‘HVAC, Beer, and Bullshit’: How Podcasters Became the Cool Kids of HVACR

When mainstream media like The Washington Post describes your podcast with phrases like “defies traditional web metrics,” you know you’re doing something right.

Such is the case with HVAC podcasts, which have taken off to the point where AHR Expo recently introduced an entire section of the show floor dedicated to the Podcast Pavilion, complete with a nearby bar and hangout space.  

Podcasters have become the “cool kids” of HVAC — and the industry loves them.  

Need for Connection  

Podcasts were invented in 2004 and really took off in mainstream culture in 2014 with the advent of the true-crime podcast. Since then, podcasts with niche, dedicated followings have popped up for just about any topic imaginable, including HVAC.  

“The niche folks don’t have subscriber bases of 17 million — Rogan’s haul on YouTube — but their influence defies traditional web metrics,” writes Washington Post reporter Erik Wemple in his article. Titled “HVAC podcasts are a hot product for a cooling market,” it profiles Bryan Orr, host of the podcast HVAC School.   

“Orr, along with other HVAC podcasters who have followed his example, has helped to upend a long-standing stasis in the HVAC industry in which large companies controlled the diffusion of information about technology and maintenance,” Wemple continues.  

And, for a long time, HVAC was exactly that: a lot of top-down communication and not much opportunity to connect, Nicole Bush, AHR Expo’s director of marketing, told Wemple.  

“Really, the only source was the sales rep for the manufacturer you were installing,” added Luke Peterson, a Louisville HVAC entrepreneur who’s been in the business since 2009. “If you needed help, you’d call the tech support adviser and you’re at the mercy of what they did know or didn’t know.”  

That need for connection was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

That’s when the HVAC R&D podcast took off. Host Rhydon Atzenhoffer was working for a residential/light commercial distributor in outside territory sales management, and when COVID hit, suddenly he was stuck behind a desk, unable to communicate “without it just being, ‘Hey, we need this today, but we can’t actually deliver it to you, but we can set it on the dock and you can go and pick it up,’” he told The ACHR NEWS. “It was not a fun time to be in distribution.”  

That’s what led to the podcast — searching for a way to connect to those people, share the frustrations everyone was dealing with, and just talk about the industry.   

Windshield University  

A lot of HVAC techs listen in the car, and, as The Washington Post points out, HVAC is “an industry built for podcast consumption.”  

“And that’s just how the podcast snares people — riding in the service van en route from one job to another.”  

Each HVAC podcast has its own unique flavor. Brian Orr’s HVAC School podcast, profiled in the Washington Post story, was aptly described as “an eight-year-old, twice-weekly show on which no heating-and-cooling snafu is too geeky for a prolonged tutorial.”  

Outside the podcast, Orr runs an HVAC and multi-trade services company called Kalos Services Inc. His recent podcast topics range from how to deploy a dehumidifier to residential and rack startup, blower amps, and a Q&A on drain traps and static.  

“Most of my audience are techs listening in their work vehicles,” Orr writes on his website. His advice for podcast guests?   

“Don’t try to be impressive, just talk like a normal person.”  

Here at ACHR NEWS, as The Washington Post noted, editorial director and podcast host Kyle Gargaro “calibrates his publication’s podcasts to run between 20 and 30 minutes, a duration pegged to industry drive times.”  

Gary McCreadie, from HVAC Know It All, uses that to lean into the training side of things.   

“It’s free education,” he said, “and it’s just harder and harder for people in a busy life to go out into a manufacturer’s training, or to come home and sit online two, three hours at night, especially when they’ve got kids.”  

McCreadie, who came into the industry right out of high school, knows the drill — he’s worked mainly as a commercial service technician and now owns his own company, McCreadie HVAC & Refrigeration Services.  

“You can’t do much when you’re driving anyway, so you might as well listen to something that’s going to help take your career to the next level,” McCreadie said. “It just fills the void.”  

