HVAC Industry News

Staff of the Building Technologies Office (BTO), within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, were pleased to attend the announcement of five new cooperative research and development agreements that Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has made with industry partners. The agreements will further advance DOE’s growing body of innovations that enhance the energy performance, sustainability, and safety of heating, air-conditionin...

Nigel Evans, Conservative Candidate for Ribble Valley, has visited Baxi Heating in Club Street, Bamber Bridge, Preston to see the hydrogen boiler that the heating manufacturer is developing. The prototype boiler, that has been developed in conjunction with Baxi Heating’s parent company, BDR Thermea Group, works using 100% pure hydrogen, which does not produce any carbon emissions. That means no carbon dioxide is emitted through the flue into the atmosphere, and there is no danger of carbon...

When it comes to business opportunities, the potential upside for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) solutions is huge. It’s expected to be a US$ 15 billion market by 2022. Many technicians are unsure of how to best address air quality issues with homeowners, which can cause some HVAC companies to miss out on significant new revenues. Moving to data-driven control The Resideo AirCycle Program is here to change everything – starting with the conversations that technicians have with homeowners...

As outcome of the two-year Special Project ‘Evaporative Cooling 2030’, the Eurovent Association has published a set of documents including a new Eurovent Recommendation and a dedicated flyer, providing a clear overview of what the evaporative cooling industry saves in terms of CO2 emissions today and what it can save tomorrow. These documents are complemented by the first-ever European evaporative cooling industry monograph providing a clear indication on its size and scope. Euroven...

A global coalition led by the Government of India, along with Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), has announced the Finalists of the Global Cooling Prize, an international innovation competition to develop super-efficient and climate-friendly residential cooling solutions for homes. The competitors showcased technologies that reduce or eliminate refrigerants linked to climate change, advances that will be vital as the number of room air conditioners (RACs) nearly quadruples by 2050. Top air conditi...

Representatives of the Federal Association of the German Heating Industry (BDH), the Federal Association of Bioenergy (BBE), the Industrial Association of House, Heating and Kitchen Technology (HKI) and the Central Association of Sanitary, Heating and Air Conditioning (ZVSHK) spoke to politics today at an event in the Reichstag in favor of a climate policy initiative for wood heating. The share of renewable energies in the heating market is currently around 14 percent. 65 percent of this comes...

The Federal Cabinet passed the draft of the Building Energy Act (GEG). “With the approval of the Building Energy Act, construction experts receive planning security,” said the Federation of German Heating Industry (BDH) President, Uwe Glock. Building Energy Act (GEG) However, the Building Energy Act (GEG) only contributes to a limited extent to climate protection, because the CO2 reduction potentials are in the inventory, which are hardly recorded by the GEG. “For the necess...

The term of Amit Ahuja, 2019-2020 president of Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) International Inc., is underway, following the organization’s 2019 Annual Meeting October 2-6 in Maui, Hawaii. AMCA truly is a global association, Ahuja, who is managing director of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates-based Maico Gulf LLC, said, adding that the focus of his presidency will be achieving greater cooperation and cohesiveness among the regions AMCA represents. Advising Global Governme...

Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) International Inc. presents its Distinguished Service Award to three individuals—Rad Ganesh, PhD, PE, director, product applications, Twin City Fan Companies Ltd., Tim Mathson, principal engineer, AMCA, and Bob Valbracht, PE, vice president of engineering, Loren Cook Co. —during its 2019 Annual Meeting Oct. 5 in Maui, Hawaii. Fan-System Regulatory Compliance Rad Ganesh, PhD, PE, has over 32 years of experience in the air-movement industry...

The three central associations of the German heating industry, the Federation of the German Heating Industry (BDH), the Central Association of Sanitary, Heating, Air Conditioning/German Sanitation, Heating and Air Conditioning Association (ZVSHK) and the German Wholesale Association of Building Technology (DG Haustechnik) welcomed the fundamental decisions of the federal government to implement the heating transition, after years of back and forth, to finally start. Tax incentives Offered &ldq...

The Water Council and its corporate partners announced the second Tech Challenge, a global competition designed to identify cutting-edge freshwater technologies and ideas with high potential for commercialization or implementation. Finalists have an opportunity to win prize money, access to corporate R&D resources and a chance to partner on the development with corporate sponsors on the marketing, licensing or sale of their winning technology or idea. Tech Challenges are sponsored by corpora...

Trane, a global provider of indoor comfort systems and services and a business of Ingersoll Rand, announced that it has acquired Arctic Chiller Group, a Canadian-based HVAC manufacturer, specializing in high efficiency air- and water-cooled magnetic bearing, modular, and process chillers for commercial HVAC and process cooling applications. “We are pleased to incorporate Arctic Chiller Group solutions into our leading portfolio of energy efficient systems and services,” said Donny S...

ASHRAE has expanded its regionally customized training in the Middle East and North Africa. Organized from ASHRAE’s Global Training Center in Dubai, nine courses have been scheduled in four cities for the remainder of 2019. “The fast growing and challenging climates in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, require continuous high-quality training,” said Ayah Said, Manager of ASHRAE’s Global Training Center. “The regularly scheduled courses provided by the Global...

The Water Council and A. O. Smith Corporation announced the next round of the BREW Accelerator and BREW Corporate Accelerator powered by A. O. Smith Corporation. The program connects water technology startups with resources to validate and advance their business models and technologies. “The Water Council is excited to launch the seventh cohort opportunity with the BREW Accelerator,” stated Steve Glynn, Director of entrepreneurship at The Water Council. “If you're an entrepren...

