Are Draper Heating & Air Conditioning technicians employees or subcontractors?

Full W-2 employees. We do not subcontract installations, repairs, or maintenance work to outside crews. This matters for warranty coverage, accountability on installation defects discovered years later, and the consistency of diagnostic methodology across calls. Subcontracted HVAC crews are paid by job completion, which creates incentive pressure toward rush installations and pre-written replacement quotes.

What certifications do your technicians actually hold?

At minimum, every technician carries EPA Section 608 Universal certification (required by federal law for refrigerant handling). Lead service techs hold NATE certifications in their specialty — Air Conditioning Service, Gas Heating Service, Hydronics, Heat Pumps, or Installation. Our owner holds ACCA Manual J, S, and D certification for load calculation and equipment selection, which is the underlying methodology behind every new system quote we write. Certification numbers are available on request and printed on the technician's vehicle ID card.

How do you handle SunCrest and Traverse Ridge installations differently?

Equipment selection at 6,000–6,400 feet requires manufacturer derate per their installation manual — typically 4% capacity reduction per 1,000 feet above sea level, which means a 100,000 BTU furnace rated at sea level is delivering about 76,000 BTU at SunCrest. Combustion air supply, vent termination clearance to wind-loaded snow drifts, and CSST gas line bonding all change at altitude. Our lead techs Marcus, Diego, and Trevor have run more than 90 high-altitude installations across SunCrest, Traverse Ridge, and the upper South Mountain bench. We do not send technicians to those zip codes who haven't done the derate calculation on at least 10 prior installs under direct supervision.

Will the same technician come back if I need follow-up service?

Whenever possible, yes — the technician who diagnosed your system or performed your install is the first one assigned to any follow-up call. Continuity matters because our dispatch system carries notes, photos, combustion analysis readings, and static pressure measurements from prior visits. If Marcus saw your condenser in July and you call back in September, Marcus has the historical data on what your subcooling looked like at the original visit. That context turns a 90-minute diagnostic call into a 30-minute confirmed repair.

Do your technicians work on weekends and holidays?

Our emergency dispatch line is staffed 24/7, 365 days a year. Saturday, Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day — the technician on call is a full employee, not an outside answering service. After-hours rates apply for non-emergency work, but emergency rates apply to a defined list of conditions: no heat below 55°F indoor, no cooling above 85°F indoor with a household member medically vulnerable, suspected gas leak with confirmed methane reading, or active water leak from an HVAC component. Those four categories get same-night response in Draper, Sandy, Bluffdale, Riverton, South Jordan, and Herriman.

Meet the Team at Draper Heating & Air Conditioning

The technicians who pull up to your house in a Draper Heating & Air Conditioning truck are not contractors-of-the-day pulled from a temp pool. They are full-time employees, background-checked through Sterling Volunteers, drug-tested under our DOT-compliant policy, NATE-certified across at least one specialty (most across multiple), and trained continuously on the equipment Wasatch Front homes actually run. Every person on this page lives within 25 minutes of the cities we serve. When you call us at 11 p.m. on a January Sunday during a SunCrest cold snap, the technician dispatched to your home is someone with skin in this valley — not a route from a national franchise call center.

Orlando Bader — Owner & Master Technician

Orlando founded Draper Heating & Air Conditioning in 2014 after six years at a Carrier dealership in Sandy, where he ran high-altitude installations across the SunCrest, Traverse Ridge, and Corner Canyon benches. Utah DOPL HVAC contractor license #11487612-5501. EPA Section 608 Universal certification #608U-2011-318472. NATE-certified in Air Conditioning Service, Air Distribution, Gas Heating Service, and Heat Pumps. ACCA Manual J, S, and D certified through HVAC Excellence (2012). RSES Class HE member since 2013.

Orlando still runs estimates and complex diagnostic calls personally — particularly anything involving Manual J load calculations on historic Draper homes, combustion analysis on cracked or suspected heat exchangers, and SunCrest high-altitude derate work where most installers default to the manufacturer’s sea-level chart. If a customer ever has a complaint the field team can’t resolve, the escalation path ends at Orlando’s cell phone — not a voicemail box.

Lead Service Technicians

Marcus Whitfield — Lead Service Tech, Cooling Specialist

Marcus joined the company in 2017 and now leads our cooling team during peak July and August demand. EPA Section 608 Universal. NATE-certified in Air Conditioning Service and Air Conditioning Installation. Trained on R-454B and R-32 mildly flammable (A2L) refrigerant handling for the 2025 transition through Honeywell’s Solstice certification program.

