HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs

In this engaging episode of the HVAC School podcast, host Bryan Orr sits down with Leo and Paul Sharkey, a father-son duo of mechanical engineers who made the leap into the HVAC business. Leo and Paul share their remarkable journey of purchasing an HVAC company in September 2020 and quadrupling its revenue within five years. Their engineering backgrounds bring a refreshing, data-driven perspective...

In this short podcast, Bryan answers a listener-submitted question and explains why heat pumps get a bit weird: when it comes to superheat in heat mode. He also explains how we can move heat from outdoors to indoors, even in temperatures below freezing (cold temperatures just have less heat, not zero heat). In order to move heat in very cold conditions, we need very low suction pressures and cold...

In this engaging and informative episode, Bryan sits down with Elliot to discuss his recent training experience with the National Comfort Institute (NCI), covering two intensive courses on duct system optimization and residential air balancing. The conversation offers valuable insights for HVAC professionals looking to improve their technical skills and provide better service to their customers. W...

In this short podcast, Bryan answers a question submitted to HVAC School by an aspiring licensed architect who wanted to learn more about the many different types of HVAC systems. The three main buckets of HVAC systems are air-to-air, water-source, and air-to-water. Air-to-air systems move air around to remove heat from one space, and that heat is rejected to the air somewhere else. Water-source s...

In this essential episode, Bryan Orr sits down with Elliot, the residential install supervisor at Kalos Services, to unpack a critical issue that's causing confusion among HVAC technicians, electricians, and inspectors alike: the new standards for breaker and conductor sizing on inverter-driven equipment. The conversation was sparked by Elliot's frustrating experience of having two inspectors in t...

In this short podcast episode, Bryan goes on another history journey, retelling the story of the rise and fall and rise of absorption cooling. Some of the first HVAC/R engineers cooled buildings with fire; they used absorption refrigeration, which ran on heat instead of electricity. In the early 1800s, French scientist Michael Faraday showed that gases like ammonia could absorb heat as they evapor...

In this comprehensive training session from the symposium, Tony Gonzalez, Training Director at Fieldpiece, delivers an engaging and practical guide to combustion analysis for HVAC technicians. With 25 years of experience at Fieldpiece—from warehouse worker to training director—Tony brings both technical expertise and real-world application to this 50-minute interactive session focused on the compa...

In this short podcast episode, we go back into the history of the trades, namely the battle over frequency (and how each side had to give until it hertz). The low hum of motors is alternating current: electricity moving back and forth through copper 60x per second (in the USA and Canada, at least). In another version of history, that pulse could be 50x per second instead (as in much of the remaind...

In this candid conversation, Nathan and Bryan dive deep into the often-misunderstood world of sales in the construction and HVAC trades. Nathan, who has transitioned from fieldwork to spending roughly 60% of his time in sales, offers a unique perspective on why sales professionals are necessary despite the skepticism they face from tradespeople. The discussion tackles head-on the negative percepti...

In this short podcast episode, Bryan takes us on a history journey back to when ammonia ruled the world. In the mid-1800s, before R-12, many inventors and scientists experimented with vapor-compression refrigeration systems to make ice. They used a variety of refrigerants in their patents, including ether, ethyl ether, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methyl chloride, and ammonia. Each one had trad...

In this episode of the HVAC School podcast, Bryan and Nathan dive deep into the challenges of humidity control in grocery stores and other refrigerated environments. While the conversation takes several entertaining detours (including discussions about morning radio shows, Indian weddings with elephants, and imaginary lava-heated homes), the core content provides valuable insights for HVAC and ref...

In this short podcast episode, Bryan explores the history of the finned-tube coil, which is what we use for heat exchange in air-source air conditioners and heat pumps. Air-source HVAC systems have copper tubes threaded through thin metal fins. This design was optimized to ensure the greatest possible surface area for heat exchange to occur. However, prior to the finned-tube coil, HVAC coils looke...

