For many generations, HVAC companies made the majority of their money as a result of emergency calls.  Homes without heat in the winter and large commercial spaces without cooling in the summer called for immediate reaction on the part of the property owners and the HVAC technicians that worked on them.

That reactive mindset is changing these days.  To the credit of HVAC companies, most of the professionals in this field have been promoting a need for regular inspection and maintenance for a long time.  However, in order for there to be a shift from the reactive- to the proactive approach, there has to be a desire on the part of the property owner as well.

Why the difference in mindset these days?  Many property owners are much better educated and informed than they ever were in the past.  This can be attributed to many factors.  There, of course, is the internet, which puts knowledge literally at our fingertips.  There has also been the growth of the eco-friendly movement, which caused many property owners to take a closer look at their individual carbon footprints.  And, there has also been rather notable increases in the costs of oil, propane, natural gas, and electricity, which pushed the average utility bill up by an equally large margin.

In order to contend with the higher utility bills, to do better by the environment, property owners began to do research.  They learned what the HVAC industry had been trying to insist for quite some time – there is great value in taking a more proactive approach to HVAC.  By inspecting, maintaining, and upgrading systems, it is possible to ensure better efficiency throughout the year.  That means less impact on the environment, lower utility bills, and longer running systems.  This has been accomplished, in large part, through the use of retrofit sensors and controls, designed to great improve the efficiency of existing systems.