From commercial chillers to residential IAQ, The NEWS covers hundreds of products each year, both in print and online. These are the Top 20 Products for 2018 based on the number of page views.
Most every service company has had prospective customers call in to schedule an appointment with a dispatcher, only to cancel that same appointment at a later time. It could be because of a number of factors: They found a competitor with lower prices, someone who could come out sooner, and the list goes on. However, not every service contractor measures their cancellation rates.
Demand for hydronic comfort solutions is heating up. According to a report by Technavio, the global market is expected to increase by more than 7 percent from 2018 to 2022, driven by a desire for more energy-efficient and energy-neutral technologies to improve the indoor climate. With more homeowners and building owners looking to advance the technologies in their structures to make them smarter, more efficient, or just more comfortable, it’s in a contractor’s best interest to become proficient in radiant heating and cooling systems to further expand their market — or, to dominate a niche market.
As HVAC products and home appliances get “smarter,” so too is the boiler — although perhaps with less flash and bang than the smart thermostat, smart doorbell, smartphone, or the new smart furniture that’s hitting the market. (Smart sofa, anyone? It’s a thing.)
From keeping up-to-date with technology to simply finding folks to lay the pipework, hydronics contractors face a unique subset of challenges within the HVAC industry. Learning to navigate the hurdles make the race to the bottom line smoother and much more profitable. The NEWS spoke with some industry experts to identify the top five challenges contractors face and the steps they should take to make sure nothing stands in their way when it comes to optimizing their workflow rate.
Jim Patterson’s business is, in his own words, “super small, super specialized.” “The interest for me is radiant, air quality … things that are little more technical, that you don’t see a lot of,” he said.
So with such an obvious demand for workers, why are kids choosing to enter other industries? Well, findings from the Electric & Gas Industries Association (EGIA) Foundation’s 2018 Industry Study "Bridging the HVAC Employment Gap" point to lack of awareness and poor reputation.
The global ductless heating and cooling systems market is currently projected at $78.62 billion, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 8 percent through 2021, according to MarketsandMarkets.
Once only found in mild climates, the technology now stretches across the U.S., thanks to advances in inverter technology and zone controls. On the other hand, the level of sophistication in these systems sometimes makes them difficult to troubleshoot when something goes wrong.