Commercial vs. Residential w/ AK HVAC

HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs

Bryan Orr

Training, Careers, Airconditioning, Self-improvement, Hvac, Business, Education, Refrigeration, Heating, Ac, Apprenticeship

4.8 • 985 Ratings

🗓️ 12 July 2018

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In today's podcast episode, we have a conversation about the pros and cons of commercial vs. residential HVAC with Andrew Greaves. (You may know him as AK HVAC on Youtube. Check out his channel HERE and his comedy channel, HVAComedy, HERE.)

In many cases, young people don't know if they want to go into commercial or residential HVAC, or residential techs may think about getting into commercial HVAC. Commercial HVAC may include RTUs, chillers, market refrigeration, or industrial refrigeration. Commercial HVAC/R also includes a lot of control systems. By comparison, residential HVAC almost exclusively deals with comfort cooling.

Even though it may seem as though commercial HVAC requires more specialized schooling, that isn't necessarily the case. Schooling will especially help with commercial HVAC, but it's not required. The desire to learn is much more important than schooling. (Be willing to unlearn your bad habits, too.) If you enjoy working on large equipment and machines, commercial HVAC may be right for you.

Hours are also a bit different in commercial vs. residential HVAC. In many cases, commercial HVAC still has on-call time, and the hours may be slightly more regular than residential HVAC. (However, some facilities like hospitals may require work at irregular hours.)

If you wish to become an entrepreneur, you'll probably have more success with residential HVAC. The business models are very different, and you'll have more freedom with pricing when you start up a residential business. Commercial work is process-oriented per the customer, and there is a lot of negotiation that goes into a contract. (You'll also be more likely to stumble across lawsuits in commercial HVAC.) If you want to start up a business or have an entrepreneurial spirit, then residential HVAC might be right for you.

We also discuss:

Mechanical/technical aptitude
People skills
Commercial vs. residential shops
Service contracts
Corporate environments
Commercial HVAC technologies
Commercial HVAC specializations
Profitability as a tech vs. a business owner

Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies at refrigtech.com.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	and This episode of the HVAC School Podcast is made possible by our fantastic sponsors and supporters
0:22.4	out there in the
0:23.3	HVAC industry and those are several companies but a few companies actually
0:26.9	Mitsubishi electric cooling and heating and Mitsubishi comfort
0:30.2	com carrier at carrier dot, manufacturers of many great products for the
0:35.8	HVAC industry, where carrier dealers here at Kailos, the WRS Scales and the UEOI Hub
0:41.6	Smart Kit from UEOI hub smart kit from UEE
0:43.0	you're both connected devices that work with a great app
0:47.5	that you can find by looking up the UEEI hub
0:50.3	on your Android or your iPhone
0:53.0	very well-built devices.
0:55.0	I think you won't go wrong by checking them out.
0:57.0	You can find both of those products
0:58.0	by going to truetech tools.com,
1:00.0	TRU tech tools.com,
1:01.0	use the offer code get schooled for a great discount.
1:04.1	Refrigeration Technologies at refriggedech.com, refrigerate.com,
1:08.7	makers of wet rag for protecting valves and equipment when you're braising, the Viper Cleaners,
1:14.6	Nylog, that is a great thread sealant that I use every day in our business,
1:19.2	and then the new pan and drain spray that we're using replace of pan tabs now.
1:23.7	Recently did a video on that check that out on our YouTube channel.
1:27.0	Also, Air Oasis makers of the whole home air purifiers, the bipolar and the
	...

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