EP265 Why Heat Pumps Fail: It's Not the Equipment, It's the House With Larry Waters and Alex Sloan (February 2026)

EPISODE QUOTES "Anyone can install a heat pump, but if you don't understand how houses work, you're gambling with comfort."

"Our intake process is a pre-screen. We want customers who already want the heat pump."

"Electrify everything is cute. Electrify efficiently is the job."

In this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Bill Spohn and Eric Kaiser talk with Larry Waters and Alex Sloan of Electrify My Home, a Bay Area contractor focused on efficient home electrification. Larry walks through his 43-year path in the trade, from early technical training and commercial HVAC work to residential, where he kept running into the same puzzle: systems that "worked" but didn't deliver comfort. A turning point came through BPI training and the building-science lens, which shifted his work from fixing equipment to fixing houses, and eventually led him to launch an electrification-only company when retirement plans and COVID reshuffled the deck.

Alex shares his own route, coming from incentive programs and building-science work, then meeting Larry as a homeowner customer, and later joining to help build business development and operations. Together, they describe an accidental but very real "visionary and integrator" pairing (EOS style), and how that partnership shaped a business model that prescreens customers: detailed online intake, a virtual assessment first, and an onsite visit only after budget alignment. Their goal is to spend time with people who already want the solution, not those who need convincing.

They dig into what "electrify efficiently" means in practice: load calculations on every job, job-type checklists, and designing around modulation, not just peak capacity. They also get candid about challenges, especially California utility pricing, old, leaky homes, and tricky heat pump water heater installations with space and wiring constraints. A standout concept is the "Watt diet," which plans electrification so homeowners can often avoid panel upgrades by using smarter equipment choices, circuit sharing, and load management. The episode closes with a clear takeaway from both guests: installing heat pumps without understanding houses, envelopes, and electrical realities is a recipe for disappointment. They also tease a future follow-up episode focused entirely on the history of electrification in the U.S. Regarding the National Home Performance Conference:

New Contractor Discount - $825 - HVACSCIENCE

Unique URL for your Show: http://nhpc26.org/building-hvac-sci

Alex's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexjsloan/

Larry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-waters-31677b19/

Their company website: https://electrifymyhome.com/

Electrify Academy course calendar:https://emhlearn.com/calendar/?mcat=4# Electrify My Home YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@electrifymyhome

This episode was recorded in February 2026.