Quiet, dependable service that is easy to install and maintain brought three manufacturers recognition in The NEWS’ fourth annual Dealer Design Awards’ Refrigeration & Ice Machines category.

This year, The NEWS’ fourth annual Dealer Design Awards’ HVAC Residential Equipment category winners offer homeowners the potential of achieving their energy savings goals and contractors the ability to sell and service home comfort confidently.

The tools of the HVAC trade can include many different things including training, certification, and marketing. After great deliberation in The NEWS’ fourth annual Dealer Design Awards’ Tools category, judges named the winners who were greatly focused on convenience, accuracy, and reliability.

Information is power, and the more power a contractor has to inform end users, the greater the ability to meet end users’ needs and increase profits. The NEWS’ fourth annual Dealer Design Awards’ Testing & Monitoring Products category winners found themselves at the top of the information pile.

Supply chain participants, no longer only a local connection, are now global partners that daily rely on technological advances to be successful. One such advance is radio frequency identification (RFID). With widespread RFID usage on the horizon, having a basic knowledge of the technology is necessary.

Add climbing up and down ladders, stairs, and scaffolds to an already strenuous schedule and oppressive heat, and contractors could find themselves short a technician. John Topper, a 22-year veteran of the HVAC industry, considered each of these burdens when he designed The Liftworx Systems™.

The UltraTech™ communicating system, which will be available later this year, is designed to share information system-wide, improving the installation and reducing callbacks.

According to the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), April’s combined air conditioning and air-source heat pump shipments were up 7 percent over last year, totaling 559,774. The year-to-date shipment totals, down 24 percent from 2006, are approximately 2 million units.

The UltraTech™ communicating system, which will be available later this year, is designed to share information system-wide, improving the installation and reducing callbacks.

Contractors rode much the same roller coaster that manufacturers and distributors did in 2006. The ever-changing HVAC industry and the multiple factors that affect it brought instability to the arena as contractors adapted to the challenges. The HVAC contractor market primarily mirrored 2006’s construction market. Residential HVAC experienced an expected cooling-off period, but commercial HVAC continued its three-year climb.