A few weeks ago, The NEWS hung out at a couple of distributorships to talk with people about the coming transition from HCFC to HFC refrigerants, particularly the change from R-22 to R-410A in new equipment, as of Jan. 1, 2010. We met with some less-than-informed people, most of whom were otherwise very sharp business people.

I believe the people I met will be able to adequately handle the task of putting in a new R-410A unit in my house, and I would gladly hire them - when they are ready.

However, most of them haven’t started getting ready to install that kind of a unit. So, I’m not calling them just yet.

There is currently a lot of misinformation floating around. Go to www.achrnews.com/countdownto2010 to watch a funny video. It may not actually be ready for prime time television on “The World’s Funniest Videos” but what you hear might shock you.

If you are not shocked, or at least a little entertained, please send me your contact information because we will be shooting more videos.

Luckily, if you are looking at the above-mentioned Website, you are at a great starting point. The Countdown to 2010 is a microsite developed by The NEWS to serve as an informational resource for the industry.

In addition to videos and featured articles, you will also find refrigeration updates (an ever-changing scenario given the Environmental Protection Agency’s plundering into this industry), a weekly poll of hot topics, and best of all - a countdown clock to remind you to get off your butt before you run out of time.