A pickup truck (Ford F-150) dropped off the list as the No. 1 vehicle of choice of Americans for the first time in decades as more fuel-efficient vehicles are in greater demand. However, it wasn’t until spiraling gas pump prices hit people in the head that they really began to change. Consumers of HVAC products haven’t yet associated the real pinch of energy costs and their heating and cooling systems. When they do, then we will see them change their spending habits for HVAC-related purchases.

The 2007 U.S. Census Bureau statistics show a slight decrease in expenditures for home improvement products. I believe the next upturn in the economy may give cause to consumer investment in energy-saving HVAC products. However, today, people are more concerned about the price of groceries and gasoline.

The industry increased its baseline SEER efficiency from 10 to 13 in 2006, and negotiated boiler efficiency increases with the Federal Government. However, the increased price of these more efficient products has come as a surprise to consumers, and a large number of people are repairing rather than replacing their systems. This is somewhat counter-productive for the nation’s energy conservation goals. There will certainly be some manufacturing economies of scale that help to lower these costs, but for the most part, consumers should realize that fuel efficient HVAC technologies, just like automobiles, come with a price tag. However, total life-cycle costs will be lower. In other words, spend a little more up front to save more on the back end.

Alex Walter, a contractor in Aurora, Colo., has been bugging me for over a year to post his list of places that an HVAC system should never be installed. Now, I admit, he has some good ideas that will make you think . . . but what would happen if all of the following locations were out of the picture for HVAC?

No attic locations unless an equipment room has been constructed within. If mechanical equipment is located in an attic there must be at least a disappearing pull-down stairway for access along with catwalks, electrical receptacle, and lighting in the attic.

Here are some of Walter’s other no-no locations:

No crawl space locations.

No crawl in locations.

No fungi locations.

No locations heavily overgrown with trees, plants, or weeds.

No closely fenced-in locations.

No closely walled-in locations.

No zero clearance locations.

No out-of-reach locations.

No hidden locations.

No insect-infested locations.

No extremely noisy locations.

No we (under water) locations.

No muddy locations.

No surrounded by junk locations.

No rocky, hard on the knees locations.

No long hike, walk, or climb locations.

No locations requiring the use of a ladder more than six feet high.

No locations with less than 42-inch minimum width work platforms that slope toward or away from access doors or panels at an angle greater than 5°.

No downright dangerous locations.

The end.

Well, Walter, there you are. However, I think most people will now have to pick up their tools and go home.

You can get a good cup of coffee a lot of places, but how many of you would prefer to go to Starbucks? People don't want just an iPod; they want the iPod Nano. They don't want just a hamburger; they want what Five Guys offers. You may not have heard of them yet, but Five Guys is an 87-store fast food franchise on the East Coast that is changing the way people think about hamburgers. You could get a sandwich thousands of places, but people go to Panera Bread instead.

All of these examples have one thing in common — they are more expensive.

There is a marketing phenomenon called trading up, which is typically thought to include purchases of high-priced goods. In an environment where people are trading up, everything from food to HVAC is affected.

People are willing to pay more for good hamburgers or good HVAC solutions.

Ray Isaac, president of Isaac Heating and Air Conditioning of Rochester, N.Y., and current Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) national chairman thinks that his company’s growth and huge backlog is due to the fact that homeowners tend to nest during times of economic uncertainty. In other words, they put even more importance on their homes during a slowdown. They aren’t going to move soon, and they want to take care of what they have. They want to make sure they’re getting a good value.

Give real value to those people who want to pay more.