HVAC School Podcast: For Techs, By Techs: A Masterclass In Indie Podcasting

 Podcasting before 2008 was a content landscape with two competing strategies. The mainstream strategy, which had worked for radio, TV, books, and music, was to appeal to the widest audience possible. The more revolutionary strategy was for podcasts to appeal to a small, niche group and offer content and a supportive community to a group of listeners with shared interests.

I remember seeing early 2008 podcasts that focused on such narrow topics as Superman comics, The Beatles White Album, a man who wrote reviews on local bakeries, a sewing podcast called Sew What, and a show about welding. 

As large, corporatized networks have invaded podcasting, they've largely reverted to the mainstream strategy -- broad appeal to generate the largest number of ears for advertising.  

Fear not, podcasting fans. Independent podcasting is still a fertile ground for those shows that may have only 1,000 listeners. For example, there is a podcast about watercolor tattoos. One about bananas. Only bananas. And one about sounds that storms make.

Today, I will introduce to an independent podcast that exemplifies that the revolutionary strategy to serve a well-defined, sometimes limited in potential listeners, but focused exclusively on its granular topics.

The podcast is called HVAC School -- For Techs, By Techs. It is a show by HVAC Tech Bryan Orr, an Orlando, Fl-based HVAC professional. The show has been on since September 2016. If you think Bryan's podcast is some local-yokel operation, check out his website.

Orr has courses for HVAC techs, information on events like HVAC symposiums, HVAC job posts, merch called HVAC Rocket Science Collection, videos, tech tips and quizzes. He even has a tool list, recommendations for HVAC apps, and software recommendations especially for HVAC Techs.

In effect, Bryan Orr has it all for an HVAC tech.

"I started the podcast eight years ago, mostly out of curiosity and a desire to share what I was learning," notes Bryan Orr.

The focus of Orr's podcast is on the HVACR Tech (The R is for Refrigeration). That's why it's called For Techs, By Techs. His episodes, while murky science and magical Harry Potter-type wizardry to laypeople like us, are valuable knowledge and training for an HVAC Tech. 

Here are some recent episodes: Modulating compressors, testing dehumidifiers, preventing low voltage issues, pressure-limiting valves, and using refrigerant.

In case you think all the episodes are HVAC technical in nature, read just a slice of his other more philosophical and mentoring episodes: Stubborn old techs, STOP overthinking, stewarding younger techs, Teaching communication confidence, starting an internal training program, focus on your goals, and women in HVAC. 

I've listened to over 20 episodes, and it seems that any HVAC Tech can garner so much knowledge and practical tips from listening to this show. Orr is smart in that he has these periodic Q&A episodes where he plays a question from a tech and then answers that question.

For example, answering a question about the resistance of older techs to change, Orr recommends understanding the older tech's perspective and recognizes that fear of change can overwhelm us. Instead of confrontation, he recommends collaboration. It's a thoughtful, modulated view. There is a persistent trope that people in blue-collar jobs are there because of a lack of analytical acumen. Yet, in every episode, Orr proves that he has the intuitive sense and investigative skills to master the job.

Orr explains his journey on the technical side of podcasting.  "Initially, I ran into quite a few technical challenges, especially with audio quality. I tried to fix a lot of it in post-production, which was time-consuming and not always effective. It wasn’t until I started using the Shure SM7B and the Electro-Voice RE20 microphones, along with the Rodecaster board, that things got a lot smoother."

"As for being a host, I don’t actually consider myself all that great," Orr says modestly. "I listen to people like Ira Glass, Jad Abumrad, and the team behind Radiolab, and I feel pretty inadequate by comparison. But like anything else, it’s a journey. I think it’s all about staying curious, wanting to improve, and practicing a lot."

Here, Orr's modesty gets the best of him, because he is an excellent host. He's articulate, excellent at explaining complex concepts, empathetic, and has a natural understanding of narrative dexterity.

Co-Founder and President at Kalos Services in Clermont, Florida (20 miles from Orlando), Bryan Orr started the company with his dad when he was 17, and he regularly helps his team train and troubleshoot as a working contractor. But if you ask him about it (and we did), "he’ll say he’s just keeping busy."

"The same goes for my HVAC career," Orr observes. "I’ve always been driven by a desire to learn and a general dissatisfaction with my past work. That’s what keeps me pushing to get better."

As for monetization for an independent podcast, Bryan Orr could hold a class on it. First, he has a slate of sponsors -- all in the HVAC industry, so there's a natural synergy there. Sponsors include Carrier (AC), Refrigeration Technologies, and ESCO Institute, which publishes training manuals, curriculum packages, assessment exams, specialty training packages and custom publishing solutions for the HVACR and building science fields.

Orr's website is a champion LEGO set, with building blocks of content from training courses, podcast episodes, events, job postings, and merchandise. It's safe to say that Orr has a more comprehensive and "sticky" website than high-dollar, network-supported podcasts do. 

Look, I realize that the majority of the people still reading this article are not HVAC Techs. You may never listen to Bryan Orr's podcast. However, HVAC Tech Podcast: For Techs, By Techs should serve as a model for many independent podcasters on how to develop, produce, and monetize their podcasts. Maybe it's because Bryan Orr is from Orlando where magic is in the air, but his podcast proves that podcasting can be successful when properly positioned for a dedicated niche audience. 

Finally, as a society, we burden blue-collar jobs such as HVAC Tech with myriad negative connotations. Listen to some of these episodes about air flow, negative pressure, humidity, wiring, venting, and refrigeration, then you will discover that these techs are indeed climate control detectives of the highest order.

 

Perhaps, I am being too hasty in describing HVAC Techs as a niche audience. After all, there are over 390,000 techs working in the U.S. Roughly 110 million American households (89% of the total number of households in the nation) are equipped with air conditioning units, according to the 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey  

Employment of heating, air conditioning, and ventilation mechanics and installers is projected to grow five percent from 2021 to 2031.

 

Check out HVAC Tech Podcast: For Techs, By Techs. When Bryan Orr was asked about his legacy, he replied, "Creativity for the betterment of others."