• It’s been a long, cold winter that people across the frigid areas of the U.S. hope is finally starting to break and move toward spring.
    It’s been a long, cold winter that people across the frigid areas of the U.S. hope is finally starting to break and move toward spring.
    It’s been a long, cold winter that people across the frigid areas of the U.S. hope is finally starting to break and move toward spring.
    It’s been a long, cold winter that people across the frigid areas of the U.S. hope is finally starting to break and move toward spring.
    It’s been a long, cold winter that people across the frigid areas of the U.S. hope is finally starting to break and move toward spring.

    NPR Takes Notice of Long Winter, Long Days for HVAC Businesses

    March 10, 2015
    NPR’s Scott Simon spoke with Doug Bradford, an HVAC technician in Cleveland, who said it has been a tough few weeks and winter with few breaks.

    It’s been a long, cold winter that people across the frigid areas of the U.S. hope is finally starting to break and move toward spring. However, we certainly want to acknowledge all of the hard work HVAC companies and technicians put in across this entire brutal season.

    NPR’s Scott Simon spoke with Doug Bradford, an HVAC technician in Cleveland, who said it has been a tough few weeks and winter with few breaks. Simon asked Bradford what it is like to work in these conditions, something every technician working in cold weather could likely give a great answer to.

    BRAFORD: You know, it can be a little dangerous at times. A lot of times you're setting your ladder in the ice and you're looking for a dry spot to put the ladder. And sometimes you use a van and you try to back the van up or at least get the tire up against the ladder so that you don't have any chance of that ladder skipping out on you. And, you know, in the elements, you get a little hasty sometimes 'cause you're in a hurry. And that's where, you know, you've still got to take your time. At its coldest is when you're at your busiest. I've been out 12, 13, 14-hour days before. You learn to dress for it.

    SIMON: How do you dress for a 14-hour day in let's say 25-degree temperatures?

    BRAFORD: Well, it can be tricky because there's times you're coming into a warm building, and you're way overdressed, and you begin to sweat. And if you start to sweat, it can be really bad when you go back out in the elements 'cause now you're really cold so you need to bring some dry socks. Usually, I'll wear some thermals. I'll wear multiple layers, and I'll take layers off, put layers back on.

    Visit NPR’s website to read or listen to the rest of Simon’s interview with Bradford. It’s always great to see our HVAC industry professionals get some love.