In this comprehensive episode of the HVAC School podcast, host Bryan Orr sits down with three experts from Copeland to demystify tandem and trio compressor systems. Joining him are Gina Kahle (Multiples Engineering Manager with 12+ years at Copeland), Tyler Daniels (Product Management team member), and James Stevenson (Technical Sales veteran with 28 years of field experience). Together, they prov...

In this short podcast episode, Bryan tells the story of the technology that tried to beat the compressor... and still may someday. We associate cooling with refrigerant... and all the things that come with it, including compressor noise, oil, recovery machines and tanks, leaks, superheat, and regulations. However, there is a means of providing cooling with two pieces of metal and several semicondu...

In this comprehensive episode, Bryan and Roman dive deep into one of the most challenging topics in modern HVAC: making VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) and ductless systems perform effectively in humid climates like Florida. The conversation tackles a common misconception that inverter-driven equipment automatically handles humidity well simply because it can "turn down." Roman emphasizes that suc...

In this short podcast, Bryan gives another history lesson and goes over the history of the thermostat. Before 1883, automatic temperature control simply did not exist; we shoveled fuel into the furnace and opened windows. If a room got too hot in a commercial building, the janitor would go downstairs to choke the draft damper; this person was responsible for manually controlling comfort. Warren S....

In this candid and comprehensive episode, Bryan sits down with Roman to tackle one of the most frustrating yet crucial aspects of the HVAC industry: technical support. What starts as a conversation about their own tech support nightmares quickly evolves into a deep dive examining the entire ecosystem—from manufacturers and distributors to technicians and sales reps—and how each player can improve...

In this short podcast episode, Bryan is back for yet another history lesson. This time, the subject is the current war with Tesla, Edison, and Westinghouse. The current war was fought in the late 1800s with lightbulbs, electrocutions, and a World's Fair that dazzled the entire world. Edison didn't necessarily invent the lightbulb, but he made it commercially viable by inventing the infrastructure...

In this raw and unfiltered episode, Bryan sits down with Elliot, a senior service tech and newly minted install supervisor, to discuss the realities of working with R-454B refrigerant in the field. What starts as a technical discussion about the new A2L refrigerant quickly evolves into a candid conversation about industry frustrations, manufacturer accountability, and the practical challenges tech...

In this short podcast episode, Bryan talks about psychrometrics and the magic line inside a messy-looking chart. The psychrometric chart is a key tool for understanding the relationship between air and water. "Psychrometric" comes from the Greek roots for "cold" and "measurement." As such, a tool called the psychrometer (with paired wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometers) could measure two different t...

In this episode of the HVAC School podcast, Bryan sits down with Ray Wohlfarth, a seasoned HVAC contractor and prolific author who has dedicated over 30 years to mastering the art and science of boiler systems. What began as a competitive disadvantage—competitors claiming he knew nothing about boilers—became Ray's driving passion. Through daily reading, countless mistakes, and an unwavering commit...

In this short podcast episode, Bryan explains how duct tape got its name and why it shouldn't actually be used on ducts. Duct tape is a versatile home DIY-fix tool, but despite its name, it wasn't initially made to seal ducts at all. In 1943, we were in the thick of World War II, and ammo shipments were sealed with wax and paper tape. These were often not durable or difficult to open. Johnson & Jo...

In this comprehensive discussion, Bryan and Bert tackle one of the most critical yet underdeveloped skills in the trades: conflict resolution and de-escalation. They argue that poor conflict management is one of the primary reasons technicians lose jobs, damage team dynamics, and limit their career advancement. The conversation explores both customer-facing conflicts and internal team disputes, of...

In this spooky Halloween short podcast episode, Bryan tells the story of the cooling tower killer: Legionnaires' disease. In the summer of 1976, the nation celebrated its bicentennial anniversary. The American Legion was holding its 58th annual convention at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. In the days following the convention, doctors in Philadelphia started noticing dozens of Le...

In this episode of the HVAC School podcast, Bryan Orr sits down with Bert and Leanna to discuss Kalos's first official cohort apprenticeship program, dubbed the "Launch Program." What started as Bryan's persistent idea—one that the team initially resisted as too expensive and logistically challenging—evolved into a transformative three-month training experience that brought 15 green apprentices th...