Generations of Service

The Petersen family has been rooted in the Eugene/Springfield, Oregon, area for nearly 140 years, and Petersen Plumbing is proud to be a fourth-generation business. Bernard Petersen is at the helm, working alongside his wife, brothers, sons, and other dedicated team members, totaling more than 25 employees.

“Our philosophy is to do what’s right – by our customers and our employees,” Vice President Sue Petersen says. “We have a long history with many customers, and we work to give our employees a good work/life balance.”

Some of the company’s staff came through the Oregon state-registered Apprenticeship Training Program Area III Plumbers, JATC through Lane Community College in Eugene, where Bernard has served on the board for decades.

Creative Thinking

The company specializes in plumbing repairs and remodels, as well as water heater diagnostics, repair, and replacement. This work includes installing energy-efficient heat pump water heaters.

Sue says their staff took heat pump water heater trainings through Comfort Ready Home to learn more about the technology.

“I think heat pump water heaters are the wave of the future,” she says. “The technology is improving, but these installations require some creative thinking. They are larger and draw heat from the air to heat the water, so you need to evaluate the space and figure out how to make it work properly to save customers money over time. And it’s important to educate people on how they function.”

Customer Education Is Key

Petersen Plumbing’s website gives customers detailed information on heat pump water heaters, including articles on the technology, savings compared to a conventional system, and important space and noise considerations.

The company also provides links to available rebates from the utilities in their service area: Emerald People’s Utility District, Eugene Water & Electric Board, Lane Electric, and Springfield Utility Board.

Finding rebates for customers is one way the company keeps its bids competitive.

“Utility offerings are part of our sales process,” Sue explains. “We refer customers to their utility because the rebate offerings can change, and some of our local utilities offer online promotions. If a customer buys their heat pump water heater through one of the utilities, we are happy to install it for them.”

Comfort Ready Home contractors get free access to homeowners in their area looking to make weatherization, HVAC and water heating upgrades — plus complimentary tools, training and support to perform energy-efficient installations with confidence. ComfortReadyHome.com/join

Left to right: Cong Nguyen, Todd Williams, Justin Crider, Nate Lynn.

An Inclusive Approach

Todd Williams, Owner of 509Energy, views his service to customers and HVAC equipment through a special lens. This outlook has been shaped by his years of quality assurance checks and first-hand experience in seeing how others handle rebate submissions.

“It always stuck with me that we don’t have to be competitive,” Todd says. “As contractors, we can work together to find better methodologies to conserve energy and help homeowners.”

509Energy provides energy conservation and HVAC services, placing equipment longevity as a top priority. Todd says durability matters more than small efficiency gains because homeowners can only replace their systems a limited number of times to achieve payback.

“We’re trying to find the most reliable systems and installation methods, so people get durability without high repair costs,” he asserts. “We like the idea of installing something and then performing simple checkups over its lifetime, not unexpected replacements.”

Regionally Informed Design

Based in Spokane, Washington, the company’s territory reaches across the Tri-Cities to the Cascades, Yakima, and surrounding areas. With three full-time employees and part-time support, every role is essential in providing a top-notch service across a large and diverse area.

Because 80% of the country’s population lives east of the Rockies, Todd says most contractor guidance and manufacturer design targets are for more humid conditions. 509Energy designs around eastern Washington’s arid climate, which requires out-of-the-box thinking.

“We notice that equipment is commonly oversized,” asserts Todd. “I’ve done research and found that homes here don’t necessarily need that much capacity. It leads to inefficient homes with systems that cycle too much and fail prematurely.”
The company’s calculations back this up through real-world data. Customers work with 509Energy to review the prior years’ energy use and develop a baseline design, while the team conducts pretesting and meter readings to deliver tailored recommendations for each home.

