Episodes

I’ve been meeting a lot of interesting people from the tech world in in the last year or so. My new colleague at Duckling, John Hoehn, Shelby Breger at Conduit and most recently, Brent Davidson. Brent has created the first US Heat Pump Summit coming up this November in Berkeley, CA- links below for details. He defines success for the event as the attendees leaving with many new, meaningful connections. It is structured to have a contractor focus so attendees leave with tactical knowledge to begi...

This episode started in 2018. I have had the notion for quite a while (since 2018) of the need for a responsible contractor network or RCN. This came up when my widowed sister that lives many states away was having trouble with her HVAC system in her home. She asked who I might recommend. I had no immediate answer. I created a few basic principles of conduct, process, and integrity for RCN. I even bought a domain and mentioned the idea a few times (at the HVAC School Symposium) and received some...

“Art and sweat built the tool bag.” This statement summarizes my interview with Roger Brouard, the founder of VETO Pro Pac. Roger shares with us the full story of his work life which lead him from a Fine Arts degree in Sculpture to becoming a carpenter and building wooden lobster boats – which is not an easy task, “it’s like making a zucchini out of wood.” Roger describes frustrations in using various tool boxes and tool bags that became the impetus for him creating the VETO ProPac product line ...

Jennifer Manzo is a powerhouse. I do not know where she finds the time to do all she does. From running a HVAC business and raising a family in Maine with her partner Valentino Valeriani, to creating the HVAChicks Coalition to running a free tech support line (see below) and much much more, I really do not know how she does it! In this podcast she mentions it is one of her goals to help save the trades by allowing people who cannot afford training to get into the industry. Listen in to Jennifer’...

(He blinded us with science) (Science) (Science) (Science) Actually he spends a lot of time illuminating us with details about building science. Join us as Allison Bailes, “a well known troublemaker and a general pain in the asterisk” shares with us the career path that lead him to form the Energy Vanguard. You see, a vanguard is the group of people who are at the forefront of a new movement or idea. They are the innovators and pioneers who are pushing the boundaries of what is possible. And yes...

Wes Davis joins us to provide some definitions, insights, and perspectives on HVAC Codes and Standards from his role as Director of Technical Services at ACCA - The AirConditioning Contractors of America. We dig into details of the ANSI/RESNET/ACCA Standard 310, The Standard for Grading the Installation of HVAC Systems, published in June 2020. The 310 standard was written mainly to help builders earn RESNET HERS credit for installing AND commissioning residential HVAC systems. RESNET HERS score...

Let me take you back to a time, long, long ago, when Jim Bergmann did not understand everything in HVAC. Listen in as we delve into the story of Jim Bergmann and how the communities of HVAC, and more recently building science, helped to encourage and challenge Jim to become the HVAC guru that we know today. From his self-described times of annoying the crap out of Bill Spohn, to his overlapping experiences as a contractor, educator, product specialist, TruTech Tools founder, iManifold designer, ...

Connect and support: a kind and noble mission that can span all elements of humanity. Connect in one way to understand. Connect in a second way to bring information streams together. Conduit Tech is developing a means of rapidly connecting technical information to help HVAC contractors excel - what a cool basis for the name of a new company! In this episode, I am joined by Shelby Breger cofounder of Conduit Tech who explains the motivations and synergies that brought she and Marisa Reddy togethe...

A simple episode where Eric Kaiser (ELK) and Bill Spohn (OverKill Bill) riff on TruTech’s business philosophies: Core Values, Purpose and Niche and what kind of actions we take to put these words into action in the world. Also what we feel it means to be a good steward to the industry. OH and cheer on #HVACLIFE team in the Maine 70.3 Ironman on July 30, 2023 featuring Chris Hughes (TEC-13.2 miles running), Chad Simpson (Simpson Salute – 56 miles bicycling) and our own Eric Kaiser – 1.2 miles swi...

This episode should be helpful to business owners. However, anyone working IN a business should find it interesting to know more about one of the topics on the mind of many business owners: business succession planning. After walking the walk of leading a $100M family-owned business through their transition, Laurie is now a guide to business owners providing a structured process to plan successful transitions of their companies. Laurie hosts a podcast, Succession Stories (link below), has writte...

Bryan Uhler calls himself a naturally observant builder. This personal characteristic has served him well as understands the residential construction market with some keen observations. Join as Bryan explains how he came to learn about building science, later building it into all projects. Also, hear about how he found this podcast by mistake! Here’s cool description from of his brother’s YouTube that shows these traits run in the family: The purpose of this channel is promote knowledge and educ...

Listen in as Bill chats with… himself! Again! He shares some recent, personal and business encounters and discussions that left an impression on him. We hope you find them interesting. This episode was recorded in June 2023.

