In This Issue

• Member Spotlight - From the Cover

with Cropp Metcalfe P. 2

• Showing not Telling; Teaching not

Selling by Rick Hutcherson P. 4

• Ken’s Korner & CO Sale P. 9-10

• Members Make A Difference P. 12

• BPI Online and Field Exams P.14

• Industry News P. 15

2

Interview with Tim Cropp, President

CroppMetcalfe was

founded with a mission to

provide the ultimate in total

comfort for our customers.

In keeping with that mission CroppMetcalfe began offering

blower door testing in 1997. At that time CroppMetcalfe

became Comfort Institute members and we have been

partners ever since. CroppMetcalfe has tested over 2000

homes and solved the comfort issues of well over 1000 of

our customers.

CroppMetcalfe recognized that Home Performance

Contracting, then in its infancy, was the next step in

offering total comfort solutions to our customers. We

noticed that even after installing high efficiency state of the

art equipment we were still not able to make our

customer's homes as comfortable, energy efficient and

healthy as we hoped and our customers desired.

Mechanically the system was working fine, but comfort

wise they were unhappy.

With the help of Comfort Institute, CroppMetcalfe

trained all of our technicians to recognize problems and to

question customers regarding their comfort concerns and

then offer them a potential solution and a way to discover

the source of their concerns. We finally had the ability to

solve our customers’ problems and provide them with

Ultimate Comfort.

Homeowners have been thinking that they have had to live

with the problems for so many years. When you can show

them the causes and you have the backup data to support

what you’re explaining to them from third party sources, it

makes things a lot easier and allows them to understand.

You’ve got to look at the entire home as a system. You

can’t just look at one part, not just the mechanical side, not

just the ductwork, not just the envelope and chases and

things of that nature. You have to look at the complete

package. You’ve also got to look at positive and negative

pressures, you’ve got to look at being able to install things

like transfer grilles when customers are shutting doors.

For a company of our size it made sense to set up an

entire profit center that does nothing but Home

Performance assessments. It’s separate from our

replacement sales department. The leads come from a

variety of different avenues, primarily our Service

Technicians. (See article on bottom of Page 3).

We now have two certified analysts and a number of

technicians whose sole purpose is to perform Home

Performance work and to satisfy our customer's home

comfort needs. CroppMetcalfe is excited about the

future of the Home Performance industry and looks

forward to the further expansion of Home Performance

Contracting with Comfort Institute at the forefront.

Over the last 15 years Comfort Institute has guided

us through BPI certifications as well as providing

regular ongoing training and education that has

allowed CroppMetcalfe to remain at the forefront of

the Home Performance industry.

Written by Neil Dodson Home Performance Comfort Adviser of CroppMetcalfe since November 2009 with over 300 homes tested.

After the economy slowed down and the

construction business dried up, I found myself looking for

a business that was economy-proof. I performed energy

audits for a small local company using only an infrared

camera and a flash light. I performed about 50 audits this

way and realized that there must be a better to do

this. Then I learned CroppMetcalfe was expanding their

HP program and was looking for someone like me.

My background in residential construction and home

inspection combined with the training and support I

received from Comfort Institute made it an easy

transition. Through Comfort Institute, I got the right

training on how to perform audits and passed all of BPI’s

requirements. I am now a Certified BPI Analyst and

Envelope Professional. Being involved in HP Contracting

has allowed me to remain involved in residential

building. I am able to use my building skills, knowledge

and passion to providing “Real” fixes to my customer’s

problems.

When a customer calls me into their home I listen to their

issues, and come up with a game plan to solve their

comfort issues once and for all. The best part is that 99%

of the time they can keep their existing equipment. The

more involved I get in Home Performance Contracting the

more excited I get about its future and mine. I’m truly

excited about where this industry is headed and I plan to

continue to be a big part of this industry and to help

CroppMetcalfe become an industry leader in Home

Performance Contracting.

3

Member Duct Renovation Case Study

Duct Work Sealed Properly.

Duct Work Not Sealed

Properly.

Suspicious Substance

Caused By Moisture in Duct

System.

Duct Work Improperly

Sealed With ‘Duct Tape’.

Old, Bulky Return

Configuration

Redesigned return with new

air cleaner to allow better

airflow.

Duct Work is Now

Connected Properly.

From CroppMetcalfe’s Website:

Who Is The Five Star Technician?

You've seen our technician on trucks,

TV commercials, and postcards, but

just who is the 5-Star Technician?

The 5-Star Technician is the only type

of technician you want in your home.

The 5-Star Technician is courteous,

on-time, and knows how to take care

of your needs. Whether you are a 30-

year customer or brand new to the

CroppMetcalfe family, you know that

the 5-Star Technician is someone

you can trust. Through countless

hours of training, a 5-Star Technician

understands the latest advances in

the air conditioning, heating, plumb-

ing, and security fields. Our techni-

cian's truck is fully stocked to enable

many repairs to be handled the same

day. If it is time for new equipment,

the 5-Star Technician and the rest of

our team can make recommenda-

tions based on your individual needs

and indoor comfort problems. In

short, the 5-Star Technician is the

best in the business and someone

you can be proud to call YOUR

TECHNICIAN.

Duct Work Now Sealed

With MASTIC.

CroppMetcalfe

Primary Homeowner Concern: Bad Allergies Location: Vienna, VA

PROBLEM: A homeowner was concerned about the status of the duct system due to their breathing, allergy, and air

quality problems in the home.

