Building HVAC Science – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode Quotes from Kevin Weaver:

"If we can quantify delivered capacity on the air side, we can work our way back to what's happening on the refrigerant side." 

"We don't have to diagnose everything remotely — we have to be great at saying, 'there's a problem,' and prioritizing action." 

"Even the best design can be wrecked at installation. Execution matters." 

Chief Engineering Officer Kevin Weaver joins Eric and Bill to go beyond "remote monitoring" and explain how SmartAC is really a loyalty and trade-intelligence platform for residential HVAC. With three simple wireless sensors — a supply-air "comfort" sensor (temp/RH), a filter sensor (temp/static pressure), and a water sensor — plus a cloud-connected hub, SmartAC tracks delivered capacity and trends changes over time. That minimum viable data set lets contractors catch problems early, prioritize the right calls, and give homeowners peace of mind without needing full remote gauges.

Kevin walks through the contractor toolset, which includes a white-labeled homeowner app, a Pro app for technicians, and a partner dashboard that also integrates with Field Service Management. (FSM) systems like ServiceTitan. The result is fewer emergency visits, healthier memberships, and durable customer relationships (i.e., less ad spend, more lifetime value). He previews Gen-2 hardware (more sensing in more places, stronger radios), battery options (18 months on AA lithiums or 5–8 years with a long-life pack), and notes that SmartAC is approaching 100k homes sold — building one of the most extensive residential HVAC data sets for richer insights across brands, geographies, and system types.

We conclude with wisdom from Kevin's Texas A&M research: even great designs can fail due to poor execution. Right-size returns, stretch flex, use collars and mastic, and keep static in check. SmartAC's data helps expose oversizing, blower mis-settings, and undersized returns in days, transforming maintenance plans into smart maintenance and turning "transactional" customers into lifelong customers.

Kevin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-weaver/

SmartAC: www.smartac.com

Earlier episode with founder Josh Teekell (Ep. 136): 

https://www.buildinghvacscience.com/ep136-utilizing-smart-maintenance-plans-benefits-your-customers-and-your-business-with-josh-teekell/

This episode was recorded in October 2025.

QUOTES from the Episode

"Instead of landlines everywhere, give every heat pump a cell phone and let it call home."

"We're seeing close to 40% of heat pumps undercharged or leaking—no wonder callbacks are high."

"What gets measured gets managed." — often attributed to Peter Drucker (fitting this data-driven shift)

Brendan Hermalyn (CEO/founder, Thalo Labs) traces a zig-zag path from NASA and defense to self-driving cars—then into HVAC. His through-line: high-reliability sensing and prognostics. Thalo's product aims to "give every heat pump a cell phone," using a small, non-invasive module that snaps inside VRFs/splits (and eventually larger plants), measures power and line temps, backhauls via cellular, and flags undercharge/leaks and power-quality issues before they become emergency calls. It's equipment management, not a full BMS—lightweight to install, built for techs, and friendly to API integrations, texts, and weekly roll-ups.

Brendan argues the market is ready: most commercial buildings still lack BMS, Wi-Fi is fragile for critical telemetry, and the economics of sensors/cloud have flipped. Thalo avoids tapping the refrigerant loop, prioritizes fast installs (often 10–30 minutes), QR/location tagging, and even a "buzz this unit" feature to find the right rooftop box. Early field data is sobering—he's seeing ~40% of heat pumps undercharged and/or leaking—driving callbacks, compressor failures, and energy waste. The pitch to contractors: turn break-fix chaos into planned maintenance, white-label the savings report, and train new techs faster with data-driven cues. Oh, and the name? "Thalo" like the deep sky blue—an homage to adding tech to make the picture clearer.

Brendan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-hermalyn/

Thalo Labs: https://thalolabs.com/

This episode was recorded in October 2025.

On this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Bill Spohn and Eric Kaiser are joined by seasoned tech entrepreneur Selina Tobaccowala, founder of HomeBoost.com, to discuss a new consumer-driven solution that brings energy comfort diagnostics into the modern era. Selina, whose background includes co-founding Evite and serving as President/CTO at SurveyMonkey, now applies her tech and behavioral insights to a space closer to home: energy efficiency and comfort.

Selina shares the inspiration behind HomeBoost, a unique platform that empowers homeowners to scan and diagnose thermal and energy issues in their home using a FLIR thermal camera and guided app. The HomeBoost experience pairs smart tools, a mobile app, and AI plus human auditing to generate actionable home energy assessments — all while remaining accessible and affordable for the average homeowner.

NEWSFLASH: HomeBoost Pro Launched on Oct 8, 2025!
https://www.homeboost.com/pro/
Learn more at this link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/homeboost_homeenergy-buildingperformance-bpi-activity-7381730191758438400-xW19

The conversation dives into product design, user testing, partnerships with utilities and contractors, and the launch of a pro version that streamlines report generation for BPI-certified energy assessors. The team also explores broader themes, including the cultural value of skilled trades and how education models from Europe could inspire new respect and opportunity for trade careers in the U.S. The episode closes with a hopeful vision of HomeBoost expanding nationally and scaling its impact — one home, one assessment, and one contractor at a time.

