A while back we requested that you search the stacks of old NEWS issues in your offices and elsewhere, so we could find the oldest issue among our readers. We’ve heard from some folks with pretty old issues of The Electric Refrigeration News (our magazine’s first title).
I’m starting to think that what I am about to write about will become an annual column. It concerns the latest global environmental conference that didn’t seem to produce any results. But now I’m starting to wonder if there might be some good should such events start to show some results.
I have quoted Earl several times over the years. He was one of the most challenging customers I ever met, while masquerading as a territory manager at Lennox Industries in the Dallas market. Earl said, “Murphy, always look for the job that no one else wants to do. Those are the ones you make money on.”
I just received notice from another manufacturer that they will be offering the “dry charge” condensing units in the first quarter of 2011. They are the latest of many manufacturers who have decided to take advantage of what I can only say is a loophole in the federal regulations and the Montreal Protocol.
What do Allied Air Enterprises, American Standard, Armacell, Baltimore Air Coil, Carrier, Guntner, Johnson Controls, Lennox, Nordyne, Rheem, Trane, WaterFurnace, and a slew of other companies have in common? They are all celebrating the coming New Year with gifts to the industry - price increases!
Some rants and raves about the industry - Rave:U.S. News and World Reports names “HVAC technician” as one of the 50 best jobs of 2011. The publication points out a few reasons for the rankings, including the more than decent wage, the ability for upward mobility, and the upcoming increased need as the new homes built last decade will begin to need replacement systems.
Houses and buildings are certainly at the forefront of discussion in the construction industry. Architects, engineers, contractors, home builders, energy conservation gurus, and legislators seem to have a heightened awareness of the importance of energy conservation, and the role that efficiently designed buildings play. But, there is still a lot that needs to be done.
Thanks, Mike Murphy, for the recent column on thermostats [“Technology Went Too Far This Time,” Nov. 1, 2010]. You have just touched my hot button. But in the editorial, the wrong question is being asked. I think it should be rephrased as: “Who in their right mind would want something as boring as a thermostat on the wall?”
Of all the things the industry can do to goose the new construction market, maybe the most significant to date has been the emphasis on home efficiency. Between the National Model Energy Code, residential energy standard, green building standard, and DOE’s Home Energy Score pilot program, it seems that multiple forces are working toward a common goal.
No longer satisfied with consumption of traditional media alone, the sight and sound consumer is now looking to simultaneously be educated and entertained, with an emphasis on entertainment. Thus, video marketing has emerged. As an HVACR contractor, you should be working on a video strategy right now.
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