FINDINGS: CroppMetcalfe investigated their duct system prior to having it cleaned and discovered that the attic duct

system had large gaps in the supplies. Leaking duct work in unconditioned areas will cause moisture problems inside

the duct work, negative pressure, and significant energy efficiency loss as well. We were able to identify a significant

source for the air quality, dust, and moisture concerns in the home. The duct system was made of an older fiberglass

duct board material which deteriorates over time introducing air borne particles into the air of the home.

RECOMMENDATIONS: CroppMetcalfe recommended solving the issue by replacing the attic duct system with a

combination of solid metal and flexible ducting that is properly sealed and insulated.

RESULTS: As a result of the recommended work performed, the possibility of the duct system pulling in the

contaminated and unconditioned attic air and distributing throughout the home was eliminated. This will also reduce

wasted energy and improve the comfort of the serviced areas.

This is an example definition of CroppMetcalfe’s five star technician. All companies should have a clear definition of what

it takes to be a champion technician in your company. This sets a bar and a level of achievement for them to chase. I will

outline a champion technician in the next quarter’s news letter or contact me at 386-246-7077 or email at rick@ciinfo.org

4

Showing not Telling; Teaching not Selling

Being in sales and teaching since 1981, I’ve found that people do

not like to be sold. When they feel like you’re selling them they

immediately get defensive and this is not how you want your cus-

tomer to feel. Your goal is not to sell them but teach them so well

that they feel stupid to say ‘no’ because they realize how much

what you are showing them benefits themselves and their family.

I call this Non-Selling, Selling. The whole goal is to teach/educate

them on things that no one else is talking about and make them

wonder why no one else did.

Make a big deal out of things that differentiate you from everyone

else. If you are like everyone else who only talks about Price,

Brand and Efficiency then you just made everyone your competi-

tion. Anyone can get your brand, has your efficiencies and you

can cut your price in half and someone will still beat that price. So,

how do we differentiate ourselves from everyone else and not

make them feel like they are being sold a bunch of extra stuff?

Seeing, Truly is Believing

You have to know that people believe about 11% of what you say

and over 80% of what they see. Seeing, truly is believing.

When looking at ‘equipment only’ all they see is a brochure of a

system that looks the same as the last one they saw; and maybe

it is. Then you go into the old spiel of, “But we’re different.” and

“We have been in business for such and such years.” Then they

say so have they! Now where do you go? On the other hand,

when you get them involved (happily) in a Home Performance

Test and show them that 30% of their air is coming from their

crawl space or their attic, you get their attention.

They start to listen especially if they have asthma, allergies or

respiratory problems, high utility bills or an uncomfortable home.

Now, you have found their “PAIN” (we will discuss that topic more

in depth in the next issue of the Newsletter). When using the

smoke puffer you show them that their return is connected to their

attic and that hot dirty air is being pulled across their coil causing

them to lose 10% to 30% of efficiency, they start to listen. When

they see that 20% to 30% of the air that they are paying for is

either going in the attic, crawlspace or basement because of leaky

ductwork and not entering their living space, they start to listen.

When they see the air leaking in down from their attic through

lights, or into their home from their attached garage, then they

start to listen. Showing them makes all the difference. Then

when you say this is like their kids are sleeping in their attic, or

like they are parking their car in their living room, they get it, and

they ask those magic words: "Can you fix that?"

Bottom Line

Building trust and confidence should be your #1 goal in the home.

Home Performance testing separates you from everyone else and

“Shows” that you care. They see it with their own eyes, so

“It is real”.

Showing not Telling; Teaching not Selling.

Rick is now leading up all CI sales classes (including the Carrier EE#3

class). If you are a CI Member, be sure to see the dates for the 501

classes and take advantage of Rick’s Phenomenal Training. Remember,

classes are FREE to CI MEMBERS, so you can attend again and again.

When you first get to a customers home, say, ”While I am

here in your home, if there is anything I can do to make

your home safer, healthier and more efficient; would you

like me to share that with you today?” They will say yes.

When you find something in a customer’s home, SHOW

them. Never TELL them. Go get them and bring them to

the area you are talking about and say, “I need to ask you

a question, you remember when I said earlier I would

show you if there was anything that we could do to make

your home safer, healthier and more efficient?”

At this point you explain to them that it’s your obligation to

show them ways you can help them. Then you tell them

they don’t have to do any of this BUT this is where you go

back to teaching them so well that what you are showing

them makes so much sense that they have to say yes.

When you are using statements like:

“I’m sure you don’t want me doing guess work with your

hand earned money right? “

Or “Teaching misdiagnosis is malpractice.

They can’t say no.

5

Dear Members,

Please see the letter below from BPI, this is a VERY big deal although it has no im-mediate impact on us; it is still a very

big mega trend.

PACE would allow a homeowner to buy a $30,000 job, but only have to pay for a portion of it during the time they own their home; the remainder of the note

carries over to future owners.

It brings positive cash flow to your cus-tomers by their having lower utility bills than payments and encourages bigger all encompassing HP jobs.

We will keep you informed about PACE as things progress.

Brendan -

CEO/Founder Comfort Institute

August 31, 2012

Dear Colleague,

On August 10, a Federal District Court ruled against the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and in favor of the State of California, Sonoma and Placer Counties, the City of Palm Desert and the Sierra Club, requiring FHFA to move forward with their public rule making pro-cess regarding Property Accessed Clean Ener-gy (PACE) programs.

BPI is writing to inform contractors of this ruling, which could significantly impact homeowner demand for your services. Although this case is specific to California,

FHFA continues to challenge PACE in states throughout the country as well.

PACE programs have enormous potential to boost demand for energy efficient retrofit improvements. PACE finances energy efficiency upgrades to homes by allowing homeowners to receive 100 percent financing for measures that achieve energy savings, and to repay the loan through their property tax assessment for up to 20 years.

