Building HVAC Science

Quotes from the episode:

"The tighter your envelope, the more attention you have to pay to ventilation and indoor air quality."

"The acoustics of the ordinary rarely gets attention."

"There's so much good work being done, so much data being collected, and oftentimes it doesn't leave the hard drive."

"Noise annoyance may be one of the things people are most passionate about."

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Bill Spohn welcomes Kieren McCord, a research scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, for a conversation about indoor...

Quotes from the episode:

"Stop trying to HVAC your way out of bad buildings, and your results will market themselves."

"The quality work and word of mouth are real when you're doing building science-backed work with quality staff."

"Come with problems you're actively trying to work on and meet others who can help you work on them."

In this episode of Building HVAC Science, Bill welcomes back Brent Davidson of the U.S. Heat Pump Summit for his third appearance. Brent shares what emerged from the first full-scale national Heat Pump...

Quotes from the episode:

"Ducts matter. Nobody cares much about them until something goes wrong."

"HVAC systems are designed assuming clean, bare sheet metal."

"Even a small layer of dust can become a mountain range to an air molecule."

"Think like an air molecule."

In this episode, Bill speaks with Dan Stradford of Action Duct Cleaning about what really happens inside HVAC duct systems over time and why cleaning can matter more than many people realize. Dan shares how the duct cleaning industry evolved from its "wild west" early...

Quotes from the episode:

"High-performance homes are not about the equipment. They are about the outcomes for the people inside."

"The gap is not in technology. It is in execution and understanding."

"The contractors who win are the ones who connect building science to real human experience."

Recorded live at the 2026 National Home Performance Conference in Columbus, this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast brings together Bill Spohn, Eric Kaiser, and guest Brynn Cooksey for a conversation at the intersection of buildings, HVAC...

Quotes from the episode:

"High-performance homes are not about the equipment. They are about the outcomes for the people inside."

"The gap is not in technology. It is in execution and understanding."

"The contractors who win are the ones who connect building science to real human experience."

Recorded live at the 2026 National Home Performance Conference in Columbus, this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast brings together Bill Spohn, Eric Kaiser, and guest Brynn Cooksey for a conversation at the intersection of buildings, HVAC...

Quotes from the episode:

"We're not just selling tools anymore — we're building solutions that make the trade pro's life easier."

"EOS gave us the discipline to focus on what really matters when everything is pulling at you."

"(In golf,) you can't hit everything with a driver — great businesses know which tool to use and when."

In this episode, Bill talks with Rich Benninghoff about Malco's evolution into the broader Malco Group and what it means to shift from a product company to a solution...

Quotes from the episode:

"Great equipment doesn't build a reputation. Great technicians do."

"Use AI like a tool, not a crutch. The work still belongs to the person in the attic."

"We're missing mentorship across generations, and that gap is costing the trades more than we realize."

In this episode, Bill sits down with Rhydon Atzenhoffer, host of the HVAC R&D Podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation that goes well beyond tools and equipment. Rhydon shares how his show evolved from casual, relationship-driven conv...

Quotes from the episode:

"If you're building something new, it has to be better in almost every way or it won't catch on."

"The stuff that's bad inside your home doesn't filter out, you have to move it out."

"We stopped over-modeling and just started testing in the real world as fast as possible." 

This episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast features Austin Riesenberger, founder of Swerv Air, a young entrepreneur tackling a surprisingly overlooked problem: how to bring fresh air into homes without sacr...

Quotes from the episode:

"It's a solution to a problem people don't even know they have."

"Compliance is no longer just paperwork. It's becoming part of how smart contractors protect margin and keep access to refrigerant."

"What GPS did for traffic, shared HVAC documentation could do for equipment history, refrigerant tracking, and accountability."

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science podcast, Bill Spohn talks with Adam Dykstra of FM Hero about a part of the HVAC industry that often gets overlooked until it becomes a s...

Quotes from the episode:

"The emotional side of letting go and the identity shift is something nobody really warns you about."

"Clarity is kindness, especially when the chips are down."

"Intelligence gets beaten by emotional regulation and patience every day." (Tommy Mello)

This episode is a true "collab" between Building HVAC Science and HVAC School Podcasts, with Bill Spohn Sr. and Bill "Billy" Spohn Jr. (TruTech Tools) joining Bryan Orr and his dad Robert Orr (Kalos Services) to talk candidly about family business succession. They di...

EPISODE QUOTES
"Anyone can install a heat pump, but if you don't understand how houses work, you're gambling with comfort."

"Our intake process is a pre-screen. We want customers who already want the heat pump."

"Electrify everything is cute. Electrify efficiently is the job."

