Every year, The NEWS introduces the latest cooling equipment available for the upcoming summer season in order to help contractors prepare for this busy period by doing the research that will help them to distinguish between brands. The coverage features specific information about each individual product as submitted by the manufacturers.

Over the past decade, many efficient construction methods and technologies have been integrated into the single-family residential, municipal, government, and light commercial markets. But, one sector has lagged: multi-family condominiums and apartments.

The HRC Series offers cooling and heating application flexibility for ductless installations, making it work in spaces where ductwork isn’t available or where maintaining the appearance of the structure is important. 

A report from Navigant Research reinforces this assessment, stating that annual revenue from ductless systems will grow to more than $9 billion by 2020, up from $3.9 billion in 2013.

Because of the mixed-use nature of church buildings, broad range of room sizes, and long vacancy periods punctuated by short stints of high occupancy, many congregations, especially those exploring retrofit projects, have turned to mini-split heating and cooling technologies in the past decade. More recently, commercial VRF systems have added even more capability, simplicity, and efficiency to the already vast number of possibilities offered by ductless technology.

The J-II single-phase variable refrigerant flow (VRF) serves ambient heating and cooling applications in a 3- to 5-ton range and can be used for large residential and small commercial installations.

Everything is bigger in Texas — at least that’s how the idiom goes. It holds true for Samsung HVAC, which held its annual sales meeting at The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas. The event drew more than 500 attendees — drastically more than attended last year’s event.

These duct-free mini-split products are available in capacities ranging ¾-4 ton. The line offers indoor options, multi-zone products, light commercial applications, and low ambient options. 

When Hampton by Hilton approached the building’s then owners with hopes of transforming it into a hotel, the hotel chain was met with the daunting task of undergoing a full renovation of the historic space that had been unoccupied since 2004. 

These three working examples show how VRF technology helped a historical building never designed for air conditioning reach Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) Gold certification, a high-rise project meet Title 24 standards, and a convent save $80,000 a year on energy costs.