HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning)
HVAC 2.0 (formerly known as Home Performance 2.0), this is a real game changer that all HVAC contractors in the residential market should be aware of.
The suffix "2.0" suggests an improvement on the status quo. And that's what's happening in this case. HVAC 2.0 is a new consultative sales process designed to help salespeople close more deals by impacting price, helping customers solve their real comfort problems. And it's structured so that the initial consultation can be done effectively by an entry-level sales technician.
How does it work?
HVAC 2.0 is the brainchild of Nate Adams of Energy Smart Home Performance, a performance consultancy. HVAC 2.0 begins with a scheduled interview to help homeowners discover and rank the problems they would like to solve at the critical time of heating and cooling equipment replacement. The goal is to help owners understand that comfort is more than mechanical equipment, and that to truly address their needs may require a Blower Door test, and possibly other diagnostic tests.
At the heart of the interview process is a simple offer to the owner: "Do you want to go down path A or path B?".
At first glance, Path A is the conventional route of a free quote to replace the current system with a new one that offers the most equivalent specifications available. However, there is a twist. The script makes it clear that this path may not be the best and that the contractor promises no comfort. Naturally, owners assume responsibility for the results of following path A.
If homeowners choose Path B, the technician initiates a detailed consultation that begins with questions about their comfort complaints, their goals, their budget and their experience. During this conversation, the technician listens to the homeowners' concerns and gets a complete picture of the experiences they have had while living in their home. That information is very helpful when prescribing and sizing the new system.
The conversation is scripted and easy for a novice employee to master. Route B also includes a blower door test, which anyone can easily learn to do. The entire process takes a couple of hours.
"The big advantage of Route B, in addition to giving the homeowner a much better understanding of their home, is that it allows for a very accurate load calculation and makes it possible for the contractor to prescribe equipment that is a much better fit for the homeowner's needs. It's a consultative process, and both share responsibility for the outcome," says Nate.
A better house
To determine if there are significant problems in the enclosures, the technician may suggest the construction of a more comprehensive plan. Weatherization is only half of the comfort equation. If the house is leaking, weatherization is probably much less than half the cause of homeowner problems and complaints. With a thorough specification and project plan, the homeowner can get tight bids from home performance and insulation contractors. In most cases, the homeowner is given a few improvement options to choose from. This is because, when it comes to building science, there are different avenues to pursue and the solution has to fit the budget. The options also give the owner ownership of the process and help create a solution-oriented, collaborative relationship between the contractor and the owner.
Once the weatherization and/or performance upgrades are completed, the contractor returns to review the operation and seasonal configuration with the owner. Often, the new system is much smaller than the one it replaces. This is because most contractors use a "rule of thumb" sizing method that severely oversizes the equipment, causing a number of problems that affect comfort and efficiency. Proper system sizing is an important feature of HVAC 2.0 that helps achieve really good results. Smaller equipment means greater comfort. It runs more, provides a smooth flow of heated and cooled air, improves balance and average radiant temperatures.
Documented returns
While the HVAC 2.0 process is fairly straightforward, it is a major mindset shift. Although building envelope issues are behind many comfort, energy, moisture and air quality problems, HVAC technicians often don't have the tools to discover or measure these problems, so they simply aren't trained to take them into account. When asked by the homeowner to solve a comfort problem, most can only deal with the heating or cooling system part of the equation. In many cases, the system is replaced, but the comfort problems persist and the homeowners remain unhappy.
But learning to think more broadly about comfort pays off, according to talented technicians from different parts of the U.S. who have purchased Blower Door systems and implemented HVAC 2.0. Among the benefits they report are the following:
- They now close about 70% of sales calls. This compares to an industry average of 20% to 30%.
- They no longer have to offer free advice.
- They receive much more positive feedback from customers which drives more sales.
The ratings received are due to the HVAC 2.0 post-job customer surveys. The surveys provide a feedback loop that helps solve what has always been a major challenge for quality contractors. The curse of the contracting business is that whoever tells the best story usually gets the job. There is no real outcome metric against which to compare contractors. Trust that scores of satisfied homeowners will increase close rates for contractors using HVAC 2.0 to collaboratively solve homeowner problems.
Over time, the survey results will be a catalyst that will raise the quality level of the air conditioning industry as a whole, just as JD Power's surveys have improved the quality of cars. "Newer cars have far fewer problems than in the past," he says. "In part, this is because no carmaker wants to get a low ranking in those quality surveys. Without an explicit reward for better results, all they do is increase costs."
Program requirements
It should be obvious that to participate in HVAC 2.0, the technician needs a Blower Door system. Without it, you can't measure air leakage in general, identify problem areas or create a menu of solutions.
The technician will also need other tools, such as a thermographic camera or smoke emitter. The barrier to entry is quite small, the biggest requirement is the desire to try a new approach.
Contractors using HVAC 2.0 claim that the testing equipment pays for itself, even if they don't use it. By allowing them to offer leak measurements and have the homeowner reject them, it relocates the contractor-client relationship and accountability for the results. This is an affordable innovation that gives technicians the tools they need to solve problems if they want to, manage liability if they don't, and take on larger jobs.
It also forces them to think outside the box. Literally. No box swapping is allowed here. HVAC 2.0 pushes participants to size equipment properly by doing a load calculation with measured leakage.
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