When talking about compressors, it might be appropriate to use NASCAR terminology. Reciprocating compressors are still in the lead, rotaries are holding onto second place, but scrolls are third and starting to make their move. Screw compressors are sitting in fourth, and centrifugals are trailing in fifth.

IT equipment needs to operate in a narrow temperature range. Today, an added issue at data centers is cooling efficiency. A white paper from Emerson Network Power provides five strategies for cutting data center energy costs through enhanced efficiency.

If concerns by end users and contractors in specifying and installing equipment running on R-410A relate to a fear of the unknown, that should not be the case, say those involved in the development of the equipment. R-410A-related technologies are readily available, as are the technical details to help end users specify such equipment, as well as training programs to help contractors.

The industry and the EPA have been doing a lot of number crunching about supplies of R-22. To allow enough of that refrigerant to service R-22 equipment for the normal life of that equipment, those folks say about 50 percent of all R-22 recovered needs to come back for reclaim. The best guess now is that less than 10 percent is coming back. The question therefore is what is happening to the other 90 percent.

The most important tool for today’s HVACR contractor is not being used all that much. It is a complex tool and is not carried on a technician’s tool belt. To use it, the technician needs to get recovered refrigerant from the jobsite to a reclamation facility. It is that getting from Point A to Point B that is causing concern in the industry today.

Secondary loop systems in supermarkets are coming under close evaluation in a white paper published this past fall by Bohn. One reason for looking at alternatives to conventional direct expansion (DX) systems is to reduce refrigerant and leaks.

It’s official. After more than a year of projects between the supermarket industry and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the two entities and others have launched GreenChill. Formally, EPA joined with the supermarket, refrigeration equipment, and refrigerant industries to launch GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership.

Once contractors step up their efforts in submitting refrigerants for reclamation services, they will find the reclaim sector of the HVACR industry more than ready for them. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certified close to 50 such sources as capable of bringing refrigerant back to ARI-700 standards.

What’s in a name? Companies often undergo name changes to better reflect a shift in direction or corporate structure. But every once in a while, the name doesn’t change but the meaning of the name does.

The market that chiller manufacturers are a part of had been growing and diversifying as a number of those manufacturers came to the 2008 Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo).