Are the rooftop units you install, service, and/or maintain ready for the summer? There isn’t a lot of work involved in the actual switching over of a rooftop unit from winter to summer use, but the units still call for attention.

This is the fourth article in a five-article economic series offering tools and suggestions to help contractors cope during these tough and changing economic times.

How do you fit in not only an upflow furnace, but also the larger 13 SEER or higher A coils and other equipment in an installation? That was the dilemma that Karl Skog, owner, Crosslake Sheetmetal, Crosslake, Minn., and others at the company wrestled with and ultimately resolved with the creation of a counter flow box.

Motoring down the aisles of the trade show floor at the International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo), show attendees couldn’t help but pass by some booths exhibiting new drives, bypasses, and motors.

The new products in the hydronics area added up to more than you can shake a stick at, at the 2008 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo).

Some of the big car companies were out in force at the International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo), showing off their latest models of trucks. Show goers climbed in the cabs and looked at the storage space of the different vehicles offered for commercial use.

Recognizing the importance of the function of HVAC equipment in making people comfortable in their daily lives, The NEWS honors those units in the HVAC Commercial Equipment category of the fourth annual Dealer Design Awards.

In the Ventilation Products category of the Dealer Design Awards, a plastic trunk line take off took off and achieved a high enough score to receive the gold in the fourth annual contest. Fans received the next two highest positions.

To recognize those units that advance home heating and air conditioning and attain new levels of installation, maintenance, and service ease, The NEWS’ presents three awards in the HVAC High Efficiency Residential Equipment category of the fourth annual Dealer Design Awards.

Just like a great baseball team needs a top-notch manager, HVAC equipment needs a control system to call the shots and communicate well with other components. Three products earned such managerial honors in the Residential Controls (including zoning) category of The NEWS’ fourth annual Dealer Design Awards.