Officials with Aeroseal, a manufacturer of ductwork fabrication sealing products, said incorporating the institute into the company will allow it greater access to the home performance HVAC market.

“Aeroseal duct sealing technology has dramatically changed the way our industry thinks about home comfort, IAQ and energy savings, while Comfort Institute was the first to train and equip HVAC professionals to succeed in the growing home performance contracting sector,” said Aeroseal CEO and President Amit Gupta. “Through this merger, we will now have the added expertise and resources to provide the HVAC community an entirely new level of service and support.”

The institute will continue to providing educational programs to HVAC sales companies.

Chandler von Schrader, the Environmental Protection Agency’s national manager for its Energy Star HVAC verified installation program, said that’s good news.

“This is a strong move for both companies and it’s a stronger move for the industry as a whole,” von Schrader said. “Home performance needs competent contractors that understand total systems and how to remediate them. This includes the distribution systems, and Aeroseal really fills that void. This is a good move across the board.”