LG is no longer positioning itself as a brand focused on add-on rooms and ductless applications. Instead, the company is emphasizing its ability to serve an entire home or building — from HVAC systems to electronics and even surfaces like countertops — according to Terry Frisenda, executive sales manager at LG Electronics.

“LG is everywhere!” said Doug Bougher, director of applied VRF sales.

That broader positioning also explains LG’s growing focus on data centers, which featured prominently during the company’s press conference and across the 2026 AHR Expo floor.

Data centers are “hot across the globe,” said Mark Ardire, director of sales for chillers at LG. LG’s chiller products are beginning to be installed in the U.S. this month, he said, after being introduced to the market at last year’s AHR Expo.

Modern data centers can require “dozens or hundreds” of chillers, Ardire said, and their energy demands are immense. He described them as “hogs,” noting that the massive electrical load created by computing equipment drives demand for increasingly efficient HVAC systems so that more energy can be devoted to the chips themselves.

Ardire likened the relationship to the human brain. Just as people struggle to think clearly when they’re low on energy, he said, data center chips — the “brain” of the facility — need ample energy to function effectively.

As data centers become more prevalent, HVAC technicians will need to adapt their skill sets accordingly. Ardire said servicing these systems will be far more technology-driven than traditional residential or light commercial work.

For many, he said, the image of an HVAC technician still means “a guy with a set of gauges looking at a unit in the back yard.”

Those days are gone.

Ardire compared the shift to the auto repair industry.

“If your mechanic only has a wrench, you’ve got a problem,” he said. “You need a laptop.”

The same, he said, now applies across HVACR.