Few developments in recent months concerning refrigerants have stirred up such intense interest as the efforts to introduce a product called Frost-22a to the farm-supply distribution market.

The company celebrated the global rebranding at its annual Armstrong Media Days, held this June in Toronto. 

Honeywell Intl. Inc., manufacturer of the original round thermostat and long-standing manufacturer of both nonprogrammable and programmable thermostats, recently challenged certain advertising claims made by newcomer and rival Nest Labs Inc., which first began selling its Nest Learning Thermostat™ in late 2011. 

With just three years left to encourage homeowners to invest in geothermal advances, manufacturers are pulling out all the stops by introducing new features on their GHPs, such as variable-speed technology and sophisticated controls, which they say will provide homeowners with better comfort, as well as lower energy consumption and operating costs.

Most utilities promote conservation by offering rebates for the installation of high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment and solar energy systems, but several are starting to think outside the box.

The geothermal courses focus on educating representatives, distributors, and contractors about how to perform a complete, successful geoexchange installation, from field work to equipment connections.

The EE Global Forum, held in May in Washington, D.C., was a big success for the Alliance to Save Energy (Alliance), the event’s host, who enthusiastically continued its ongoing discussion about the HVAC industry’s role in energy efficiency.

The HOMES Act would create the Home Energy Saving Retrofit Rebate program, which would provide $2,000-$8,000 in rebates directly to the consumer, depending on the retrofit project’s total energy savings.