Pumps are responsible for a significant part of the world’s electrical energy consumption, but their impact can be by using variable-speed pump control, especially in hydronic systems, according to speakers at the annual meeting of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

In order to understand the future of the school market, you have to look at and understand the past while staying on top of new technologies and codes.

How do you make sure that sophisticated new HVAC system, installed in a cutting edge new school, is well maintained? One way is to install it indoors, outside of the classroom. The other way is to cut down on the amount of routine maintenance it needs.

Too many times, “value engineering” is used as an excuse to cut corners and actually reduce the value of an HVAC project. That was not the case at the Kappa Kappa Gamma House at the University of Southern California (USC), where perhaps it ought to have been called value re-engineering - real fast.

Commercial HVAC contractors know that the key to convincing an owner to have regular mechanical maintenance performed is to show some kind of proof that the maintenance will have a financial benefit beyond keeping the system operational. This hasn’t always been easy to accomplish. Some owners actually seem to prefer system failure over maintenance.

Life-changing experiences can take many forms. For Bernard Amadei, Ph.D., founding president of Engineers Without Borders (EWB)-USA and cofounder of the EWB-International network, it was “looking into the eyes of a dying child. [It] will change your life forever.”

Consumer financing "is working very well for us,” contractor Jim Thompson said. “It has done wonders for us. I would say that since we offered it, 50 percent of our customers take us up on financing of some sort.” The company has been offering it approximately 90 days.

It isn’t fair to present an article full of communication complaints without also offering some solutions. In fact, the industry has been working on several.

Sometimes the most important messages are lost in translation, or worse, they simply weren’t given. The NEWS stepped up to offer the various key industry segments the opportunity to give their opinions on where the industry’s biggest communication gaps lie.

Jeff Gaines, owner of Comfort Systems, works on the small end of the rooftop unit market. His company specializes in residential packaged systems. In fact, Gaines says the company is 100 percent residential. System sizes range from 2-5 tons, said service manager Sean Hayes.