After a lifetime of tinkering to figure out how to make things work better, Allen Coggins began to notice how older fellow union HVAC tradesmen limped with injuries after years of carrying heavy furnaces up and down stairs. Thinking there had to be a better way, he spent years developing a better furnace that came to be called the Cocoon, an electric furnace that Coggins said marks the first significant change in furnace technology in more than a century, saving 41% in energy costs over a typical furnace.
While waiting for the patent to be granted in 2020, followed by a safety rating from Underwriters’ Laboratories to operate in people’s homes, Coggins and his wife, Jennifer, started their company, Cocoon Thermasi, with industrial projects. The company manufactures the furnaces in Washington, Missouri, and in Mexico, and ships throughout the world, selling through contractors and Amazon.
The patented technology, developed over five years, uses infrared heat to warm a thermal mass, similar to a giant stone, which holds heat, saving energy as a blower distributes heat throughout the house.
It was Coggins’ second invention, after a new type of hybrid LED streetlight.
A horse enthusiast who leads the Shriners’ horse unit that rides in parades, Coggins can be found in the lab, at the barn at his home in St. Clair or at the company’s offices, where granddaughter Ever has a “learning lab” so she can build things beside her grandfather.
How did you start inventing things? I was always the tinkerer in the basement. As my wife said, I love to let the magic smoke out of stuff. I was just always curious as a young child to find new ways to maybe make my life a little bit better. And really who gave me the push at the time was my grandmother. Had I just been some guy who went to school and got an engineering degree, could I have sat and thought some stuff up? For sure. But could I have made something that really is making an impact on the industry? Probably not, because my time in the trade, my time out, paying the dues, if you will, really gave me a level of what needs to be done, what should be done.
How did the idea for a new type of furnace come about? My wife and I had a construction company that focused on historical renovations, and we were carrying kitchen cabinets through a client’s garage and I felt this heat coming from the ceiling, but there was no heater in there. That’s when the a-ha moment happened. I’m looking at panels putting out heat that had no air flow on it. That’s something different. An electric furnace is basically a toaster with a blower on it, and that’s what they’ve been selling for the last 100 years. When our furnace runs, we use solid ceramic panels as a thermal mass. You don’t have to use the same energy to run it as a traditional furnace.
What was the invention process like? We put it in the house and started living with it. I spent a lot of time sitting in front of the thing, taking data manually. I didn’t want to be that inventor that accidentally burned his house down. It took a lot of time and perseverance to sit and figure it out. It wasn’t an overnight process. It was a good nine years. This wasn’t something that I invented and then just boom, hit it out of the park. That was the streetlight. I thought the streetlight up, had it in my head, built it and the thing’s been running like a champ outside of Arnold City Hall.
Why is it important to work on this type of technology? As I get older, my reasons are changing. Now I really have this focus and this goal to do energy inventions. Not just because there's a lot of money to be made in that market, but because one of my inventions may help prevent a war. Perhaps we can turn around and now have energy independence or sustainability. I would love nothing more than my grandchildren to have an awesome world to live in, one that's not polluted with smog and all kinds of other things. I want to not only to leave a legacy for my family, but leave this world a better place than what it was when I came into it.
What do you do with the Shriners horse unit? I'm captain of the Mounted Lancers, and we ride horses in the parades. We missed the St. Patrick's Day parade, but we're usually in it and the Thanksgiving parade, and Founders' Day in Wildwood. Back when I was doing construction, I was doing work for a gentleman who was, unbeknownst to me, one of the head Shriners in the country. We started talking about philanthropy, and he said this is what I am. I've always loved horses. One day they asked me to be captain, and I've been captain ever since, it's like I can't get out of the job. I'm joking of course, because I love it. But it's my job to keep the guys safe. We have some aging members, and some have been riding longer than I've been alive, but you're not telling them they can't get out there. It's also part of my job to make sure they're training their horses so they don't react if there's children who have not been around a horse and throw Snap and Pops or something. They have to be almost bomb proof against any loud noise.
Are you still dreaming big? I figure if Elon Musk can launch a car into space, I can put a furnace on the moon. And it’s just a matter of, you wake up and try every day and eventually it’ll happen. And I think that our systems and the technology that I’ve created here could help us colonize and help us with some space travel as well. Maybe one day we can explore the stars.
More about Allen Coggins
Age: 44
Education: HVAC education and 25-plus years of experience, two journeyman cards from Local 36 in service work and sheet metal. Certified energy balancer in air, water and equipment.
Family: Wife, Jennifer; daughter, Taylor, and son-in-law, Noah Brandt; granddaughters Ever Coggins and Ainsley Brandt
Best St. Louis place: Under the Arch during the fireworks, or on my horse riding down Market Street.
Favorite St. Louis restaurant: The Jack Buck Grill for lunch at the Missouri Athletic Club. Or Sauce on the Side.
Best place you've visited: White Hole in the morning, on the White River. Or Castello Di Ristonchi in Pelago, Italy during a sunset.
