“This app’s focus is to bring access of the OPI (online product information) database directly to the HVACR service industry,” said Jeff Lichty, director of product management for HVACR technologies at Emerson. “As Emerson marks 100 years of its Copeland technology, this app is solving industry challenges by providing users with a seamless experience.”

Refrigeration technician Tony Wiese, the co-owner, with wife Lisa, of L.A.W. Refrigeration Co. in Highland Lakes, New Jersey, said he uses the app every day.

What does he like about it? “There’s really nothing I don’t like about it,” Wiese said.

Wiese works exclusively on ice cream-making and -storage equipment: batch freezers, soft-serve machines, continuous freezers, and the like. Most of the equipment he services includes Copeland-brand components, such as compressors and condensers.

With the Copeland Mobile, he said, “I can actually pull up the drawings. I can get the application engineering bulletins.” The tool for diagnosing compressor issues is “100% on the money every time,” Wiese said.

The app helps him quickly identify the components he needs for a job, Wiese said, which puts him ahead of the game.

“My suppliers, they love me because I call them up and I say, ‘I need this,’” Wiese said. “These days, the average guy is saying, ‘What is this?’”

Lichty said the Copeland Mobile is an important resource at a time when many HVACR technician jobs are unfilled, as it makes work easier for those techs still in the field.

“It provides real-time alerts and on-the-go access to product, installation, and service information for technicians to best support customers,” he said.

The app even has a warranty search function that tells techs whether a specific compressor or condensing unit is under warranty or not.

Lichty said Emerson spent six to eight months studying competitors’ apps, getting feedback from customers, and conducting interviews and focus-group discussions before redesigning the app. He said Emerson will continue to engage with contractors and app users to identify ways to improve it.

Wiese said he’s constantly recommending Copeland Mobile to others in the trade. A technician friend in another state sometimes phones him for advice, Wiese said, and his first response is always the same.

“I always bust his chops, ‘Did you check it with the app?’” Wiese said with a chuckle.

WaterFurnace International’s Symphony Contractor Connect (SCC), a mobile app that helps contractors install, start up, diagnose, and maintain WaterFurnace geothermal equipment, grabs the Silver in Contractor Services & Software.

WaterFurnace introduced SCC last August after three years of research, and its developers used insights gained from contractor focus groups in forming it, said Chris Manz, the company’s director of residential product marketing.

The app has a charge-assist mode that recommends the amount of refrigerant needed based on a system’s equipment and line-set length. The app will then run the system in both heating and cooling modes to make sure it’s properly charged, and signal when the charge is complete.

“This ensures that the system gets charged accurately for optimal performance,” Manz said.

SCC also has a system troubleshooting feature, built-in calculators to help techs with calculations needed for working on geothermal systems, and a component lookup and ordering tool for obtaining replacements parts. Those features, Manz said, give “the contractor with a much quicker installation, more reliable diagnosis, and resolution of service issues.”

SCC also provides techs with access to specification catalogs, installation manuals, troubleshooting and training videos, and a searchable knowledge base.

Launched in October 2021, fyxify portyl, a computer-based platform for home services businesses, takes the bronze in Contractor Services & Software.

Darren Dixon, the founder and CEO of fyxify LLC, a software company, described fyxify portyl as “a complete residential home services management super platform” that incorporates a data-driven management function, a service-dispatching system, and an interactive sales guide that walks users through a “high-converting” sales process, among other features.

Nearly 30 years of research went into the product, and formal development of fyxify portyl began in 2018. The program’s diagnostic function, Dixon said, ensures that a comprehensive diagnosis is done for every service or maintenance appointment so that all options can be offered to the customer. The trademarked portyl system, in the sales guide function, applies artificial intelligence (AI) to the sales process, Dixon said.

“Fyxify restores trust between the relationship of the technician and the consumer, offering a consistent, guided consumer experience,” Dixon said.

See All 2022 Dealer Design Award Winners