About Bears Home Solutions

Bears Home Solutions traces its roots back to 1978 when founders Dale and Louvain Boettner moved to Grand Forks, ND, and started Custom Aire, a commercial HVAC company that has continued to thrive over the years. While Custom Aire remains focused on commercial HVAC services, the Boettner family’s commitment to delivering quality HVAC solutions for both businesses and homeowners helped establish them as a leader in the region.

In 2008, the Boettners expanded their reach by creating a sister company, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, dedicated to providing residential heating and cooling services in Grand Forks and the surrounding areas. Over time, the company grew to include locations in Fargo, Grand Forks, and Hillsboro, adding offerings like plumbing, fireplace repair and installation, aeroseal duct sealing, and indoor air purifiers.

Recently rebranded as Bears Home Solutions, the company now encompasses a wide range of services and products designed to help families live more comfortable, safe, and healthy lives. Whether repairing a furnace, fixing a pipe, or installing an air purification system, Bears Home Solutions is committed to providing exceptional heating, cooling, and plumbing solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each home.

“From a 10,000-foot view, Bears Home Solutions is a heating, cooling, and plumbing company,” Owner Eric Boettner said. “However, along with installing furnaces, boilers, air conditioners, water heaters, and fireplaces, we are also a company focused on customer health, whether it be through clean air measured through our Home Air Quality Audits or through clean water for bathing, drinking, or brushing your teeth measured through our Water Quality Audits. We tailor all of our solutions specifically to that client’s specific home, their needs, and offer flexible payment options for their budget. We also are in the business of educating our customers to make choices that are best for them, we simply want to provide all of the information because in a lot of cases, we find people haven’t been fully informed on what their options are.”

Meet Owner Eric Boettner

How did you get to where you are today?

I had a different path than most in the HVAC and plumbing industry. I grew up around it with my father running the company but I was interested in forging my own path and didn’t see myself working in the industry. However, after graduating with my accounting degree, and MBA, and spending 10 years in the banking industry, I started to re-consider the opportunities the HVAC industry provided as well as the value I could bring to the business given my education and experience in finance and accounting. A good portion of owners in the HVAC and plumbing industry started in the business working for a company and one day decided to go out on their own. I felt that, given my background, I would be able to bring a unique skill set and perspective. All that being said, the thing I love about this industry is that I have a new experience or learn something different every single day. There’s so much I don’t know and that excites me to push forward and get better every single day. One of our company’s core values is ‘ambition’ and I’d say that represents and exemplifies the outstanding team we have.

I feel I am incredibly lucky to have grown up with the parents I have and the experiences I’ve been through. My grandfather, Dale Boettner, started this business in 1978, and my father, Scott Boettner, and uncle, Randy Boettner, bought the business from him in the 90s so I am the third generation—which I take a lot of pride in. They also added Darin Gador to the ownership team, our current general manager, who has been with the business for 40 years and has forgotten more about HVAC than I’ll ever know. It is not lost on me how fortunate I am to have the privilege to take over a company that’s been around for 47 years and continue to grow and improve it while absorbing all of their wisdom. I feel like every day I have to prove that I deserve the opportunity and that’s one of my main driving forces.

Why are you passionate about your work?

There’s so much room to improve and I have a direct impact on how successful we are as a company. If we screw up or something doesn’t work, that falls on leadership and management and I thrive on that level of accountability. We also have opportunities to literally change the lives of the people who work for us by providing them with a career path based on their desires, whether it be to be a manager, the best technician they can be in a leadership role, or even if they’d like to start their own business one day. The same can be said for the customers we serve. A lot of times we get calls from customers who have never experienced an issue with their furnace or air conditioner and are at the worst possible time when it’s either very hot or cold. This provides us with a great opportunity to put that customer at ease by truly listening to what their concerns are and helping them through the process while allaying some fears about time (how long until it can be fixed), money (how much is it), and who we are (how can I trust you).

Did You Know?
Bears Home Solutions has received over 2,000 Google Reviews across two locations (Fargo and Grand Forks) with a 4.9 rating at each.

Services offered by Bears Home Solutions

Heating
Cooling
Plumbing
Fireplace
Indoor Air
Quality
Aeroseal

What are you passionate about outside of work?

Outside of work, I’m passionate about my family first and foremost. Spending time with them at home or the family lake place is something I really enjoy. I will always say the two girls that my wife and I have are the greatest thing I have ever done and will ever do in my lifetime.

I’ve been married to my incredible wife, Khonsavanh, for 10 years in June and we have two amazing daughters, Eleanor (7) and Penelope (1). My wife is the most important person in allowing me to put in the work required to accomplish the goals I’m passionate about. She does all of this while somehow finding the time to accomplish goals she is passionate about within real estate as a realtor and an investor. She does a lot of her own work in preparing houses to either flip or prepare to be rented out which surprises a lot of people. She’s very talented at what she does. We like to travel as time allows too. We always enjoy new experiences and going to different places around the world to take in different cultures.

Also, when I have time, I really enjoy getting the time to go out and golf. I’ve played since I was 10 years old and it’s always been a big part of my life.