Every contractor has experienced it.
A system is installed correctly. Everything checks out. Startup goes smoothly. Then, months later, the customer calls because the equipment has failed.
That's exactly what Goodin Company began seeing several years ago with inverter-driven systems in one region of Minnesota. The installations were solid. The equipment was reliable. Yet failures kept occurring.
The answer wasn't in the equipment.
It was in the power.
Rather than accepting the failures as bad luck, our team dug deeper. We reviewed warranty claims, installation practices, and geographic trends. Eventually, one pattern became impossible to ignore. Nearly every issue originated in the same region of northeastern Minnesota.
The common denominator wasn't the equipment. It was the electrical service. Voltage fluctuations, brownouts, and repeated surge events from the electrical grid were slowly damaging sensitive inverter electronics.
Once we identified dirty power as the culprit, we acted.
Our first step was adding RectorSeal surge protectors to defend against damaging voltage spikes. The results improved immediately, but we knew we could provide even greater protection.
That's when we adopted VRM (Voltage Range Monitor) kits. Unlike traditional surge protection alone, VRM kits monitor incoming voltage and protect equipment from sudden surges as well as sustained high- and low-voltage conditions.
The results spoke for themselves:
- Fewer callbacks
- Fewer inverter board replacements
- Greater long-term reliability
- Less downtime for homeowners
- Greater confidence for contractors
- Better protection for the customer's investment
Today, Goodin Company quotes a VRM kit on every inverter system because protecting our customers' investment is just as important as installing the equipment itself.
Surge protection isn't about selling another accessory. It's about protecting the reputation of the contractor who installed the equipment, protecting the homeowner's investment, and ensuring today's high-efficiency inverter systems deliver the performance they're designed for.
After years of real-world experience, we've learned one simple lesson:
Power quality matters.
Written by Cedric Thompson, HVAC Manager
About the Author
Cedric Thompson has been with Goodin Company for more than 27 years and serves as the company's HVAC Manager. Throughout his career, he has worked alongside contractors across the Upper Midwest, providing technical expertise, product knowledge, and practical solutions for today's HVAC challenges.
