EP237 From Data to Decisions: Tools, Demos, and Takeaways from NCI With ELK and Bill (September 2025)

Some quotes:
"When we treat the house as the biggest duct, comfort and performance finally line up."

"Field data becomes financial data the moment a homeowner decides—so it has to be right."

"If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." — often attributed to Lord Kelvin

Fresh back from the early-September NCI Summit in Austin, Bill and Eric recap three big themes: whole-home thinking, data you can trust, and tools that make better work faster. The "high-performance HVAC" mindset came through in a lively contractor panel moderated by Ben Lipscomb, where folks like Mitch Bailey, Dustin Cole, Ty Branaman, Jeremy Begley, MIcahel Cianfrocco, and others talked about uniting HVAC and building science to solve real problems, improve installs, and reduce callbacks. NCI's training depth—airflow, combustion, diagnostics—was front and center, and the format (several sessions presented twice) helped attendees catch more of what mattered.

Eric highlighted his session on using recorded field data for smarter troubleshooting and clearer homeowner communication, calling out platforms like MeasureQuick to aggregate, analyze, and report. On the show floor, you two dug into standout tools: the Shaeco fin-restoration attachment for oscillating tools (a genuine hail-damage time saver), the EEV-Mate for driving unipolar electronic expansion valves (with a demo Ty Branaman filmed), and Testo's 860i wireless thermal imager that streams to a phone or tablet—great for homeowner show-and-tell. Startups NOSO Labs (AI for windshield-time prep and voice-note capture) and Thalo Labs (multi-point system sensors) hinted at where the trade is headed.

With ~210 attendees and ~20 exhibitors—Fieldpiece, TEC, Daikin, Energy Circle, TSI, Sauermann, and more—the vibe was busy, practical, and optimistic. They also shouted out the Canadian contingent (including Anthony Woo, Contractor of the Year-Small) and noted EOS adoption gains. Bill also notes that BetterHVAC.org sign-ups ticked up to ~250 contractors, and he previewed a heavy fall travel calendar (Nexstar Super Meeting, Women in HVACR, BPA New England, Heat Pump Summit, ASHRAE Buildings XVI, etc.). NCI's next Summit is slated for September 2026 the Great Smoky Mountains—contractors should keep an eye out.

LINKS:
Bill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billspohn/

Eric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-kaiser-323a1563/

NCI site: https://www.nationalcomfortinstitute.com/

NCI Homeowner site: https://www.myhomecomfort.org/

NCI Summit Site: https://www.gotosummit.com/

The GRIT Foundation: https://www.thegritfoundation.com/

The Joe Groh Foundation: https://www.josephgrohfoundation.org/

Shaeco Coil Straightener: https://trutechtools.com/condenser-coil-connection/

EEV Mate: https://trutechtools.com/eevmate

Testo 860i: https://trutechtools.com/testo-860i-wireless-thermal-imaging-camera/

BetterHVAC: www.BetterHVAC.org

This episode was recorded in September 2025.