The votes are in for The News' second annual Dealer Design Awards, and products that are innovative, yet can be conveniently installed, maintained, and serviced, led the way. The News received 114 entries in 11 categories including HVAC Residential Equipment, HVAC Light Commercial Equipment, HVAC Commercial Equipment, Refrigeration Equipment and Accessories, Ventilation Products, Components and Accessories, Residential Controls including Zoning, Commercial Controls including Building Automation, Testing and Monitoring Products, Contractor Services and Software, and Miscellaneous.

An independent panel of contractors judged each entry. The products were judged on ease of installation, ease of maintenance, ease of service or repair, differentiation from other competitive products, and overall installation and service benefits to the contractor, including time savings, serviceability, and diagnostic capabilities.

"The second annual Dealer Design Awards were a great success," said Mike Murphy, editor-in-chief of The News. "We received an incredible number of quality products. I want to thank all the manufacturers that took the time to enter their products. I also want to thank all the contractor judges. With the quality of submissions, their job was not easy. We look forward to doing this again next year."

So we invite you to open up the issue and find out the winners of The News' second annual Dealer Design Awards.

Publication date: 07/18/2005