Staying involved in the rulemaking process is going to be more important in 2016 than it has ever been before, and ensuring the HVACR industry’s interests are represented will help ensure new standards are developed fairly and properly.

While HR 8 does contain some appealing provisions for HVACR industry stakeholders, including a fix for the contentious 92 percent AFUE proposed furnace rule, many stakeholders are more concerned about language in the bill that threatens to reduce the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) role in helping to create and promote model building energy codes across the U.S.

Blower motor breakdown can be the result of anything from old age to failed bearings, high amp draw, electrical failure in the windings, dirt accumulation, and more. Knowing how to troubleshoot and diagnose problems with these motors is an essential skill an HVAC technician must possess.

As the popularity of variable-speed technology increases, many manufacturers are bringing new products to market to meet consumer and OEM demands. Here are a few of the latest HVAC motor-related products available on the market.

While older circulator pumps utilized single-speed motors and were largely inefficient, advances in motor technology, controls, and pump design have transformed the market and ushered in a new era of highly efficient products that feature variable-speed motors, easy installation and setup, remote connectivity, and more.

The Nov. 19 publication of the NOPR tentatively ends a one-year period of uncertainty for the HVACR industry, which adapted as best it could to the new energy conservation standards in the absence of enforcement guidance from the DOE. 

Launched in 2006, Danfoss’s EnVisioneering Symposia help keep HVACR industry stakeholders apprised of the latest developments in U.S. policy and industry and provide forums in which they can share ideas and information. 

While schools are obviously integral to training the next generation of HVACR technicians, new studies show contractors must step up their games and take on much larger roles in workforce development if the industry ever hopes to close the growing skills gap.

Representatives from participating industry associations, refrigerant producers, and manufacturers of refrigeration equipment and components also provided progress reports detailing the steps they’ve taken over the past year to meet the goal of reducing hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) use 80 percent by 2050.