Meet the Team | SLC Heating & Air Conditioning Technicians

Meet the Salt Lake City Heating & Air Conditioning Team

The bench you hire matters more than the brand of equipment you install. A 96% AFUE Carrier furnace dropped in by a tech who skipped the high-altitude derate table will underperform a properly-commissioned 80% AFUE unit installed by someone who measured manifold pressure, ran combustion analysis, and verified static pressure across the air handler. Our team is built around that principle: measurement before opinion, training before improvisation, and continuing education that runs on the IMC/UMC code cycle — not on a sales schedule.

Every technician below holds Utah DOPL credentials, EPA Section 608 certification at minimum Type II, and at least one NATE specialty. Average tenure on our roster: 9.2 years in the trade. Average residential calls completed per technician: 1,860+ across Salt Lake County. We don’t run trainees on solo calls. Apprentices ride along on every visit for their first 18 months — full stop.

Timothy Baxter — Founder & Lead Technician

Trade since 2007. Founded the company 2014.

Timothy holds Utah DOPL HVAC contractor license #11567823-5501 and EPA Section 608 Universal certification #608U-2009-447129 — the Universal tier covers small appliance, high-pressure, and low-pressure refrigerants including R-22 legacy systems, R-410A, and the 2025 R-454B transition. NATE-certified in Air Conditioning Service, Air Distribution, and Gas Heating Service. ACCA Manual J, S, and D coursework completed in 2011 through HVAC Excellence. RSES Class HE member since 2013.

Before founding the company, Timothy spent seven years at Mountain Air Heating & Cooling, a Carrier dealership on State Street in Murray, where he ran the residential install team and earned his Manual J certification on 340+ load calculations across the Salt Lake Valley — from 1890s Capitol Hill Victorians to new construction in Daybreak. He started Salt Lake City Heating & Air Conditioning after one specific 2 a.m. no-heat call in the Avenues where a competitor had quoted an 88-year-old retiree $11,400 to replace a perfectly serviceable Trane XV80. The actual failure was a $186 pressure switch.

Specialties: high-altitude furnace commissioning, complex multi-zone retrofits in pre-1940 housing stock, hydronic system diagnostics on cast iron sectional boilers (common in the Avenues, Federal Heights, and historic Ogden 25th Street).

Marcus Halverson — Senior Service Technician

Trade since 2011. With us since 2016.

Marcus came up through the Salt Lake Community College HVAC program (Skyline Technical Education Center), graduating in 2011 with the Outstanding Apprentice award. EPA 608 Universal #608U-2011-562847. NATE-certified in Air Conditioning Service, Heat Pump Service, and Commercial Refrigeration. Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Contractor training (2019) and Bosch IDS Premium installer certification (2022).

Marcus runs most of our heat pump installations — specifically the cold-climate variable-capacity systems (Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat MUZ-FS, Daikin Aurora, Bosch IDS Premium 2.0) that maintain 100% rated capacity at our 9°F ASHRAE 99% winter design temperature. He’s installed 142 cold-climate heat pumps across the Wasatch Front since joining the team, with documented average heating efficiency above 2.4 COP at 5°F outdoor temperature.

Specialties: cold-climate heat pump sizing and commissioning, line set sizing for elevation, electrical service load calculations for heat pump retrofits requiring panel upgrades.

Dakota Whitfield — Senior Service Technician

Trade since 2013. With us since 2018.

Dakota trained through the Davis Technical College HVAC program in Kaysville, completing both the residential and commercial tracks. EPA 608 Universal #608U-2013-388910. NATE-certified in Gas Heating Service, Hydronics Gas, and Heat Pump Service. Viessmann mod-con boiler training (2020) at the Allendale, NJ training facility. Weil-McLain hydronic specialist certification.

Dakota is our hydronic and boiler lead. The Avenues, Federal Heights, Capitol Hill, and Yalecrest are full of original radiant systems — cast iron sectional boilers from the 1920s and 30s, single-pipe steam systems, gravity-fed hot water loops — and most of the city’s HVAC contractors won’t touch them. Dakota does. He’s also our backup R-22 specialist for the dwindling installed base of pre-2010 condensers that homeowners aren’t ready to replace yet.

