HVAC Residential Market

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More than 200 contractors from three countries descended on the Peach Tree State April 6-8 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta to attend Service Nation Inc.’s Atlanta International Roundtable meeting.

This system demonstrates how modern hydronics technology can be used to harmonize the operation of two high-efficiency heat sources — one renewable and the other conventional.

Anyone can buy a bunch of high-quality components, stick them together, keep the water on the inside, and call it a hydronic heating system. It’s not that difficult. The real skill of an exceptional professional lies in understanding what these different components do and then picking the ones that will work together best for each individual system.

Due to its ability to fire at two distinct rates, this product provides energy-efficient heat that can effectively adjust to sudden high heat-loss conditions or economically maintain steady comfort levels. 

Just about every manufacturer recommends homeowners have their air-source heat pumps serviced twice a year — once in the spring and once in the fall. Most believe that semi-annual maintenance helps keep equipment operating at peak performance and ensures the unit is ready for the heat of summer or cold of winter.

When a couple of do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners cited how easy it was to install their respective equipment themselves and how little skill was needed, it begged the question: With the current skilled labor shortage, are HVAC systems destined to become plug-and-play appliances?

Up until recently, sales of air-source heat pumps were on a tear, growing from 1.6 million units in 2009 to 2.3 million units in 2014, according to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). But, in 2015, sales of heat pumps slipped 3.6 percent from the previous year.

Not that long ago, if a conversation centered on heat pumps, it was fairly safe to assume that the equipment referred to ducted, split-system, electric, air-source units. That assumption started to change a few years ago with the growing popularity of ductless heat pumps.