His specialty is condenser placement and line-set sizing for south-facing SunCrest, Corner Canyon, and South Mountain walls where measured ambient runs 8–12°F hotter than the SLC International Airport NWS station — the difference between a 13 SEER2 unit hitting its rated capacity and one falling 14% short on a 96°F afternoon. Marcus carries a Fluke 922 airflow meter, Fluke 561 IR thermometer, and a Yellow Jacket Series 41 manifold on every call. Lives in Sandy with his wife and two kids.

Diego Ramirez — Lead Service Tech, Heating & Combustion Specialist

Diego came to Draper Heating & Air Conditioning in 2018 after seven years on hydronic boiler service in West Jordan. EPA Section 608 Universal. NATE-certified in Gas Heating Service and Hydronics Gas. CSST bonding-certified per IRC G2411 and Dominion Energy’s bonding bulletin. Combustion analysis certified through Bacharach’s Fyrite Insight program.

Diego owns our furnace and boiler call rotation from October 1 through April 30. His combustion analyzer (Testo 320 Basic) is the first tool out of the truck on every heating call — CO air-free under 100 ppm, O₂ between 5–9%, stack temperature within manufacturer spec, or the appliance doesn’t get re-fired. He has caught 14 cracked heat exchangers in the past three winters using borescope inspection and combustion drift analysis — and just as importantly, has cleared 31 furnaces that competitors had condemned without measurement. Lives in Riverton.

Installation Crew

Trevor Kowalski — Lead Installer

Trevor leads our installation crew on furnace, AC, and heat pump changeouts. EPA Section 608 Universal. NATE-certified in Air Conditioning Installation. Sheet metal certified through SMACNA training for transition fitting and plenum fabrication on R-49 attic installations in newer Daybreak, Rosecrest, and Anthem builds. Trained on Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat and Daikin Aurora cold-climate heat pump line set vacuum and brazing procedures.

His crew pulls every install permit through the relevant municipal building department — Draper City Building Services, Sandy City, Bluffdale, Riverton, South Jordan, or Herriman — before sheet metal hits the truck. Vacuum target: 500 microns held for 15 minutes minimum on every refrigerant line set, verified with a Yellow Jacket BluVac+ Pro micron gauge. Trevor’s crew has installed roughly 380 systems since 2019. Lives in South Jordan.

Brendan O’Hara — Installation Technician

Brendan handles ductless mini-split installations and IAQ accessory work — whole-home humidifiers, HEPA bypass cabinets, UV-C coil treatment, and HRV/ERV ventilation systems for the tight-envelope builds going up in Daybreak Village 5 and Rosecrest. EPA Section 608 Universal. Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor installer-certified. Aprilaire whole-home product training completed 2023.

His specialty is the high-static-pressure problem common in older Draper and Sandy homes from the 1970s and 1980s — 4″ return drops that should be 6″, undersized supply runs choking ECM variable-speed blowers, and missing return air on remodeled basements. Total external static measurement is non-negotiable on his installs.

Office & Dispatch

Lauren Iverson — Office Manager & Dispatch Lead

Lauren manages dispatch, scheduling, permitting paperwork, and warranty claim coordination with Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Rheem, and Mitsubishi Electric distributor reps. If your install includes a 10-year parts warranty, Lauren is the person who registers it with the manufacturer inside the 60- or 90-day window — the step that competitors often skip and that voids most equipment warranties by year four. She also coordinates emergency dispatch during the November–February heating crisis window when our 24/7 line averages 14–22 calls per week.

What “Background-Checked” Actually Means Here

Every technician on this team has cleared:

National criminal background check via Sterling Volunteers, updated annually
Sex offender registry search across all 50 states and U.S. territories
Motor vehicle record verification through the Utah DLD, current within 90 days
5-panel pre-employment drug screen with random follow-up testing under our DOT-compliant policy
Employment verification for HVAC-specific work history covering the past seven years
Active EPA Section 608 certification — verified through the certifying organization, not self-reported

You can ask any of our technicians for their license card and EPA 608 certificate at the door. They carry both.

