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.

Carrier Corp. recently filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), formalizing a request to reclassify a residential condensing unit as a subsystem of a system to extend the manufacturing prohibition to dry R-22 condensing units. The petition urges EPA to reconsider its current position and to issue a new rulemaking.

Some years ago it was common for air-cooled condensers to develop leaks, resulting in unpredictable shorter service life. By studying the causes, it’s possible to come up with solutions. It became obvious that vibration was the major culprit, and thermal expansion/contraction creates some specific problems where the hot gas first enters the coil.

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.

The “Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act of 2011” (S. 398) bill, recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, would enact into law several consensus agreements that would set new federal efficiency standards for residential furnaces in two regions, for central air conditioners in three regions, and for central heat pumps in one, national region.

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.

It is the time of year when, in many parts of the country, cooling system problems involving coils tend to become more pronounced. Foul odors are especially problematic, but still more insidious are coil failures caused by formicary corrosion. The NEWS interviewed members of the Copper Development Association (CDA) for their takes on how these problems are being addressed.

The NEWS’ annual Cooling Showcase has traditionally introduced 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. In this issue, we focus on the commercial side of the air conditioning industry.