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Bill Spohn and Eric Kaiser talk with Larry Waters and Alex Sloan of Electrify My Home, a Bay Area contractor focused on efficient home electrification. Larry walks through his 43-year path in the tr...

"There are people who teach for income, and people who teach for outcome."

"You want to grow an industry, you can't ignore half America."

"Become an unsung hero, mentor someone, and give back to the industry you love."

In this episode of Building HVAC Science, Bill and Eric are joined by Renee Tomlinson and Howard Weiss from ESCO Institute (and HVAC Excellence) to talk about a theme that does not get nearly enough airtime: the "quiet" people in HVAC who shape careers and raise standards without chasing attention. Howard explains ESCO's role in...

"The more you know, the more you're worth and the harder you are to replace."

"Just because you're a great technician doesn't mean you're ready to run a business."

"You can't buy the satisfaction of helping someone you may never meet."

Bill sits down with Rick Diermeyer, better known to many in the trade as the face behind the HVACR Survival YouTube channel. Rick shares the origin story of his channel, which now boasts tens of thousands of subscribers and hundreds of field-based videos. What began as a simple...

Episode Quotes:
"Airflow isn't good. It's measured."

"Most pushback isn't 'I won't.' It's 'I'm afraid I'll mess it up.'"

"This is a people industry, by people, for people."

JT Stewart joins Bill Spohn and Eric Kaiser to talk about how he went from long-term care nursing to HVAC, thanks to a red Chevy Ventura van, a ladder on top, and a "let's go fix some stuff" invitation. Today JT is an HVAC consultant at Slipstream, working with utilities and state programs to build real-world training that goes beyond "heat pumps...

"Listen first, talk last."

"Integrity costs something, you've got to be willing to pay it."

"If I'm going to fail, I'm going to go down fighting."

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Bill and Eric sit down with Don Gillis, a longtime industry pro with a career spanning roles as an installer and service tech, service manager, outside sales, corporate training, and now building technical training within a smaller nonprofit environment. Don shares the real story behind the resume: high-volume service management, the stress and health toll of living in "...

Quotes from the episode:

"If you're not measuring, you're just arguing with opinions."

"The tools got better, but what really changed is the technician mindset."

"We used to diagnose systems one reading at a time. Now we see the whole story live."

Recorded live at 9:00 a.m. on Day 1 of the AHR Expo 2026 in Las Vegas, this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast captures the spirit of the industry in real time. Bill and Eric kick things off reflecting on their decades of AHR attendance, th...

Pithy quotes

"Your product can be great, but if you're hard to work with, nobody's going to buy it."

"Take a deep breath, go back to the fundamentals, and ask: what's the biggest value I can add today?"

"You're allowed to say, 'I don't know. I'll figure it out for you.' People respect that more than the runaround."

Brad Adcox joined the Building HVAC Science podcast with Bill and Eric and, within minutes, earned the unofficial title "donkey wrangler" after sharing a story about his donkey...

"AHR isn't just a product show, it's where you see the future of the trade taking shape in real time."

"Training, technology, and community are finally moving at the same speed."

"Exhausting in the best possible way, that's how you know it was a great show."

Fresh off the floor of AHR Expo 2026 in Las Vegas, the TruTech Tools team jumps on the mic to share firsthand impressions from one of the HVAC industry's biggest gatherings. From Ginny's perspective as a first-time attendee navigating miles of booths and crowds, to seasoned takes from...

Pithy quotes

"We do our job well if the homeowner forgets about us, because the system just works."

"The bar is so low in some homes that doing a quality install can genuinely change someone's life."

"The best way to learn is crawling in the crawl space behind a great technician and handing them tools."

Semi-famous quote that fits our theme
"Stay hungry, stay foolish." © Steve Jobs

Shreyas Sudhakar joined the Building HVAC Science podcast to talk about his path from rocket p...

Episode quotes:

"What you put into this, you get out of this in multiples."

"It's not about sales. It's about learning, relationships, and leaving your ego at the door."

"Use AI responsibly, but keep the humans involved. The humans are what keep it honest."

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Eric Kaiser, Bill, and the TruTech Tools crew (Billy Spohn, Ginny Hebert, and Josh Crawley) recap their trip to the 7th Annual HVACR Training Symposium in Ocoee, Florida. Josh and Ginny share first-timer impressions: early-morning booth setup, instant...

Notable quote from the episode: Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler.

In this episode, Eric Kaiser sits down with mechanical engineer Tony Amadio, the founder of True Loads, to talk about what actually makes residential load calculations succeed or fail in the real world. Tony shares how his work is split between builders, architects, project managers, and HVAC contractors, and why the biggest early battle was simply getting people to trust results that pointed to smaller equipment. He explains how he quickly learned from feedback loops in production housing, including what happens when people "...

QUOTES from the episode:

"Most building failures aren't mysterious. They're just ignored fundamentals."