Maximizing Collective Efforts

Strong collaborations guide the 509Energy’s work. Todd uses Comfort Ready Home to stay current on heat pump water heaters, continuing education courses, and emerging trends for contractors. In turn, he teaches continuing education part time for Washington electricians and serves on the board of The Northwest HVAC/R Association in Spokane.

509Energy also works closely with area utilities like Inland Power and Light Company, Modern Electric, Vera Water and Power, Pend Oreille Public Utility District, and Avista to bring customers high-efficiency systems and rebates.

“Partnering with utilities to get homeowners better outcomes is critical,” says Todd. “Customers deserve the best their utilities and trades can offer.”

Comfort Ready Home contractors get free access to homeowners in their area looking to make weatherization, HVAC and water heating upgrades — plus complimentary tools, training and support to perform energy-efficient installations with confidence. ComfortReadyHome.com/join

Integrity is Good for Business

Product Air is a fast-growing residential HVAC company built around education, integrity, and genuine customer connection. Led by brothers Sergey and Eli, the company has scaled from 5 to 25 employees in just two years.

Product Air began in 2017 when Eli struck out on his own. Sergey joined two years ago after running his own operation. Combined, they found fresh energy in working a better way: rather than relying on sales pressure, they focus on developing trust with their customers.

Left to right: Product Air founders and brothers Sergey (General Manager), Eli (Lead Sales), and Robert Nikolin (Service Technician).

 

The Business of Doing Better

Sergey and Eli come from a large Russian family — their parents emigrated in 1991 — which helped them develop a deeply self-driven and entrepreneurial mindset. After serving a decade in residential and commercial HVAC work, Sergey saw a need in the residential market: homeowners wanted clear guidance on options for their home, not hard sales or fear-based recommendations. “It’s about education, listening, and helping people reach both their short- and long-term goals for their home,” Sergey explains. For many customers, that means improving comfort and indoor air quality. Product Air consults and installs in a more customized way to meet these goals.

The brothers share this vision, having come from a larger firm that measured technicians by sales volume and profits. They instead opted to build their business on ethics and integrity. Together they have shaped Product Air around one core principle: “Our goal is to meet our customer’s goal.”

Knowledge Builds Value

Product Air utilizes many Comfort Ready Home resources to stay current on rebates, incentives, and market changes in their territory. Sergey values timely and accurate information, which he sees as a useful supplement for awareness and ongoing learning. “Comfort Ready Home does a nice job of keeping things up to date with free resources,” Sergey notes, a direct correlation to Product Air’s broader mission of better information, better guidance, and better customer outcomes.

Utility Trade Ally

To provide their customers with the current utility rebates, Product Air has taken the time to enroll and participate in Snohomish County PUD’s Trade Ally Program. This allows them to offer their customers quality products at a great value that can lower energy consumption with is both beneficial to the local power grid and the client’s pocketbook.

Comfort Ready Home contractors get free access to homeowners in their area looking to make weatherization, HVAC and water heating upgrades — plus complimentary tools, training and support to perform energy-efficient installations with confidence. ComfortReadyHome.com/join

Celebrating 50 years of Great Service

Originally started in 1975 by Jerry Page, Total Comfort Weatherization was created with the vision of insulating every wall in the Mid-Willamette Valley. Total Comfort representative Jeremy Anderson recalls the story, “Back then, Jerry thought he could insulate every home in 10 to 15 years and quickly realized there was a lot more to it.” What he discovered was that homeowners had a wide range of needs beyond just insulation, and meeting those needs became the foundation for the company’s growth.

The Business of a Safe & Comfortable Home

Today, Total Comfort Weatherization handles everything from attic and wall insulation to HVAC, windows, siding, roofing, and, most recently, heat pump water heaters. The one thing that has never changed? Their commitment to educating homeowners, not upselling them.

“We’re not here to sell our customer something they don’t need,” says Jeremy. “We want to help them make their homes better at reasonable prices. We have been building out our services to support that.” This philosophy has helped Total Comfort build trust in the community and remain a go-to resource for families looking to improve their homes.

