Heating Help

I was on the Number 6 New York City subway train the other day when I spotted a billboard that read, “Cynics may shake their heads, but cynics never really do much anyway – except shake their heads.” I like that. 

            I like that because it’s January and anything seems possible during January.  This is when the hawk comes screaming down from Canada, tearing at our cheeks and noses, and all the heating systems are running full out. It gets cold every winter, and that’s money in the bank. And all of America’s heating systems are mechanical and electrical and these things will break down at some point, no matter who you are. That, too, is money in the bank.

            I read in the newspapers that America is throwing a recession. The Lovely Marianne and I have decided not to participate in this one. We can do that because we’ve done it before. We started our company in 1989, just in time for another big recession. We didn’t participate in that one either. We couldn’t afford to participate. And we didn’t have to participate because of the two reasons I just mentioned: It gets cold every winter. Stuff always breaks down.

            You don’t have to participate in this recession either, unless you’re a cynic, of course. Then you’ll probably want to take part in this craziness, perhaps even revel in this.  It’s just not for me.

            This January brings us a new administration and I’m happy to see it, especially since our new president is talking about making all of these government buildings more energy efficient.  What a big, juicy plum that is! I see such opportunity for all of us who are in the business of keeping people warm and safe. And I imagine that some of this coming work will involve more than just heating equipment. Much of the money will probably go to weatherization, and there’s no reason you can’t be involved in that business too. It may be time to examine how you go to market, and how you present yourself to the world.

            I also think that much of the coming work will involve fixing older heating systems, and many of these systems run on steam. This is a fine time to get up to speed on things like steam traps, how to balance the venting of air from an old steam system, and how to select and properly pipe a replacement steam boiler.

            I was in a luxury apartment building in Manhattan last fall, looking at a heating system that Dead Men installed in the early-1880s. The apartment I was in had just sold for $16.5 million, was being totally rebuilt, and was to have the same steam system that it has had all along. How come?  Changing it to something else would involve changing everything in the building, and that just wasn’t feasible. It would disturb too many rich people.

            Now think of all the big government buildings all across America that still have steam heat. My guess is that they’re not going to rip out all of those systems, not when a bit of tweaking can show very impressive results. It’s a matter of getting the most for you money, right? Sure it is, and I think that contractors who are not cynical will get to the right people and talk to them about what’s possible.

            I think this is the very best time to be in this business. All the planets are aligning and I’m smiling. There is absolutely no reason to participate in this recession unless you really want to, and I mentioned that on The Wall at HeatingHelp.com recently. Steamhead, one of the guys who regularly visit our site, wrote that he and his partner, Gordon, had just finished a job in Baltimore where they were able to cut the gas consumption in a big building by 36 percent. They did this just by tweaking the air venting in that old steam system, and they do stuff like this all the time. They call it de-knuckleheading the system. It involves putting things back to the way they once were, to the way they’re supposed to be.

            Dave Brunnell from Amboy, Illinois, wrote, “I'm with Steamhead on this.

There is a time a place for the application of new, high-tech condensing boilers. However, I also have many projects where I made relatively minor upgrades to the system, leaving the existing equipment in place, and properly tuning it. I’ve seen savings of 20-to-40 percent.  Payback on the investment came in less than two months for one of these jobs, and we just about eliminated all the issues of unbalanced heating. I am in the middle of two other projects that are very likely to demonstrate this same pattern. Getting our old systems working properly can result in enormous energy savings with a small investment. I am also looking into taking full advantage of this low-hanging fruit in the near future.”

            See? Dave isn’t participating in the recession either.

            Then Mike, another regular visitor, wrote, “We, as a nation, in government buildings, businesses, as well as in our homes, could do a lot to conserve energy with very little investment. I teach part-time at a State Community College. In just one building, the heating system is so unbalanced that one classroom gets into the 90s while the other rooms are a comfortable 70. Repeated repair requests to Facilities Maintenance have been unsuccessful in past years. One year, they told us to leave the windows in the overheated room open overnight so it won't be too hot in the morning.  Guess what the topic studied in this building was. It was HVAC!  But I will put in a disclaimer that students and instructors are prohibited from working on anything within the building. All repairs and adjustments must go through the proper channels. In the past, with cheap energy, there were few consequences, but now, with increased awareness, the top brass has taken notice and it seems the issue may be solved. I know we all live with a certain amount of bureaucracy, but it seems fuel prices have been more successful at breaking through the red tape than we mortal humans have been. As the cliché says, necessity is the mother of invention.”

            And as I mentioned, the planets are aligning. It is a mighty fine time to be in this recession-proof business of ours. At least I think so.

            But on the other hand, I can always use some yin to my yang, so lets hear from some cynics. Here’s Scot:

            “Stop dreaming. Don't forget they are all politicians! They lie to their families, so why should they tell us the truth? You can't change politicians, and you can't change D.C. They are hand in hand corrupt and wasteful. Regardless of who is in office, the waste will continue and we will continue to pay.

            Nice yin, don’t you think? But wait, there’s more. Here’s Ron:

            “It's deja vu all over again. Like a reread of 1933 – massive public works programs, with massive numbers of new folks on the public (and taxpayer-financed-private) payroll, a huge increase in bureaucrats, and more regulations to screw up even more that which was already screwed up. The economy and the country, were worse off in 1937 than they were in 1933. It took a war to turn things around.

            “Proposals to upgrade government buildings must be taken with a five-pound bag of course salt. Gold-plated specs will be passed out to lots of contractors. The contractor they accept will be the one with the best connections (read dollars contributed) or a qualified minority. He or she, like many of the others, will lowball the price (still three times what it's worth) and make a killing off the change orders.

            “When it is done and the first year is gone, government clones will take over. Their idea of preventive maintenance is to wait for the last backup to fail and then let their fingers do the walking. They’ll call a contractor who will charge top dollar for the special parts (the government hates off-the-shelf stuff), airfreight, and massive amounts of overtime, to make the repair. All on your dime and my dime, times millions.”

            So there you have it. Choose your outlook and your attitude. There are two major ones available: Either you see what’s going on right now as a fantastic opportunity, one that will allow you to not participate in this recession, or you can see it as a really nasty thing, one worthy of your contempt.

            Shake your head or nod your head. It’s that simple, and it’s your choice.

            I choose to nod.