You may be familiar with the Energy Star® label on energy efficient heating and cooling equipment, but did you know there are also Quality Installation (QI) guidelines to help ensure that heating and cooling equipment is installed properly? Nearly half of all heating and cooling equipment in U.S. homes never performs to the advertised capacity and efficiency due to installation problems.

In celebration of its 40th anniversary as a non-profit center, the Edward Hopper House will exhibit some of the painter’s early works, which are on loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art. But before the exhibition could take place, the home first had to meet the stringent climate control requirements of the Whitney Museum.

The HVAC landscape is changing now, as the tax credits have been reduced, the economy is still recovering, and prices on equipment keep increasing. Add in declining home values and higher-than-normal levels of unemployment, and many contractors are facing larger challenges when it comes to selling high-efficiency units.

As HVAC products get more and more efficient, the logical question is what level will they top off at? The laws of physics can limit the efficiency levels of air-source heating and cooling equipment. The laws of economics also come into play, as the cost for each incremental escalation in efficiency can substantially increase the cost of the equipment.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Education have joined with the National Science Teachers Association to launch America’s Home Energy Education Challenge, a new energy education initiative. The goal is to motivate students across the country to learn about energy efficiency and help their families save money.

A bill in the Senate aims to update the efficiency standards of appliances and building systems, including furnaces, heat pumps, and central air conditioners. Titled the “Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act of 2011,” it divides the nation into three regions with different efficiency standards for each. It also recommends more stringent building codes for new construction.

Source: Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Industry figures are estimates that are derived from the best available figures supplied by a sample of AHRI member companies.

Here are additional new products that The NEWS’ editorial staff found at the AHR Expo. Due to an internal error, these products were not included in The NEWS’ AHR Expo Post-Show Issue.

Service Experts announced that it is helping consumers save energy by offering a new program, allowing them to upgrade old, inefficient heating and air conditioning systems for as low as $99 per month. With this program, homeowners can purchase a new Lennox® high-efficiency system to replace their older HVAC equipment.

In 2010, the 25C tax credits were a popular sales tool in the HVAC industry, used to entice homeowners to purchase high-efficiency HVAC systems in exchange for a $1,500 tax credit. However, these residential tax credits were reduced to $500 at the end of 2010, leading many in the industry to wonder if a drop-off in new equipment sales would be inevitable in 2011.