Trevor Matthews shares with us his fascinating life story: from the moment he shifted his life interests from travel and surfing into the trades and as it led to forming the Refrigeration Mentor a training, education and mentorship program for the refrigeration trade. Some notable thoughts from this episode: “You can get a handle on anything with your mindset.” “Be prepared to pay the price in time and effort to get what you want.” “Important small experiences you have become your own.” “You nee...

The 349 common connections Eric Kaiser and I share in LinkedIn speak a lot to the common perspectives we share. Yet, it’s in the differences, in the weeds, where the conversation gets interesting. Please welcome Eric Kaiser as TruTech Tool’s new Industry Engagement manager. And new co-host of this podcast. We call Eric the ELK, his initials, to differentiate him from my Co-Owner, Eric Preston. Let’s get to know him a little better in this episode. Eric’s links: Email: EKaiser@TruTechTools.com Er...

Jeremy’s been studying the details for many years. Details like: Building and energy codes are becoming more and more stringent. Green building programs are driving more and more high-end construction. Products and construction techniques are rapidly evolving. He’s also paid attention to what is sorely needed and missing. That's why he’s helped to define the full HVAC use-case: requirements, performance, technology, architectural integrity, installation, and maintenance. Listen in as Jeremy give...

Zac Reed, Product manager at Aeroseal, joins us today to share the technology, history and applications for Aeroseal products. Aeroseal was developed in Dr. Mark Modera’s California garage in 1993. For the first time ever, it was possible to seal leaks and holes in air ducts from the inside out. Up until that time, the only way to seal ductwork was messy, labor intensive, and not an option for most homeowners. The simplest explanation for the Aeroseal process is fix-a-flat for homes: both ducts ...

Listen in as Bill chats with… himself! He shares some recent, personal and business encounters and discussions that left an impression on him. We hope you find them interesting. This episode was recorded in May 2023.

Listen in as Bill chats with Ben Walker, the Co-CEO of Retrotec about a wide range of technology related topics from sensors to programming to AI-Artificial Intelligence. Ben shares with us his experiences over his career in tech companies, primarily with Retrotec, one of TruTech’s major vendors of air tightness and air flow testing gear. We learn about the history of the digital manometer at Retrotec, as well as the important topic of enclosure integrity testing and how to manage large building...

In this episode, Bill interviews Chris Stephens Refrigeration Business owner and Social Media Influencer extraordinaire! There are so many nuggets to mine out of this episode, I hope you spend the time to listen to all of it. Chris is truly a multidimensional person, not like in the SciFi way though where he can walk through walls. His Big Picture concept, which he uses in all aspects of his life can be summarized as: Slow Down – Pause, allow you mind to catch up with where you are Take a Step B...

In this episode, Bill interviews Michael Rubino founder of We discuss the technical & business aspects of mold removal and where it fits in to addressing and solving mold problems in a home or building. Michael is a forward thinker, having created...

In this episode, Bill interviews Adam Mufich, AKA A-Team Adam. You may know Adam from his video podcast, HVAC OverTime , which is a big collaboration he does with his friends Chris Stephens ( HVACR Videos on YouTube), Bill Russell ( Curious HVAC Guy on YouTube) and OT Joe (HVACR OverTime North on YouTube) In their words: “We never sugar coat anything; we tell it like it is. If you want the real uncensored hot takes on the state of the industry, come hang out live every Friday at 9:00pm EST on bo...

In this episode, Bill chats with Kevin Hart, the founder of HAVEN, a start up that makes a unique IAQ sensor/control system. Hear from Kevin about his background as an electrical contractor and how he came up with the idea for Haven, as well as all the iterations the product has been through. In the episode he describes RDCV: Residential Demand Control Ventilation and why it is important for contractors and homeowners to understand details on this subject. Learn how a simple chemical compound th...

In this episode, Bill explains some of the activities that are keeping him busy lately. The National HVACR Education Conference https://www.escogroup.org/hvac/nhetc/default.aspx The National Home Performance Conference https://building-performance.org/events/national/ The National Comfort Institute (NCI) HVAC Summit https://www.gotosummit.com/sessions/ Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business FREE educational program https://www.10ksbapply.com/ This episode was recorded in March 2023.

What’s it like to build a tech product from the ground up? How do you validate that a market exists? What tools can you use to gain confidence that you are on the right track? In this week’s podcast, Bill Spohn is joined by John Hoehn , CEO of Duckling. Duckling’s mission is to help contractors help their customers on their journey to electrifying their homes. John and his co-founder, Sudeep Yegnashankaran have deep backgrounds in software development. They have been working on Duckling over the...