HVAC

Second-annual grant program helps launch, grow, and strengthen home service businesses across the U.S. and Canada

Jobber, the leading provider of home service management software, today announced that Jobber Grants, the first program of its kind designed to support and shine a spotlight on the hard-working entrepreneurs within the home service sector, is now accepting applications through May 26, 2022.

New and experienced business owners alike are invited to apply for free grants ranging from $2,500 to $15,000. Applicants are asked to share what sets their businesses apart in the areas of excellent service, leadership, business acumen, and community support, and how they would further impact their local communities with funding. Twenty-five home service businesses across 50+ industries, including lawn care, plumbing, residential cleaning, and painting, will be awarded $150,000 in total. Finalists will be announced in August 2022.

“Home service entrepreneurs help keep our homes and offices running smoothly, provide meaningful employment to millions of people, strive for the highest standards in all areas of their businesses, and give back to the communities where they live and work,” said Sam Pillar, CEO & co-founder of Jobber. “Jobber Grants continues our company’s tradition of supporting and celebrating this well-deserving yet underserved segment of the small business community. For all you do, this $150,000 is for you.”

Branden Sewell, owner of Seal Pro Painting and a 2021 grant recipient, is committed to paying his employees a higher than average salary and providing them with the right equipment to do their best work. His existing team was booked two months in advance and he needed to hire more people to accommodate the jobs that were coming in.

“We allocated our funds toward growth,” said Sewell. “Now as a team of seven full-time employees, we’re also starting a new marketing department, launching a podcast and creating an internal series of training videos for all employees. On top of all that, we were able to acquire our first physical location for an office. We are incredibly thankful for our partnership with Jobber and all they have done to help us achieve our mission of making a positive impact.”

Jobber Grants are organized into categories that reflect various stages of company growth, from ideas on paper to recently launched ventures and established businesses. Categories include:

• Almost-entrepreneurs (pre-business): Entrepreneurs who have the drive to start and run a home service business.
• New business owners (0-3 years): Entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of building their team, client list, and services.
• Experienced business owners (3+ years): Entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their mature business to its next growth stage.

Recipients have the freedom to choose how to use the grant to support their ambitious business goals and innovative ideas. Whether a company is looking to purchase new equipment, increase its marketing investment, launch a new service, or train their teams, funds from the Jobber Grant program are designed to help small business owners be more successful.

Meaghan McVicker, owner of Green Clean Machine and a previous Jobber Grant recipient, organizes beach cleanups and contributes to several local business boards and councils when she’s not busy running her business and working on a franchise plan.

She shared the impact of this grant on her plans to expand her service area: “It was instrumental in the progression of my business. I was able to afford new equipment, supplies, and I saved up enough to give my crew an extra treat for Christmas! Being able to show my employees that I want to give back to them and support them in the ways they needed was relieving.”

The Jobber Grants program is one of many initiatives within Jobber’s ecosystem dedicated to supporting the home service entrepreneur, whether it’s through the company’s award-winning business management software, free resources such as Jobber Academy and the Jobber Home Service Economic Reports, events such as Jobber Professional Development Day, and more.

To learn more about Jobber Grants or to apply, visit: www.JobberGrants.com.

RectorSeal®, Houston, a leading manufacturer of quality HVAC/R and plumbing tools and accessories and a wholly-owned subsidiary of CSW Industrials, Inc. [NASDAQ: CSWI], adds new and improved 13-inch Big Foot® H-Frame kit to the company’s expansive line of HVAC products.

The Big Foot 13-inch H-Frame kit is designed for ideal rooftop support of ancillary equipment, including ducts, pipes, and cable trays. Available in three sizes, Small, Large, and Mega, Big Foot H-Frame kits are suitable for internal or external applications ranging from -22⁰ degrees to 176⁰  degrees.