PACE is beneficial for families whose homes need energy efficient upgrades but who do not currently have the funds to do it. PACE advocates argue that the initiative would create permanent private sector jobs, strengthen national and local economies, and motivate more people to embrace energy efficient home improvements.

FHFA is an independent federal agency created by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) to supervise and regulate the Enterprises and the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks.

FHFA argues that the implementation of PACE's initiative would create a first-lien on the home, which would create financial risk for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other Federal Home Loan Banks.

If you would like to sign on to a joint comment letter to the FHFA, please contact Ramona Willis at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati.

If you would like to send a separate letter to the FHFA, you can download the attached template or write your own letter, and submit it to RegComments@fhfa.gov.

To learn more about the FHFA's proposed rule, or to learn more about PACE, visit our website at www.bpi.org

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Adam Browning at the Vote Solar Initiative.

Sincerely, Larry Zarker

Federal Court Rules in Favor of PACE Financing

6

CREATING THE

LARGEST ENERGY STAR RATED

COMMUNITY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK

3,600 New And Existing Homes Treated With Aeroseal

To Reduce Energy Loss Through Duct System Leakage

Lend Lease was on a mission: To get 3,600 new and existing homes in the Fort Drum Mountain Community ENERGY STAR® certified. To do so, they knew they had to reduce duct system leakage of each home from an average of 20-30% down to 5% or less. After several attempts with various methods of duct sealing, they found only one thing worked – Aeroseal. Today, the Fort Drum Mountain Community is the largest New York ENERGY STAR (NYSERDA) certified community in the history of New York State.

In Brief

Property Managers: Lend Lease. HVAC Contractor: TAG Mechanical Systems. Location: Fort Drum Army Base, near Watertown, NY Stats: 2,200 existing homes; 1,400 new homes. Before Aeroseal: avg new home air duct leakage 30%. After Aeroseal: new home air duct leakage 5% or less. Energy savings: with the help of Aeroseal, average gas use in each home was reduced by 47%.

Lend Lease knew that saving energy costs would be a critical factor in their bottom line profits for managing the 3,600 homes under their care in the Fort Drum Mountain Community. Lend Lease called on the HVAC professionals at TAG Mechanical Systems of Syracuse New York to test for air duct leakage in each new home being built.

ENERGY STAR certification demanded no more than 5 percent leakage. After each house received a failing grade, TAG was asked to fix the problem.

At first, TAG took painstaking measures to properly install and manually seal each of the new duct systems with mastic and tape. Initial tests were positive. That was in the Fall of 2005 when the weather was fair. Three months later, once the temperatures around the upper state New York community began to drop, so did the effectiveness of the newly installed duct work. The only permanent solution to properly sealing the air ducts was Aeroseal.

Over the course of the project, TAG aerosealed more than 3,600 new and existing homes, including standalone homes, apartments and multi-unit dwellings. The process is so fast and easy to do that the HVAC contractors were able to complete four to six homes per day. Best of all, each home was tested before, during and after the sealing process. This allowed Land Lease to document Aeroseal’s effectiveness and ultimately gain Energy Star certification for each and every home.

In Conclusion

Aeroseal – The Technology

• Developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in

1994.

• Research for Aeroseal was partially funded by the EPA

and the U.S. Department of Energy.

• Aeroseal is the only duct sealant technology that is applied from the inside of the duct system. It is delivered as a non-toxic aerosol mist that seeks out and plugs

leaks.

• Aeroseal has proven to be 95% effective at sealing air

duct leaks.

Aeroseal – The Company

• Aeroseal LLC is a subsidiary of JMD Corporation. The company is dedicated solely to the support of its dealers and the expansion of Aeroseal technology as a primary means of residential and commercial energy

conservation.

• Aeroseal is the sole owner and licensee of Aeroseal

technology.

• Aeroseal technology was bought by Carrier Corporation in the late 1990s. In 2010, Mark Modera, the inventor of Aeroseal, with the support of private equity investors, bought the company from carrier to realize the full potential and benefits of the technology. This lead to the

launch of Aeroseal LLC in 2011.

For more information about the Fort Drum Mountain Community application or about Aeroseal in general, contact Brad Brenner at (503) 736-0610.

Fort Drum Mountain Community:

3,600 Energy Certified Homes.

News You Can Use -Aeroseal Press Release featuring CI Member, Tag Mechanical

7

Comfort Institute Now Offers Dow

FrothPak Brand Products by Joe Barrow

We at Dow are very pleased

that Comfort Institute will now

be offering our FrothPak Brand

products to its members. We

look forward to working with the

CI members in order to learn

about your needs and provide

exceptional service.

Dow’s FrothPak products come in two varieties - Sealant Kits

and Insulation Kits.

FrothPak Sealant Kits are 2 part foam kits used to airseal

building envelop connections, plumbing gaps and ductwork.

As long as this product in installed at less than 1” thick, it

can be used in basements, crawlspaces and attics without

covering with an ignition or thermal barrier according to the

latest IRC building code.

FrothPak Insulation Kits are 2 part foam kits used to airseal

and insulate the same assemblies as our sealant kits. The

difference is that there are fire retardants in the insulation kits

that allow the foam to be left exposed up to 2” thick in the

following assemblies without the need to install an ignition or

thermal barrier. This is also based on the latest IRC building

code. Beware that not all Class A foam insulation brands

have code approval to be left exposed in the assemblies

below. Please contact Comfort Institute or Dow Building

Solutions for more details.

• Roof/Wall Junctions.

• Roof Penetrations.

