Over the past decade, a very special community of individuals and companies with a passion for improving the industry has emerged. They openly share knowledge with others — and welcome anyone with a desire to improve into their mostly digital circles.

This community isn’t necessarily organized into formal groups. While some may be affiliated with industry groups and associations, they also stand alone in their quest towards excellence.

What makes them stand out is their burning desire to constantly learn and share their knowledge. They do this very publicly, and often directly mentor their brothers and sisters in HVAC.

Interestingly, in the 1980s and 90s our industry fostered a similar spirit. Forward-thinking contractors like Doc Rusk, Ron Smith, Tom McCart, and many others openly shared their knowledge and experience with fellow HVAC professionals.

A growing community of contractor podcasters is taking training of the HVAC industry to new levels.

We saw a noticeable shift away from this open sharing in the late 90s that continued into the early 2000s.

It’s great to see that over the past several years this trend is reversing. With advances in social media, channels like YouTube, and podcasting platforms, we’re experiencing a resurgence of this sharing and collaboration.

An Industry Renaissance

Listed below are some of the top individuals and organizations who are passionate about helping techs and contractors take their skills to the next level of performance.

While this is by no means a comprehensive directory (it would take several pages to recognize so many great people), the following are people who I know personally, and can tell you they are the real deal. They invest heavily in researching their content:

A Note of Caution

Over the past few years there has been a proliferation of HVAC podcasters and YouTubers.

Some are great, but many are mercenaries who just regurgitate content with little or no experience just to get clicks and money from advertisers. Be careful to not inadvertently disseminate bad information within your organization.

It’s never too late to get plugged into a new, legitimate online community.

Take some time each day to explore and decide which people you want to follow and learn from. The upside can be exponential for you and your company!