Big Foot 13″ H Frame

The new 13-inch H-Frame Kit differs from the current assortment, with its improved flexibility to accept multiple sized struts or threaded bar – 13/16 x 1 5/8″, 1 9/16 x 1 1/2″ and 1 5/8 x 1 5/8″ strut, and 1 9/16 x 1 9/16 box section steel. The EPDM anti-vibration mats come adhered to the 13″ x 13″ new look feet, which conforms better to uneven surfaces.

Big Foot systems set a new standard for free-standing, non-penetrative frames.  The rugged stance, modular flexibility, and architecturally friendly systems provide optimum weight distribution coupled with quick on-site leveling and a reduced risk of roof leaks.  Big Foot systems do not penetrate the waterproof membrane of roofing, avoiding the requirement for the difficult installation of flashing around structures.  With up to a maximum load capacity of 1,100 pounds, weather-resistant Big Foot H-Frame kits offer outstanding installation flexibility.

Big Foot bases are constructed of glass-filled Nylon with UV protection.  The frameworks are hot-dip galvanized for all-weather protection. Further, they are tested to ASTM (Salt Mist) B117 and G85 (Acetic Salt Mist) standards.

Since 1937, RectorSeal has offered products that have built a steadily growing and loyal following among contractors due to differentiated and proven product performance.  Further, RectorSeal is often the first to tackle and solve challenges faced by professional trade contractors.

Please visit www.rectorseal.com for additional details, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest product enhancements and news.

Home Service category shows strong resilience to economic uncertainty, reaching 20 months of positive revenue growth

Jobber, the leading provider of home service management software, today released its latest Home Service Economic Report: 2021 Review. The report features expert insights and proprietary data aggregated from more than 160,000 residential cleaners, landscapers, HVAC technicians, window washers, plumbers, and more, who use Jobber.

“The performance of the Home Service category has made the trades an attractive option for entrepreneurs, those seeking a career change, and young adults entering the workforce,” said Sam Pillar, CEO & co-founder of Jobber. “2021 was a notable year as it demonstrated just how essential the Home Service category is with its high growth and unprecedented consumer demand.”

Raking in the Green: Home Service Outperforms Most Other Categories

Spending on Home Service outperformed most major categories, such as Food and Beverage Stores, Clothing Stores, and Restaurants, throughout 2021, with growth exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Home Service revenue growth has been steadily growing since June 2020. Year-over-year median revenue grew at a faster rate in Q4 2021, even while new work scheduled during Q4 2021 slowed, showing companies were able to make more per job.

• Contracting Segment Prices Climb: Contracting businesses benefited from increasing prices with 12% revenue growth in Q4 2021.
• Contract Jobs Grow Cleaning Segment: Recent growth in the Cleaning segment’s new work scheduled was driven by a 16% year-over-year increase in contract jobs.
• New Work for Green Segment Stands Out: The Green segment, which includes outdoor services such as pressure washing, lawn care, and landscaping, experienced high growth in new work scheduled during 2021, while other segments slowed down.

Housing Dynamics

The active real estate market, further heightened by the desire to purchase homes before mortgage rates increase, continued to create momentum and demand for home services.

• New Homes Can’t Bridge the Gap: The U.S. housing market is nearly four million homes short of buyer demand; the supply of newly built units has been unable to satisfy this ever-increasing demand.
• Shoppers Turning to Older Homes: With limited supply, homebuyers are turning to older homes or choosing to invest in their current home; as such, home improvement and maintenance expenditures are tracking toward double-digit growth in 2022.

Payments Tech: Pay Now or Later?

Home Service businesses have their own unique dynamics related to payment collection. Some businesses like the immediate liquidity of cash, while others prefer to take checks for a large job so they don’t have to pay credit card transaction fees. That said, Jobber’s data does indicate that adoption of payment technology is on the rise.

• Growth of Online Payments: Online payments grew to 39% of all payments processed across all Home Service segments.

• Green Segment Catching Up: Green businesses, which showed the lowest percentage of online payments prior to the pandemic, has seen rapid adoption, climbing over 35%.

