Building HVAC Science

This is my first interview with a founder of a publicly traded company and my second interview with a European guest! Meet Erlend Bolle, whose life journey took him from working at CERN to a building a global, publicly traded company that innovates consumer and professional grade radon and indoor Air quality Monitors. His team's initial goal was to create a product relevant for all in volume production that improves people's health. Learn how the team at Airthings works to understand consumer needs as society, homes and the world changes over time. CERN details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CERN 27 kM (16.77 mile) diameter particle accelerator You can find Erlend on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erlendbolle/ And learn more about this company, AirThings here: https://www.airthings.com/ And see his products for sale at TruTech Tools, here: https://www.trutechtools.com/Airthings This episode was recorded in January 2022.

Brett approaches sustainability with thoughtfulness and enthusiasm. He is the Program Manager at GreenHome Institute, has been involved in residential sustainability since 2008, and holds a bachelor's in Sustainable Business. Brett has provided consulting and verification services on thousands of residential green-certified living spaces and certified four projects as a LEED Green Rater. Brett oversees education services providing training or moderations for hundreds of events with thousands of attendees. Brett lives with his family in West Michigan in a GreenStar certified home targeting zero carbon in 2021. His mission is to help you build, BETTER. Additionally, he takes personal steps along these lines and share his experiences. Learn about his radon monitoring experiences here: https://www.airthings.com/resources/brett-radon-story He shares is Carbon Zero Home renovation journey here: https://www.buildwithrise.com/stories/financing-a-carbon-zero-home-renovation You can find Brett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-little-0b3ab71b/ Brett's day job is Program Manager at the Green Home Institute: https://greenhomeinstitute.org/ This episode was recorded in January 2022.

Russ King is a rare breed. He is equally inventor, author (both technical and fiction), software developer, design practitioner, instructor and installer. Above all that, he is passionate, thoughtful, kind, smart and loves to share what he knows. If you get a chance, go see Russ present some time. You can find Russ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-king-m-e-70342913/ He's got a really cool blog with an awesome tagline: "Offering good advice, whether you want it or not." https://russellking.me/ Russ and his son Connor have developed an awesome modeling tool: www.KwikModel.com This episode was recorded in August 2021.

Joe is one of the coolest guys I know. He probably doesn't think of himself that way. He's been so influential in changing the perception and understanding of IAQ and healthy homes in the last few years. And he is SO PASSIONATE about getting people to understand. He is always testing products and building props and animations to teach others. If you get a chance, go see Joe present some time. You can find Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemedosch You can learn more about the Hayward Score at: www.HaywardScore.com This episode was recorded in Dec 2021.

Jason Earle of GotMold.com gives a fascinating tour of his personal journey and how he ended up breaking the price barrier for lab testing of mold in the air. Jason has set up a special landing page for our listeners: https://www.gotmold.com/trutech AND… a 10% discount code just for you! Trutech10 This episode was recorded in January 2022.

Paul's a unique, but complex man: equal parts scientist, inventor, business owner, practitioner, and author. Paul's technical website is https://www.heyokasolutions.com/aboutus.asp and his publishing website is https://www.paulhraymer.com/, Salty Air Publishing The Residential Ventilation Handbook is a must read for those in building science. This episode was recorded in Sept 2021.

I'm so happy to bring the voice, thoughts, and ideas of Michael Kane to the Building HVAC Podcast! You'll hear about the art and process of product development that has evolved through 2 generations of ownership of this family business. Michael is a man of patience and empathy and greatly respects the dignity, value and skill of the trades, He hopes to create the best products for people in the trades to better do their jobs. You can learn more about UEI products at Michael's website: www.UEitest.com or at www.TruTechtools.com/UEi This episode was recorded in Sept 2021.

Since January is Radon awareness month, I've invited 2 people deeply involved in the Radon industry to be my guests today. Dawn Oggier, is Manager of Market Development for RadonAway and National Director for AARST – the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (https://aarst.org/) Brian Kennihan is the Business Development Manager for AprilAire. If you are catching this episode before or during your visit to the 2022 AHR Expo you can visit with both guests! Dawn at booth N8617: Spruce Environmental Technologies And Brian at booth C3706: AprilAire a Division of Research Products LinkedIn connections: Dawn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-oggier-3276481a3/ Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-kennihan-ba3677b3/ You can learn more about their organizations:Spruce Environmental Technologies/ RadonAway: https://www.radonaway.com/ AprilAire Radon products at: www.aprilairepartners.com/ This episode was recorded in Jan 2022.

Brian is on a mission with this company, Module Housing. Their tag line says it all: Designed for people and planet powered by offsite construction. Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briangaudio/ Or via his website: https://www.modulehousing.com/ This episode was recorded in July 2019.

"Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought." Albert Szent-Gyorgyi I'm certain many of our listeners have had ideas for products of their own. Trade practitioners are clever and innovative on the job and so, able to see new ways to "connect the dots" and solve a problem. How do you go from idea to successful product on the market? How long does it take to develop award winning products? Today we are joined by Bob Belvick, Product Manager for the HVACR Service Tools division of Inficon, a publicly traded, diversified industrial giant with HQ in Switzerland. Bob shares his background story and talks about INFICON's other industries and what makes them different from competitors. Bob focuses in on refrigerant leak detectors, one of the specialties of Inficon dating back to the 1969 founding of the company by scientists and engineers from GE and Syracuse University. He takes us on a walkthrough of the product development process: eg. capturing customer needs, integrating technologies, analyzing the market, alpha and beta testing, working with his development team, to give us an overview of the complexities and time it takes to do it right – that is an Inficon characteristic! Among many other tidbits, Bob also shares with us how they arrived at the name INFICON. For more info on Inficon HVAC products go to: www.inficon.com/en/markets/air-conditioning You'll also find Inifcon HVAC products at www.TruTechtools.com/Inficon This episode was recorded in July 2020.