Energy was not the only thing on the minds of speakers at the 17th annual Energy Efficiency Forum, co-sponsored by Johnson Controls and the United States Energy Association (USEA). National security and global warming were also topics of concern cited by the presenters.

Remodeling market trends was the topic of a presentation by Kermit Baker, senior research fellow, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Construction Forecast Conference.

Housing has remained hot in 2005, but it is expected to finally cool a bit in the 4th quarter. That's the word from David Seiders, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), speaking at the NAHB Construction Forecast Conference.

At the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Construction Forecast Conference, Michele Halickman, economist and building materials analyst for Global Insight, discussed commodity prices. Of particular interest to the HVACR industry are steel prices. "You will not have to budget as much for steel in 2006," she said.

An online survey on The News' Web site (www.achrnews.com) asked HVACR contractors if this summer's high gasoline and diesel fuel prices were hurting the profitability of their businesses. An overwhelming 91 percent answered affirmatively.

The United States needs to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, declared President George W. Bush at the 16th annual Energy Efficiency Forum, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. An important step in that direction would be to pass the energy legislation currently pending in Congress, he stated.

Just as President Bush did in his keynote address, other speakers at the 16th annual Energy Efficiency Forum also touched on this country's foreign oil dependence and the importance of energy security.

The Alliance to Save Energy's recent "Great Energy Efficiency Debate" in Washington, D.C., included a panel discussion called "Keeping U.S. Manufacturing Globally Competitive: Is Energy Efficiency a Key?"

An open-door policy, a concern for other employees, and well-compensated workers earned Calvert-Jones Co. Inc. top spot for the North Mid-Atlantic region in the The News' "Best Contractor To Work For" contest.

The latest enhancement to The News Web site, How-To Corner, will be introduced in the coming weeks to provide even more technical content to Web visitors.