Contractors Search for Role in DIY Market

HVAC Contractors Reporting an Increase in Faulty DIY Installation Calls

By Nicole Krawcke

September 22, 2014

http://www.achrnews.com/articles/127664-contractors-search-for-role-in-diy-market

With the availability of hot new items like Wi-Fi thermostats at big-box stores and online retail giants like Amazon, more and more homeowners are choosing to buy and install products themselves rather than go through a contractor. In fact, the do-it-yourself (DIY) smart home market, which the thermostat is indeed a part of, is expected to grow in the U.S. from $1.3 billion today to $7.8 billion by 2019, according to a report by NextMarket Insights.

If this is indeed the trend over the next couple of years, it could present a problem to contractors. Not only would they lose out on a sale, but they could see an increase in service calls over malfunctioning equipment.

Do or Don’t

The Right HVAC/R Tools Can Drive Field Performance

Originally published: 03.01.14 by Bill Spohn

http://www.hvacrbusiness.com/2725.html

The typical goal of HVAC contractors and their customers is to extract maximum performance from installed equipment. This makes sense — it’s a goodinvestment, right?

This usually equates to expending the least amount of energy necessary to satisfy the customer. Equipment performance might also relate to efficient use of space or low noise levels. You want to obtain the smoothest operation and highest efficiency possible. Or, you follow this process: right size, appropriate equipment, correct installation, and proper commissioning. If good processes yield good equipment performance, then good job-related processes should yield high productivity, or good field performance. Let’s take a look at a contractor’s work processes as they relate to the tools that are used. Are you performing as efficiently as possible with the right HVAC/R tools? Are your tools and techniques fast enough to get the job done as efficiently as possible? Fast comes in many flavors: let’s cover a few below.

Physics on your Side:

Keeping Productivity High As Summer Ends

What to do if your customers are telling you "I'll wait until next spring."

Originally published: 08.01.07 by Ruth King

http://www.hvacrbusiness.com/high-summer-productivity.html

Keeping your technicians and office personnel productive during a long, hot summer becomes increasingly difficult as the summer continues. By the end of the busy season, the telephone has stopped ringing off the hook, but it still is ringing. Your technicians may not be scheduled for overtime or even for all 40 weekly work hours. Most of the equipment that is going to break has broken and been fixed. Or if it breaks, many times the homeowner's response is: "What do I have to do to keep it running right now? I'll wait until next spring to replace it." He limps along for the remainder of the season.

To keep productivity high, you must plan some end-of-the-busy-season activities. Here are a few that I find most valuable:

1. Maintain a complete tickler file. (It's critical that you start one, if you haven't already.) For each customer who tells you, "I'll wait until next year," place a reminder note in the tickler file. This will ensure that you call the customer next spring.

Defining The ‘Real’ HVAC System

By: David Richardson

An innocent assumption made by many is that the HVAC equipment is the HVAC system. This has unknowingly turned the specialized skills required to perform HVAC into a commodity in the eyes of many.

If you don’t think this is an issue, think back to the last time you tried to convince a homeowner or building contractor that you are different. Consider how well that is working out for you when you’re selling the Exact same piece of equipment as your competition.