selling efficiency

Gordy

Hot Rod has the best point of view as others. Sell the COMFORT, the flexibility,invisibility in some aspects. Get a few under your belt. They will sell themselves. Word of mouth. I always like when people come down to the bar and remark how warm the floor is or where are your air diffusers.

plumbob_2

Radiant systems are relatively new in my area,{less than 10 years} before that it was all forced air. Having apprenticed in New England I was and still am a fan of baseboard. In general I like hot water heat. The area I am in is largely unregulated by state or local codes so many "Heating Contractors" {I use the term loosly} Have left their mark on the trade. The result is many people in our area bad mouth radiant heat as expesive and inefficient, high fuel bills, don't work. Everything you can imagine.

The system we install is primarily tube in concrete or a lightweight pour with an outdoor reset. Now many customers want staple up systems to save themselves the expense of lightwieght pours, heavier floor systems etc.
One recent system I saw in a multimillion dollar residential project in which I am plumbing consisted of 1/2 tube stapled up to the floor {1'1/8 osb 3/4 hardwood floor} 2 tubes in each in each joist space, with no thought to the heat loss in each room, R-21 insulation under.

I guess my question is how do I sell the efficiency of these systems when trying to compete with Wal-mart mentality.

Thanks, Plumbob

lchmb

First thought

I would want to guess that you may have one or two project's that you have done in the area..Letter of testiment would be where I started. On top of that, put in writing what you expect of the system and back it up. People like guarantees...JMHO...

hr

Stay away from

promising efficiency numbers. I have yet to see an accepted study that can honestly qualify the cost savings, if any, vs radiant and FA or baseboard, or what ever.

Sell on comfort! Zone-ability, features like radiant shower walls, counter tops, walls, ceilings, objects of art :)dhw production, etc. These are areas where FA can not compete.

Keep in mind as the radiant equipment and methods improve so do the forced air guys. Variable speed, multi zoned, staged condensors, 90% plus forced air systems can be very fuel efficient also!

hot rod

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ALH_3

Selling

Efficiency, Performance, Quality, Reliability, Service, Warranty,.......

Radiant floors are one application where additional performance allows higher efficiency. The customers you want will see, after some explanation, that the difference between a quality heating system and a poorly designed/installed system is night and day.

Ask them to challenge other heating contractors to explain it as well, and let them decide who makes more sense. You wont be the lowest price, but after a general contractor has a few bad experiences with the other guys he may come back to you.....especially if those bad experiences were predicted by you.

Customers with Wal-Mart mentalities aren't going to buy heating systems from you if you want to do things right. You can lead them to water but you cant make them drink. Don't forget to mention that your service is better than the competition. Warranty your systems for an appropriate period of time.

There are ways to get creative with combination systems to make your price more competitive. Not everyone can afford a radiant floor. There's nothing wrong with radiant in the kitchen/bath using a "dry system" and radiators everywhere else. You can still use a high efficiency modulating boiler and reap appreciable benefits.

At least that's how I see it.

-Andrew