While polyvinylether (PVE) oil first started to be used by OEMs in 2010, it continues to draw interest, especially as a possible alternative to polyolester (POE) oils with HFC refrigerants. “So far in the States, we have two manufacturers using PVE extensively,” said Eric Schweim of Idemitsu Lubricants America Corp.

The year 2010 and the start of 2011 has proved to be an interesting time for Midwest Refrigerants, a company that approaches the elimination of unwanted refrigerants from a different direction. Midwest has developed a process that breaks down refrigerants to “their original chemical constituents,” as noted by ACR News, a British journal, in a January 2011 report.

It has been more than two decades since the first refrigerant recovery unit came to the HVACR market and became part of the tool arsenal for service technicians. Over that time, two things have become clear: Even a repairable unit doesn’t last forever and the newest units are able to do far more than their predecessors.

Nobody wants to hear Road Warrior stories. Those are the stories business travelers amass over the years about trips in which various things go wrong - delayed or canceled flights, lost luggage, mixed up hotel reservations, etc.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tried a bit of muscle flexing as 2011 started and promptly ran into some roadblocks, while at the same time causing the HVACR industry to keep an even more watchful eye on what the EPA may do next.

It is a familiar lament for those who work on supermarket refrigeration. There is a problem. The owner wants it fixed immediately. The technician can apply a quick fix, but that won’t deal with potential recurring problems - and the fact that the equipment may not be operating all that efficiently or even be all that up-to-date.

If I seem to be looking a little green lately, it is because I find myself paying more and more attention to environmental matters. Such talk, especially the regulatory aspect, has been a part of our industry for more than 25 years going back to the days of the Montreal Protocol. But over the years, green has become a larger part of our industry.

No matter how state-of-the-art the heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment is, more than likely it is running on coal-generated power. So, what is being done to offset coal-generated power with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind? And can those sources create enough power to run HVACR equipment?

At Brothers Air, Heat & Plumbing Inc., its generous vacation policy, profit sharing, an open-book approach to how the company is doing, and a goal to be a place “where people like to work,” has earned Brothers recognition as the Best Contractor to Work For in the South.

It is a familiar lament for those who work on supermarket refrigeration. There is a problem. The owner wants it fixed. He says, “It’s already costing a fortune to stay in business, and I can’t afford any down time with equipment. So just get it running as fast as you can, as cheap as you can.”