To join us in celebrating National HVAC Tech Day, watch our video and read the full Q&A below to meet Michael Flynn, a lead installer and field supervisor. We chatted with him virtually to share his insight with all of you!  

What do you do?

I either heat your home, cool your home or provide domestic hot water. There is a residential side which we take care of - going into people’s homes and fixing whatever needs to be fixed on the service side. And then, there is commercial and industrial work. I’ve done some commercial HVAC, but it’s not what I currently specialize in. My focus is homeowner things. On the installation, a person has already gone in and called for a quote, if they move forward to the job, they sign the contract with us...we go in, rip it out and put other stuff in. 

What’s the most challenging part of the job these days?

Physically, it’s really draining sometimes. Especially when it’s hot in those attics - can be 110. Kneeling down, crouching, trying to get things in place. When I got home, my back crinkles up...I can’t move. My wife asks if I want to come downstairs to watch TV and I’ll go right to bed. 

What keeps you doing the job? 

Taking something that isn’t good and turning it into gold is the best part. Every time I bring a customer down to the basic (or up to the attic), sometimes it’s the first time they’ve seen it finished, the look on their face and them saying “WOW!” - that never gets old. I can truly see in their eyes that they know I put the time and effort into making something in their home work properly. 

What is advice you give to your clients? 

If you have a furnace or air handler, change the filters. Remember to do that, otherwise it destroys a unit really quick. Yearly maintenance is the biggest thing people forget. It’s super comparable to a car. It can last 20 - 30 years on a well installed unit. 

Advice for new HVAC technicians? 

The amount of effort you put into it, you get back out of it. So, it’s really cool when you’re reading something and take the time after work to learn (magazine, publication, book - whatever) about your field and then being able to put that into operation on the field. It’s really inspiring. 

Comment below or tag us on Instagram @truewerk with some of your answers to these questions!