Optimum Energy, a provider of software solutions and mechanical engineering services to reduce energy consumption in HVAC systems, has announced two senior level leadership additions to better serve its clients and business partners.

Carrier distributors nationwide have announced the recipients of their annual college scholarship, and awarded grants this year totaling nearly $40,000. Carrier is a part of UTC Building & Industrial Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

The International District Energy Association (IDEA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in conjunction with the Korea District Heating & Cooling Association, the China District Heating Association, Euroheat & Power, and the Ministry of Energy of the Mongol Government.

Munch’s Supply Co. Inc., a leading HVAC distributor operating in Chicago and northwest Indiana, reached a definitive agreement with Trane and American Standard Heating and Air Conditioning, both brands of Ingersoll Rand, to become the exclusive distributor for both brands in the lower peninsula of Michigan.

Harris Companies, a leading national mechanical contractor with several locations across the country, has announced the appointment of Michel Michno as the company’s new president of construction. Michno has more than 30 years of construction industry experience.

A survey of U.S. adults by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC and CNET found that Americans are already embracing the smart home with 28 percent owning at least one smart home product and almost half of millennials (ages 18 to 34) adopting the technology.

Plumbing and heating contractors who install Noritz tankless water heaters can now enter the company’s “Installer of the Year” contest for a chance to win prizes, cash, and social media support across all Noritz platforms.

With recent research showing that ultrafine particles are more hazardous to human health than originally thought, higher-efficiency filters should be used, according to the newly published 2015 version of ASHRAE’s residential IAQ guideline.

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America Educational Institute (ACCA-EI) Standards Task Team (STT) announced an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) public review period for its BSR/ACCA 14 QMref -201x, “Quality Maintenance of Commercial Refrigeration Systems,” as a new industry standard.