Using the wrong tape on a job can leave contractors in a sticky situation when the building inspector comes to pay a call. That’s one reason why Shurtape is seeing an increase in demand for tape that’s UL listed — or “red-letter tape,” as it’s often called.

Tools were whirring at the Uponor booth throughout the AHR Expo, as Daniel Worm kept busy demonstrating the company’s new transition fittings. Booth visitors looked on as he expanded a plastic pipe and, using the newly launched Uponor ProPEX LF Brass Copper Press Adapters and the M18 ProPEX Expansion Tool from Milwaukee Tools, created a PEX-to-copper transition — without the use of a flame.

John Murray, corporate sales manager at KeepRite Refrigeration, has a nickname for the new ESP+ Intuitive Evaporator Control Technology that his company rolled out at this year’s expo. He calls it the LED lightbulb of the refrigeration industry.

At the AHR Expo, DiversiTech’s hilmor line offered three new service equipment products designed to make technicians’ lives easier. On the other side of the booth, DiversiTech highlighted several sealants and additives.

At the AHR Expo, Carrier led off its booth display with the 3- to 6-ton WeatherMaker packaged rooftop unit (RTU) with EcoBlue technology, something that Mark Rabbia, product business manager, Carrier Commercial Systems, said sets the tone for Carrier’s upcoming product releases.

Demand for hydronic comfort solutions is heating up. According to a report by Technavio, the global market is expected to increase by more than 7 percent from 2018 to 2022, driven by a desire for more energy-efficient and energy-neutral technologies to improve the indoor climate. With more homeowners and building owners looking to advance the technologies in their structures to make them smarter, more efficient, or just more comfortable, it’s in a contractor’s best interest to become proficient in radiant heating and cooling systems to further expand their market — or, to dominate a niche market.

As HVAC products and home appliances get “smarter,” so too is the boiler — although perhaps with less flash and bang than the smart thermostat, smart doorbell, smartphone, or the new smart furniture that’s hitting the market. (Smart sofa, anyone? It’s a thing.)

From keeping up-to-date with technology to simply finding folks to lay the pipework, hydronics contractors face a unique subset of challenges within the HVAC industry. Learning to navigate the hurdles make the race to the bottom line smoother and much more profitable. The NEWS spoke with some industry experts to identify the top five challenges contractors face and the steps they should take to make sure nothing stands in their way when it comes to optimizing their workflow rate.

Jim Patterson’s business is, in his own words, “super small, super specialized.” “The interest for me is radiant, air quality … things that are little more technical, that you don’t see a lot of,” he said.

The light load-bearing capacity of a 19th-century timber roof dictated an innovative HVAC retrofit for a historic downtown building renovation that's now home to the Detroit Institute of Music Education, a state-of-the-art music academy.