Dear Contractor: After installing high-efficiency equipment, my utility bills have improved some, but I am not seeing the amount of return that was promised. Do you have any suggestions?

They are midway into the challenge, but the 2009-2010 Freeze Yer Buns participants are taking the environmental battle to their thermostats. Started by an environmentalist blogger dubbed The Crunchy Chicken, the competition has run from Nov. 1 to April 1 since 2007.

After surveying 41 contractors, the results are in, and The NEWS has discovered some interesting information about first quarter predictions, refrigerant phaseout preparedness, future hiring intentions, and health care and climate legislation. The participants responded to an online survey, and each was asked to answer questions related to the survey.

Here we are at the 2010 AHR Expo and The NEWS staff is combing the aisles to find new products and new ideas for the coming heating and cooling seasons.

The recession doesn’t exist in Cincinnati; at least not at Thompson Plumbing Heating and Cooling. Successfully operating and expanding in the face of adversity is what tipped the scales in favor of Wesley Holm, president of Thompson, as The NEWS’ Best Contractor to Work For contest winner in the North Central region.

Well, now that 2010 is here, it is time to say goodbye to the 2009 Dealer Design Awards. Thank you for entering last year and joining the product party online. Don’t get too upset about the end of the 2009 DDs, the 2010 competition has officially begun. See that blue box to the right of this blog? That is a direct link to where you can enter this year’s competition. Our online entry system is ready. Good Luck!

Capitol Hill was busier than usual last year as recession recovery efforts, health care, and climate change legislation dominated the national stage. But California quietly continued to move towards greater energy efficiency and stronger environmental legislation. Since the trends of California are often followed by the nation, contractors outside the state are taking note.

Legislation coming from the current administration is making a distinct effort to create jobs. Green jobs to be more precise, and in the fourth quarter of last year, Vice President Joe Biden, in concert with the Middle Class Task Force and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), released the Recovery Through Retrofit program.

Has anyone seen where global warming went? Last I checked I was trying not to freeze to death while I shoveled my Michigan driveway for the third or fourth time in a little over a week. There hasn’t been any evidence of global warming in my daily commute the past few weeks either.

It’s official; I am not making any New Year’s resolutions this year. Since I have yet to arrive at perfection, I will tell you what I am going to do instead. I’m going to make some conscious changes to improve myself.