On August 14, 2019, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released five proposals intended to increase roadway safety and ease driving rules for truckers. The five key revisions by the FMCSA are: 30-minute break - Increase safety and flexibility for the 30-minute break rule by tying the break requirement to eight hours of driving time without an interruption for at least 30 minutes and allowing the break to be satisfied by a driver using on duty, not driving status, rather...

ASHRAE has announced the recipients of 33 Society scholarships, totaling $166,000, for the 2019-2020 academic year. “We are proud of the hard work and incredible determination of our 2019-20 scholarship recipients as they strive to achieve their academic goals,” said Samir Traboulsi, chair of the ASHRAE scholarship trustees." “One of the objectives of the ASHRAE Scholarship Program is to inspire the next generation of engineering professionals to work towards solving some of t...

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America has announced new workforce development resources to help ACCA members recruit, educate, and retain industry professionals and fill the employment gap impacting heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) contractors. Pledge to America’s Workers ACCA’s updated resources coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Pledge to America’s Workers. On July 25, 2019, President Trump invited ACCA to participate in the...

The 2019 ASHRAE Student Design Competition and Applied Engineering Challenge winners have been announced. The competition recognizes outstanding student design projects, encourages undergraduate students to apply their knowledge of practical design of energy-efficient HVAC systems and promote teamwork. Forty two teams competed and 26 were judged at Society level. This year’s Design Competition focused on a new small hospital in Budapest, Hungary. The project involved building a new four-s...

ASHRAE Learning Institute (ALI) has opened registration for its 2019 Fall Online Instructor-led Course Series. Courses will begin September 10 and conclude on November 13, with 12 three-hour courses and new one-hour courses scheduled. “ASHRAE Learning Institute fall online courses provide professional development through in-depth information that is timely, practical and targeted,” said Darryl K. Boyce, 2019-20 ASHRAE President. “These courses provide engineers in consulting p...

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) announces that pioneering home improvement financing company, Dividend Finance of San Francisco, California has joined ACCA’s corporate sponsor program. ACCA’s corporate sponsor program enables HVACR industry suppliers and manufacturers to demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to ACCA members and the contracting industry through year-round support of the association's activities. The corporate membership program also provides manu...

The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) warn that the proposals in the Government consultation for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO3) threaten the livelihoods of thousands of heating and plumbing businesses. The consultation is seeking views on proposed changes to the current ECO3 scheme. This includes: Incorporating the TrustMark Government Endorsed Quality scheme (a result of Each Home Counts) into ECO3, as a route to demonstrating compliance with the most up-to-date relevant PA...

When it is published later this quarter, the 2019 edition of ASHRAE/IES 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, will be the first standard, code, or regulation to use the new fan energy index (FEI) as the metric for efficiency provisions for commercial and industrial fans and blowers, Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) International Inc., the developer of FEI, announces. Determined in accordance with ANSI/AMCA Standard 208-18, Calculation of the Fan E...

The Manufacturing Institute estimates that there could be as many as 2.4 million vacant skilled trade positions in industry across the country by 2018. This is a huge gap that can only be overcome by partnering with other organizations and companies to make a meaningful difference. GE Appliances, a Haier company, believes that partnerships matter and the industry would do better together. That idea has never been more important as they tackle workforce development issues going forward. So, when...

Good news for building owners, engineers/architects, and HVAC contractors who can now save energy, construction costs, and space in commercial facilities with this approved code addition. Doorway air curtains were approved as alternatives to vestibules on most commercial building entries in the upcoming ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019 Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low Rise Residential Buildings. The professional association’s approved addition requires that the air curtain performance b...

Significant changes to refrigerant container color protocol will commence in January 2020, as outlined in the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute’s (AHRI) Guideline N, Assignment of Refrigerant Container Colors. Guideline revisions, first published in 2015, specify that all refrigerant containers should have the same paint color, RAL 7044, to reduce confusion among similarly colored refrigerant containers. Preventing safety issues “Misidentifying refrigeran...

Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) attended an event at the White House with President Trump to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Pledge to America’s Workers. This initiative recognizes the crucial role companies play in educating and training the American workforce. Representing ACCA at the event were, Barton James, ACCA President and CEO, Eric Knaak, ACCA Chairman of the Board and Vice President and General Manager, Isaac Heating and Air Conditioning, and Luis Serrano...

“Evaporative cooling, direct, indirect, and two-stage solutions, are being used across the board in a wide variety of commercial and industrial solutions,” said Randy Niederer, Director of Marketing, Cambridge Engineering Inc. “It is currently experiencing a renaissance, as large manufacturing and distribution facilities are choosing this technology to provide cooling relief for employees.” This renaissance, along with several new technology factors, creates a backdrop f...

The European F-gas Directive is all about the restriction of fluorinated greenhouse gases, which includes hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs), commonly used as refrigerants for air conditioning. This is a regulation that has been adopted by the European Union to phase-down the usage of refrigerants, which have a high Global Warming Potential (GWP). Since the most common refrigerants used (e.g. R410A, R134a), by individuals and industry wide, are affected by this regulation, there has been a drive lately...

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) announces a partnership with Money Mailer of South Bay, a leading multi-platform advertising company to offer ACCA members an exclusive advertising discount. "Money Mailer of South Bay is excited to partner with ACCA and offer a generous discount to ACCA’s elite network of contractors. We have forty years of experience working with contractors and can help them reach our network of 15,000,000 customers across the U.S.,” said Ray Gede...

Schneider Electric UK, the provider of digital transformation of energy management and automation, has launched its ‘Rethink Energy’ initiative, a program aimed at changing business, consumer and government attitudes to energy waste and help combat climate change. Whilst other forms of waste such as plastics, fast fashion and food are highly visible, energy is frequently overlooked. A Schneider Electric commissioned study of 2,000 UK adults and over 600 UK businesses revealed that j...