Effective Partnerships = Customer Satisfaction

Total Comfort pride themselves on their product and service. That’s why they go the extra mile to work with local programs and utilities to provide their customers with the best.

Collaborating with local utilities and programs like Comfort Ready Home brings rebates and support to Total Comfort’s customers. It also provides opportunities for them to stay ahead of the curve on technologies and other energy efficiency pathways that can help homeowners save energy and live more comfortably.

 

Tanner and Desiree Lindstrom are the dynamic duo at the helm of Kennewick-based Columbia River Plumbing. Together, they bring a perfect blend of diverse and complementary skills to their business: Tanner is a seasoned plumber with over 29 years of experience and Desiree has a background in banking and mortgages.

Forging a Path
In 2009, already well into his plumbing career, Tanner made the decision to strike out on his own. He figured his hands-on, customer-focused approach had given him plenty of insights that would help him build a successful business. And with Desiree’s solid understanding of business and finance, the two were set to begin their new adventure.

The Sweet Spot
With newfound success and a growing business through referrals, Tanner and Desiree were able to expand their team to 18 employees. They focused on balance: growing the business organically while maintaining the small business mindset and dedication to customer service. In the process, they discovered that hiring the right people made it easier to keep their teams happy and enthusiastic.

Profitability with Purpose
By keeping their business at a manageable size, Tanner and Desiree are able to stay responsive to customers’ needs and ensure they’re supporting their team’s goals along the way. This has led Columbia River Plumbing to work with programs like Comfort Ready Home to make energy-efficient upgrades and utility rebates more accessible for their customers. For the Lindstroms, it’s about building a business that serves the community and values the people who make that service possible.

 

With more Northwest utilities and contractors prioritizing home energy efficiency and weatherization, the Comfort Ready Home field team has made adjustments to bolster support throughout the region. Three Field Specialists, Aaron Lazelle, Colton Taxdahl, and Miesha Yagle, have joined the team this year and changes have been made to territory boundaries.

Adding Aaron, Colton and Miesha helps us be responsive as we aim to provide balanced support throughout the Northwest for utilities, contractors and residents alike. These three bring experience and passion to their roles, and their unique perspectives complement the work of their colleagues to further elevate BPA’s Comfort Ready Home program.

Aaron Lazelle

Field Specialist, NE Washington and Northern Idaho

Aaron steps into the role with a rich background that spans over two decades in construction and energy efficiency. His diverse experience includes program design, small business outreach, and work with rural communities and community-based organizations. He has also been a home performance contractor, working on projects ranging from HVAC retrofits and energy efficiency remodels to environmental site assessments.

Notably, Aaron has also worked on a variety of federal and regional energy projects and programs, including contributions to the design of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-funded community block grant programs through the Department of Energy. This multifaceted experience makes him well positioned to support the utilities and contractors in his region.

Colton Taxdahl

Field Specialist, Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon

Colton’s understanding of the HVAC industry is deep rooted. Growing up, his father owned and operated an HVAC company; prior to joining Comfort Ready Home, Colton worked as an energy specialist focused on enhancing the efficiency of school district fleets. He brings his passion for helping people and his understanding of energy efficiency, backed by his years of experience.

As a Field Specialist, Colton supports, trains, and assists HVAC contractors and utility companies around Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon. His goals include maintaining relationships with trade allies and doing his part to ensure that homeowners in his region have the information, connections, and confidence they need to make energy-efficiency upgrades.

Miesha Yagle

Field Specialist, Northwest Washington and Olympic Peninsula

Miesha brings a wealth of experience in commercial HVAC to her new role. She built her career as a service technician and project manager, earning certification as an HVAC&R professional and a Building Trades Journeyman.

Her hands-on knowledge, technical proficiency and creative approach to problem solving have proven invaluable in her transition to the residential sector. Her creativity has helped build excitement for energy efficiency in her region, and she looks forward to nurturing continued growth.