Porcupine Mechanical

The best heating system is the one you never think about. That means not worrying about a winter storm and staying cozy in February. It also means walking into a cool home on a hot summer day.

Homes across the Sea to Sky are aging and their heating systems are wearing out. More of them need cooling, and were never set up for it. This is the problem we set out to solve.

Many heating and cooling companies do good work on straightforward installations. Our difference is the complex home: the retrofit with no obvious path for ductwork, the renovation where the mechanical system was an afterthought. We design our systems so homes remain healthy to live in and perform no matter the weather outside.

Doing things right, to a high standard, matters to us. Investing in a heating system is a big decision for most homeowners, and we want to make sure there is never buyer's remorse. We balance and test every system before we call it finished, every installation comes with a one-year labour warranty and a six-month maintenance visit, and Comfort Club takes over from there so nobody has to remember when service is due.

This business has been a wild ride. We started out of our house, Simon and Jessica Miller, a husband and wife team, both all in. Thirty-two months later we have eight employees, a Squamish shop, five electric vans, and nearly $2 million in revenue, funded by the work and our own investment. Simon sits on the Mechanical Contractors Association of BC board, Jessica sits on this Chamber's board, and established HVAC companies in our market call to ask how we run parts of our operation.

None of that happens without the team, so we look after them. We pay a living wage, provide extended health benefits, cover training and trade tickets, and supply uniforms and tools. Everyone gets paid time off above the provincial minimum, a predictable schedule, and year-round work, including through the quiet months. Our team is the reason customers write reviews about "a passionate, hardworking, and well organized team on the ground."

Environmental impact is really important to us. CleanBC has set the province on a path to cut building emissions and move homes onto high-efficiency electric heat, and every heat pump we install in place of a gas furnace or baseboards is part of that. Every vehicle we run is electric, we are a registered CleanBC contractor, and we are working toward B Corp certification.

We did not start this to sell heat pumps. We started it so that people in the Sea to Sky could stop worrying about their homes and get on with living in them. There are a lot more of those homes to look after, and we are honoured to be doing this work here.

Squamish is full of businesses worth being proud of, and it is an honour to be part of that club. We are really proud of what we have built.