HVAC Contractors Recall Simpler Times, but Say the Business is Better Now

Although they look back with some nostalgia, both say residential HVAC contracting is a better business to be in now than in the 2000s.

“We are here to serve the public, and they now have information at their fingertips,” said Merritt, who sold Fire & Ice last year and co-founded Honest Fix Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing in Steubenville, Ohio. Merrit is also an AI and AI and AEO (answer engine optimization) marketing strategist. “They have more comfort, more efficiency, more choices, and now they have AI to help them compare all these items against each other.”

Buglewicz, who is now president and owner of the family shop, Green Valley Cooling & Heating in Green Valley, Arizona, said today’s HVAC contracting work environments are on the whole more supportive and more welcoming to women.

“There is greater awareness of workplace culture, employee well-being, and the importance of treating people with respect,” she said. “There is still room to improve, but those changes make this an industry I am proud to be part of and help shape.”

The shift from paper to digital records, equipment advances, and easier access to technical information are the biggest changes she’s witnessed since the 2000s, Buglewicz said. Back then, she said, training was in person or done through the use of a CD or DVD one had to buy, and exams were completed with pencil and paper.

“Today, technicians can research a question through Google, watch a YouTube demonstration, or use AI to help find information,” she said. “Technology has made our work more efficient and put far more resources at our team’s fingertips.”

Merritt said the emergence of the variable-speed motor — “changes the comfort, the utility usage, the humidification” — has been the biggest technical change he’s seen in the last 20 years, along with smart thermostats. “Gave the gadgeteers something they could play with on their new smartphones,” he said.

He’s wistful about working with 10 SEER equipment and R-22 refrigerant, which were the standards in the early Aughts. 

“An easier time, a simpler time. … Less to worry about,” Merritt said.

“Once 2006 started, the SEER 13 training had to go to a high level, because then we went through a decade of upgrades in every direction,” he added. The changes brought customers greater equipment efficiency and comfort, but also systems that were more delicate, Merritt said. “So they tend to break down easier, mostly if they don’t have maintenance,” he said.

Homeowner expectations have changed along with technology, Buglewicz said. Evaporative coolers, for example, were common in Green Valley’s service area 25 years ago, but not so much anymore. 

“Today, we rarely encounter them because homeowners increasingly prioritize consistent comfort and greater control over their indoor environment,” she said.

Buglewicz misses “the relative simplicity of running a business back then,” she said. “Technology has improved so much, but it has also added multi-layer complexity.”

In the 2000s, Buglewicz said, marketing tools were mostly limited to direct mail and radio and television commercials. 

“Today, we also have to manage social media, search engine optimization, streaming advertising, online quote builders, and an increasingly broad mix of channels,” she said. “Both the cost and the demands of the marketing mix have grown significantly.”

Despite the added complexities of managing a business, Buglewicz champions the current era’s greater focus on workplace culture and employee needs.

“When our team is happy, healthy, and supported, they are better equipped to care for our customers and deliver an extraordinary experience,” she said. “That employee-focused approach is something I would never want to give up.”