers on their journey to electrifying their homes.   John and his co-founder,...

What do we do with our time? What did I do with my time in the last week? The Bangles said it best: … Time, time, time  See what's become of me  While I looked around for my possibilities   In this episode, Bill is joined by Eric Kaiser where they share observations on products and events and the interesting people they engaged with during their 4 day excursion to the AHR Expo 2023.   The AHR Expo...

In this episode, Bill explains some of the activities that have kept him busy in the first few weeks of 2023. The HVACR Symposium: https://hvacrschool.com/events/4th-annual-hvac-r-training-symposium/   The AHR Expo: https://www.ahrexpo.com/   Installing a new operating system at TruTech Tools: EOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpXL2SGfkBc https://www.eosworldwide.com/     This episode was recor...

Today, I feel very in tune with this podcast's stated mission:   Building HVAC Science covers a broad array of topics in building science and HVAC diagnostics, as well as human comfort, health, and safety….; this show will take a deep dive into all things that relate to buildings and people in the built environment.   I was very fortunate to interview Dr. Joe Allen, an esteemed Indoor Air Quality...

For several years, in southern Maine, a small group of building professionals have been getting together monthly to discuss building science.     Many topics are brought up for discussion: high performance windows, venting cathedral ceilings, moisture migration in wall assemblies, slab on grade details, etc. The conversation is informal and roams a bit.   At one of those meetings, one of my guests...

Today's guest, Anna Desimone has done an awesome job compiling resources for consumers to learn about factors, features and benefits of building an Energy Efficient home.   Anna is author of Live in a Home that Pays You Back--A Complete Guide to Net Zero and Energy Efficient Homes, featuring national building programs in the U.S. and Canada. This is not a technical deep dive, but more of a consume...