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Location isn’t everything, but it helps. Just ask homeowners selling their property, or restaurant owners. In the HVAC world, it also rings true for some motors and drives and the professionals who work with them. That includes contractors, even if maybe not in the way that one would expect. Some current and next-gen drives will make location matter in a new way: Contractors can spend more time further away from the equipment itself.

For HVAC pros interested in motors and drives, Tuesday afternoon at this year’s AHR Expo in Atlanta featured a good chance to give the feet a rest and focus on the mind for a while. Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) presented a three-phase session called VFDs: Method of Laboratory Test and a Case Study.

Is it possible that buildings of the future will be a strategic asset — that they will operate in an intelligent way to be productive facility managers and monetizable for real estate owners? Is it possible that the traditionally conservative and risk-averse building and construction industry would leverage the latest technologies, such as the IoT, big data, cloud computing, data analytics, deep learning, and artificial intelligence, for the benefits of saving energy, reducing operational expenditures, increasing occupancy comfort, and — most importantly — meeting increasingly stringent global regulations and sustainability standards?

Judging by the emphasis in the AHR booth, Panasonic is working to differentiate itself by putting considerable emphasis on health and IAQ. Even though it is not scheduled to reach the U.S. market until early 2020, the offering getting the most attention this year was nanoe™X.

A tour through METUS’ booth at AHR with Smith included multiple examples of how the company has looked for ways to make small adjustments, accommodations, and improvements through product lines to live up to that mission for contractors and their customers.

The manufacturer’s Multi V™ 5 air-source VRF system and its LGRED° technology were in the spotlight, designed to do away with the occasional perception that VRF is more suited for cooling than heating.

Visitors at the Titus booth did more than just look at the products on display; they experienced them. Highlighting its advanced technology applications, the manufacturer took attendees on a trip through its new augmented reality (AR) platform. Built to interact with its virtual reality (VR) platform that was launched a few years ago, the new AR program allows users to experience Titus products by actually putting them in a finished application.

In Greek mythology, Argus was a son of Zeus. Having the king of the gods up on Mount Olympus for a dad probably raised the bar in terms of expectations. Fortunately, Tecumseh seemed comfortable with that kind of lofty namesake for its biggest launch at this year’s AHR Expo, the ARGUS condensing unit platform.

Using the wrong tape on a job can leave contractors in a sticky situation when the building inspector comes to pay a call. That’s one reason why Shurtape is seeing an increase in demand for tape that’s UL listed — or “red-letter tape,” as it’s often called.

At the AHR Expo in Atlanta, Samsung HVAC North America announced it will expand its residential and commercial air conditioning business in North America by building, training, and supporting a network of specifying representatives, distributors, and installers.