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There are quite a few crazy ideas in the HVACR industry’s history, but it’s the future that contractors, manufacturers, and distributors are trying to understand. For the HVACR industry, social and digital media aren’t the future though; they are the crazy ideas of today.

During the summer there was a flurry of press releases from an organization called BeyondHFCs. I pulled a number of them together into a story that appears in this issue. As I noted in the beginning of the story, this is a European-based organization that advocates the use of natural refrigerants rather than HFCs.

Politics is on the minds of a lot of the industry people that I speak to these days. In fact, I cannot remember when I have heard so much chatter for a mid-term election. I suppose that is the result of a still-struggling economy and the polarization of our political discourse.

As often happens, I learned something new while talking to a contractor a few weeks ago. An interesting thing about learning something new is that I also often discover almost everyone else already knows what I am just figuring out for the first time. But, just in case, I thought I’d share some words of perspective from Tim McGuire.

Do or do not, there is no try.

HARDI recently launched www.savehvacjobs.com, a website created to provide a central grassroots portal for the entire HVAC industry to convince federal legislators that extending the $1,500, “25c” residential tax credits before they expire is essential for continued employment and economic recovery.

I know a guy named Joe and I was planning to write a classified ad for him. However, before I do, I have to tell you about a small company in West Texas.

Is Home Star in HVAC contractors’ best interest? Another says the Home Star bill is worth supporting.

We here in the Midwest are just finishing up one of the hottest summers we can remember. If you are like many of us, you have reduced your staff to help you through the economic downturn. That means your staff has had to work exceptionally hard to take care of your customers. Have you been properly appreciative?

In some ways, the end of summer feels like the end of the year. Many of us can start to feel the seasons changing; kids are going back to school; etc. It almost feels like a good time of year to make resolutions - better than New Years, in fact. Most of those resolutions are made at the spur of the moment, and often under the influence of alcohol.