Training That Doesn’t Stop at Hire

The HVAC industry is in the middle of its biggest regulatory and technical transition since R-22 was phased out: the 2025 R-454B refrigerant rollout under EPA SNAP rule changes, the 2023 SEER2 efficiency rating revision, the federal Inflation Reduction Act heat pump rebate program (Utah’s allocation administered through the Office of Energy Development), and the 2024 IECC adoption affecting permit requirements. Every technician on this team logs continuing education hours each year through:

Utah DOPL Division code-cycle requirements (2024 IMC and UMC)
Manufacturer factory training — Carrier dealer school in Indianapolis, Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor program, Daikin University
ACCA continuing education on Manual J, S, D, and H revisions
NATE recertification cycles (5-year for installer certs, 2-year for service certs)
Local 657 Sheet Metal Workers training for fabrication updates

If a manufacturer releases a new variable-capacity inverter heat pump, our team is at the launch training before the unit ships to Utah distributors. That’s how you avoid being the second customer in the valley whose installer guessed at line set sizing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Draper Heating & Air Conditioning technicians employees or subcontractors?: Full W-2 employees. We do not subcontract installations, repairs, or maintenance work to outside crews. This matters for warranty coverage, accountability on installation defects discovered years later, and the consistency of diagnostic methodology across calls. Subcontracted HVAC crews are paid by job completion, which creates incentive pressure toward rush installations and pre-written replacement quotes.
What certifications do your technicians actually hold?: At minimum, every technician carries EPA Section 608 Universal certification (required by federal law for refrigerant handling). Lead service techs hold NATE certifications in their specialty — Air Conditioning Service, Gas Heating Service, Hydronics, Heat Pumps, or Installation. Our owner holds ACCA Manual J, S, and D certification for load calculation and equipment selection, which is the underlying methodology behind every new system quote we write. Certification numbers are available on request and printed on the technician’s vehicle ID card.
How do you handle SunCrest and Traverse Ridge installations differently?: Equipment selection at 6,000–6,400 feet requires manufacturer derate per their installation manual — typically 4% capacity reduction per 1,000 feet above sea level, which means a 100,000 BTU furnace rated at sea level is delivering about 76,000 BTU at SunCrest. Combustion air supply, vent termination clearance to wind-loaded snow drifts, and CSST gas line bonding all change at altitude. Our lead techs Marcus, Diego, and Trevor have run more than 90 high-altitude installations across SunCrest, Traverse Ridge, and the upper South Mountain bench. We do not send technicians to those zip codes who haven’t done the derate calculation on at least 10 prior installs under direct supervision.
Will the same technician come back if I need follow-up service?: Whenever possible, yes — the technician who diagnosed your system or performed your install is the first one assigned to any follow-up call. Continuity matters because our dispatch system carries notes, photos, combustion analysis readings, and static pressure measurements from prior visits. If Marcus saw your condenser in July and you call back in September, Marcus has the historical data on what your subcooling looked like at the original visit. That context turns a 90-minute diagnostic call into a 30-minute confirmed repair.
Do your technicians work on weekends and holidays?: Our emergency dispatch line is staffed 24/7, 365 days a year. Saturday, Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day — the technician on call is a full employee, not an outside answering service. After-hours rates apply for non-emergency work, but emergency rates apply to a defined list of conditions: no heat below 55°F indoor, no cooling above 85°F indoor with a household member medically vulnerable, suspected gas leak with confirmed methane reading, or active water leak from an HVAC component. Those four categories get same-night response in Draper, Sandy, Bluffdale, Riverton, South Jordan, and Herriman.

Contact Draper Heating & Air Conditioning

Our team is dispatched from 12244 Business Park Dr #155, less than two miles from the I-15 and Bangerter Highway interchange, with 24/7 emergency response across the south Salt Lake Valley. Whether you need an Orlando-led estimate on a complex Manual J replacement, a Diego-run combustion analysis on a furnace another contractor wants to condemn, or a Trevor-installed cold-climate heat pump rated for SunCrest’s 5°F ASHRAE design temp, our licensed technicians are available.

Emergency Line (24/7): (385) 336-1837
Address: 12244 Business Park Dr #155, Draper, UT 84020
Email: info@draperheatingairconditioning.xyz
Utah DOPL HVAC Contractor License: #11487612-5501
EPA Section 608 Universal: #608U-2011-318472

Office Hours

Emergency Service: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Office Staff: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Closed: Weekends and State/Federal Holidays (emergency line always active)

Meet the Team | Draper Heating & Air Conditioning