Taking home the 2025 HVAC School All-Star Award is a school that shares a name with the category itself: HVAC School. But it isn’t your typical training program — it doesn’t follow a set curriculum, nor does it operate out of a classroom. Instead, it’s an online resource and community created “For Techs, by Techs.”
“We’re really technician-driven,” said Bryan Orr, founder of HVAC School, and co-founder and president of Kalos Services. “We’re driven by the technician, contractor, community — people who actually do it every day out in the field. That informs our approach and informs our content, but it also informs the way that we view community.”
HVAC School isn’t the competitive type. Instead, it takes a community-focused, collaborative approach to education. Rather than competing with other training programs, the platform works alongside trade schools and industry organizations to support HVACR education as a whole, Orr said.
Backed by respected leaders in the industry, HVAC School isn’t focused on traditional student enrollment. Instead, its mission is to provide accessible resources and help strengthen the broader educational ecosystem.
Interestingly, HVAC School actually began as a podcast — born from Orr’s dual passions for audio production and HVAC education.
“I’ve done a wide range of different teaching … and training has always been part of my contracting company [Kalos Services] … and I did a lot of work as a stringer for different podcasts and radio shows, and I just loved that. Loved editing and microphones and sound boards and all that kind of nerdy, dorky stuff,” Orr said.
A self-described media hobbyist, Orr saw a growing need for accessible training and decided to combine his skills to meet that demand. The positive response was immediate, and the platform has grown ever since.
Filling Gaps
One of the biggest gaps Orr sees in HVACR education today is the disconnect between textbook theory and real-world application.
“When you have a strength of the tactile, the kinesthetic is your strength of learning, and sometimes things that feel sort of ethereal or confusing because you can’t see it, you can’t feel it, can be really challenging, and electrical is one of those — electrical reading/ wiring diagrams, using a meter, troubleshooting, how it really works — it’s always kind of magical, because you can’t see it,” Orr said.

UNDERSTANDING TECH: A lot of times theory or scientific words read on the page can be intimidating to those more skilled kinesthetically, so HVAC School works to bridge that gap in its training materials. (Courtesy of Kalos Services and HVAC School)
To address that, HVAC School emphasizes mental models — what Orr and his brother call “head cartoons” — to help techs visualize invisible forces like electricity and thermodynamics. It may not be exactly scientifically accurate, but that’s at least communicated.
“We say all the time like, ‘Hey, this isn’t exactly right, but it’s a way that you can think about it to help you visualize what’s going on.’ And we do that on the dynamic side inside the system, we do that on the electrical side, certainly on the airflow side, and then on the thermodynamic side,” Orr said. “There’s so much in HVACR that is unseen, and helping people get that ‘head cartoon’ in a way that helps them sort of understand what’s going on inside the equipment is something we focus on.”

LESS THAN PERFECT: Courses that provide clear guidelines ensure techs don’t have to wonder if they are “doing it right.” (Courtesy of Kalos Services and HVAC School)
Through its training programs, Orr noted widespread improvement in how technicians approach everyday tasks, like pulling a vacuum.
“It’s a really simple thing,” Orr said. “But in the past, technicians were very frustrated because they didn’t know how to get the results that the textbooks and manufacturers said they had to get, and so everybody sort of felt like they weren’t doing the right thing, because there wasn’t really clear instruction.”
HVAC School has done a lot of work with the help of many other HVAC experts to make those sorts of processes simple, and show techs that they can, for example, “do a really deep, really great vacuum very quickly and very economically,” as Orr put it. (So long as they have the right equipment and best practices in hand.)
With clearer guidance and practical tools, techs now report feeling more capable and professional. Similar improvements have been seen in airflow testing, refrigerant recovery, and more.
“It’s All About Community”
While winning the HVAC School All-Star Award is meaningful to HVAC School, it’s all about the community — the collective effort behind HVAC School.
“I know how reliant what we’ve done has been on so many other people,” Orr said.
Orr even credited The ACHR NEWS, which he had the chance to write for “years and years ago” when HVAC School was just starting out.
“And the support that I received from the [ACHR NEWS] team, and just the excitement,” Orr said. “What it means to me is all about community, and all about the joy of getting to do something we love with people that we care about … So this [award] is another kind of reaffirmation of that.”
Orr never used to get what people meant when they said something was humbling. He does now.
“Because the humbling part is just knowing how many people have contributed to what we do, and I’m very grateful to that, and I am very grateful to The NEWS,”Orr said.
HVAC U is The ACHR NEWS’ Honorable Mention for this year’s HVAC School All-Star Award. The trade school and training organization stands out in the HVACR training landscape for its comprehensive, hands-on approach to technical education and workforce development.
Founded by Brynn Cooksey (often referred to as the “Air Doctor), owner and general manager of Air Doctors Heating and Cooling in Belleville, Michigan, HVAC U offers both virtual and in-person instruction, with courses led by industry professionals who bring decades of real-world experience to the classroom.
HVAC U is a State of Michigan-approved post-secondary training organization. Its programs cover a broad range of disciplines, including gas-fired furnaces, hydronic and steam boilers, refrigeration, electrical systems, ventilation, building science, and energy auditing. This curriculum is designed to serve everyone from career changers to seasoned professionals looking to advance their skills.
The school places a strong emphasis on practical training and career development, offering licensing preparation, business education, and advanced technical instruction. And Cooksey’s influence is felt throughout the program — his commitment to excellence and education has earned him national recognition, including being named one of ESCO Institute’s Top 25 Most Influential HVACR Instructors and a member of The NEWS’ 2024 Top 40 Under 40.
With a track record of training over 10,000 professionals, HVAC U continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of HVACR talent.