“That detail immediately tells a story; these are matched components from the same manufacturer, and designed to work together as a fully integrated compression system,” Chavez said. “The result is a refrigeration circuit that has been engineered, tested, and validated for compatibility at both the component level and the complete unit level, giving contractors added confidence.” 

Dr. Nasim Rahman, senior product manager at Lennox, said a contractor is also likely to note how familiar the unit feels.  

“It has the same look and feel as the gas/electric units they already know, uses the same controller and app, and follows the same commissioning path,” Rahman said. “That familiarity helps build confidence from day one, making installation, commissioning, and service feel more approachable for contractors who are working with the unit for the first time.” 

The Strategos is designed to be retrofit-ready, easily adapting to existing building infrastructure, including current unit footprints, electrical requirements, and other key replacement considerations. 

“By helping reduce the risks, complexity, and added costs that can come with retrofit projects, Strategos opens the door for high-efficiency, low-ambient heat pump technology to be applied in places where traditional rooftop equipment has been in service for years,” Chavez said. 

Rahman added that the Strategos was purposefully designed to combat one of the biggest barriers to commercial heat pump adoption — electrical upgrades.  

“Strategos addresses that head-on by intentionally balancing performance with electrical compatibility - so it works in the real world, not just on paper,” Rahman said.  

While a lot of design work went into the Strategos, Chavez said one of the things the engineers are most proud of is the relationships they built with customers throughout the development process.  

“Customer input played a critical role in helping us understand the technologies needed to solve the everyday challenges facility managers, technicians, and installers face in keeping equipment running, improving uptime, and reducing utility spend,” Chavez said. “These relationships helped us build solutions that are practical and grounded in the day-to-day needs of the people who install, service, and operate the equipment.” 

Immediate feedback from the field has simply been excitement — the contractors are loving the fact that it’s a variable-speed heat pump that installs and services like traditional units they're already familiar with, and it’s giving them the ability to offer reduced installation infrastructure costs.   

“The engineering community is exploring Strategos use where heat pumps have not been considered either operationally or economically viable before,” Chavez said. “Building owners are leveraging the unit's efficiency across a wide range of climates and still benefit from the simplicity of design, which allows for maintenance without extensive training or specialized tools.” 

Rahman noted Lennox is also the only manufacturer with a direct-to-customer model.   

“This powerful differentiator enables close partnership with large national accounts and design solutions around real customer needs,” Rahman said. “Over the past three years, our product and engineering teams have worked side by side — meeting over 50 times — with our national partners to develop our most advanced heat pump platform to date.” 

The success of the Strategos has been a point of pride for Lennox, and being voted the best commercial product of the year by ACHR NEWS readers is just another layer of validation.   

“Winning the HVAC All-Star Award is a meaningful validation of our commitment to customers and the work behind Strategos,” Chavez said. “This recognition reflects the time spent listening to contractors, engineers, facility managers, and building owners, and then turning that feedback into a platform designed to meet industry needs for many years to come.”

HONORABLE MENTIONS

R-32 READY: The Daikin VRV EMERION Heat Pump & Heat Recovery Unit is a new R-32 VRF system designed to simplify installation, maintenance, commissioning, and monitoring for commercial applications. Image courtesy of Daikin

Daikin VRV EMERION Heat Pump & Heat Recovery Unit 

The Daikin VRV EMERION Heat Pump & Heat Recovery Unit earned an honorable mention for bringing lower-GWP refrigerant, faster communication, remote diagnostics, and expanded connectivity to commercial VRF applications. 

Available from 6 to 40 tons in heat pump and heat recovery models, the system uses R-32 refrigerant to support the industry’s transition to lower-GWP solutions. It also incorporates Daikin’s D4 communications protocol, with D4 net providing larger data volume and communication speeds up to 30 times faster than D3 net. The system also integrates with Daikin HERO, the company’s remote monitoring and diagnostics platform. 

For technicians, features such as auto addressing, remote field settings, faster diagnostics, smaller piping, and lower refrigerant charge are designed to simplify installation, commissioning, and service compared with previous R-410A systems. By combining R-32 refrigerant, D4 communication, Smart VRT, expanded operating ranges, reduced refrigerant charge, and remote monitoring, VRV EMERION supports the A2L transition while improving efficiency, comfort, and serviceability in commercial buildings.

Image courtesy of Bosch Home Comfort

Bosch Home Comfort SkyQ

Bosch Home Comfort’s SkyQ earned an honorable mention for offering small to mid-sized commercial buildings a more accessible path to advanced HVAC controls. 

Designed to provide system-wide control without the complexity and cost of traditional building automation systems, SkyQ connects rooftop units, sensors, thermostats, and field devices through a centralized platform. The system integrates with both new R-454B and existing R-410A packaged and split light commercial systems with Smart Equipment controls. It also includes network and zone controllers, wireless adapters, variable airflow controls, sensors, thermostats, and I/O modules. 

For contractors, SkyQ is designed to streamline installation, simplify commissioning, and reduce callbacks through a pre-programmed controls platform. A unified interface with dashboards, dynamic graphics, cloud connectivity, and desktop or mobile app control gives contractors and building owners improved visibility into system performance. By making advanced controls easier to install and operate, SkyQ helps light commercial buildings improve comfort, efficiency, and uptime without requiring overly complex controls infrastructure.