In these unprecedented and continually changing times, it’s more important than ever to be abreast of news, updates, and tips from HVAC online communities.
Being able to access industry information from other HVAC professionals can save you time and money. These platforms also can help build relationships within the industry that could lead to referrals, partnerships, and even a merger or acquisition.
» Want to grow your HVAC business? Click here to get a demo.
HVAC pros have been sharing information through professional contractors’ groups for many years. And like all things in our tech-heavy world, these groups are congregating in online forums now.
Here are some of the top HVAC forums discussions online and information on how you can participate in these groups in a way that benefits your bottom line and helps build upon the HVAC forum community.
Top HVAC online forums for contractors
If you’re new to the ownership side of the HVAC industry, searching for new employees, or just looking for advice on a specific question, you may be wondering which online HVAC networks provide the most reliable support.
Many HVAC associations have online communities that are available for members to share and access helpful information, so be sure to check if any of the regional or national associations that you’re already a member of have online support groups.
One online resource that we’re particularly fond of is the ServiceTitan Masterminds community. Shameless plugging aside, the Masterminds group is an excellent resource for HVAC tech talk. This online HVAC forum is hosted on Facebook and links members through a variety of HVAC-related topics. The Masterminds forum is only available to ServiceTitan software solutions clients, but the ServiceTitan Toolbox for the Trades forum is open to anyone. Both options offer opportunities to connect with the community of contractor networking groups and to build upon your network.
HVAC Forums vs. HVAC blogs, what’s the difference?
Forums and blogs are both helpful resources for tips and HVAC pro talk. The difference between a forum and a blog is that a blog is a collection of articles that are about a topic with offshoots of that topic being covered in each blog article.
A forum is typically shorter posts shown in a thread of conversation/comments chronologically. A forum is usually a mini-blog that has more of an active community of commenters answering questions, sharing knowledge, and sometimes just to vent about a common frustration.
HVAC professional forums
Since forums are more interactive than blogs, you’ll want to head to these handy HVAC message boards if you can’t find a quick answer through a blog post or initial online search.
Reddit is one of the most popular platforms for the forum style. Be forewarned, it’s pretty easy to go down a rabbit hole on this site through the wide variety of available subreddit forums.
The top HVAC talk forum subreddits are r/HVAC and r/hvacadvice.
These forums are used for showing how-to’s, how-not-to’s, posting questions, and connecting with HVAC groups. It’s a mashup of helpful and sometimes hilarious content from HVAC wins and the fails that contractors are trying to fix.
HVAC pro forums
HVAC pro forums is another interactive HVAC community thread that allows members to connect and share information on topics in real-time. Membership is free, and you could find hundreds of HVAC professionals online who can offer up suggestions on your most obscure HVAC questions.
HVAC-Talk
This popular page for HVAC tech talk boasts of having 150,000 active members. The HVAC-Talk forum has over 40 different sub-categories that your desired topic may be included in. There is also a section dedicated to connecting you with qualified professionals when you have a question. This is not a site for the do-it-yourselfer; you’ll only find HVAC pro talk on this forum.
Houzz HVAC talk forums
While Houzz is known more for helping homeowners connect with interior designers, architects, and other home renovation pros, it also has a bustling community of professional contractors who are actively engaging on their HVAC message board.
With over 16,500 posts in the HVAC group, you’re bound to stumble upon some helpful tips and tricks in this HVAC chat.
HVACSite.com
The HVAC.com residential HVAC tech forum covers a wide range of topics and has over 2,700 posts and 3.8 million views of its HVAC tech-focused topics.
Contractor-Talk
Contractor-Talk is managed by the same company that runs HVACSite.com, so the format is nearly identical. This HVAC community has over 24,000 posts and significantly more views than its sister site with 13.4 million. If you couldn’t find it in HVACSite, there’s likely a thread on it in Contractor-Talk.
Blogging practices for HVAC professionals
If you’re not a fan of the HVAC pro forums, you can always jump into the blogosphere to interact with other HVAC professionals.
Blogs offer up a deeper dive into a specific topic that the author has already researched, and the comments section is where the community engagement happens for this medium.
Commenters share viewpoints, offer suggestions, and on occasion let their displeasure with an author’s work be known. While some sites don’t have comments enabled or have a low level of user engagement, there is still a lot of helpful information on these sites.
Here are some of the blogs that are hot and spicy in the online HVAC community right now.
ACCA.org
The Air Conditioning Contractors of America is one of the top HVAC contractor associations in the country. Their blog covers a plethora of topics including PPP loans, travel time for technicians, combustion safety, and much more!
HVAC.com
HVAC.com offers helpful blogs that cover topics for professionals and homeowners alike. While you may be tempted to skip over the blogs that are targeted toward homeowners, the information in those articles can often have some selling points for contractors to share with clients.
Knowing why the addition that you’re proposing will increase a customers’ home equity and by how much is highly valuable info that any potential customer would want to know.
