We think of technology as code written in Silicon Valley, but its true future today is being forged by the tradespeople keeping our homes alive. I believe HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), plumbing, and electrical companies are entering a technological transformation that will change how businesses operate and compete in the market. Private equity has poured capital into HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and pest control for years, and 2026 has only sharpened the appetite.
AI, in addition, is already moving through American business at remarkable speed. Chamber of Commerce Foundation reported in June that half of workers at small businesses use AI at work. Among those users, 59 percent said they used time saved to do more work or produce higher-quality output.
U.S. labor productivity also rose at an annualised rate of 1.4 percent in the second quarter of 2026, although that increase cannot be attributed to AI alone. AI doesn’t need to unclog a drain or wire a panel. It handles the 11 pm call, schedules the tech, logs the job, writes the email, trains rookies, and flags the churning customers, all to support the technician.
The technology story is becoming an operating story. I see the biggest opportunity in the mundane tasks that owners may not think of as technology problems. A tech’s notes can become standardized documentation.
A manager’s knowledge can become a repeatable process. Customer follow-up can become systematic. An employee’s five years of accumulated know-how can become an SOP that another employee or an AI system can execute consistently.
The knowledge trapped inside individual employees can become an institutional asset. This is where the trades have a profound lesson for every industry. AI rewards companies that know how their work actually gets done.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