• Roof/Floor Junctions.

• Sill Plates & Headers.

• Conduit Internal Sealing.

• Duct Joint Sealing.

• Rim Joints between foundation and first floor.

Dow’s FrothPak kits have the best

Gun/Nozzle quality in the industry.

Metered ports on the back side of our

nozzles allow for controlled flow rates

when applying our foam products.

We have 2 lb./minute, 4 lb./minute, 6 lb./minute and 8 lb./

minute flow rate nozzles in a variety of spray patterns to

suit every application. Another benefit to controlling the

flow rate is that we also control the nitrogen propellant

that is expelled during application. This allows for more

propellant to stay in the tanks longer and more chemical

is used….less chemical left when the tanks are done…

better yield!!!!

Once you start using about 2000 board feet per month

in product (10 - 200 kits or 3 – 620 kits), you may want

to consider graduating to our FrothPak Refill System.

This system sprays the same products as the FrothPak

kits, but drives your cost per board foot down substan-

tially (74 to 50 cents per board foot depending on the

size tanks you use). This is more of a pro system that

stays on your “fluffy stuff blow and go” truck using 150’ to

180’ of heated hose to reach your targeted work.

Please visit the Dow Building Solution website for videos

on our FrothPak products. You will find a variety of topics

including set up and troubleshooting procedures.

Air Sealing/

Caulking Low

Output, yellow

backed - 2 lbs./min

Fan/Spray Wide

Area Coverage,

white backed - 4

lbs./min flow rate

NS Cone/Spray

Medium Output,

small area cover-

age, grey backed -

6-7 lbs./min

Pour Nozzle High

Output, large

volume coverage,

black backed - 8-

10lbs./min

DOW brand spray foam products are now available for purchase at www.ciinfo.org/store or by calling 800-933-5656.

Comfort Institute offers 200 and 620 board foot kits, as well as, Dow guns and nozzles.

We can also provide the new Dow nitrogen propelled refillable systems. Contact us for details and a quote, as they are not yet on the website.

Note: Touch n seal nozzles and guns can’t be mixed with the Dow products so to be sure to order the right ones. We will continue to offer the 750 tanks for the CPDS system as well.

Free freight: Single pallet quantities (e.g. 12 620 kits) get free freight.

More details to follow!

CI TRIVIA Which of the following are

common exterior sources of

carbon monoxide:

__ A) Electric power lines.

__ B) Power equipment like lawn mowers or generators.

__ C) Soil gas.

__ D) None of the above.

For people who need or

want low-level CO detection

in their home you

should recommend:

__ A) UL-listed CO alarm.

__ B) 2 or more UL-listed CO alarms.

__ C) A pet canary.

__ D) CO Low Level Monitor.

The safest and surest solu-

tion for any un-vented appli-

ance inside a home is

to:

__ A) Tune up the appliance.

__ B) Remove it or discontinue its use.

__ C) Operate it only Periodically.

__ D) Crack open a window.

Industry Humor Q: What’s big, fuzzy, and uses a lot of electricity?

A: An A/C unit next to a dryer vent.

Q: How are computers and air conditioners alike?

A: Both stop working once you open Windows.

HOME PERFORMANCE SCORECARDS

CONTEST FOR ALL

CI MEMBERS

CATEGORIES

A) Home Performance Sales by Comfort Advisors.

B) Home Performance Sales by Technicians.

C) Home Performance Leads Sold by Techs.

D) Home Performance Leads Sold by CSRs.

E) Home Performance Repairs and Upgrades Installed.

For this contest, all sales and leads have to be

home performance related to qualify for each

category. Please send all totals for each category

by the 10th of each month to stormi@ciinfo.org for

previous month totals. (Contest begins January

2013; send totals February 10th, and so on.)

The Top Ten in the country (in each category) will

receive a Signed Certificate of Achievement to

frame and proudly display on your company wall of

fame.

The Number Ones (in each category) will receive

the special Number One in the Country Certificate.

At Year End, (Twelve Months from the original start

date declared by Comfort Institute), the Participants

who have the highest totals for the year from each

category will receive a Champions Grand Prize.

The Quarterly Newsletter will post The Number

Ones (in each category) throughout the year and

do a short success story with pictures giving your

employees something to shoot for and some

well-deserved recognition. This is a great tool to

give your team motivation to achieve ultimate

success and bragging rights. Ready to Participate?

Email Stormi@ciinfo.org today to receive the

information you will need.

Rick Hutcherson President Comfort Institute

“Thank You”

As we near the holidays and

the close of a year, we will

no doubt hear phrases that

we take for granted year

after year; phrases such as,

‘Be Thankful’, ‘Have a Merry

Christmas’ and ‘Happy New

Year’.

Some of us may look at this

time as the happiest of the

year while others may view

it with trepidation.

How one chooses to view

things is a choice. Each day

we make choices in how we

feel; how we view our

careers and who we allow in

our lives. We can look at

this life as a blessing or we

can tear it down bit by bit

until in essence we create

our own negatives.

It is all a choice, so we

should choose the good

things, ask for God’s grace

and stop now and then;

along this busy journey of

life to be thankful for all our

blessings.

Our CI Members and fellow

CI employees are a blessing

to us and we would like to

take a moment to thank you

all and wish you a wonderful

November and December.

Well here we are, those lazy days of summer are over, unless you are an air conditioning contractor, that is, more like ‘busy days of summer’ for us. Everywhere across this country we had a very good one. Don't we just love those hot days? But now is the time to shift gears, hope that the winter is cold and that we can continue to stay busy. But wait…it won’t get cold for a couple of months, so what is our plan until then? Now is a great time to do our fall fur-nace tune-ups to get our clients ready for winter. A couple of things we should be looking for, of course, would be gas leaks (if the system is gas), static pressure measuring (as this could lead to further diagnostics and possible sales), and of course we need to be listening to any concerns the customer may have. But most importantly, we need to talk about CO in homes that have any type of a fuel burn-ing appliance.

