Variable Refrigerant Flow/Volume (VRF/VRV) News & Trends

South Dakota’s beauty and significance is often betrayed by its lack of mentions in the national news. Largely comprised of rolling prairie, pothole lakes and crystal clear streams, South Dakota is host to many natural wonders and historically significant landmarks. The Mount Rushmore State is bookended by its two largest population centers. Rapid City lies to the west, near the iconic Black Hills and Badlands National Park, while Sioux Falls, in the southeast, is just minutes from the Mi...

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...

ECR International has announced the release of a new video technical support tool to assist contractors in the field. This powerful new tool, called Rescue Lens, will enable ECR Technical Support advisors to see in real time exactly what the technician is seeing on the job site. ECR Rescue Lens The only requirement for the dealer is to have a smartphone with internet access either over cellular data or Wi-Fi Occasionally, a technical issue comes along that isn’t identified immediately....

Coastal Pacific Xpress (CPx) has been partnering with its customers and continually looking for ways to improve its offerings for more than 30 years. Specializing in meeting stringent just-in-time requirements, CPx provides flexible and tailored solutions that encompass truckload and less-than-truckload services, as well as the warehouse and distribution capacities needed for companies throughout North America. Assisting the Canadian-based company to provide even greater service value to custom...

The Big Ass Fans family continues to grow. The HVAC solutions company is excited to announce Watts Engineering Sales, Inc. as the distributor of Big Ass Fans products for the design and new construction market in Alabama. HVAC solutions expert WES Inc., a 100 percent employee-owned business, has provided expertise in the HVAC industry for more than six decades. From its creation in 1959 up till now, Watts has grown to exceed customer expectations by providing the highest quality products and c...

Thermon Group Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) announces that John T. Nesser III has been appointed to succeed Charles A. Sorrentino as the non-executive chairperson of the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”) in order to provide for an orderly succession for the Board’s leadership. Mr. Sorrentino will continue to serve as a member of the Board. “We want to thank Chuck for his contributions to the company as chairman. His leadership, insights, and gu...

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...

Around the world, people are flocking from rural areas to cities. By 2050, there will be more than six billion people living in megacities, twice as many as now. Over the same period, the volume of urban traffic is set to increase threefold, not least because the continuing boom in online commerce will feed further growth in delivery traffic. A denser population and more traffic mean deteriorating air quality. Across the globe, from Paris to Shanghai, major cities face an enormous challenge, wh...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have been evaluating energy use and environmental trends for many years. Although legislative organization began nearly a dozen years ago, trends have largely remained consistent. R-22, or HCFC-22, along with other refrigerants, is being phased out because of its impact on the environment, contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer. Shortly after the current president took office in 2017, the DOE established...

LIXIL Americas, pioneer of water and housing products that solve day-to-day, real-life challenges, have announced two new positions that will drive brand-led growth and market share gains. Effective immediately, Gene Barbato has been named the new vice president of brand management for American Standard and Matthew Farwell has been selected as vice president of brand management for DXV and GROHE for LIXIL Americas. American Standard, DXV and GROHE brands Both Barbato and Farwell are leading th...

Air conditioning and commercial refrigeration major, Blue Star Limited, has won a prestigious air conditioning and tunnel ventilation system order valued at Rs.253 crores from Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL). AC, tunnel ventilation and environmental control system The scope of this order includes design, engineering, supply, installation and commissioning of the air conditioning, tunnel ventilation and environmental control system for nine underground stations and associated tunn...

“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...

ASHRAE has announced a call for abstracts for the 2020 Building Performance Analysis Conference and SimBuild, to be held Aug. 12-14, 2020, at the Westin River North in Chicago. Co-organized by ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA, the theme of the conference, "Integrated Building Design and Analysis to Achieve Zero Carbon,” focuses on improving the decision making process through the application of simulation and modeling over the entire building life cycle. “This conference brings together the bui...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Technology Institute (AHRTI), the research arm of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), released the results of a benchmarking study on A3 refrigerant R290, which evaluated the potential risks of R290 leaks and ignitions in a whole room-scale setting. All the tests were conducted by AHRTI's subcontractor UL under the supervision of a technical committee consisting of industry experts from AHRI member companies and sta...

PCI Membranes, globally-renowned provider of custom crossflow membrane filtration systems, has completed the strategic acquisition of Pentair’s X-Flow Classic Membrane. X-Flow Classic Membrane PCI Membranes will now be the exclusive provider of this technology, expanding its already unique offering of process and separation solutions. PCI Membranes and Pentair closed the product line acquisition deal, which includes hand over of existing assets and customers, earlier this spring. This a...

Friedrich Air Conditioning Co., a U.S.-based manufacturer of heating, cooling and other room air conditioning products, launches a Spanish-speaking technical and customer service line, making it among the first in the industry to offer a dedicated service specifically for Spanish-speaking customers. The Spanish-speaking line is available by calling Friedrich’s main customer service line, and selecting option 9. It will operate Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CT, the same hours and da...