Atzenhoffer, for his part, started HVAC R&D to be “HVAC, beer, and bullshit.”  

“I wanted to be the show that every guy turned on at five o’clock on a Friday on the way home, because most of the time I started by cracking a beer with whoever’s on the show,” he said. It runs the gamut from new product info, getting to know the people behind the job titles, and even “crawl space confessions,” where he and guests blow off steam about the stupid stuff they get stuck doing, from time to time.  

“I think it’s the realism of people just telling their true story is why it resonates and connects so much through the industry,” Atzenhoffer said. “And it’s fun! You can knock an episode out between calls, or you get halfway through one and halfway through it later. … It gives them something to listen to and kind of take the mind off the crazy, but they’re still actually listening and being part of their community, too.”  

As The Washington Post said, “If only mainstream media outlets had such a grip on their audience.”  

Top 10 Podcasts  

Looking to join the windshield university? Online monitoring platform Feedspot recently posted its “60 Best HVAC Podcasts” roundup, ranking them by relevancy, authority, social media followers, and freshness. Here’s their listing of the top 10:  

1. HVAC School  

Real training for HVAC technicians. Including recorded tech training, interviews, diagnostics, and general conversations about the trade. 

2. Owned and Operated  

Welcome to ‘Owned and Operated’ plumbing, electrical, and HVAC growth podcast that dives deep into the world of home service entrepreneurship. Hosted by John Wilson, a third-generation home service entrepreneur and CEO of The Wilson Companies, this podcast was launched in 2021 to bridge the gap between industry experts and listeners. Join us every Tuesday and Thursday for topical conversations that unlock the potential for your business growth. Covering topics from top-tier talent recruitment to mastering marketing strategies and scaling your home service business, the podcast aims to be your guide on the path to entrepreneurial success.  

3. Waste No Day  

A podcast devoted to challenging, encouraging, advising, and highlighting the men and women of the home services industry. Whether you are a plumber, electrician, or HVAC technician, you all share the common tension of being both the hero and the villain in the eyes of the customer. Hosts Brian and Nate discuss and interview guests to show how to not only be the hero, but to be rewarded with more than a cape.  

4. HVAC Know It All Podcast  

The HVAC Know It All podcast is hosted by me, Gary McCreadie. These are my thoughts, my jobs, my tools. … This is my HVAC life.  

5. HVAC R&D  

With over 25 years of combined experience, Dennis and Rhydon delve into business development discussions and technically informative talks, but mostly veer off track into stories about shenanigans and life in the HVAC industry.  

6. ACHR NEWS Podcast  

Each episode features movers and shakers of the industry interviewed by editors of The NEWS staff. Listen as industry individuals discuss and react to the latest HVAC headlines.  

7. ASHRAE Journal Podcast  

Tune into conversations among leading experts as they discuss the topics and issues that are impacting the HVAC&R industry.  

8. HVAC Uncensored  

This is an HVAC podcast meant to help all in the trade be better at what they do. By giving tips on business, technical advice, how to make more money, or bring in more money from 2 guys who do exactly what you do. At the same time having fun or having a good laugh.  

9. HVAC Masters of the Hustle  

On this podcast, we will talk to high-volume closers and learn the secrets to their success. We will also talk shop talk as well of the everyday life of sale, HVAC tech, and dispatchers. You will learn the insides and outs of how to prepare yourself daily to ensure that to make it to the top 1%.  

10. The Trusted Technician  

The Trusted Technician Podcast from SBE is a must-listen for technicians who want to set themselves apart. This short format podcast covers topics from a fresh perspective of increasing trust. We take care of the customer first. Learn the tips and strategies to communicate like a professional while solving problems with 5-star service. Guests will include some of the top performing technicians in the country as well as experienced HVAC coaches and trainers.  

For the rest of the list, visit https://podcasts.feedspot.com/hvac_podcasts.