Every yearThe NEWSintroduces the latest air conditioning units available for the upcoming summer season. The intent is to help contractors prepare for this busy period by doing the research that will help them to distinguish between brands.

The industry transition to 13 SEER has brought with it a tremendous amount of change to product design. Contractors and distributors will find new products to fit every customer demand.

Like last year, this year's Cooling Showcase is split into two parts - commercial and residential. The commercial information will be published in the May 8 issue, so this issue will focus on the residential side of the air conditioning industry. Included in the coverage is feature-specific information about each individual product as submitted by the manufacturers.

The Cooling Showcase residential products chart provided on our home page (click on the Cooling Showcase link to view a PDF) includes technical facts, such as unit tonnage, refrigerant type, efficiency rating, and cooling capacity. The accompanying feature article in this issue, "New Products to Keep This Summer Cool," provides more in-depth information on the features of each individual unit and also includes technical support information from the manufacturer.

The manufacturers provided all of the data included in the products chart, as well as in the feature article. Therefore, any questions should be directed to them via the contact information provided in "New Products to Keep This Summer Cool."

Publication date: 04/17/2006