Women In HVACR
In what’s widely known to be a male-dominated industry, women in the trades often find that they’re left out of the conversation. The Women In HVACR blog is a female-focused look at HVAC and related industries.
This blog covers topics that are important to women in the trades and addresses industry shortcomings, areas for growth, and ways that management can work toward a more welcoming work environment for women who are building careers in the HVAC industry.
Information on mentorship programs, the hurdles that females face in the field, and helpful information for dispatchers are also available on the blog.
ServiceTitan Blog
The writing team at ServiceTitan has a few advantages that other blog sites may not have. With thousands of clients based all over the country, ServiceTitan’s blog encounters and delves into a lot of questions that other smaller sites can’t delve into.
HVAC professionals across the country trust ServiceTitan with everything from their payroll software solutions to Covid-19 industry updates. So it makes sense that we’ve encountered a lot of questions over the years.
With hundreds of blogs to peruse, you’ll be sure to find something helpful for your businesses’ bottom line.
The #1 newsletter for the trades.
HVAC forum guide for Facebook
The Facebook HVAC online community is robust. You can find almost every subcategory that your mind can fathom in the social media HVAC tech talk world.
By searching Groups on Facebook that are related to HVAC networks, you’ll find that there are hundreds of different HVAC talk forums hosted on the site.
These groups vary in size and specialty. Some focus on geothermal topics, the business side of the HVAC world, troubleshooting, refrigeration, EPA guidelines, Q&A forums, and more. These forums are a fast and easy way to integrate yourself into the HVAC online community.
Engaging with posts, answering questions, providing helpful tips, and sharing quality information on your own Facebook page or website are a few of the ways that you can increase your brand visibility within the industry.
Here are some of the largest groups hosted on Facebook in the HVAC field.
World HVAC Technicians
This Facebook HVAC group has one of the largest followings online with over 339,000 members and 720 posts per day to the page. With such a large group, you’ll be sure to have a lot of interaction with fellow industry experts if you are posting to this massive worldwide audience.
Mechanical HVAC and Plumbing Engineers
This private group requires that you request to join, but once you’re in, you’ll have a helpful group with which to share knowledge, experiences, ideas, and tips. This group has over 95,000 members and roughly 80 posts per day.
HVAC Employment - Techs and Employers Getting Together
If you’re in the market for a new job or a new employee, this group is a great resource for both. As a private group with around 6,000 members, you’re likely to pick up on some good employment opportunities no matter which side of the hiring spectrum you’re on.
A/C HVAC Technician
Another highly active private HVAC group with over 87,000 members worldwide and 80 posts per day. If you’ve got an air conditioning or HVAC question, tip, or story, this group is a good place to post.
HVAC TECHNICIAN'S✅
This air conditioning-focused only group has over 120 posts per day and 68,000 members. This group is a melting pot of information on all things A/C, cooling systems, and refrigerant-related.
Electrical And HVAC Groups
A worldwide HVAC online community that is a good source for most general questions. While this group is large, it has a lot of content to sift through daily. Contributors post around 250 posts per day on average.
HVAC Business Owners
If you’re a contractor or already own an HVAC company, this small business group could be a helpful resource for your HVAC business questions. Topics such as website design, SEO, pricing, emergency services, and how to attract potential customers are all areas that are sure to pique the interest of anyone who is growing their own HVAC services company.
Best online HVAC communities for students
While the online communities listed already have valuable information for contractors and students alike, the below communities are especially helpful for those who are still learning or advancing their current knowledge of the HVAC and home services industries.
If you’re a student and looking for training programs, industry news, HVAC-related books, webinars, or to gain some know-how in the world of HVAC, these communities can point you in the right direction.
HVAC School Group
This HVAC Facebook group is designed to help students and contractors share knowledge in a judgment-free zone. It’s understood that everyone is working to improve, and questions are encouraged. There is a related podcast that members can access as well.
Intro to Electrical and HVAC for Beginners
If you’re super green in the field, this is a good place to post questions. And if you're a seasoned pro looking to help mentor some up-and-coming members in the HVACR industry, you’ll likely find some eager minds in this group.
HVAC Learners
Touted as a place to get and share answers for those who are still learning, this group has information on HVAC training programs, accreditation, and HVAC system-related questions.
How to find the right online HVAC forum for you
The seemingly endless selection of social media-hosted groups and dedicated HVAC websites is a testament to how important and expansive the HVAC industry is around the world.
Finding the right group may take some troubleshooting, but rest assured, there is a platform out there for almost anything an HVAC technician or small business owner could need.
There’s no limit to how many groups you can join, so a good way to get started is to sign up for any that seem applicable to your business or personal goals. After a trial period, remove the sources that aren’t offering information you need.
ServiceTitan Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and substantially elevate the trajectory of their business. Our comprehensive, cloud-based platform is used by thousands of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, garage door, and chimney sweep shops across the country—and has increased their revenue by an average of 25% in just their first year with us.