Skilled Worker Trends: Retirements Open More Opportunities For Those Starting Their Careers

The challenge to hire skilled trade workers remains widespread, despite a significant opportunity in earning potential for those who choose to enter Home Service.

• Retirement’s Impact: Half of the people who exited the labor market in 2021 were 55+, accelerating the rate of retirement—a macro trend that also impacted Home Service.
• Job Openings Remain Unfilled: The ratio of hires to job openings continued to grow, such that job openings widely outnumbered positions being filled.

“It’s a testament to the resilience of the Home Service category that revenue growth can be sustained even when there’s a drastic shortage of talent,” said Abheek Dhawan, VP, Business Operations at Jobber. “With Home Service demand at a record high, the category remains ripe with opportunity for those willing to enter it.”

To download the Jobber Home Service Economic Report: 2021 Review, visit: https://getjobber.com/home-service-reports/february-2022/

Organization aims to foster innovation and provide consumers with safer, simpler and more interoperable options for HVAC and other long-life appliances and systems in their connected home ecosystem

Trane Residential (Trane) and American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning (American Standard), two leading residential HVAC brands, today announced the launch of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) with global manufacturers Arcelik, The Electrolux Group, Haier, GE Appliances and Samsung Electronics (Samsung) at Samsung’s pre-show Keynote address at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). HCA will provide consumers with safer, simpler and more interoperable options for their larger investment, long-life connected appliances and systems, focusing on HVACs, TVs and appliances. Katherine Shin, Secretary at Home Connectivity Alliance and Vice President of Customer Experience for the Residential HVAC and Supply business at Trane Technologies, joined the CES Keynote to discuss Trane’s involvement as a founding alliance member and HCA’s collective commitment to building a more intuitive and seamless smart home experience.

Through HCA, Trane and American Standard along with other founding alliance members will set out to develop guidelines for Cloud-to-Cloud interoperability across long-life appliances and systems like HVAC that consumers use and rely on every day. The alliance’s efforts support compatibility across multiple manufacturers to provide consumers flexibility in purchasing multiple brand appliances and systems that will work together without being locked into a single platform or sacrificing privacy and data protection. HCA also aims to make consumer data more accessible to drive insights consumers can act on immediately that result in real savings and efficiencies.

“At Trane and American Standard, we continue to innovate and design residential HVAC systems and devices that are integral to the home,” says Shin. “For instance, our smart thermostats can automatically adjust temperature settings based on whether homeowners are at home or away or homeowners can adjust the temperature via the convenient app. Alternatively, they can grant our independent dealers access to remotely diagnose HVAC problems and order replacement parts in advance of an on-site visit. These smart home features offer both homeowners and dealers an invaluable layer of convenience and can reduce homeowner energy consumption and utility expenses while saving the homeowner and dealer time. However, our smart products and many other long-life systems on the market today collect a profound amount of data that must be utilized in a secure environment or otherwise risk consumer satisfaction and trust. Forming this alliance allows us to be the collective voice for home electronics data privacy, where we will agree upon industry standards to protect our consumers’ data so that manufacturers like us can provide even more energy-efficient products that build a more sustainable future.”

HCA invites other connected device manufactures to join, as members will have the opportunity to innovate, influence industry trends, share expertise across peers and become leaders in expanding the connected home ecosystem and in delivering simple and elegant consumer experiences. By collaborating with other standards organizations and governing entities, HCA will foster fair competition and drive innovation to provide consumers with the safest, most feature-rich and interoperable options in their connected home.

“Support from Home Connectivity Alliance member companies like Trane Residential and American Standard Heating and Air Conditioning gives us a strong foundation to deliver results,” said Yoon Ho Choi, President of Home Connectivity Alliance. “With first-hand knowledge of appliance manufacturing and an emphasis on consumer data privacy, we are well-equipped to integrate HVACs and other large systems to improve consumers’ experience in the home.”

To learn more about the Home Connectivity Alliance, membership benefits and how to join, visit www.homeconnectivityalliance.org.