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An investment in innovation came to fruition as Emerson officially introduced its $35 million Helix Innovation Center on April 27. The 40,000-square-foot center, located on the University of Dayton campus, will serve as a commercial building controls and HVAC technology lab.

The Service World Expo announced HVAC industry icons Ron Smith and Matt Michel will share the podium for a special “Legends of the Industry” presentation at the inaugural Service World Expo, to be held at the Tropicana Hotel, Oct. 26-27, 2016, in Las Vegas.

The HVAC industry is not immune to this growing trend for on-demand services. Last year, on-demand behemoth Amazon launched Amazon Home Services, offering 15 million service listings across more than 900 professional services, including HVAC. Amazon joins Home Advisor, Thumbtack, and others offering these types of middlemen services to connect homeowners with contractors.

Dozens of major manufacturers are now offering a variety of training options ranging from short online offerings to extensive on-location training in hopes of making ductless HVAC a worthwhile investment for consumers and contractors.  

According to Navigant Research, annual revenue from energy-efficient HVAC systems will grow from $17.2 billion in 2013 to $33.2 billion by 2020. With ductless systems set to account for nearly 30 percent of all North American energy-efficient HVAC system revenue by 2020, the market for both single- and multi-zone ductless systems is booming.

While VRF technology has had a strong footprint in Japan and Europe for decades, it’s still maturing and gaining widespread acceptance throughout North America. And as the market matures and evolves, manufacturers are enhancing and improving their ductless offerings, including those featuring VRF technology.

The latest forum was held Feb. 18 in Atlanta and was highlighted by Drusilla Hufford, director, stratospheric protection division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who gave a national and global regulatory update, as well as Rajan Rajendran, vice president, systems innovation center and sustainability, Emerson Climate Technologies, who briefed attendees on refrigerant and energy regulations.

At the recent ACCA Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, The NEWS had the opportunity to speak with three HVAC manufacturing executives about the issues facing the industry. 

Historically, the most common HVAC company names were typically family-named or alphabetical, which helped the positioning in media that listed companies A to Z. It’s important for HVAC contractors to break through all the clutter and noise in the market and be memorable.

Through the contest, student teams currently enrolled in two- and four-year colleges, universities, trade/tech schools, and apprenticeship programs tested their — and Fluke Connect software’s — skills, innovation, and business applications.