The Clear the Air history.
Mike Stom retired from NASA's Space Program in 1990 and started Clear the Air the same year. Three and a half decades later his son Jason runs the company from the same Pearland shop. Here's how the company got from there to here.
Mike Stom's NASA years
Mike grew up in East Texas, served in the U.S. Navy, and went to work for NASA's Space Program. He spent the next several decades on Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle hardware, primarily life-support systems and astronaut crew trainers. Two of his proudest moments were helping put a man on the moon and being part of the team that brought the Apollo 13 crew home. The thermal-systems discipline that came out of that work later became the spine of Clear the Air.
Founded in Pearland
Mike retired from the Space Program and started Clear the Air the same year. He set up shop on County Road 130 in Pearland and worked the South Houston neighborhoods one home at a time. His family came into the company over the years.
Building the Pearland customer base
The first decade was Pearland, Friendswood, Alvin, and the surrounding subdivisions, which were filling in fast through the 90s. Mike personally trained every tech who joined. Many of those techs are still on the team.
Second generation
Mike stepped back from day-to-day operations. His son Jason took over as owner. The transition kept the same standards Mike had set: written quotes before any work starts, real diagnostic measurements, no upselling. Mike has since passed. There's a memorial page for Mike on this site.
HVACR Business Tops in Trucks
HVACR Business Magazine named Clear the Air a 2014 Tops in Trucks winner. The feature is in the press archive.
Clear the Air acquires Webers Air
Webers Air and Heat, a longtime Pearland fixture from the 1980s, was purchased by Clear the Air. The Webers customer base, warranties, and the old phone line (281-485-4357) all stayed intact and rolled into our service.
ACHR News features
Four feature appearances in The ACHR News through 2018: Five Ways to Fail-Proof an HVAC Business, Smartphone Smarts, Cost, Refrigerants Shape the HVAC Replacement Market, and Refresh, Unwind, and Recharge with a Vacation. Independent third-party trade press, no paid placements.
R-22 phaseout
EPA ended new R-22 production and import on January 1, 2020. R-410A had been our install standard since new R-22 equipment was phased out in 2010; after 2020, keeping an older R-22 system running meant reclaimed refrigerant at rising prices. We also started carrying coastal-rated equipment for Galveston, Kemah, and the bay-side coverage area.
Winter Storm Uri
Uri hit Houston with overnight lows in the low teens in February 2021. Pure heat pump systems on electric strip backup struggled. We worked through the storm and afterward shifted our heat pump quotes toward dual-fuel (heat pump plus gas furnace backup) for any customer with existing natural gas service.
R-454B transition
Manufacturers began shipping R-454B equipment to replace R-410A. Lower global warming potential, mildly flammable A2L classification, updated leak detection and safety practices. Same install math; same right-sizing discipline.
Family-owned, second generation
Jason runs the company. We service 40 South Houston cities from Pearland to Galveston, with daily routes through Friendswood, League City, Alvin, Clear Lake, Houston, and the rest. Same County Road 130 shop. Same standards.
More about the family
The memorial page for Mike covers his life, his Navy and NASA years, and his family. The about page covers the company values and how we run service today. Independent trade press coverage of the company since 2014 lives at /press.