CO can be a deadly killer in many homes. Many homes have CO levels that can send a family member to a hospital. In other homes with CO, occupants are lethargic, have flu-like systems or migraine headaches. Too many homes that we go into have no protection from CO and may not even understand the health risks!

All CI Members have a great sales video that can be shown to the home owner via your web site if you have your videos up and running. This video can also be shown from a laptop while the tech is in the home. In addition, there is an informative tri-fold brochure that can either be left behind in the home or gone over with the homeowner by the technician.

So what type of a CO monitor should you recommend? There has always been the UL listed monitor that can be purchased at any hardware, Walmart, Target and other type of discount stores. The big problem with this type of CO monitor is that they do not provide the homeowner with the protection they really desire. The big question is; when do you want to know when you have CO present in the home? Our standard answer at CI is “immediately”. This is not what you get with the UL listed monitors. The UL listed monitors do not need to go into alarm until there is a presence of 35 ppm for more then (4) consecutive hours. While this will not kill anyone, long-term exposure can lead to many serious health issues. We recommend the CO Experts monitor. This monitor will let the occupants know when there are very low levels of CO present

(10 ppm) and will increase the alarm as the CO level goes up in the home. While they are more expensive then the UL listed alarm, they are much more sensitive and offer superior protection.

Watch the sales video, look at the CO Alarm videos in your technical training DVD library (Videos 139, 140, 143, 166) and protect your family and clients by offering them the ultimate in CO safety.

To purchase these Alarms, Go to the Comfort

Institute Website www.ciinfo.org, Click on the ‘Online

Store’ tab, then Click on the ‘Consumable Products’

tab or click the link HERE to order now.

To purchase the Pamphlet BRO-164 Go to the

Comfort Institute Website www.ciinfo.org, Click on the

‘Online Store’ tab, then Click on the ‘Books/

Brochures/Software’ tab, then Click on the ‘Carbon

Monoxide Consumer Brochure’ or click the link HERE

to order now. Remember, These Brochures can be

ordered with YOUR COMPANY INFORMATION

IMPRINTED on them.

TURNTHEPAGETOGETINON

THEMONTHLONGSALEOF

CARBONMONOXIDEALARMS

ANDBROCHURES!

10

Because We Care

Steven Rivera made it home

from war only to find himself fighting

another battle – this time for food and a

safe place to sleep on the very streets

he was protecting. He might still be

there – just another homeless veter-

an statistic – if it weren’t for people like you who help restore

hope and dignity to veterans through the DAV. Because

caring patriots like you refuse to allow our heroes to suffer

cruel injustices like homelessness and hunger, Steven

received help through a special DAV (Disabled American

Veterans) partnership. Progress has been made on veteran

homelessness. But with so many veterans like Steven still out

there, you and I must keep fighting for them today.

Unemployment and long waits for benefits are pushing many

of our youngest veterans into despair. They’re winding up on

the streets in rising numbers. Women veterans – and their

children – are also becoming homeless at an alarming rate.

They face added burdens that few agencies are set up

to meet. The government can’t do it all, it takes the American

community coming together.

To donate and help heroes, like Steven,

visit www.dav.org

Give your customers the best carbon monoxide protection available with this low-level CO Monitor from CO Experts. Most UL listed CO monitors measure CO levels at 70 parts per million. The CO Experts Health Monitor measures as few as 7 ppm, protecting your customers and their families from potentially dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in their homes.

CO Experts CO Health Monitor Benefits & Features include: • Digital display accurately shows current CO levels with audible alarm at 7 pm. • Extremely accurate electrochemical sensor. • Samples for CO every 10 seconds. • Uses 9 volt replaceable battery; continues to work during power outages. • Low battery, electronic error & sensor replacement warnings. • One year limited warranty. For a limited time FROM NOVEMBER 1, 2012 to DECEMBER 31, 2012, we will include 100 free Carbon Monoxide Consumer brochures with any order of six or more units (a $20 value)! These brochures are for CI Members only, and are designed for customer mailers, in-store display or for techs to leave in the customer’s homes. They discuss the dangers of carbon monoxide in the home and stress the need for every home to have a Low Level CO Monitor rather than a UL listed retail CO Monitor. For more information on these brochures, please visit our online store . COM-001: CO Experts CO Health Monitor Single Unit: $155 COM-002: 1/2 Case (6 units): $728.00 COM-003: Case (12 units): $ 1,223.00 COM-004: Master Case (48 units): $ 4,561.00 To order, call (800) 933-5656, fax order to (360)671-0947, email nicole@ciinfo.org or order online at www.ciinfo.org/store

Comfort Institute is putting together yet another

stream of income for our members by partnering

with Krystal Klear to further create healthy homes

and environments for their customers (the

homeowner).

