BUSINESS PROFILE
Gary and Greg Flanagan of Econo Air.
ECONO AIR
E
cono Air, The Energy Store, was founded in 1977 with the idea to help consumers save money on their rising energy bills. Now, 36 years later, Econo Air continues that tradition through their diverse offerings of high-quality, energy-efficient products. Econo Air was opened by Gary Flanagan and Al Bennett. After a successful career as salesmen at Montgomery Ward, Al Bennett retired in 2005, and Gary brought his son, Greg, on board to help service their expanded customer base. Econo Air was established as a HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) company that specialized in residential installations with custom sheet metal work. However, Econo Air has diversified and currently has four divisions. HVAC Division: The heating and cooling is still the largest division. Econo Air specializes in selling and installing the highest quality and highest efficient HVAC systems. They still custom fabricate all of 92
Bakersfield Life Magazine
their sheet metal work with each installation, which is very rare these days. The “V” stands for ventilation in HVAC, which is why Econo Air offers and usually installs an indoor air quality product with almost every installation. The equipment they sell is already moving the air in the home, so it is ideal to clean the air while doing it. This also helps protect the equipment by cleaning it to microscopic levels before it hits the equipment or duct system.
September 2013
Econo Air’s 4,000 square-foot showroom.
Hearth Division: Econo Air has been selling hearth products for more than 25 years. Originally, they were selling mainly wood stoves and wood inserts. However, these days, gas is king. Gas inserts, gas fireplaces and stoves are actually more efficient than wood stoves and much easier to control. The remote is your t-stat. You set a temperature on the remote and the heater rated fireplace products will adjust flame height to maintain your comfort level in the room. Gas products are not subject to the “no burn days” and the air district will even provide a $500 incentive program that pays people to convert their inefficient wood-burning fireplace with a high efficient heat-rated gas insert. Outdoor Division: Econo Air has been selling high quality barbecues for more than 20 years. They currently offer a diverse array of barbecue grills and accessories. They have an amazing selection of Weber gas and charcoal grills as their primary freestanding grills. However, if it is a complete outdoor kitchen you are after, then Econo Air is still your destination. They have a large selection of built-in grills and accessories. They started manufacturing outdoor kitchens in 2006 to be able to offer a custom outdoor kitchen from start to finish with all the components one would need. Solar Division: Econo Air started installing solar PV systems about five years ago. They offer SolarWorld the best quality 100 percent American-made solar panels. Solar is a great fit for Econo Air since they are able to address both the solar and the HVAC. It is usually more cost-effective and less money for the customer to upgrade the air conditioning system to a high-efficient system to decrease kilowatt usage prior to installing a solar system. Econo Air, The Energy Store, continues to offer the highest quality products and services for its customers in Kern County.
PHOTO BY APRIL MASSIRIO
PHOTO BY APRIL MASSIRIO
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION