Of all the things the industry can do to goose the new construction market, maybe the most significant to date has been the emphasis on home efficiency. Between the National Model Energy Code, residential energy standard, green building standard, and DOE’s Home Energy Score pilot program, it seems that multiple forces are working toward a common goal.
The economy has made a lot of business decisions more complicated. Some intrepid entrepreneurs moved ahead anyway. This was certainly the case when Karen York Conover became CEO of Aaron York’s Quality Air last year. Aaron himself moved ahead into retirement, though providing consulting as needed.
In the U.S. HVAC market, environmental activism doesn’t refer to anything too highly visible. In our realm, the environmental activism taking place in 2010 centers on things like working through associations for legislative change, and focusing on the “act” part of activism in daily business activities.
It doesn’t seem to add up: The number of people working in the construction industry increased by 5,000 between September and October 2010, but the industry’s unemployment rate rose to 17.3 percent, according to a mixed-bag analysis of federal employment figures released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
Three key quality-boosting activities have been gaining ground in the HVACR industry that not only improve overall quality and comfort, but can help control energy costs and achieve something contractors have been striving for, literally, for decades: improved consumer perceptions of their reliability.
At the Unified Group’s Energy Services Forum, commercial-industrial-institutional contractors were shown ways to get their customers to buy into getting an energy audit performed, and maybe even following up with work to achieve operational savings.
As the new construction market climbs out of the grips of the recession, it is still fighting a glut of existing homes that are priced to move. The element that is being used to level the playing field is home efficiency, and pending legislation that would help make it more affordable. It’s a ray of light for HVAC subcontractors who want to offer a true value proposition in the new home market.
Over the years, The NEWS has consistently reported on the changes within our constantly evolving industry - from the 1920s when “electric refrigeration” replaced iceboxes, to the 1940s with its post-war housing and baby boom, into the 1960s and the rapid increase in residential air conditioning installations, and so on.
HVAC contractors will be interested to know that a new survey shows health care organizations are more likely to invest in energy efficiency compared to other industries in North America. According to the study, 58 percent of health care building decision makers said that energy management was very or extremely important.
In the business world, “playing in the major leagues” means you have hit top-tier status in your market. One IAQ product manufacturer is taking it literally. AtmosAir Solutions is providing its bi-polar ionization air purification products for professional sports facilities as well as homes and businesses.