Episodes

Quotes from the episode: “You don't know what you don't know.” “That knowledge outside of energy efficiency is key for anyone working in the built environment.” “If you are engaged and want to keep learning, this is a great space to be in.” Eight years after her first appearance on the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Amanda Hatherly returns in a new role: CEO of the Building Performance Institute (BPI). Amanda and Bill start by clearing up a common misconception. BPI is not a training organi...

Quotes from the episode: "The only way that change is going to occur is if I make it happen." "What makes a high-performance building? It's just good building sense." "It really is about: how do we get contractors to be confident in the assemblies?" Eight years ago, James Childre joined Building HVAC Science (Episode 29) with a somewhat resigned view of change in the construction industry: maybe better building practices would have to wait for a new generation of contractors. Today, his pers...

Quotes from the episode: “I don't need the house to breathe. I need the people to.” “You can't control a system that's open.” “I would just go make them comfortable. And let them know the added benefit is that they're going to spend less on energy.” What happens when an HVAC contractor fixes the equipment, but the customer still isn’t comfortable? In this episode of Building HVAC Science, Bill Spohn talks with Ken Allsion of Insulation Distributors (IDI) about why HVAC contractors are uniqu...

Quotes from the episode: "Net zero wasn't the goal—it was the outcome of making hundreds of good building science decisions." "One tiny installation mistake destroyed an entire refrigerant system. Details matter." "The biggest lesson isn't that net zero works. It's that building science works." Bill Spohn turns the microphone on himself for a candid look at what he learned by designing, building, and living in his own all-electric, net-zero home. Rather than advocating for Passive House, elec...

Quotes from the episode: "This is no longer a push-pull industry. This is a thinking person's game now." "The better context you give AI, the better partner it becomes." "Ask AI to teach you how to use AI in your particular situation." Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most practical tools available to HVAC professionals—but only if it's used as a thinking partner rather than a shortcut. In this episode, Bill Spohn is joined by Tyler Nelson, a nationally recognized HVAC edu...

Quotes from the episode: "It's not just about features and benefits anymore. It's about the impact your products have on your customer's business." "Training teaches skills. Mentorship builds confidence." "Someone somewhere saw that we were good at something and helped us channel it." "Words matter." The HVACR industry has talked about the workforce shortage for decades—but are we finally making progress? In this episode, Bill sits down with Jane Sidebottom, President of Women in HVACR and...

Quotes from the episode: "When your HVAC system is performing at 100%, but the home isn't, the problem isn't the equipment anymore." "Our job is to be investigators first and installers second." "Homeowners don't just need to know their HVAC system. They need to know their home." "If you think I'm doing too much testing, I'd argue you're probably not doing enough." Many HVAC contractors say they focus on comfort, but Derek Aarstad has built his entire business around proving where comfort p...

Quotes from the episode: “You sell an amazing product that represents the future of home heating and cooling. But selling it, promoting it, and capturing consumers’ attention is hard. At 257, we use data to help you do that more efficiently.” “The best way to judge the effectiveness of machine learning and AI is by the outcome: Did I sell more at a lower cost?” “It wasn’t simply having a heat pump or solar system. Talking about it during the sales process had a positive effect on the home’s s...

Quotes from the episode: "Comfort isn't just about air temperature—it's also about the temperature of everything around you." "If it's difficult to maintain, eventually it simply won't be maintained." "Stay curious about your built environment. Pay attention, ask questions, and keep learning." Edward Louie of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory joins Bill Spohn for a thoughtful discussion that goes far beyond heat pumps. Known throughout the building science community for his data-driven L...

Quotes from the episode: “Technology does its best work when it turns invisible problems into obvious next steps.” “Most buildings are already telling us what they need. The trick is finally learning how to listen.” “You can’t optimize what you can’t see, and old buildings have been hiding their stories in boiler rooms for decades.” In this episode of Building HVAC Science, Bill speaks with Heather Zoberman of ENTECH about how older multifamily buildings can move from basic, wasteful boiler ...

Quotes from the episode: “Heat pumps can’t meet their promise if they’re not properly maintained.” “Vacuuming the filter matters, but it is not the same thing as deep cleaning the system.” “If it has a coil and a fan, we can clean it.” “Electrification only works as intended when the equipment keeps working as intended.” In this episode of Building HVAC Science, Bill talks with Gabriel Erde-Cohen, founder of We Clean Heat Pumps, about an often-overlooked part of electrification: w...

Quotes from the episode: “Passed inspection is not the same as built correctly.” “The best inspectors keep learning, because no one person masters every trade, every code, and every overlap.” “Small defects do not stay small when they are hidden behind walls, ceilings, and warranty paperwork.” In this episode of Building HVAC Science, Bill Spohn talks with Cy Porter of CYFY Home Inspections, an Arizona-based home inspector known for his blunt, high-energy social media videos that expose defe...