"It's not about selling energy — it's about helping people use less of it." – Selina Tobaccowalla

"We had scientific accuracy, but we hadn't built a product consumers liked — that took iteration." – Selina

"AI won't replace a tradesperson. That's why we need to value skilled trades more — like they do in Germany." – Selina

HomeBoost: https://www.homeboost.com/

Selina's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinat/

This episode was recorded in July 2025.

Eric and I agree: Tersh Blissett would win the best-dressed in HVAC award if there was one.

But beyond his dashing apparel, Tersh is a person of many talents.

As a visionary creator of the Service Business Mastery podcast (now with co-host Josh Crouch), he is a font of wisdom and inspiration that has been flowing since 2017 when he became part of Bryan Orr's Blue Collar Roots Network with me (and this podcast) and others. While the Blue Collar Roots Network is now defunct, the spirit still lives on.

Tersh has a great entrepreneurial mind, building multiple profitable home service businesses that thrive in the small-town market of Savannah, GA. He is a constant learner, in both the technical and businesses aspects of his work, but more than that he is a great communicator of what he learns as he keeps a crazy schedule between his business, his podcast, his community work and most importantly his family.

He truly puts people over profits and teaches everyone from his office staff to his technicians to do the same.

Tersh excels in bringing the very best technology to everything he does in the HVAC 

Tersh's Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/

Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/c/servicebusinessmasterypodcast

This episode was recorded in October 2023

Listen in as Eric and I interview two of the leaders of Malco products and learn how they have become the nation's leading solution developers and manufacturers of "tools of the trade" for HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning), exterior remodeling, and more.

Joining us is Rich Benninghoff, President & CEO, along with Rebecca Talbot, Malco's VP of Marketing.

They share with us the rich history and promising future of a successful and well-run manufacturer.

In fact, Rich helped our team at TruTech better understand the principles and benefits of EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System which he uses at Malco- you learn more about EOS in Episode 137 of this podcast.

Post recording note: In the trade show part of our discussion, we mention Metalcon as upcoming, but it has already taken place in Oct 2023.

Rich and Rebecca share closing thoughts that illustrate how they keep an eye on the past, remembering how they got here, along with an eye on the future, for growth. 

Rich's Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-benninghoff

Rebecca's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccajtalbot/

Product Idea submission: https://www.malcoproducts.com/ideas/

Distributor resources: https://www.malcoproducts.com/distributors/

Educator programs: https://www.malcoproducts.com/educators-resources/

Catalogs: https://www.malcoproducts.com/catalogs/

Video Gallery: https://www.malcoproducts.com/videos/

Head of the Class program for HVAC and Building Construction: https://www.malcoproducts.com/educators-resources/

For information on the annual Trade Pro of the Year and Counterperson of the Year programs, be sure to sign up for the Malco Newsletter for the latest news. https://www.malcoproducts.com/mailing-list/  

Want to connect in person, Malco will be at booth S7744 in Chicago, IL for the AHR trade show. You can always stay in touch with Malco on their socials, be sure to follow them on: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok.

This episode was recorded in October 2023

Another post on LinkedIn is what got this conversation/episode started.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7104814299386171392/

Perhaps it was the architectural rendering of a piece of cake that caught my eye – well done Steven! (FYI as of this writing this post has 564 reactions, 59 comments and 45 reposts- that's influence!)

Meet Steven Biersteker, architect by day and content creator by night. Here is his LinkedIn page:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-biersteker/

We explore a lot of topics in this episode including why Steven entered this field and how he got to where he is today. (My favorite part of every episode.)

Other notions we discuss:

Getting to low operational carbon is simple ... in theory.

We are running highly efficient buildings on high carbon fuels.

Citizens need to demand better and use energy smarter.

Designing highly efficient buildings is critical, but so is low-carbon electricity and smart users.

We learned that he's writing a book (ABCs of Carbon + Architecture) because he sees a big problem: There is a huge gap between the know-it-alls and the know-it-nots.

His book will be simple to read, digestible, and most importantly brief (see the book outline below).

And also see below for 10 important questions about low carbon design for every architect and builder to ask themselves/their client.

It's on all of us to work together, you can make a difference. Be willing to ask questions.

This episode was recorded in October 2023.

Here is a sneak peak of the key topics in his book:

CARBON LINGO - The Key terms you need to know

GLOBAL WARMING 101 - The basics, nothing more

SCOPING OUT CARBON - Who's scope are carbon emissions?

MEASURING CARBON - How we measure this stuff

WHOLE LIFE CARBON - Embodied & Operational Carbon

LIFE-CYCLE STAGES - EN15978 - A1 - C

EMBODIED CARBON - What's accounted for?

MATERIALS - Emissions & carbon sequestering

ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATIONS - The intro to Epd's

OPERATIONAL CARBON - The basics of emissions

ENERGY USE - How does energy impact GHG

REFRIGERANTS - What's the issue with refrigerants?

CARBON COMPARISON - So what is a ton of carbon anyway?

BONUS: 10 simple questions to achieve a low-carbon design. 

1. Does this building need to be built? 

No - Great, you just saved the planet.

