Whether the intent is to set a good example for their students and the community, or to set up a better financial statement, school districts seem to be letting contractors help them with new technologies and control strategies, especially in new buildings - of which there seem to be many these days.
At least one HVAC contractor is capitalizing on students’ interest in energy and the ecology. Pro-Air Services Inc., has created a scholarship opportunity for area high school seniors. The scholarship is named the Pro-Earth Scholarship.
How much money could be saved if a chiller system used as much variable-frequency drive (VFD) technology as possible, and controlled it with a system to coordinate the operation to match load demands and tweak performance efficiency as much as possible? The University of Texas at Austin had an opportunity to find out.
Businesspeople across the country are looking for ways to show their social responsibility by recycling, usually paper, plastic bottles, and in the case of HVACR contractors, scrap metal. A national group called Freecycle takes recycling beyond this, offering people the chance to give away or take in goods.
If you want to talk about IAQ with Dennis Wierzbicki, chief operating officer of Mid-Way Supply Inc., you may want to change your lexicon. The company has shifted its focus to Indoor Environmental Quality. “One of the things we’ve done is change it to IEQ,” he said. This includes anything that affects the indoor environment.
It is very difficult to categorize a company like Rx4 CleanAir & Aqua Defend. A look at the company’s website makes it seem like a pure retail outlet, but the company’s IAQ service goes much deeper than that. “We address all the issues in a residential home,” said Joe Maglio, president.
A number of trends are continuing to affect all segments of the IAQ market. These include product evolution, health concerns, system knowledge, and of course, the economy. “The Air Duct Cleaning (ADC) industry is highly susceptible to economic changes, as many homeowners consider residential duct cleaning a luxury rather than a necessity,” said Lane Jeffryes, CEO of Rotobrush International.
Technology is catching up with the needs of service contractors. Ridgid, a manufacturer known for its hand and power tools (such as digital inspection products), recently launched RidgidConnect™. The subscription-based online business tool is designed for service professionals and contractors who create or use digital information.
Pat Jackson knows firsthand the potential delays to payment that can result from bad checks or having techs and installers take credit card numbers and not turn the information in until they get back to the office - which could take days. Fortunately, new phone technology has led to applications that streamline these processes.
The economy is still the prime driver of today’s HVAC trends, and the portable cooling market is no exception. “We have certainly seen a pickup in the last six weeks,” said John Doran, senior manager of commercial and industrial systems, MovinCool/DENSO Sales. Specifically, the ratio of sales versus rentals is starting to shift, he said.