HvacRepairGuy (aka Richard Reed) started as a farm boy from the small town of Beecher City Illinois. After graduation from high school, he entered the US Navy for training as an electrician specializing in nuclear reactor operation. At the time, it was said to be one of the toughest academic programs in the world as principles of nuclear reactor design, construction and operation were studied as well as the normal studies associated with being an electrician. After completion of the academics, I was deployed in the navy for approximately four years where I gained experience as an electrician and power plant operator. After my military contract was up, I was honorably discharged with the rank of E-5 with several commendations.
After my time in the military, my first job was in materials research and development for the company that designed the heat shield tiles for the space shuttle program. At that company, I worked on an advanced propulsion system project that was funded by the government until budget cutbacks forced the cancellation of the program.
I returned to my roots in Illinois and joined a heating & air conditioning company where I was enrolled in a four year apprenticeship program and trained at the factories of some of the top HVAC equipment manufacturers. During that time, the owner of the company had the vision to see the coming advances in the industry and the introduction of computer technology. He stated that that would be my area of expertise. Over and over again throughout that time, I was dispatched to a home where there was a very simple problem or where some basic maintenance was required. These homeowners would end up spending around a hundred dollars (which many could not afford) for something that they could have easily done themselves (with a little help).
After an accident where my hand was severely cut while putting together a piece of ductwork, I had to have some major surgery as well as extensive rehabilitation therapy. I was let go from my job and travelled for hours each day to other cities for temporary jobs. After a few years of this, I decided that I could start my own company and I was successful as an hvac contractor. This did not leave me much time to pursue my passion of sharing the gospel with others and I was not able to find enough qualified professionals to run the business for me. It was then, that I was led to develop hvac-for-beginners.com as a means of supporting my family while still allowing me time to serve the Lord.
After I had this website up and running, I was led to share the knowledge of Jesus Christ with the world through a Christian website. There, we tell people about salvation through Jesus Christ as well as provide tools to help Christians in their daily walk with the Lord.
Then, I started a media company to be the umbrella over all of the media properties that I had created. Heartland Media LLC was started in 2012 and now is a collection of websites and apps that help ordinary people do more.
Through this process of learning to create websites and apps, I have evolved to be adept at the integration of technology as well as writing code using html, javascript, css, and python. With this knowledge, HvacRepairGuy has a very unique skill set that is applied to not only the HVAC industry but to energy conservation and smart technology for the home. My unique experience as an electrician, HVAC service technician, trades contractor and computer programmer is virtually unheard of and cannot even be matched by the latest technology such as ChatGPT.