Yes - Move on to question 2. 

2. Does this building need to be built this big? 

No - Build what you need and nothing more. 

Yes - Move to question 3. 

3. Is there an existing building we could use instead? 

No - Let's try and build the best new building we can. 

Yes - Renovated buildings reduce embodied carbon by up to 70% 

4. Can we use a biogenic material as our structure? 

No - Focus on less material and lower impact materials. 

Yes - Stick frame and mass timber are great structural options 

5. Can the building be designed to come apart? 

No - Concrete is the worst material for disassembly. 

Yes - Steel and Mass Timber should be bolted for disassembly 

6. Can we fully electrify the heating & cooling systems? 

No - Maximize energy efficiency through passive system design 

Yes - Heat pumps will reduce your energy use by 3x's 

7. Can we reduce our mechanical system size? 

No - Large mechanical systems are expensive to operate long-term 

Yes - Use south-facing glazing and passive ventilation 

8. Can we specify biogenic insulation and cladding materials 

No - Find the lowest impact insulation materials. Try EPS over XPS 

Yes - Cellulose, hemp, denim, and wool are great insulators 

9. Do the users know how to best operate the building? 

No - Make sure users are aware of the passive systems that reduce energy use 

Yes - A great building that isn't operated well destroys the design 

10. Can we minimize the impervious site materials? 

No - Large parking and sidewalk areas have a large impact 

Yes - Grasses and natural areas create carbon sinks 

Sustainable building design is complex, but there are some basic questions that will help make the most important decisions.

Eric and I had a great conversation with Cindy Zeis of Performance Systems Development, https://psdconsulting.com/, a company with the tag line: "Moving Energy Efficiency Forward" and description. We combine building science with technology to help utility companies, program implementers, and building performance professionals achieve energy savings.

This whole conversation was spurred by a post that Cindy made on Linked in about electrification programs and the need to get our priorities straight.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/electrification-programs-getting-our-priorities-straight-cindy-zeis

I was especially attracted to this paragraph in Cindy's post:

In light of recent developments, such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other funding opportunities that promote installation of heat pumps and other energy efficient technologies, it's essential to emphasize the importance of considering a building as a holistic system. It's important to highlight the critical role of the building envelope and energy efficient components, such as lighting, in minimizing energy loads before sizing mechanical equipment. It's also important to incorporate third-party verification for both building and mechanical system performance."

This episode was recorded in October 2023.

DEFINITION of Culture

Learned patterns of perception, values, and behaviors, SHARED by a group of people that are dynamic and heterogeneous. (diverse in character or content.)

I like having guests on the podcast share their journeys and important lessons learned along the way. 

We explore these topics and more with Tim Destasio as he explains how he learned what he knows today.

From his start in industrial, ending up in residential and now combining building science, Tim shares with us his lessons learned and his perspectives on #betterHVAC

Tim is very active on LinkedIn, so follow him here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-de-stasio-0618824a/

We spoke of "Corbett's list", well here it is: https://homediagnosis.tv/hvac-installers

Look for his HVAC course on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/user/tim-r-de-stasio/

His YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn6U4wQe3DPYFFp4kiy_z0w

This episode was recorded in August 2023.

We had a great time interviewing the man behind the brand "Love2HVAC".

Ty Branaman's passion for all things HVAC education certainly comes through in every conversation and interaction we've had.

Ty has a lot of patience (and a small pointer finger thing) that help explain and highlight whatever topic is teaching at the moment.

He stresses the use of tools, measurements and your brain to help teach the invisible.

He encourages new instructors to "go for it" and be willing to make mistakes, but observant to learn from them.

He firmly believes teaching helps you be a better person, a better manager. You will learn more when you teach. (I whole heartedly agree, there!)

You will often find Ty on other podcasts, live streams, in conferences and at the HVACR School Symposium. This year he gave a great session on Educating and Training Gen Z
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHs9AD6wRz8

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@love2hvac

His website: https://www.love2hvac.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ty.branaman/

Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/love2hvac

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love2hvac/?hl=en

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ty-branaman-cmhe-07604a33/

This episode was recorded in August 2023.

I'm not exactly sure when I got introduced to the concepts of EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System.

It was likely during my 12 week "crash course" in business with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program or 10kSB (https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/US/ ) – probably one of the 145 people in my National Cohort #6 mentioned it.

I read the book Traction by Geno Wickman in 2017 and slowly started integrating the ideas into the way we run TruTech Tools.

In the spring of 2022, I re-read it and presented to our leadership team. We decided to go full bore and started the process of adopting EOS company wide in the summer of 2022.

On today's podcast I chat with our EOS implementer, Derek Pittak.

Derek shares the key components of EOS with us including dissecting issues, following processes and traction, the execution piece.

EOS has a lot of quick tidbits you can pick up. However, if this interest you, I suggest you get the book Traction and read it cover to cover or reach out to someone like Derek.

Derek's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-pittak-4b2ba86a/

Derek's microsite: https://www.eosworldwide.com/derek-pittak

EOS Worldwide: https://www.eosworldwide.com/

This episode was recorded in September 2023.