Quotes from the episode: “The tighter your envelope, the more attention you have to pay to ventilation and indoor air quality.” “The acoustics of the ordinary rarely gets attention.” “There’s so much good work being done, so much data being collected, and oftentimes it doesn’t leave the hard drive.” “Noise annoyance may be one of the things people are most passionate about.” In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Bill Spohn welcomes Kieren McCord, a research scientist at Paci...

Quotes from the episode: “Stop trying to HVAC your way out of bad buildings, and your results will market themselves.” “The quality work and word of mouth are real when you’re doing building science-backed work with quality staff.” “Come with problems you’re actively trying to work on and meet others who can help you work on them.” In this episode of Building HVAC Science, Bill welcomes back Brent Davidson of the U.S. Heat Pump Summit for his third appearance. Brent shares what emerged from ...

Quotes from the episode: “Ducts matter. Nobody cares much about them until something goes wrong.” “HVAC systems are designed assuming clean, bare sheet metal.” “Even a small layer of dust can become a mountain range to an air molecule.” “Think like an air molecule.” In this episode, Bill speaks with Dan Stradford of Action Duct Cleaning about what really happens inside HVAC duct systems over time and why cleaning can matter more than many people realize. Dan shares how the duct cleaning ind...

Quotes from the episode: “High-performance homes are not about the equipment. They are about the outcomes for the people inside.” “The gap is not in technology. It is in execution and understanding.” “The contractors who win are the ones who connect building science to real human experience.” Recorded live at the 2026 National Home Performance Conference in Columbus, this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast brings together Bill Spohn, Eric Kaiser, and guest Brynn Cooksey for a conve...

Quotes from the episode: “High-performance homes are not about the equipment. They are about the outcomes for the people inside.” “The gap is not in technology. It is in execution and understanding.” “The contractors who win are the ones who connect building science to real human experience.” Recorded live at the 2026 National Home Performance Conference in Columbus, this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast brings together Bill Spohn, Eric Kaiser, and guest Brynn Cooksey for a conve...

Quotes from the episode: “We’re not just selling tools anymore — we’re building solutions that make the trade pro’s life easier.” “EOS gave us the discipline to focus on what really matters when everything is pulling at you.” “(In golf,) you can’t hit everything with a driver — great businesses know which tool to use and when.” In this episode, Bill talks with Rich Benninghoff about Malco's evolution into the broader Malco Group and what it means to shift from a product company to a solution...

Quotes from the episode: “Great equipment doesn’t build a reputation. Great technicians do.” “Use AI like a tool, not a crutch. The work still belongs to the person in the attic.” “We’re missing mentorship across generations, and that gap is costing the trades more than we realize.” In this episode, Bill sits down with Rhydon Atzenhoffer, host of the HVAC R&D Podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation that goes well beyond tools and equipment. Rhydon shares how his show evolved from casual, re...

Quotes from the episode: “If you’re building something new, it has to be better in almost every way or it won’t catch on.” “The stuff that’s bad inside your home doesn’t filter out, you have to move it out.” “We stopped over-modeling and just started testing in the real world as fast as possible.” This episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast features Austin Riesenberger, founder of Swerv Air, a young entrepreneur tackling a surprisingly overlooked problem: how to bring fresh air into ho...

Quotes from the episode: “It’s a solution to a problem people don’t even know they have.” “Compliance is no longer just paperwork. It’s becoming part of how smart contractors protect margin and keep access to refrigerant.” “What GPS did for traffic, shared HVAC documentation could do for equipment history, refrigerant tracking, and accountability.” In this episode of the Building HVAC Science podcast, Bill Spohn talks with Adam Dykstra of FM Hero about a part of the HVAC industry that often ...

Quotes from the episode: “The emotional side of letting go and the identity shift is something nobody really warns you about.” “Clarity is kindness, especially when the chips are down.” “Intelligence gets beaten by emotional regulation and patience every day.” (Tommy Mello) This episode is a true “collab” between Building HVAC Science and HVAC School Podcasts, with Bill Spohn Sr. and Bill “Billy” Spohn Jr. (TruTech Tools) joining Bryan Orr and his dad Robert Orr (Kalos Services) to talk cand...

EPISODE QUOTES “Anyone can install a heat pump, but if you don’t understand how houses work, you’re gambling with comfort.” “Our intake process is a pre-screen. We want customers who already want the heat pump.” “Electrify everything is cute. Electrify efficiently is the job.” In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Bill Spohn and Eric Kaiser talk with Larry Waters and Alex Sloan of Electrify My Home, a Bay Area contractor focused on efficient home electrification. Larry walks t...

“There are people who teach for income, and people who teach for outcome.” “You want to grow an industry, you can’t ignore half America.” “Become an unsung hero, mentor someone, and give back to the industry you love.” In this episode of Building HVAC Science, Bill and Eric are joined by Renee Tomlinson and Howard Weiss from ESCO Institute (and HVAC Excellence) to talk about a theme that does not get nearly enough airtime: the “quiet” people in HVAC who shape careers and raise standards witho...