Indoor air quality (IAQ) is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity. At National Comfort Institute’s High-Performance HVAC™ Summit 2025, I sat down with five standout HVAC professionals who are leading the charge in their markets in transforming how they think about the air inside customer homes.

Brian Wright of Crossway Mechanical, John Whitehead of Honest Heating and Cooling, Jeremy Begley of HVAC to Home Performance, Alana Ward of Baggett Heating and Cooling, and Dennielle Hearn of Hearn Plumbing and Heating shared their insights on what it means to deliver truly High-Performance HVAC and why Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is at the heart of it.

Performance First, Products Second

When I asked each contractor how they approach IAQ, the answer was unanimous: ductwork and system performance come first.
“If you put in a system, set it up right, seal it properly, and it passes performance testing, IAQ products work great,” said Brian Wright. “But if the system isn’t set up well, the products get a bad reputation.”

Ward was even more direct: “Selling IAQ products without fixing ductwork is like throwing a squirt gun on a house fire. It’s water, but it’s not gonna solve the problem.”

Hearn added, “If you’re not fixing the problem, you’re putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.” Their team refuses to sell IAQ upgrades unless they address any foundational issues first.

Jeremy Begley, who bridges HVAC and building performance, reinforced this principle: “IAQ is already a part of HVAC — the ‘V’ stands for ventilation. It must be implemented just as carefully and just as controlled as everything else.”

Building a Culture Around IAQ

For Brian Wright, IAQ isn’t a product — it’s a mindset. He says that they began by testing static pressure with manometers.
“As we started testing, we learned. We built a culture around it.”

That culture has transformed his business. “We’re currently booked out for eight to 10 weeks. We try to make no more than two appointments a day. It’s made a huge impact — it’s changed our lives.”

John Whitehead talks about IAQ from the perspective of safety. He says NCI training reshaped his company’s safety culture.
“Before we started as NCI contractors, I thought I was a hero because of my troubleshooting abilities. What I realized is that troubleshooting didn’t always solve issues that could impact customers’ health and safety.”

He says he now sees IAQ as part of a broader responsibility.

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