"If you demand museum-level humidity, you're no longer building a house. You're building a museum."

"Moisture meters don't solve problems. They show you patterns. The thinking solves the problem."

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Eric Kaiser is joined by Kohta Ueno, principal and co-owner of Building Science Corporation, for a wide-ranging discussion on building failures, moisture, HVAC, and the practical realities of diagnosing real-world problems. Kohta shares his unconventional path into building...

Quotes from the episode:

"Better isn't a goal, it's a direction."

"HVAC can feel like a house of mirrors for homeowners, and the cure is transparency plus measured results."

"We're not trying to find the perfect contractor. We're trying to find the contractor who keeps learning and won't get complacent."

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Eric Kaiser flips the script and brings Bill Spohn on as a guest alongside Kevin Hart from Better HVAC and Darren Reuter and Huff Hoffmaster from Rewiring America. T...

Quotes from the episode:

"Good enough isn't a fixed point. It's a moving target shaped by goals, expectations, and consequences."

"Perfection can push us forward, but it can also quietly pull us off track."

"If I delivered what I promised, in the time promised, using the resources promised, that is good enough for me."

"The real skill is knowing when extra effort adds value and when it just adds ego."

In this solo monologue episode, Eric Kaiser explores a d...

Quotes from the Episode:

"Innovation in HVAC isn't one big breakthrough. It's a series of quieter shifts that slowly change how we work."

"The future of HVAC depends on the people who measure, verify, and continuously improve."

"Collecting data is getting easier. Interpreting it well is where the real value lives."

"True innovation isn't about chasing trends. It's about reducing uncertainty and delivering better outcomes."

"Homes aren't a collection of parts. They're systems, and HVAC sits right in the...

Quotes from the Episode:

"Good building systems don't start with equipment—they start with a plan and a thoughtful process."

"Most comfort problems aren't equipment problems; they're building problems we haven't taken the time to understand."

"If even one episode helps someone take the next step in their career, then it's all been worth it."

Episode 250 of the Building HVAC Science Podcast flips the script. Instead of Bill Spohn and Eric Kaiser doing the interviewing, TruTech Tools' Senior Marketing Manager Ginny Hebert steps into the host seat to...

Episode quotes:
"Hydrogen sulfide doesn't announce itself. It can drift in, hit your mucus membranes, and start causing real harm before you know it's there."

"You can't treat sensor response like magic—it's physics, chemistry, and smart filtering working together to tell you what's actually happening in the space."

In this episode, Bill & Eric sit down with Dave Massner from Sensorcon, a long-time technical contributor in the world of portable gas detection, to dig into the realities behind CO, H₂S, and O₂ sensing in both HVAC and industrial environments. Bill recaps the origins of the...

"Inspect your marketing the way you'd inspect a home—run diagnostics, don't guess." – Aaron Husak

"Attitude is way more important than aptitude. One bad apple really can infect the whole company." – Aaron Husak

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science podcast, Eric and Bill sit down with long-time friend and contractor-turned-marketing pro, Aaron Husak. Aaron traces his winding path from solar in the mid-2000s to building performance and BPI training, and then to founding Balanced Comfort in Fresno, CA. What started as a small HERS and energy-audit firm bootstrapped its way into i...

"Get mad at the problem, not the person. When people feel safe, they'll actually bring you the real issues." - Bill Spohn

"We're woven into the fabric of this industry. The industry made me—so in a way, it owns me." - Bill Spohn

"What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing." - Aristotle

In this episode, Eric turns the mic around and interviews his co-host, Bill Spohn, about the evolution of TruTech Tools, his leadership philosophy, and why he's shifting from "Chief Executive Officer" to "Chief Education Of...

Episode quotes:

"Below about 0.4 microns, many low-cost PM sensors are basically guessing—right where wildfire smoke and aerosols live." — Sissi Liu

"Electrostatic filters can look great at first—and then fall off a cliff in smoke. Pressure drop won't warn you." — Sissi Liu

"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." — Carl Sagan

Eric digs into the "fresh air" myth with Sissi Liu, CEO/co-founder of Metalmark Innovations and active ASHRAE committee member. Sissi explains why "outdoor = fresh" is context-dependent—urban pollution, agricultural...

Eric Kaiser sits down with Haley Harlow and Al Mitchell from PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) to explore Revive 2024, a groundbreaking new retrofit standard focused on thermal resilience and healthier, safer existing buildings. Haley shares her path from Pennsylvania College of Technology to her current role managing building certifications at PHIUS. At the same time, Al recounts his journey from aspiring car engineer to building scientist, drawn to the elegant complexity of whole-building systems.

Together, they unpack how Revive differs from traditional PHIUS new-construction standards. Instead of focusing on heating and cooling load targets, Revive emphasizes thermal...

