Cold Craft, Inc. Comparative Summary

Few companies in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) field earn the prestigious Diamond Certified award, which means they’ve been independently rated Highest in Quality. For the past 20 years, Cold Craft, Inc. has been installing high-efficiency HVAC systems for residential and commercial clients throughout the South Bay. Manager Steve Schultz says the company has earned a reputation for being highly reliable and employing craftsmen who are motivated by challenging projects.

Most of Cold Craft’s technicians have more than 15 years of industry experience, and all are certified by North American Technician Excellence (NATE), a nonprofit group that provides independent training and certification. “Many of our technicians attend training classes twice a week,” says Mr. Schultz. “They continually update their education on new equipment and energy-efficient technologies, and they pass that expertise on to our clients.”

When Cold Craft installs a new furnace or air conditioning system, it conducts a unique quality control procedure that’s rarely performed by other companies in the industry. “One of our technicians tests the system and documents how it’s working,” explains Mr. Schultz. “We collect two full pages of data and benchmarks, including things like airflow and gas pressure, and make sure the equipment matches the conditions required for where it’s installed. Frequently, we find things that need to be corrected—things that other installers miss.”

In addition to its HVAC capabilities, Cold Craft designs, installs and services wine cellars—a regional specialty that differentiates it from many of its competitors. “We work on a lot of high-end systems in Silicon Valley estate homes,” says Mr. Schultz. “It’s a subset of the industry that requires a lot of specialized knowledge. In the 15 years since we started doing wine cellars, we’ve run into many systems that used standard residential cooling equipment that just wasn’t up to the job. If you have $1 million worth of wine in your cellar, you want a system that will preserve it and not break down.”

Cold Craft participates in AirCare Plus, an industry program that aims to increase the efficiency of commercial heating and air conditioning systems. The company strives to make its commercial clients eligible for energy-saving rebates from local utility companies by raising the efficiency of their HVAC systems. According to utility company records, Cold Craft reduced its commercial clients’ energy use by 340,000 kilowatt hours in 2009.