DENSO Corporation, the world’s second-largest mobility supplier, celebrated the grand opening of its Seattle Innovation Lab, which will strengthen the company’s development of connected technologies and advance its Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform. software-based solutions The lab supports DENSO’s recent expansion into software-based solutions to complement its hardware expertise, bolsters its North American R&D strategy, and helps actualize its long-term plan aimed...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) offered its support for the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, introduced by Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). "This bill would implement several energy efficiency measures across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors," said AHRI Vice President of Government Relations Samantha Slater. "Initiatives outlined in the legislation would enable our member companies to leverage priv...

DENSO Corporation, the world’s second-largest mobility supplier, and Smiths Manufacturing (Pty) Limited, owned by Metair Investments Limited, announced they have established DENSO Sales South Africa (Pty) Limited, a joint venture dedicated to selling aftermarket products and services in Southern Africa. South Africa has one of the largest economies in Africa, and car ownership is the highest in the region. Increase convenience for customers The new company will help ensure safety and in...

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...

DENSO Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation agreed to establish a joint venture for research and advanced development of next-generation, in-vehicle semiconductors. The two companies will study the details and aim to establish the new company in April 2020. in-vehicle semiconductors It is necessary to develop next-generation semiconductors that are integral to technology innovations Recently, electronic controls have been increasingly implemented in vehicles. Furthermore, the number of in...

The 2019 Panasonic UK Distributor Briefing was recently held at the Belfry Hotel in the Midlands. Panasonic UK Distributors gathered together from across the UK for an update on the company’s business initiatives and forthcoming products launching later this year. Panasonic has a strong distribution network across the UK for its heating and cooling solutions with attendees from AMP, DYSK, EasyAir, ESS, ICG, Logicool, Oceanair, Secon Solar, Heat Orkney and Thermsaver all attending the even...

CoolAutomation is delighted to announce CoolMasterNet’s compatibility has been successfully extended to include the AUX Group’s VRF systems. As one of the largest HVAC manufacturers in China, this is a development that many CoolAutomation customers have been waiting for. This development enables AUX installers the ability to partner with Home Automation integrators in order to significantly simplify the integration of AUX VRF with Home Automation control systems. As a result, AUX cu...

DENSO Corporation announced that Nippon Wiper Blade Co., Ltd. and Asahi Manufacturing Co., Ltd., both of which are subsidiaries of DENSO Corporation, will merge on October 1, 2019, and make a new start as DENSO Wiper Systems, Inc. With the auto industry undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation, the business environment is changing significantly due to swift innovations in CASE (connected, autonomous, shared, and electrified) technologies. automated driving technologies The wiper system b...

By incorporating ABB technology solutions, Lefdal Mine Datacenter plans to become Europe’s biggest data center solutions firm, with the smallest environmental footprint. There was a time when the mineral olivine used to be excavated for industrial purposes, like making steel. Now, that steel is coming back underground to house a data center. Lefdal in Norway plans to become Europe’s largest and greenest data center. Lefdal Mine data center The Lefdal Mine data center, operational...

Greenheck, a globally renowned company in manufacturing and distributing air movement, conditioning and control equipment, has announced the release of heavy duty, rectangular industrial isolation control damper, Model HCD-221, incorporates the square-blade design found on Greenheck’s bubble tight damper. Model HCD-221 isolation control damper The square-blade design enables the damper to provide shutoff with very low leakage in HVACHCD-221 or industrial process control systems. With a f...

The AHR Expo (International Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigerating Exposition) announces its call for entries for the 2020 Innovation Awards Competition. The annual competition honors the most innovative and original products, systems and technologies showcased at each year’s AHR Expo. Exhibitors are encouraged to submit new or upgraded products for consideration through August 6, 2019. 2020 Innovation Awards Competition The Innovation Awards debuted in 2003 to highlight the HVACR...

A new publication is now available from industry leading organizations to demonstrate to contractors and designers that zero energy office buildings are attainable.  Advanced Energy Design Guide Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small to Medium Office Buildings - Achieving Zero Energy provides direction for designing and constructing zero energy office buildings in all climate zones. The guide was developed by ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering...

Adcock provided the full mechanical package to the latest Nissan Dealership, Eltham on behalf of Chiltern Construction. The latest Mitsubishi VRF Air Conditioning Systems were chosen to serve the Showroom with the Hybrid HVRF system installed to serve the office areas to achieve the required BREEAM credentials. Air temperature control Modern commercial buildings need air conditioning systems that provide the highest levels of comfort, freshness and energy efficiency. With water at the indoor...

The Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced that it has submitted comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in opposition to a fourth round of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports The comments, which were in response to a May 17 Federal Register notice, echoed AHRI’s previous opposing comments (Round 1, Round 2, Round 3), re-emphasizing that the tariffs limit member company access to...