Heating has been around since the caveman days, but cooling didn’t really catch fire until the late 1940s and early 50s. Back in the 50s this business was all about comfort. We didn’t know anything about saving money. Comfort was all there was.

The story goes that having those early air conditioning units actually cost people more money to operate compared to the alternative. The alternative was to come home from work, park your butt in a big old naugahyde recliner, and sweat until it was time to go to bed. Didn’t cost very much, but it wasn’t very comfortable.

Well, you know what happened. Manufacturers found they couldn’t build enough a/c units to keep up with demand and install them, too. So, a/c contractors became in quite high demand. Everybody was selling comfort!

Along came the 1970s with oil embargoes and long lines at the gas pumps. Some enterprising HVAC contractors discovered that payback and return on investment were catchy phrases that made customers take notice of HVAC energy costs.

Today, it’s coming full circle. Comfort and energy costs are all the rage once again - and at the same time. The big difference is that a new term has crept into the HVAC jargon - green.

I think green encompasses everything that is right about conserving resources, and that there is no reason a person can’t be comfortable while being green.

What a combination for an HVAC contractor to be selling: green, comfort, and energy efficiency.