Dominick Guarino
Four Unique Challenges and Opportunities for 2012
As you wrap up 2011 and look towards 2012, it's appropriate to pause and think about not only what challenges lie ahead, but also the opportunities these challenges can bring. ...
Implementation: Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Let's first take a look at some of the traits of unsuccessful implementers, then the successful ones....
Can Quality Maintenance Work in the Real World?
There's no doubt that Quality Maintenance (QM) standards are good for our industry, but many contractors attempting to comply have more questions than answers when it comes to delivering on them. ...
California Is Getting It Right!
Over the past two years there's been a lot of activity in California driving energy efficiency — with a major focus on HVAC. ...
Home Performance: Time to Step Up!
Ladies and gentlemen: it's time to step up. This message is especially targeted to the need for our industry to take the lead with regards to whole house and HVAC system performance — before someone else does. Who is that someone else? The home improvement and the traditional energy auditing and home weatherization industry are going after the HVAC slice of the pie in a big way....
Social Media: Why Should I Care?
The tools and venues of electronic communications are evolving. What you see today may be completely different in just two years. This is a new chapter in society, and you can choose to be an active participant, or you can stick your head in the sand and hope everything gets back to "normal.”."...
Carbon Monoxide: A Step Backwards
Recently proposed federal legislation (HR 1796) will require that carbon monoxide (CO) alarms be U.L. 2034 listed to be sold in the U.S. California just recently passed a similar law. These well-intentioned legislators don’t realize they are inadvertently attempting to close the door on the only devices that truly protect people of all ages and health conditions: low-level CO monitors. ...
A Bold New Era For Our Industry - Finally!
We are witnessing the dawn of a new era for HVAC contractors. There are a number of forces at work that are transforming our industry. This change is the shift towards making homes and HVAC systems work they way they're supposed to — often for the first time...
The House As A System, Part II
In 1994, one of my editorials as chief editor of Contracting Business magazine entitled, The House As A System, was also one of the first articles written in an HVAC industry magazine that identified the connection between the entire HVAC system and a home's envelope. At the time, research and the practice of "Building Science" were just in their infancy, but many people began recognizing the importance of interactions between the envelope and the HVAC system. ...
Homestar: There’s Still Time To Improve It
There's a good chance you’ve heard about Homestar, the $6 billion Federal energy efficiency program created by the proposed legislation, H.R. 5019, and S.3177 Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010. ...
How To Truly Deliver The "Green"
Unless we have a means to verify actual performance of the systems we sell, design, install and service, we’ll continue to miss the mark in terms of potential energy savings, peak load and carbon emissions reductions. ...
Self-Branding Can Enhance Differentiation
Much has been written on self-branding. A number of HVAC contractors have successfully taken the route of private labeling their equipment and accessories. Others haven't been so fortunate. So what do successful contractors have in common, and why have others failed?...
Your Image, Your Brand
This past October, the National Comfort Institute Annual Business Leadership conference theme was, “Through Your Customers' Eyes, Your Image, Your Brand.” ...
A Time to Build
Well, it's official. Sometime between August 13th and September 16th, 2009, the recession was declared officially over by U.S. and world leading economists....
A Second Chance for California, Part 2
Ed. note: In May of this year, Dominick Guarino participated in an HVAC Energy Efficiency Roundtable in San Francisco, CA. The Roundtable was held to...
A Second Chance for California
In early May, I had the privilege of being invited to participate in a 70-person HVAC Energy Efficiency Roundtable that met for two days in San Francisco....
Make the Most of the New Tax Credits
Educate your customer to understand the value of reinvesting the tax credit into 'fixing' their system to obtain delivered performance that exceeds 90%....
Last Word: Don't Cut Too Close To The Bone
Whether perceived or real, this recession is real enough in the eyes of the consumer thanks to our 24/7 national news. It's my belief that things are...
Last Word: Are You Working On Your Business-Really?
You’ve probably heard the old clich, that to grow, a company owner must work “on” his or her business, not “in” it. This is very true at so many levels. Not only is it nearly imposible to grow your company as long as you’re working “in” it, but because you’re the one controlling everything, you’re often the biggest bottleneck. ...
9 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Company
Theres a good chance youre feeling the effects of the downturn in our economy. Some have decided not to participate and are taking measures to minimize the effects on their companies....
Lessons From Living In a Foamed House
Foam insulation has been around for quite some time, but recent improvements to the products and application methods have made this approach to insulating homes and buildings more attractive than ever. There’s a good chance you’ll work on a foamed house in the near future. If you’re lucky, you’ll be brought into a project where the entire home was foamed, or better yet, you’ll get a chance to work on a new home where you can design and install with foam insulation in mind....
What Shade Of Green Should Your Business Be?
People often ask me what my stance is on the environment, global warming, the ozone layer, and most recently, “green.” My friends know that I’m fairly skeptical about some of the science and historical perspective behind much of the environmentalist hype. I do, however, think that regardless of whether the science is good or bad, we have an obligation to be good stewards of this earth during our short visit here....
Energy Efficiency Round II - Lets Not Blow It Again!
Have you gone “green” yet? Here’s a reality check: whether you believe in global warming or not, the U.S. is jumping on the big GREEN WAVE that’s building momentum worldwide, soon to reach tsunami proportions. It’s become part of our language with words like carbon footprints, carbon credits and white tags now being bandied about in Hollywood and corporate boardrooms....
Are you fishing in the right pond?
It never fails: Im attending an industry meeting and someone says, We just cant find good people. Weve tried everything, theyre just not out there! Many...
Get Out of That Truck!
A common gripe among contractors is they're just not able to "get out of the truck." In other words, they're still running service calls, installing,...