Quotes by Brantley:

"Most moisture problems are a three-way dance—envelope, mechanicals, and the occupants."

"Skim the light, don't blast it. The right flashlight technique makes the invisible visible."

"If you only understand one piece of the system, you're solving 1/3 of the problem."

Indoor environmental specialist Brantley May joins the show to unpack how he investigates moisture, mold, and air-quality problems through building forensics. Starting as a mold remediator in his family business, Brantley shifted to assessment work and now runs national investigations that pinpoint root...

Episode Quotes from Kevin Weaver:

"If we can quantify delivered capacity on the air side, we can work our way back to what's happening on the refrigerant side." 

"We don't have to diagnose everything remotely — we have to be great at saying, 'there's a problem,' and prioritizing action." 

"Even the best design can be wrecked at installation. Execution matters." 

Chief Engineering Officer Kevin Weaver joins Eric and Bill to go beyond "remote monitoring" and explain how SmartAC is really a loyalty and trade-int...

QUOTES from the Episode

"Instead of landlines everywhere, give every heat pump a cell phone and let it call home."

"We're seeing close to 40% of heat pumps undercharged or leaking—no wonder callbacks are high."

"What gets measured gets managed." — often attributed to Peter Drucker (fitting this data-driven shift)

Brendan Hermalyn (CEO/founder, Thalo Labs) traces a zig-zag path from NASA and defense to self-driving cars—then into HVAC. His through-line: high-reliability sensing and prognostics. Thalo's product aims to "give every heat pump a cell phone," using a small, non-inv...

Totex co-founder Berlin Raj joins Eric and "Overkill Bill" to unpack a single-box, hydronic monoblock system that combines space conditioning, domestic hot water, pool heating, thermal + lithium storage, EV charging integration, and backup power. Born from Berlin's lifelong tinkering (and many shocks), the idea: stop wasting condenser heat—capture it for hot water while cooling.

The system keeps all refrigerant sealed in the outdoor unit and runs PEX supply/return to indoor air handlers (ducted or ductless), avoiding field flares and refrigerant line runs. Install looks familiar—set the pad, pipe PEX, fill a glycol loop, wire powe...

Quotes from the Episode:

"If it helps one person, then it's worth its weight in gold." —Roman

"Stop asking 'What if I fail?'—ask 'What if I'm amazing at this?'" —Roman

"I ran into the fire and rescued my future self." —Roman (riffing with Bill)

Roman Baugh—third-generation tradesman, educator at Kalos Services, and prolific HVAC content creator—joins Bill and Eric for a lively conversation that starts with mustache banter and lands on the deeper stuff: curiosity, service, parenting, and learning in public. Roman...

Stephen Roth—founder of Carmel Software and current owner of Hands Down Software—joins Bill and Eric to trace a multigenerational journey from a 1920s Ohio roofing firm to modern HVAC software that powers everyday field work. Stephen shares how family roots in commercial roofing and energy management shaped his path as a mechanical engineer and coder, eventually leading to Autodesk acquiring his early load-calc assets and, later, to relaunching Carmel with one of the industry's first mobile HVAC app suites.

Today CarmelSoft offers field-friendly tools from PT charts and duct/pipe sizers to an ACCA-approved Manual J (H...

"Use AI to augment people, not replace them."

"Windshield time is 30% of a tech's day—let's turn it into sales prep."

"Proposals should translate specs into homeowner value—comfort, savings, and choices."

In this episode, recorded live from the NCI Summit 2025 in Round Rock, TX, Bill and Eric sit down with Winston Chi, co-founder of NOSO Labs, to explore how AI can augment (not replace) HVAC technicians. Winston shares his path from a Google-backed, AI-driven startup in food wholesale to building tools for the trades, inspired by ride-alongs and family ties to hands-on work...

Some quotes:
"When we treat the house as the biggest duct, comfort and performance finally line up."

"Field data becomes financial data the moment a homeowner decides—so it has to be right."

"If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." — often attributed to Lord Kelvin

Fresh back from the early-September NCI Summit in Austin, Bill and Eric recap three big themes: whole-home thinking, data you can trust, and tools that make better work faster. The "high-performance HVAC" mindset came through in a lively contractor panel moderated by B...

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Eric Kaiser and Bill Spohn welcome Lisa White, Associate Director of PHIUS, to explore the evolving world of passive building. Lisa shares her journey into building science, her role at PHIUS, and how the organization has grown from a niche movement into a force shaping multifamily and affordable housing projects across North America.

She explains the core principles of passive building — thermal, air, and solar/radiation control — and how they translate into healthier, more comfortable, and more resilient spaces. Lisa also discusses PHIUS's training and certification programs, the impo...