General contractors, technicians, and handyman-labor hold unique roles, especially within the small and medium scale residential and commercial building sector. Every day these figures are welcomed into buildings for repairs and develop trust through maintenance of critical systems. Every day they advise building operators on how to optimize their systems and even guide decision-makers on upgrades or retrofits. As leading smart technology manufacturers and vendors continue to search for new ways to trigger the long-anticipated wave of widespread smart building adoption, they are starting to take notice of the humble contractor as a potential game-changer. “HVAC contractor business owners and their field technicians are uniquely positioned to spearhead new waves of energy efficiency in homes and businesses,” says James McPhail, CEO of California-based Zen Ecosystems. “For example, when servicing a building’s boiler after an issue, a technician can recommend monitoring technology that enables greater insight into the device’s operations before a problem occurs. Wireless-enabled technology […]