Specialties: cast iron sectional boiler diagnostics, mod-con boiler commissioning, hydronic zone control wiring, steam system condensate management, R-22 legacy refrigerant recovery and recharge.

Priya Sandoval — Service Technician & IAQ Specialist

Trade since 2015. With us since 2020.

Priya completed the Utah Valley University HVAC program in 2015 and worked four years in commercial IAQ across the Provo-Orem corridor before joining our team. EPA 608 Universal #608U-2015-714225. NATE-certified in Air Distribution. NADCA Air Systems Cleaning Specialist (ASCS) certification — one of fewer than 80 active ASCS-certified technicians in Utah. RESNET HERS Rater certification (2021) for whole-home energy assessments.

Priya runs our indoor air quality work — MERV 13 retrofit on legacy return plenums sized for MERV 8, whole-home HEPA bypass installations, UV-C coil treatment commissioning, and the calibration of bypass and steam humidification systems for Salt Lake’s brutal 10–20% winter relative humidity. She’s our resident specialist on PCAPS-season filtration upgrades for asthmatic and immunocompromised homeowners.

Specialties: NADCA-compliant duct cleaning, MERV 13+ retrofit, whole-home HEPA, UV-C systems, humidification chemistry, blower door testing, RESNET HERS energy audits.

Eli Tran — Service Technician

Trade since 2017. With us since 2021.

Eli trained through Mountainland Technical College’s HVAC program in Lehi, graduating in 2017. EPA 608 Universal #608U-2017-219476. NATE-certified in Air Conditioning Service. Goodman/Amana factory training (2019). Carrier Infinity dealer training (2022).

Eli handles the high-volume residential service calls — spring AC startups, fall furnace tune-ups, and the no-heat/no-cool emergency dispatch rotation. He’s logged 1,420 service tickets since joining the team, with a 94% first-visit resolution rate (measured: percentage of calls where the diagnosis on visit 1 led to a successful repair without a callback within 30 days). He’s also our drone operator for roof-mounted condensing unit inspections on commercial rooftop work.

Specialties: diagnostic efficiency on residential AC and gas furnace systems, smart thermostat programming and wiring (ecobee, Nest, Honeywell T-Series), drone-assisted commercial RTU inspection.

Reagan O’Donnell — Apprentice Technician

Trade since 2023. With us since 2023.

Reagan is currently in the second year of the Utah DOPL HVAC apprenticeship program through the Associated Builders & Contractors of Utah. EPA 608 Type II #608II-2024-491358 (Universal exam scheduled Q3 2026). Studying for NATE Core and Air Conditioning Service exams.

Reagan rides along on every call — per our internal policy, no apprentice runs solo until completion of the 18-month structured ride-along program plus passing scores on three internal field competency evaluations. She’s currently focused on diagnostic protocols (combustion analysis sequence, refrigerant superheat/subcooling, static pressure measurement) and is being mentored primarily by Marcus and Dakota.

Currently learning: ACCA Manual J load calculation workflow, combustion analyzer operation (Testo 320 and Bacharach Insight Plus), Yellow Jacket digital manifold gauge procedures, refrigerant recovery per EPA 608 regulations.

Office & Dispatch Team

Carla Mendoza — Operations & Permit Coordinator

With us since 2017.

Carla pulls every install permit through Salt Lake City Building Services, Murray, West Valley City, Sandy, Draper, Holladay, Millcreek, and Ogden — whichever AHJ has jurisdiction. She tracks inspection schedules, manufacturer warranty registrations, and the Rocky Mountain Power and Dominion Energy rebate paperwork that our customers qualify for under the Wattsmart and ThermWise programs. If your install gets done on a Tuesday, Carla has the rebate application submitted by Thursday.

Jordan Whitmer — Dispatch & Customer Care

With us since 2019.

Jordan runs the dispatch board and the 24/7 emergency line. She holds the technicians to their quoted arrival windows — standard SLA is ±30 minutes inside the original two-hour window, with a courtesy notification by text or phone if traffic, weather, or a preceding call running long forces a slip. After-hours emergency response targets: under 90 minutes inside Salt Lake County, under 2 hours to Sandy/Draper/Ogden.

