Budderfly is pushing sustainability and energy management forward with innovative, industry-leading technology. We have 48 patents filed, and many more in development, that are helping to reduce energy consumption for our customers and reduce carbon emissions for the planet.  

A vital part of how we foster innovation is the Budderfly Inventor Program. 

We are passionate about innovation and aim to cultivate an environment where our employees’ ideas are taken seriously and supported in a meaningful way. In this new blog series, we are highlighting some of the great thinkers across Budderfly who are working with us to invent creative solutions and optimizations to deepen our sustainable technology portfolio.  

David Cannon is a Senior Field Engineer at Budderfly who has more than 25 years of experience working with commercial and industrial HVAC and refrigeration. He has held a lot of diverse roles throughout his career, from working at construction sites and power plants to stints as a welder and pipe fitter.  

In his current position at Budderfly, he travels across the U.S. to various locations to ensure sites are performing optimally. If issues arise, he identifies what needs to be fixed and enlists contractors to help resolve problems—or when possible, he fixes them himself. His extensive experience in the HVAC-R space means he has a deep knowledge of the technology and a unique perspective on how it can evolve to work more efficiently.  

Soon after being hired at Budderfly, David shared some of his ideas on how equipment can be optimized on the job and was put in touch with Budderfly’s Intellectual Property Specialist. One idea David had was for a solution that would spray water over a condenser coil during hot summer months to drop the temperature of the refrigerant. By lowering the temperature of the refrigerant, it could absorb more heat—and therefore cool the air a lot more efficiently. Jaan and David worked together to develop his idea more and to formalize the solutions into a patent application. The solution was further innovated to recycle condensate water produced by the HVAC, which is typically dumped, to also conserve water in the process and make it even more sustainable and efficient.  

Budderfly not only supported David’s idea, but has paid for the patent process and enabled David to be named as the top inventor of the patent, alongside other Budderfly employees who contributed to the process. Budderfly has continued to work with David on developing additional ideas for three more patents that are currently in the works. 

David says the support from Budderfly has been really meaningful to his career. Before working at Budderfly, filing a patent had never even occurred to him as a possibility. The Louisiana native jokes that he was just a “country boy” who never thought of himself as an inventor. But the team at Budderfly recognized that David is, of course, a lot more than that. His expertise and creativity are helping take energy efficiency and sustainability to the next level. 

David’s story is inspiring, especially for those who have not had the traditional career and educational path one might expect an inventor to have. He recently shared an encouraging message about his unique background and what he’s been able to accomplish despite a few obstacles.  

“Intelligence is not determined on how many pieces of paper you have to let others know how smart you are, it is determined by your drive, work ethics and willingness to learn. Me, I had to drop out of high-school and go to work. I took my GED about 20 years later. I attended a technical college and received a 2-year degree. I graduated national honors society and president of the Student Government Association. 

After more than 20 years in the commercial and industrial HVACR field, I work for Budderfly and absolutely love my job. They have helped me file on 2 patents, and I am working on 2 others. No, never let others bring you down you can do and achieve anything you can dream of. I did.” 

Want to learn more about Budderfly's patented technology? Contact us today.  

Interested in working with Budderfly? Check out our open positions here.