When people think of Alaska, they think of cold weather, vast expanses of wilderness and small communities. While they’re correct about the wilderness and weather, there are a few communities in the state that can’t possibly be called “small.”
Anchorage is home to almost 300,000 people, or roughly the size of Cincinnati, Newark, or Pittsburgh. But unlike its Lower-48 counterparts, the city stands apart with its weather.
While not the coldest region in Alaska, Anchorage typically experiences between 7,000 to 8,000 heating degree days per year. Cincinnati, for comparison, averages 3,000 to 3,500 heating degree days.
“We install about four boilers per week,” said Thomas Jurancich, plumbing manager at Extreme Heating & Air. The 40-person mechanical company is the largest contractor in the Anchorage area, and likely in the state.
The biggest little state
Like all big cities, Anchorage has its bedroom communities, such as Eagle River.
When Shane Thom founded Extreme Heating & Air in Eagle River in 2009, it was after serving a four-year Air Force enlistment, where he learned the HVAC trade.
“I was in the civil engineering department and left the service as a Senior Airman,” said Thom. “Our primary task was setting up temporary cities, whether in Okinawa, Japan, Texas or Alaska.”
When Shane hung his shingle in 2009, Extreme was strictly focused on HVAC installations. Two years later, he added a plumbing department, and in 2013, he opened the company’s service department, along with their supply house and retail store. They serve all sorts of customers within a 300-mile radius.”
Alaska’s remoteness (from supply chains), vast coverage areas, and the extreme cold temperatures (often dipping below -30°F), are the greatest challenges. Boilers are quite popular, thanks to the severe winter conditions.
Custom residential
“Our plumbing division is the largest segment of the company,” said Thomas Jurancich, plumbing manager. “Boiler work is big business here, both residential and commercial.”
Extreme has great relationships with most of the custom homebuilders in the Anchorage area. One of those, Michelsohn & Daughter, is the source of half a dozen hydronic projects each year. These homes are typically $1 Million or more.
“New homes in Alaska with a seven-figure budget typically feature in-floor heat, and maybe snowmelt, too,” said Jurancich. “Both were included in our most recent Michelsohn project.”
The 4,700 square-foot home includes an art studio and three bay-garage, one of which is large enough to park the family’s RV. In-floor heat is used throughout, and the front walkway accounts for one small zone of snowmelt.
“All told, we have 11 zones here, including the snowmelt and 85-gallon indirect water heater, which is needed for multi-head showers and a giant freestanding tub,” said Jurancich. “We added an air handler for AC and to circulate environmental air through an HRV, but the only source of heat is the boiler.”
A 180-MBH Alta condensing boiler, made by U.S. Boiler Company, is used to supply all heat to the home and DHW.
“We’ve been installing the Alta since Nate Uson, territory manager at Ridgeline Mechanical Sales introduced it to us,” said Jurancich. “We probably have 200 of them in the field, almost all of which are 180 MBH. New product releases are always a little worrisome with our winters, but the Alta has been exceptional.
Jurancich is quick to admit that the gas-adaptive technology and the rate-based reset features of the Alta – both new to the hydronic industry in North America – felt “too easy.” It took a few installations before the Extreme technicians felt comfortable trusting the technology, but there’s never a second thought anymore.
Hot water is distributed to remote manifolds throughout the house. The radiant zones require 80°F at outdoor design temperature, and the snowmelt zone, isolated by a heat exchanger, calls for 110°F water. Chad Moore, lead boiler installer, and Joe Potter, apprentice, built the entire boiler room in three days.
“The homeowner loves the system,” said Jurancich. “He told me he takes guests into the mechanical room to show it off. I can’t think of a better endorsement of our work!”
Supply chain: end of the road
Jurancich was an outside sales rep for Ferguson before joining Extreme in 2017. This put him in frequent contact with Uson and others at Ridgeline, and that relationship has served them both well for years.
“Shane and Thomas have been great customers, and we’ve done our very best to support them, especially through the pandemic,” said Uson. “Contactors in the Lower-48 had supply chain issues, but not as bad as those in Alaska. We’re at the end of the proverbial road. Extreme has never been one to complain about price. Availability is the key concern here.”
Ridgeline helped ensure that Extreme had boilers to install throughout the supply chain crunches of the past few years. Other times, Extreme reaped the benefits of their own deep warehouse. In 2016, Extreme opened their own supply house and retail store.
“We’re halfway between Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley,” explained Thom. “Alaska is different from other states in that people here are very independent, and there’s a long way to go between supply houses. Some of our competitors buy product from us. So do plenty of DIYers.”
With good manufacturer’s reps, a fleet of roadworthy vans and a stout supply of plumbing and heating products in-house, Extreme keeps a lot of Alaskans warm throughout the winter. And none so much as in their own little town of Eagle River.
Not all residential new construction
In the 1950s, back before the roads in Eagle River were paved, activity in town revolved around the grocery/general store. That building still stands, though it’s been expanded and modified an untold number of times. It’s now a strip mall, housing a tax preparation office, dry cleaner, and more, having been converted to the Eagle River Shopping Center in the 1990s.
Extreme Heating & Air has serviced the facility’s central hydronic system for almost a decade. Doing so has always been a challenge. Its two condensing boilers were a constant source of headache, requiring nearly $10,000 worth of parts over the years. Because the building had been remodeled, changed and retrofitted so many times, zoning was less than straightforward.
In May of 2023, the shopping center’s owner decided to fix the problems for good. Extreme was hired to gut the mechanical room and replace it with a properly sized, newly piped system.
Extreme installed two U.S. Boiler Company Alpine 399 MBH modulating boilers in lead-lag operation. The entire building uses 15 zones of fin-tube baseboard radiation and a 119-gallon indirect tank supplies hot water to each retail space.
“We’re fairly young guys, so we’re always looking for the newest technology to try,” said Jurancich. “Last year, Nate showed us the USB-Connect Bluetooth smartphone app, and the shopping center was the first job we tried it on. We connected the Alpine to the adaptor with a Cat 5 cable and adjusted the flow rates and supply temperatures on my phone. The guys love it for the Alpine and the Alta, so our service manager, Jacob Way, ordered eight more.”
Over the course of three days, four Extreme technicians straightened out the piping issues and replaced the entire mechanical system. The main challenge was that the boiler room was tucked in the back of the building, separate from the retail spaces. After a full season in operation, Extreme has only received good feedback.
“They love the system because it finally works as intended,” said Jurancich.
Steady growth despite challenges
Extreme Heating & Air is growing, keeping pace with the city.
“Our biggest challenges are procuring material and manpower,” said Thom. “We’ve largely resolved our material inventory by dealing with good reps and owning our own warehouse. The manpower struggle isn’t unique to Alaska, by any means, but we’re taking that challenge head-on, too.”
The company recruits in cold climates in the Lower 48, hoping to draw young adventure-seekers to Alaska. There are great opportunities for those looking to relocate.
“We’re booked out for more than a month.” said Jurancich. “Next week we have five combi boilers going into a 5-plex apartment downtown. It’s a good problem to have. Much better than the opposite.”
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by Dan Vastyan