I wanted to offer some practical advice from Bryan’s last podcast, “White Shirt Techs- Manifesto.” The link can be found here. In this episode, Bryan strongly (and rightfully) critiques sales tactics that are divorced from technical skills and meaningful benefits for homeowners. 

As a one man HVAC company, I wanted to offer a suggestion for those of you who want to increase sales in an ethical way. Look no further than the TrueFlow® grid from The Energy Conservatory.

I’ll be honest: I hate selling stuff. And as an owner/operator who has to actually install what he sells, I would actually prefer NOT to upsell an install because I’m happy with my income. The money doesn’t matter to me after a certain point. 

But what does matter to me is treating my customers well, and doing my due diligence as a contractor. As I’ve learned more and more about airflow, I’ve come to realize that just about every house that I walk into has ductwork problems. I feel obligated to do something about that. I am the expert here. So, for every quote for a furnace or complete system, I run a TrueFlow® report. This is one from last week.

In this situation, the furnace was being replaced, and the blower motor was going from a PSC to an ECM. An ECM can move more air but at the cost of higher static pressure. I’m not sure this duct system could have actually delivered it, but the blower motor would have tried to push 1200 CFM through it—at the cost of astronomically high static pressure. 

The TrueFlow® App actually has a “forecast” feature where you can see what the static pressure would be at a higher CFM. It does this using Fan Law 2, something Adam Mufich covers in further detail here. The main source of my problem was on the return side of the system, so I investigated further and found this:

That’s a 14-inch flex duct crammed in a wall cavity that used to be a built-in bookshelf. 

So now that I have taken these readings, I’m responsible for them. The homeowner and I talk, I get the sale, and he agrees to a duct upgrade as well. The end result was a simple ceiling return in the hallway with an 18-inch duct, two adjustable 90s, and an AprilAire 1210 filter.

I tested the system after the ductwork and new furnace were installed, and here were my results:

Upon reflection, this is more like accidental sales than anything else for me. These kinds of results make me happy. I know that I improved things for the homeowner. I increased airflow, reduced static pressure, improved filtration, and ensured that his ECM motor won’t crap out in a couple of years. 

If you can deliver on what you promise and are technically proficient, there are ways to be profitable.

—Matt Bruner