“Most people think that their water is ok. It might smell a little bad

or taste a little funny. But they think it’s mostly ok. But those

people would be wrong. The water in your home gets absorbed in

your body through cooking, cleaning, bathing, and showering. Not

just drinking water. The danger is real. Our public water systems

are outdated and the current water treatment technology and

government agencies cannot keep up with the growing list of

organic and chemical contaminants in our water. The problem is

so bad that, in May of 2010, something BIG happened. Something

that’s NEVER happened before. The US Government issued the

President’s Cancer Panel report. They finally spilled the beans to

the American public in this shocking report about the water

problem – after decades of case studies, independent tests and

Medical journal reports. They finally admitted the chlorine,

contaminants, disinfectants, carcinogens and pollutants in our

water supply are causing cancer. And most importantly, they are

telling all Americans to install a water filtration system in

their home to reduce their risk of cancer! But here’s the

problem: most homeowners have no idea this safety warning has

been issued – even though this has been a problem for decades

and it’s only getting worse!” - These statements are from Krystal

Klear

One of the biggest benefits of HP is clean, healthy air. Adding

clean, healthy water is a natural fit.

Comfort Institute is excited to bring Krystal Klear on board to

help generate increased revenues and better serve our

customers to live in a completely healthy home.

CI Members Krystal Klear Water purchases will earn a 5%

rebate against Member Dues. More details soon...

11

‘Back to the Basics’ by Stormi Willis

Perhaps when you became a Comfort Institute Member,

your goals were high, your excitement was high and you

were on your way. Then the day to day realities of

running your business or working with your customers

pulled you away from the plans you want to achieve.

Comfort Institute realizes this can happen in any

business, so we created an entire new team whose sole

purpose is to guide you back to where you left off and

whose goal is to guide you to reach your goals. We call

this Getting ‘Back to the Basics’. Ask yourself these

questions and if you would like a printable version, please

contact Stormi@ciinfo.org

1) Do you display the CI videos on your websites main

webpage for easy access to your customers?

2) Did you print The Video List? The videos are listed in the order you will want to watch them and put them on your shelf. The First Five are (VID-115, VID-103, VID-104, VID-191 and VID-105)

3) Did you schedule a meeting with all employees to get them kicked off and watch Video Item# VID-115 called “Why We Now Take the Whole House Approach” to get your company started? After you do this, please send an email to stormi@ciinfo.org as we will be interested to see how it went and hear any questions or comments on the

video.

Did you pull Manual MAN-120 and these First Five Brochures (BRO-162, BRO-164, FOR-110, FAC-100

and FAC-101)?

We recommend that you familiarize

yourself with these five, keep them by

the phone and make it a habit for your

Service Techs to hand them to the

Customer and ask for the Survey to be returned at the

end of the visit to bring back to your office.

This serves several purposes, one of which is that during

slow weeks you can pull the Survey Card and schedule

‘Check Up’ calls to return to your Customer’s homes for

repeat business. Place an order with Corporate to have

these personalized and always keep these in stock .

Did anyone fill you in on The Most Successful

Training Order to take YOUR FREE CLASSES in?

Have you taken these?

A) TRN-101 HOME PERFORMANCE BOOT CAMP

Includes Building Performance Institute Training at the

end of the class: There is a BA (Business Analyst)

Written Exam that costs $225.00 payable to BPI; not

Comfort Institute. There is also an EP (Envelope Profes-

sional) Written Exam that costs $225.00 payable to BPI;

not Comfort Institute.

B) TRN-501 PERFORMANCE SALES AND

MARKETING (for Lead Generation and Home

Performance Success).

C) TRN-102 DUCT PERFORMANCE BOOT CAMP.

D) Have you scheduled your 2 DAY Free FIELD

TRAINING?

E) Do you want to Sign Up for these FREE CLASSES

NOW? Here is a link to our Upcoming Seminars

http://www.ciinfo.org/seminars and Training

Schools http://www.ciinfo.org/training.

F) Remember to also choose your 2 day free Training

where you choose either Business & Marketing or

Technical Training. If you want to schedule this

training, email stormi@ciinfo.org; we will look at

the schedule and someone from CI will get in

touch with you.

Warmly,

Stormi WillisStormi WillisStormi WillisStormi Willis

Comfort Institute

Member Implementation Coach

386-246-7077 Office

From the Palm Coast Of�ce From the Palm Coast Of�ce From the Palm Coast Of�ce From the Palm Coast Of�ce 1 Florida Park Drive

Suite #340

Palm Coast, FL 32137

Members Are Our First Priority

Did you know…

If your company is CFAD or a

Carrier / Bryant Dealer that you can

use a por�on of your earned co-op

dollars to pay your CI dues each

month?

Furthermore, If your company is

CFAD then you can also use some

of your earned co-op dollars to buy

test equipment?

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL CARRIER

DISTRIBUTOR FOR DETAILS.

12

Members Make A The Difference

Best Thing Since Sliced

Bread

Joe Darsch of Astro Air, Inc. said he was blown away by

CI from the beginning and still believes in us wholeheartedly. Joes says he thinks CI is the best thing since sliced bread.

Joe recalls that he was at one of the first CI meetings and that he was the only one out of fifteen company owners who signed up. He

said he thought to himself ‘these guys are fools’.

His investment has paid for itself several times over by creating an en-tire new source of in-come in the HVAC field.

The CI equipment has solved numerous issues in his customers’ homes that previously had them scratching their heads trying to figure out what to do, (dust being one of the issues solved).

Serious Mold Problems in This Home

Stormi,

Thought you might be interested in this video I took with my iPhone. Serious mold problems in this house! Can send more if you want, didn't know if it might be a help for a mold training class? Thanks for the info, couldn't find the earlier email, will sign up today for the October classes in Atlanta. Thanks for using the video, I hope it helps. I also have some still pics, the lighting wasn't too good as there was no electric on, so stills are a little better with the flash. I will have my wife send a picture to you of us in front of our shop, thanks for thinking of us and look forward to working with you.

Bill Wright Allied A/C See Video here: http://youtu.be/3rE0gSKMJjc (if you have a youtube account).

