Each year, as technicians add new tools to their box, many not only consider durability and cost, but are also looking for something to make their job easier. Making the job easier was a prevailing theme of The NEWS’ ninth annual Dealer Design Awards’ Tools category winners.

Contractors don’t have the time to sit around and babysit equipment, and owners don’t have the money to pay them to do it. The NEWS’ ninth annual Dealer Design Awards’ Testing & Monitoring Products category winners help solve this problem with system monitoring.

The Pressure Decay Leak Test Calculator generates nearly instantaneous answers to what-if modeling of pressure decay leak testing variables and exact returns on investment from new eight-sensor concurrent leak testing technology.

Especially developed for use in offices, museums, and living spaces, the combination of high-end sensors for humidity, temperature, and CO2 comes in a sleek design in the wireless transmitter EE245. The user saves time and money by eliminating expensive wiring.

Highly sensitive, the portable and extremely accurate AMI300 IAQ monitor has data storage with software capabilities. Interchangeable probes and modules available include CO/temp probe (0-1,000 ppm) (1-ppm resolution), CO2/temp probe (0–5,000 ppm) ( 1-ppm resolution), CO2/temp/humidity probe, and more.

The Fluke Corp. recently welcomed 80 individuals, including trade press editors from six countries, to its Everett, Wash., headquarters for its 2012 press summit. What did attendees see and learn during their visit?

Designed for use with the company’s Minneapolis Duct Blaster® system, the FlowBlaster™ capture hood accessory measures airflow in residential heating-cooling registers with flows from 10-300 cfm. The accessory conditions the flow. It then compensates for pressure loss.

Refrigerant leak detectors Model Leak-Seeker® I and Leak-Seeker® II both offer the E_MOS® detection technology (patent pending). The E_MOS® sensor technology incorporates a proprietary pulse modulation design to increase both battery and sensor life.

The Gear Keeper© RT3-5601 retractable tether, designed for tools up to 2 pounds, is useful when working in close quarters or climbing. Available in high-visibility orange, the retractable tether’s ultra-low profile keeps tools close to the body when stored while still allowing complete accessibility in all directions when in use.

With the 38-inch telescoping probe, a line of in-duct HVACR instruments — two psychrometers (SRH3 and ARH5) and a hot-wire anemometer (STA2) — makes it easier for techs to take temperature, percent rh, or air velocity readings in the duct. The standalone STA2 uses a hot wire for measuring air velocity.