As an industry, whether an HVACR contracting firm is doing service and maintenance or installations, employees need to go to the jobsite to perform their work. Because installers and service technicians have to be on the road for their job, some going to several jobsites in a day, they need vehicles to drive.

Technicians use a variety of tools in their jobs, from the ones they hold in their hands to fabricate or install or service equipment, to the ones they use to move from one location to the next. This product roundup includes GPS, hand tools, instruments, and vehicles that technicians use to perform their jobs daily.

Whether it’s getting the system ready to use for the very first time or figuring out what’s wrong before fixing it, these detectors, monitors, sensors, and tools make it possible to get the job done.

From giving turn-by-turn directions for a technician to drive from one jobsite to the next, to figuring out who is closest to a particular jobsite with the right equipment to make a service call, a GPS can provide contracting companies with more information that they can utilize to run their operation more efficiently.

Best Buy entered the home energy management market in three of its stores this month. The trial provides customers with access to smart thermostats and solar elements as well as a plethora of controls and efficient lighting solutions.

As the HVACR industry continues to move away from HCFC-22 due to regulatory pressures, one of the new retrofit options for such systems is HFC-427A.

Anytime a group of contractors get together, have you noticed that it only takes a few minutes for the conversation to get around to how low-price competitors are making it difficult to do business in their market?

It’s a tough crowd of consumers out there. According to distributors, consumer behavior is leading to a drop-off in the replacement market, as well as a drop-off in the high-end market. Yet despite these worrisome trends, distributors are still seeing areas of growth and employing smart tactics to keep their businesses in good shape.

“An epidemic of moisture-related problems are causing more system failures today than ever before in the history of air conditioning and refrigeration,” said Paul Appler, a technical speaker at the state of Alabama’s mandated Continuing Education Program for HVACR Contractors.

Properly sizing and installing the suction line of a refrigeration system is very important to its overall operation. What happens when they aren’t installed properly and how can you avoid this?