SEND YOUR HOME PERFORMANCE VIDEOS TO: stormi@ciinfo.org

ANSWERS FOR CI TRIVIA CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE HERE ON THE TRAINING LINK OR BY VIEWING VID-112, VID-166 or VID-162.

You will need to log in to access the CI Member section.

One of Comfort Institute’s Members,

Wilson of Wallingford Wilson of Wallingford is being featured in US Builders Review, a quarterly

publication dedicated to the issues that affect the construction industry, while highlighting

the operations of exemplary companies from across the industry.

Congratulations, Congratulations, David O’Connell , we look forward to seeing the article showcasing the overview

of your operations and strategies that have led to your success along with Comfort Institute in the

Home Performance Industry.

13

We always want to hear our CI member's Home Performance success stories, sales tips and lead generation techniques. We would like to share them with fellow members and with future members!

Share them with us by volunteering for a recorded phone interview and get entered into our quarterly drawing. The more you have to share, the more raffle ticket chances you have to win! All phone interview volunteers receive a $50 restaurant gift card at Carrabba's Italian Grill just for helping out.

If your company gets selected for a CI Newsletter Member profile, we'll send you another $500 gift card as a further thank you!

Here are examples of the categories we are looking for, and that will drive my phone interview with

you if you'd like to help.

1. A big total Home Performance job ‘Case Study’ that is over $20,000 with a happy customer (with or without HVAC equipment). If equipment is included, significant duct and house repairs must be done too.

2. An ecstatic homeowner’s testimonial letter or video clip that we can share that supports home performance testing and

repair. We will enter an extra raffle ticket if they say they were originally looking to buy duct cleaning or just equipment and

say they are glad they chose to test instead of guessing first. Another double bonus is if you have documented year to year

utility bill savings over 33%.

3. A testimonial on how HP contracting helps to get rid of the weather and seasonality by mining your customer base and new

ways to generate business in mild weather.

4. A testimonial on how CI's training and marketing/sales systems have helped you to succeed.

5. A tip on the best ways you generate Home Performance test leads, or convert regular HVAC and IAQ leads into HP testing.

6. Your favorite "sales tip" or any word track or response that consistently helps you sell HP testing or repairs.

7. A specific testimonial on how much sales have increased and gross profit revenue that you have created by getting involved

with CI and Home Performance.

8. An overall recommendation that other good contractors join as CI Members and get involved with Home Performance.

How to get the most raffle tickets: For each tip, testimonial or case study you share, we’ll enter a ticket for you into the drawing. So, the more the better! I am allowed to give bonus tickets if something helpful comes up that we haven't thought of here! So if you’d like to help out, call or send me an email and we’ll schedule a mutually convenient time to do the recorded Phone Interview. Allow 20 to 40 minutes of your time. I will email you a confirmation email with a call in number and code. After the interview I’ll send you your raffle ticket numbers, and a $50 Carrabba's Italian Grill restaurant gift card. The Drawing: At the end of each calendar quarter, Rick's daughter Kiah will come in to the office and do the drawing for our $2,500 grand prize! You can A) accept the reward as a company credit on your account to use against instruments and materials, or B) accept it (along with a 1099!) as a cash prize from us (if interviewee is a member company employee, owner must agree to prize going to employee).

Raffle Tickets don’t expire! We’ll keep non-winners’ undrawn tickets in the bowl for future drawings (must be a member to win). So what are you waiting for? Let’s do an interview to help your fellow CI members, CI, and yourself!

14

New to Home Performance and need BPI certification? Or, are you already certified but it is approaching your 3 year renewal? Here’s the latest on how to go about it. Building Analyst and Envelope Professional are the two most popular BPI certifications. They both require two steps: an online multiple choice 100 question exam, and an individual proctored field exam in a real house.

Online Written Exams Available at CI’s TRN-101 Class CI offers the BPI online exams as an option on Friday mornings at the end of our 101 Home Performance Boot camp. If you are just looking to renew, you are welcome to come just for the exam(s). However since the TRN101 class is at no charge if you are a CI Member, we encourage attending it as a review. The BPI fee for each exam is $225. (New Comfort Institute Member and Tech Partner Packages DO NOT include any pre-paid BPI Exam Fees, whether written, online, or in the field.)

Interested in Field Exams by Comfort Institute? Already completed the 101 class and passed the BPI written exams? CI has two BPI Field Exam Proctors who can conduct BPI field exams at your place of business - if you arrange the houses. If you have not yet received the 2 days of Field Training included in Comfort Institute’s Standard Membership Package, you may choose to have us send a technical trainer who can do your BPI field exams as part of the trip. Or, ask us for a quote to come and do additional on-site training and field exams.

However, there are a few issues to keep in mind. New BPI rules state that a trainer cannot do a field exam for someone he has trained (either in classroom or in field). Therefore, if you want to get people BPI field examined, that must happen as the first thing on that visit. No mentoring training can take place before the field exam. So, this means you have to be ready to take the exam. Many are, having done well at the 101 class, watched a lot of CI video, done a lot of practice, and ideally done some assessments with someone else in the company who is already BPI certified. If so, we can start by proctoring your field exam(s), and then spend the rest of the two days on additional field training and overall CI coaching. Additional days can be added to the 2 day visit at a special rate if you have many to get certified. Not sure if you are prepared enough? An alternative for you to consider is to have your CI field trainer NOT perform the exams, and instead just supervise and mentor your candidates for two days by testing many houses. Then, either have a different CI field exam proctor come back to do the exams (fee applies), or find another 3rd party proctor in your area. For any assistance regarding field training, field exams or locating a local proctor, contact Stormi.

