HVAC Industry News

One in two ventilation contractors and distributors are unaware they are risking ErP compliance, according to a survey conducted by Elta Fans. Despite installing plate fans and roof cowls together, 53% of contractors surveyed said they did not believe themselves to be system designers. However, by combining these two products, installers are acting as a ‘manufacturer’ in the eyes of the law, and as such, are responsible for ErP compliance. The figure is similar for ventilation distr...

Traditionally, portable cooling technology has been seen as a quick fix to immediate cooling needs. If a customer’s air conditioner went out in the busyness of summer, portable cooling could keep the customer comfortable until a technician could arrive at their home. Such needs and uses for portable cooling still exist, but over the past few years, portable cooling has increasingly developed as a solution for unique cooling needs. Manufacturers are saying this trend will continue. Misty W...

Air conditioning and commercial refrigeration major, Blue Star Limited, has announced several important Board level changes that were approved at the Meeting of the Board of Director. The Board has unanimously approved the appointment of Mr Shailesh Haribhakti as the Chairman of Blue Star with effect from April 1, 2019. He will succeed Mr Suneel M Advani, who will be retiring from the Board on March 31, 2019 in accordance with the retirement policy for Non-Executive Directors. Listing Obligati...

Air conditioning and commercial refrigeration major, Blue Star Limited, has launched 75 new models of room air conditioners in its Platinum Jubilee year. These superior and stylish models also include energy-efficient inverter ACs capable of delivering 30% extra cooling over and above its rated capacity. This enables faster temperature pull-down even in larger rooms during peak summers thereby consuming less power and leading to significant savings on account of lower electricity bills. This su...

It is unrealistic to place on building owners and operators the burden and risk for providing pathogen-free water throughout buildings when the water delivered to their buildings contains Legionella bacteria. Legionella is commonly found in source waters and in the soil, and thus, if untreated at the municipal water treatment plant and in the distribution systems, the Legionella bacteria will necessarily find its way into buildings. More needs to be done by the municipal water suppliers to min...

The team at Panasonic has introduced a series of interactive, online accredited CIBSE CPD courses to enhance skills during these unprecedented times. The CPD courses have been developed by Panasonic and support learning in a variety of heating and cooling disciplines. Panasonic’s CPD program has been running throughout the year either at the company’s Bracknell HQ or in various locations around the UK and have been presented by the experienced and knowledgeable team at Panasonic. Ho...

The International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) is the only independent intergovernmental science and technology based organization which promotes knowledge of all refrigeration fields, ranging from very low temperature applications to air conditioning via the food cold chain. With 59 member countries and its network of several hundred renowned experts on 5 continents, the IIR is empowered to speak on behalf of the refrigeration community. The IIR calls on national governments to consider th...

Spring has sprung in Texas. While Texans know this means beautiful bluebonnets, lots of tree pollen, and some wicked thunderstorms, they also know it means that summer is just around the corner. In the 21st century, it’s hard to imagine enduring a Texas summer heat wave without air conditioning, but many Texans throughout history did just that. Nineteenth-century Texas settlers “worked smarter, not harder.” They would split their workday between the cooler morning hours and th...

When guests stay at a hotel, they expect to be comfortable. Whatever they may put up with at home or at work, they don’t expect to have those same issues at a hotel. Matt Ganser, who has worked on both office buildings and hotels as EVP of technology and engineering at the energy-savings-as-a-service company Carbon Lighthouse, said the guest experience at hotels consequently plays a much larger part in deciding how to handle maintenance of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning syst...

Trade associations and membership societies representing North America's Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration industry requested that federal, state, and local authorities grant "essential business" status to those technicians and engineers who are tasked with keeping the American people productive, healthy, and comfortable in these trying times. The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) joined with nine other organizations, representing the HVACR an...

World Health Organization (WHO) advice on air conditioning and infection control on poorly ventilated non-ac buildings affect air quality and can contribute to the spread of disease. Filtration Systems Installation & Maintenance Microorganisms, such as those causing tuberculosis and legionnaires, can be transmitted by air conditioning systems, particularly when they are poorly maintained or when the number of air exchanges per hour in a room is insufficient. Filtration systems can be inst...

