Receipts are most definitely an American way of life. We rarely buy anything without getting a receipt. Some of us save them for years because receipts prove that we got what we paid for.

Here’s a fun fact: Receipts weren’t always an option. It wasn’t until John Patterson bought the patent for the cash register and founded the National Cash Register Company in 1880 that the receipt concept began.

At first, the acceptance of Patterson’s new technology was slow. Store owners had a hard time seeing the value in his cash registers and were resistant to purchasing them.

To solve this problem, Patterson created a demand for the receipt instead of trying to sell store owners his cash register. He focused on the result of his product, not the product itself. This small shift in thinking changed how we do business everyday in the United States. Let’s look at what the HVAC industry can learn from this change in thinking and how you might apply it to High-Performance HVAC™ systems and your business.

Your Product and Your Results

It’s important to understand the difference between your product and your results. Have you ever considered the difference between the two? If you believe that HVAC equipment is your product, I think you’re discounting the value you bring to the table. That’s because HVAC equipment is NOT your product – you are!

Let’s go one step further. The HVAC equipment is also not the HVAC system. If that sounds odd, think about the equipment for what it is – a selection of components you put together. Ten contractors can install the same equipment in separate projects, and each project will have different outcomes. The product and the results are not the same.

You provide the HVAC system which includes the design, the equipment, and the duct system. That is your product. How well it performs depends on your skill and your craftsmanship. By combining your specialized skills and training, you can deliver the health, safety, comfort, and efficiency your customers expect. Those are your craftsmanship receipts.

Equipment Yellow Labels ARE NOT Receipts

There are standards in place to rate HVAC equipment efficiency in a laboratory environment. The yellow label that shows the equipment’s AFUE, or SEER rating is a receipt from the laboratory rating results under one set of test conditions.

Many professionals in our industry purchase equipment and assume the yellow label equals reality in the field. Unfortunately, laboratory-rated efficiency is not the same as field-installed efficiency. While they serve a purpose, yellow labels do not prove the craftsmanship of a field installation.

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