Independent Proctors For Field Exams Given the difficulties and costs associated with arranging field exams all over the country, we are creating a list of independent proctors around the country. Our first is Rob Minnick. Rob is a Baltimore MD area Comfort Institute Member who offers BPI Field Exams. They have an unoccupied BPI test house in their compound. For his fees and schedule, please contact Rob directly at 800-560-5200 or rob@minnicks.com

Getting more yield from your spray foam kits is one of the key reasons we have switched to DOW products. In particular, the DOW- 259212 low output caulking nozzle (green color, yellow backed) greatly increase the amount of air sealing you can get out of a kit. Two reasons: one, it sprays at a much lower rate which is much more controllable, especially in tight spaces. You can literally spray the length of each top plate seam and have a bead less than an inch wide and half an inch thick. Two, DOW says the controlled flow rate wastes less nitrogen propellant, resulting in less unused chemical left in one of the tanks. Our limited experience so far confirms this: I did a crawlspace job last month and had almost NO left over chemical. Other tips to minimize waste: keep the chemical warm! Ideally 80 degrees. We’ll cover all the ways to do this in the next newsletter. Also, shake the tanks thoroughly each day, and keep both tanks level. Finally, use an equal pressure dispensing system. While we have many members using the TouchnSeal CPDS, our favorite is now the DOW 17 gallon refillable systems, primarily as the cost per board foot is much, much less. If you are using more than three 600 kits a month, we suggest you consider stepping up to the refillable. Contact us for more details.

Recommend A Proctor? If you have had a good experience with a local independent BPI proctor and would like to recommend them to other members, please send Stormi their contact info. She will regularly update our BPI Field Exam Resources list and send to all members.

BPI Time Limits Remember that you must complete your BPI Field Exams within 12 months of taking the BPI written online exams for Building Analyst (BA) and Envelope Professional (EP). Otherwise, you must re-take the written online exam. Also, re-certification is required after three years. BPI will occasionally remind you of important dates for testing and standards guidelines and we strongly suggest that you pay attention to their communications to acquire and keep your BPI Certification status up to date.

“How Can I Minimize Waste Using Spray Foam?”

“How Do We Get BPI Certified, or Renew Our Certification?”

15

Carrier Energy Experts Program Update

As we announced in our May newsletter, Carrier is the first HVAC

equipment manufacturer to formally recommend that its dealers

get involved with Home Performance. CI has been chosen to

lead up the business implementation, marketing and sales

classes for the new Carrier Energy Experts program for CFADs.

Things are proceeding well, with the following accomplishments

and news to report to date:

• Kick off meetings and classes have been held in many

locations, and many more are scheduled. If you are a Carrier

dealer, go to HVACpartners.com for the full schedule.

• If you are a CFAD and would like to get involved with the

program, but haven’t heard about any local classes, speak

with your Carrier distributor about scheduling the classes.

They should contact Luke Hermann at Luke@ciinfo.org.

• Note that if you are a CI member which also has CFAD

status, you can attend the CEE#2 and CEE#3 classes at no

charge (a savings of $1800 per person). If they are not

scheduled soon enough in your area, you may be able to go

to one at another distributor’s, by asking for prior permission.

Contact Stormi or Kara for upcoming CEE class dates and

locations.

• 2012 CI Membership dues, training class fees, BPI exams,

and Home Performance test instruments have all been

approved by Carrier for use of dealer co-op dollars, subject to

approval by the local distributor. If your distributor needs

additional info on this, have them contact Stormi and she can

forward to them an approval letter from Karie Johnson at

Carrier, who leads up the CFAD program.

• The main Carrier consumer website has been completely

updated, and there are many references to the Energy

experts program. Take a look at Carrier.com

• Many Carrier dealers have joined as CI members as a result

of the activity since May. Thank you and welcome aboard!

• We know of one CI member, John Barron of Barron Heating

in Bellingham WA, who was already a Carrier dealer and has

chosen to step up to the CFAD level largely as a result of the

new Energy Experts program. Congratulations John!

The ACCA Says:

“The Future of HVAC is NOT HVAC.”

ACCA believes that the future of HVAC is not HVAC.

Contractors who are going to be successful today and

tomorrow are those who understand that homes and

buildings are “whole systems” that need to be approached

with a system vision.

We are working with our most forward thinking members to

build an industry that is very different from the HVAC

contracting industry of the past. One that looks beyond the

box to the whole building …

Paul Stalknecht

ACCA President and CEO

Quoted in HVACR News.

Contact Us

Give us a call for more

information about our

services and products

Corporate Office:

709 W Orchard Drive

Bellingham, WA 98225

(360) 671-7773

Palm Coast Office:

1 Florida Park, Suite #340

Palm Coast, FL 32137

(386) 246-7077

Visit us on the web at

www.ciinfo.org

Meet the Comfort Institute Team

Brendan - Founder/CEO Ken - Co Founder/VP Rick - President

Luke - VP Business Mgmt. Troy - Performance Arne - Performance Michael - Performance

Kara - Office Mgr/Exec. Asst. Courtney - Admin. Asst. Jodi—Admin. Asst. Nicole - Executive Admin. Asst. Beau - Shipping

November 11—Veteran’s Day

Thank you, veterans.

November 22nd—23rd Thanksgiving

Enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving. (CI closed)

December 24th—25th Christmas

Have a Merry Christmas. (CI closed)

Important dates to remember this quarterImportant dates to remember this quarterImportant dates to remember this quarter

Stormi - Member Implementation Coach Amanda - Member Implementation Coach

Success Advisor Success Advisor Success Advisor

Doug - Trainer & BPI Field Exam Proctor