Adcock has been awarded a maintenance contract to look after all air conditioning and ventilation equipment located at the Amazon Fulfilment Center in Tilbury. The first maintenance visit was completed at the end of February. Entering into a maintenance agreement to service their equipment regularly, automatically takes all the pressure off Amazon, as the engineers at Adcock ensure to meet all the F-Gas requirements and are on hand 365 days, 24/7 for Amazon.

If the user is like many in the working world, their office or workspace is likely too cold for comfort – even when temperatures outside aren’t all that cold. Studies have proven that occupants of office spaces, buildings, garages and other workspaces are less productive when exposed to cold conditions. Many different types of workplaces face year-round temperature challenges and struggle to strike the perfect balance to keep all employees comfortable and focused. But a solution is a...

Brivo, the global provider of cloud-based physical security, has acquired Parakeet Technologies, a provider of smart building solutions which include sensors, thermostats, wireless locks, and lighting controls. The acquisition accelerates Brivo’s ongoing push to enhance its in-building capabilities beyond its current access control, video, and security. The companies had already been working together as partners, and now plan a deeper integration between their products, including a common...

“Recently - this year at the G7 and UN meetings - the refrigeration sector which includes air conditioning, cryogenics and heat pumps, was brought to the spotlight almost for the first time." "Using the words of Mr. Antonio Guterres: “Implementation of the Kigali Amendment will be front and center for climate action. We need all countries to develop national cooling action plans to deliver efficient and sustainable cooling and bring essential life‑preserving services like vaccines a...

According to the CDC and ASHRAE, hospital HVAC systems play a critical role in mitigating the spread of diseases like COVID-19, MERS, SARS, and tuberculosis. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, respiratory droplets can travel through the air and be inhaled by people nearby. Room pressurization, air change rates, humidity, and temperature all play an integral role in mitigating airborne contaminants to provide a healing space for patients while protecting healthcare providers. It is reco...

In recent weeks, there has been a lot of news about the Coronavirus (COVID-19). It is on the front pages of all the newspapers and the media talks about nothing else. What exactly is it? Coronaviruses are a family of common viruses whose name comes from the crown-like projections that form on their surfaces. They can cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe respiratory syndromes such as MERS (Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome) and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)....

ADT Inc., a provider of security, automation, and smart home solutions serving consumer and business customers in the United States, announced a new flagship partnership with HHHunt, a diversified provider of real estate development, to install smart home and property automation technology into new and existing HHHunt multifamily and student housing communities. ADT adds HHHunt to its growing list of prominent real estate partners enhancing their communities with smart home solutions. ADT will...

Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) International Technical Director Nazme Mohsina has been named to Engineered Systems magazine’s 20 to Watch: Women in HVAC list for 2020. Mohsina was selected for the second annual list from more than 150 nominees representing “all levels of the industry, from those just entering the sector to industry professionals boasting 30-plus years of experience,” Editor in Chief Herb Woerpel writes in the February issue of Engineered Systems....

The Water Council, with its supporting corporate sponsors, has announced the winners for the second round of the Tech Challenge. This round focused on innovative solutions for inline sensors that detect water quality parameters and artificial intelligence for pipe networks and systems. The Tech Challenge program augments corporate open innovation channels and identifies emerging freshwater technologies and ideas with a high potential for commercialization. Throughout the year, several topics of...

With chilly weather that is likely to be sticking around for the next few weeks, now is the time to ensure that a user doesn’t get caught out by having planned, preventative maintenance on their HVAC Chillers. Here are six key preventative chiller maintenance tips from Airedale International Air Conditioning’s UK Service Manager, Adrian Trevelyan, to help maintain high efficiency, maximize resilience and uptime, and improve the longevity of the user’s air conditioning chiller d...

Since its launch in early 2018, the YORK YZ Magnetic Bearing Centrifugal Chiller has been recognized across the HVAC industry. As the first chiller fully optimized for ultimate performance with a next generation low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant, these units were designed and engineered by a team of experts who “reimagined” what a chiller could be. YORK YZ chillers deliver the widest range of cooling capacity to serve the diverse application needs of its customers To da...

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...