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Johnson Controls Competition: Carnegie Mellon Students’ Open Letter
As noted in a Newsline story in the Jan. 14, 2008 issue of The NEWS, Johnson Controls announced that four students of Carnegie Mellon University are the first-place winners in its open letter-writing competition — Tomorrow’s Energy Ambassadors, Managers, and Scholars (TEAMS). Here is a copy of the winning letter.
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The NEWS’ Top Stories of 2007
Each year the HVAC industry proves to be diverse, resilient, and ever
changing. The year 2007 was no different as multiple events spurred
change and helped establish new trends.
by Angela D. Harris
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ARI and GAMA Joined Forces
Two of the industry’s most influential manufacturing associations reached a historic merger that creates a powerful advocacy for the trade. The boards of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) and the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA) approved the merger and sent the proposal for a vote that successfully passed.
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Cultural Diversity Tested Industry Flexibility
Diversity became an increasingly common topic as 2007 progressed. The number of Hispanic workers in the construction trades steadily rose and it is predicted that those numbers will continue to do so in 2008.
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Gearing Up for Refrigerant Phaseout
Al Gore was not the only one talking tough on the issue of global warming in 2007. DuPont Fluoroproducts made bold statements recognizing many current HFCs as contributors to the global warming situation.
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Sustainability Became the New SEER
In 2007, sustainability was a major buzzword in the industry. According to many involved in HVACR, including contractors and manufacturers, sustainability should soon become what energy conservation was during the 1970s, recovery-recycling in the 80s, brownouts-blackouts in the 90s, and 13 SEER in recent years.
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Industry Challenged on All Fronts
In 2007, contractors had a full plate of new affairs to handle.
“As an industry, we faced technology changes, political changes, manpower shortages, and the list goes on,” summed up Ken Bodwell, CFO and partner, Innovative Service Solutions, Orlando, Fla.
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Room A/C Manufacturer Headed South
The last of the room air conditioner manufacturing facilities left the United States in 2007. Friedrich Air Conditioning Co., based in San Antonio, moved production of room air conditioners from its San Antonio plant to the company’s facility in Monterrey, Mexico.
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Green Markets Open Up
When former President Bill Clinton stepped to a podium in New York City to convene the C-40 Large Cities Climate Summit, he was, in effect, opening the door for expanded opportunities for HVAC contractors in areas ranging from the installation of new energy-efficient equipment to major retrofits, with a special emphasis on performance contracting.
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Higher SEERs Got Popular
Energy-efficient products gained ground in the residential sector this past year. Citing an unprecedented mid-year report compiled by the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), the average SEER rating for unitary air conditioners sold through June was 13.66.
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Leveraging College Interns to Sell
Star Service, a Linc Services HVAC contractor, recently introduced a concept that seems to be
making progress when it comes to recruiting new sales candidates. The goal was to identify three college seniors
interested in a sales career and who possessed the basic salesperson
profile.
by Jimmy Kaiser
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Achieving Tomorrow’s Construction Workforce
This is the second in a series of white
papers to assist and promote the initial progress of building national and
local coalitions to address the tremendous need for building a workforce for
the construction industry of America.
by Michael Honeycutt
Gerry Kennedy
Dick Shaw
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Celebrating 20 years of Copeland Scroll: Shaping the Future
“I don’t think anybody who was on that [scroll technology
development] team 20 years ago would have forecasted that we would have nearly
60 million pieces in the field today, 10 plants around the world, and scroll
models from one to 30 horsepower... nobody would have envisioned that,” assured
Ed Purvis.
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Celebrating 20 years of Copeland Scroll: Addressing Industry Needs
Sit down with those deeply involved in the
development and ultimate production of scroll technology, and the words
“challenge” and “hurdle” are likely to surface quite a bit, as they did when The
NEWS spoke with Emerson executives of the 1970s and 1980s, who played
key roles in taking Copeland Scroll to market.
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Celebrating 20 years of Copeland Scroll: Risks, Results, and Rewards
Everyone at Emerson Climate Technologies is
proud of how far Copeland Scroll has come in its first 20 years. But as we
reflect on scroll’s launch, its market acceptance and global expansion, we’re
much prouder of what this technology evolution has meant to our customers and
the industry as a whole.
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Access Grid Connects Collaborators, Earns R&D 100 Award
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory have been honored with an R&D 100 Award for developing Access Grid 3.0. With the Access Grid, remote collaborators can see and talk with each other and share materials, while avoiding unnecessary travel.
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Housing Starts Fall to Lowest Level in 12 Years
Housing starts fell 2.6 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.331 million units as the downswing in the housing market continued, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Starts were down 19.1 percent from a year earlier, falling to the lowest level in 12 years.
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Showcase Home Designed to Ward Off Mold Growth
Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) partners have collaborated on the first-of-its-kind Mold Safe Model Home, which incorporates mold-resistant building practices and building materials. Construction is now being completed on the 3,000-square-foot two-story showcase home located in Chesterfield, N.H.
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Energy Legislation — Pick Your Poison
In June, the Senate passed
an energy bill. This month, the House of Representatives followed with its own
energy legislation. This points to a conference committee in order to hammer
out differences. We'd all be better off, however, if Congress just dropped the
matter altogether.
by Raymond J. Keating
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Housing Starts Up Slightly in June but Permits Down Sharply
In the latest sign that the housing market remains in a correction phase, housing starts rose 2.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.467 million. However, building permits, which are considered an indicator of future building activity, were down sharply.
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Housing Starts Fall 2.1 Percent in May as Downswing Continues
Housing starts fell 2.1 percent in May to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.474 million units as the correction in the
housing market continued, according to figures released by the U.S.
Department of Commerce. Starts were
down 24.2 percent from a year earlier.
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New Home Sales Tick Up in Uncertain Climate
Sales of new single-family homes increased a slight 2.6 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 858,000 units, following sharp declines in both January and February.
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NYSERDA Offers Ways Schools Can Save
Did you know that typically the largest controllable budget category in a school is energy related? Did you know that 5 to 25 percent of utility costs can be cut by implementing these recommendations?
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