ABC argues the rule could end up hurting legitimate contractors in the building trades, who are already strapped for workers.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church’s community center in the Tempe, Arizona suburb of Guadalupe now has state-of-the-art HVAC thanks to variable refrigerant flow equipment, accessories, and installation labor donations from RectorSeal, Panasonic Air Conditioning Group (a division of Panasonic Corp. of North America), and Woody’s Heating and Air Conditioning.

Access Inc. will be the new manufacturers' representative for Hitachi VRF systems and SmartFlex™ systems in eastern Michigan and Northwest Ohio

As HVACR technology advances, contractors often find themselves navigating new learning curves on a regular basis. VRF is no exception.

Over time, dirt, dust, pet dander, debris, and more accumulate in air ducts. And since the HVAC system works basically as a whole-home vacuum, all of that is recirculated through homes when the HVAC system runs, unless the ducts are cleaned out.

HVAC contractors should be prepared to sell geothermal to new customers regardless of any incentives.

Manufacturers and contractors are working to educate end users about the ways heat pumps work differently from traditional heat sources.

The moment for geothermal seemed to have arrived several times since the 1970s. A number of factors are forecasting wider use of this type of heating and cooling solution.

When it comes to moisture control, sizing the heat pump correctly is the most effective step an HVAC contractor can take.

With the geothermal market enjoying an enormous surge in popularity due to financial incentives and its reputation for sustainability, now is the time for contractors to strike while the iron is hot and add geothermal to their offerings.

While balanced ventilation does have energy benefits, there is a misconception about its ability to reduce humidity.

The pandemic has marked a turning point for an underutilized technology for infectious disease control in buildings.

Panasonic Corp. of North America is honing in on its focus to make it easier for both residential and commercial building owners to control the temperature and comfort level within the space. The company hit its targets with the introduction of two new products — the ECONAVI air conditioner and the Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Smart Connectivity Controller.

Intuitive usability helped the CS7500 win a Gold award in The NEWS’ 2019 Dealer Design Awards in the realm of Commercial Controls.

HVAC contractors could invest in all kinds of technology, ranging from tools to management systems, but often, the question lies with the payoff.

Smart products enable service providers to take a more proactive approach to addressing HVAC system and equipment issues, said Susie Gornick.

Johnson Controls announced that it closed an agreement to purchase the EasyIO Building and Energy Management System (BEMS) product line.

Hamid Sarshar will lead the 50-year-old company into the next strategic phase of growth and innovation within the UFT platform.

New Champion LX Series packaged units heat and cool residential and light commercial buildings. 

Nortek Global HVAC has introduced a new three-phase electric/electric packaged cooling solution. The company said the Model P8SE delivers 14 SEER cooling in capacity ranges from 3 to 5 tons in even tonnages, making it an energy-efficient choice for strip malls, restaurants, and retail stores.

We asked our contractor advisory panel to weigh in on their most useful and effective tools used in the field. Here’s what they had to say.

Summer cooling season is in full gear, which means that both technicians and their tools are being kept extremely busy.

ACHR NEWS launches new tools to help readers stay up-to-date on the latest trends.

Selling products online is a whole new ball game. So, contractors will want to learn about their consumers buying journeys, and thoughtfully consider how to launch the online store, what products to sell, and how to market it.

Grocers are looking to their refrigeration contractor partners to be the experts and make suggestions about how they can transition smoothly to the new low-GWP refrigeration technologies.

Contractors who are embracing the technological advancements say ignoring a new neighborhood of home automation products could be a big mistake.

BIM technology has proven to be highly expedient for several HVAC plans, especially in terms of cost efficiency, time optimization, and effective planning.

Controls-Con, presented by Cochrane Supply on May 5-7, 2021, discussed the impact of smart controls on the building industry.

Daikin Applied’s recently introduced SiteLine Building Controls gives building owners and operators the tools and insights needed to optimize performance, improve IAQ, and trim energy use and carbon emissions.

Johnson Controls acquired zero trust cybersecurity provider, Tempered Networks, based in Seattle, Washington.

Trends at this year’s AHR Expo within commercial controls and building automation were improving energy efficiency, making buildings more adaptable, streamlining workflow to make things easier for HVACR contractors, and a greater emphasis on cybersecurity and digitization.

While a controls upgrade may be costly, the reality is, the longer you wait, the more expensive a replacement can be.

This series of zone controls manages circulators and boilers in residential hydronic heating systems. The non-networked devices control up to six heating zones and can be coupled together in various configurations to accommodate any application. 

The ESP-400 by Jackson Systems LLC has earned gold in the Residential Controls category of The NEWS’ 2017 Dealer Design Awards.

Over a year of research and design went into the 2018 Dealer Design Awards gold-winning product in the Residential Controls category. After listening to feedback from both contractors and consumers for a more basic, easy-to-use, and cost-effective thermostat, Nest created the Nest Thermostat E.

The expected surge in smart thermostat sales will have equipment manufacturers, many of whom have their own proprietary controls, competing with the well-known universal thermostat brands, such as Nest, Honeywell, and ecobee.

This climate control solution ensures balanced, room-by-room comfort throughout the home.

Customer comfort is the top sales driver in the HVAC industry, or at least it should be.

This enables users to control their hydronic radiant panel, baseboard, or radiator to heat to the exact temperature and from wherever they may be.

How many of standard HVAC sales include add-ons like a humidifier, air cleaner, HRV/ERV, UV lights, or zoning?

What is the best approach to providing a holistic smart home experience for consumers?

For years, ZoneFirst President Dick Foster has used the light-switches-in-the-home comparison while promoting the benefits of zoning. At their AHR Expo booth, they introduced a product that brought new meaning to that comparison.

Contractors and HVAC technicians can create a wealth of opportunities by adding residential HVAC zoning to their list of services.

For more HVAC contractors to sell zoning systems, they have to understand the benefits, challenges, know how to approach customers to even be able to sell it, and then comes the install.

His jacket was emblazoned with the logo of a manufacturer of high-performing heat pumps, but when I mentioned that we were thinking of getting one, the tech shot down the idea.

Variable-speed heat pumps, which dominate the heat pump market in many countries, are getting more attention in the U.S. The NEWS asked several manufacturers about the benefits of the technology.

All-electric options have come a long way since their inception, and there’s never been a better time to get on board.

If contractors in colder climates focus on educating their customers on what new higher-efficiency furnaces bring to the table, often times the furnaces will sell themselves.

Due to a lack of training, time constraints, and numerous other reasons, many HVAC contracting companies are not performing combustion testing, potentially compromising customers’ safety.

Posted by CISA on Mar 21