Champion AC hasn’t been around for generations like some HVACR contracting companies, but that may be in the company’s favor because it is bringing some fresh thinking to the industry. The owners have embraced new ways while establishing a corporate culture of community service.
Tony Martinez and Ben Hubbert founded Champion AC about three and a half years ago, in April 2007. Martinez had been in the industry prior to that, while Hubbert was a newcomer. Between their industry knowledge, education, and willingness to trailblaze ways of doing things, they’ve quickly carved out a place for their start-up in their regional south Texas market.
One of Champion AC’s less conventional aspects is its belief in the benefits that variable refrigerant flow zoning (VRFZ) systems offer, not only in commercial, but in residential applications as well. A benefit of the VRF system is the ability to zone every room in a house, Martinez said.
“What we found out was if we can implement the actual VRFZ technology into the home, we could give a homeowner full control over every room in their house and not with just two systems - upstairs and downstairs.
“Being that the VRF technology is a ductless system, that’s basically a two-piping system that’s very conventional to what is currently done today. What it does is allow you to take an indoor unit from a single outdoor unit source, and it allows you to take those runs into a single bedroom, and control the exact amount of heating or cooling that you need in that bedroom to the specific setting on the thermostat. So, if you ask for 76°, you’ll get 76°. If you have a separate bedroom, and you ask for 73°, you’ll get 73°. If you have another bedroom and you ask for 78°, you’ll get 78°.”
According to Martinez, the key to the system is “the inverter technology [which] allows you to do that because it understands exactly how much flow of refrigerant on the variable phase that it needs at any given time when the indoor unit is calling for cooling or heating.”