Our Continuing Education Standard

Every field technician on our roster logs a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education annually, well above the 8 hours required by Utah DOPL for license renewal. The training stack covers:

  • The biennial IMC and UMC code-cycle updates (most recent: 2024 IMC adoption with Utah amendments)
  • Refrigerant transition compliance — the 2025 R-454B phaseout of R-410A, EPA SNAP rules, and proper handling of A2L mildly-flammable refrigerants
  • ACCA Quality Installation (QI-5) and Quality Maintenance (QM) standards
  • Manufacturer-specific training cycles: Carrier Infinity, Trane XL/XV, Lennox iComfort, Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor, Daikin Aurora, Bosch IDS, Rheem Pro Partner
  • NATE recertification on a four-year cycle

Insurance & Bonding

Every technician on our roster is W-2 employed — no 1099 subcontractors on any residential or commercial job. The company carries:

  • General Liability: $2,000,000 aggregate, $1,000,000 per occurrence, through The Hartford
  • Workers’ Compensation: Full coverage on every employee through Workers Compensation Fund of Utah
  • Commercial Auto: $1,000,000 combined single limit on all dispatch vehicles
  • Surety Bond: Utah HVAC contractor surety bond at the DOPL-required minimum, currently $50,000

Frequently Asked Questions

Are all your technicians licensed in Utah?
Yes. Every field technician operates under the company’s Utah DOPL HVAC contractor license (#11567823-5501), and each individual technician holds at minimum EPA Section 608 Type II refrigerant certification, with most holding the Universal tier required for handling small appliance, high-pressure, and low-pressure refrigerants. Apprentices are enrolled in registered Utah DOPL HVAC apprenticeship programs and never run solo calls until completion of our internal 18-month ride-along training.
How many technicians does Salt Lake City Heating & Air Conditioning employ?
The current roster includes 6 field technicians (1 lead, 3 senior, 1 mid-level, 1 apprentice) plus 2 office and dispatch staff. All technicians are W-2 employees — we do not use 1099 subcontractors for any residential or commercial work. Average technician tenure on the team is 9.2 years in the HVAC trade and 5.4 years with the company.
What certifications do your technicians actually hold?
Required for all field staff: Utah DOPL apprenticeship enrollment or journeyman-level credential, EPA Section 608 (minimum Type II, Universal preferred), and at least one NATE specialty certification. Specialty certifications across the team include NATE Air Conditioning Service, Air Distribution, Gas Heating, Heat Pump Service, Commercial Refrigeration, and Hydronics Gas. Additional credentials on the roster include NADCA Air Systems Cleaning Specialist, RESNET HERS Rater, Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor, Bosch IDS Premium installer, and Viessmann mod-con boiler specialist.
Do apprentice technicians run service calls alone?
No. Our internal policy requires apprentices to ride along on every service call and installation for a minimum of 18 months before solo dispatch. Even after that point, apprentices must pass three internal field competency evaluations covering diagnostic protocols, customer communication, and code-compliant installation procedures. We don’t put trainees in front of customers without backup — that’s the single fastest way to produce the kind of bad diagnoses that make the local HVAC industry’s reputation worse than it should be.
How do you handle technician continuing education?
Every field technician logs a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education annually, three times the Utah DOPL requirement of 8 hours for license renewal. The training stack covers the biennial IMC and UMC code cycles (most recent: 2024 IMC with Utah amendments), the 2025 R-454B refrigerant transition and A2L mildly-flammable refrigerant handling, ACCA Quality Installation (QI-5) and Quality Maintenance standards, and manufacturer-specific cycles for the equipment lines we install. NATE certifications are renewed on a four-year cycle.

Contact Salt Lake City Heating & Air Conditioning

Our Winchester Street office is in the geographic center of the Salt Lake Valley, with 24/7 emergency response across Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Murray, West Valley City, Sandy, Draper, Holladay, Millcreek, and Ogden. Whether you need a service technician dispatched for a January no-heat call, a Manual J load assessment for full system replacement, or a NADCA-certified duct cleaning before PCAPS inversion season, our team is ready.

Contact Us →

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)