Congratulations to Bernard Nagengast, an engineering consultant and industry historian who found the oldest NEWS issue among our readers. His oldest issue was dated Nov. 30, 1926. The very first issue of the magazine was published in September of that same year.
After being in the HVAC industry as a contractor and a rater for 30 years, I’ve seen a lot of things that have been done wrong. But really, there has never been a system in place that required contractors to do things correctly - and verified that they had. All that is changing with the Energy Star for New Homes version 3.
In 1926, F.M. Cockrell started Business News Publishing Co., now BNP Media, in Detroit. The first issue of the Electric Refrigeration News, now The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration NEWS, had a publication date of Sept. 11, 1926. It was created to help recognize the importance of the expanding electric refrigeration market.
You may be familiar with the Energy Star® label on energy efficient heating and cooling equipment, but did you know there are also Quality Installation (QI) guidelines to help ensure that heating and cooling equipment is installed properly? Nearly half of all heating and cooling equipment in U.S. homes never performs to the advertised capacity and efficiency due to installation problems.
In celebration of its 40th anniversary as a non-profit center, the Edward Hopper House will exhibit some of the painter’s early works, which are on loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art. But before the exhibition could take place, the home first had to meet the stringent climate control requirements of the Whitney Museum.
The HVAC landscape is changing now, as the tax credits have been reduced, the economy is still recovering, and prices on equipment keep increasing. Add in declining home values and higher-than-normal levels of unemployment, and many contractors are facing larger challenges when it comes to selling high-efficiency units.
As HVAC products get more and more efficient, the logical question is what level will they top off at? The laws of physics can limit the efficiency levels of air-source heating and cooling equipment. The laws of economics also come into play, as the cost for each incremental escalation in efficiency can substantially increase the cost of the equipment.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Education have joined with the National Science Teachers Association to launch America’s Home Energy Education Challenge, a new energy education initiative. The goal is to motivate students across the country to learn about energy efficiency and help their families save money.
A bill in the Senate aims to update the efficiency standards of appliances and building systems, including furnaces, heat pumps, and central air conditioners. Titled the “Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act of 2011,” it divides the nation into three regions with different efficiency standards for each. It also recommends more stringent building codes for new construction.
Source: Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Industry figures are estimates that are derived from the best available figures supplied by a sample of AHRI member companies.
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