ATLANTA — While IAQ has received more homeowner attention over the past few years, many contractors are still not offering those products during their sales pitches. They might be missing a golden opportunity because, according to Aprilaire, those that do are reaping the benefits.

“We are finding that contractors who measure their business metrics are finding success in selling these products,” said Mike Rimrodt, Aprilaire’s vice president of marketing. “These contractors are not just about top line revenue but are measuring all the different metrics that make a successful contractor. If you are a contractor that looks at these numbers, you realize how IAQ can help you. It is tied so heavily into what you are already doing. All your metrics start to explode when IAQ is added. When you see contractors that understand that — and wrap into that the consumer trend where they are getting more interested in what they are breathing and how it affects them — it is a combination where contractors can really make a lot of money.”

A recent reports said if contractors simply just quote IAQ products, about 30 percent of the people buy them without a sales pitch.

“If contractors just did that, the market would explode — if contractors do it every time, their business would explode,” Rimrodt said.

At the AHR Expo in Atlanta, Aprilaire introduced a product that should open up the IAQ market in the South and Southwest regions.

“We have integrated a high-efficiency air filter into a return grille to remove the pressure issue that contractors have to deal with,” said Chris Chase, Aprilaire’s product marketing manager.

In a lot of houses in the South and Southwest, builders do not put the air handler right next to the furnace; they put it in the return. The problem with that is the 1-inch filter will load up pretty fast. This is particularly true in new construction with the plethora of post-construction dust from drywall.

“When we talk to contractors, they say this is awful,” Chase said. “It could be a three-hour callback to deice a coil for a technician. That is costing the contractor a lot of money.”

When homeowners invest $10,000 to $20,000 in a new system, they want results. Aprilaire thinks this product produces it by giving contractors an option for better filtration, longer filter life, low static, and no callbacks.

One-inch filters can cause a variety of equipment problems. Because of their high static pressure and low dust-holding capacity, they require frequent changeouts. Often, this does not happen with adequate frequency, resulting in frozen or dirty coils and inefficient equipment performance.

“I read in your magazine every week about static issues,” Chase said. “This solves the problem. Callbacks like that eat up the profitability for the contractor. Also, the amount of service area for our air filter solves a lot of problems. We have had high-efficiency media air cleaners for years. We are up to MERV 16. Now we have high-efficiency media air cleaner for guys that need it in the return. It is the same kind of media, but it is closing an application gap that we have in the line.”

The product will be available in the spring.

Publication date: 2/18/2019

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