Every day, dealers must discuss the phaseout of R-22 with customers. This can be a confusing topic for customers to comprehend, which is why manufacturers have provided dealers with all kinds of educational materials to help explain the phaseout of R-22 and the benefits of moving to R-410A.
Topp provides portable air conditioning and heating solutions from offices around the country. So it was a challenge in training the company’s many technicians in the use of R-410A. In 2008, the decision was made to bring all company technicians to the Philadelphia-area office for one- or two-day training sessions.
Not that long ago the good-better-best gas furnace options that were presented to homeowners often consisted of 90 percent, 92 percent, and 95 percent AFUE equipment, respectively. That’s all changed thanks to the federal tax credit that went into effect earlier this year.
The day Jan. 1, 2010 will bring many changes to the HVAC industry. As of that date, R-22 will no longer be available in new cooling systems manufactured in the United States or Canada, and our neighbors to the north will have a new national minimum energy performance standard for gas furnaces - a minimum fuel efficiency level of 90 percent AFUE.
Only 100 years ago, 90 percent of Americans burned wood to heat their homes. As fossil fuel use rose, the percentage of Americans using wood for fuel dropped, falling to as low as 1 percent by 1970, according to the DOE. Now that the green movement is taking hold, interest in biomass heating is resurfacing as a renewable energy alternative.
HVACR contractors and technicians are busy people who often find it difficult to attend training courses held during their hectic workdays. Though it’s important to make time for ongoing training during regular circumstances, it becomes even more crucial when a major change occurs in the industry - such as the current transition from R-22 to R-410A.
It’s not every day that a contractor has the pleasure of replacing equipment he installed more than 30 years ago. But that is all in a day’s work for Angelo Sardinha. He recently replaced the five 300,000 Btu cast iron atmospheric boilers he installed years ago at the Truesdale Clinic.
The No. 1 reason why customers choose to install a hydronic/geothermal system is comfort, according to Bill Landis, sales manager, J.K. Mechanical Inc., Willow Street, Pa. And the No. 2 reason? That would be comfort as well, he joked.
“I defy anyone to show me a building that can’t be retrofitted with hydronic radiant heat,” declared Dave Yates, president, F.W. Behler, York, Pa. “I can come up with a solution for any structure. I can’t think of any situation that would prevent us from being able to install radiant heat.”
Congress is back in session and the HVACR industry is waiting to see what the Senate has to say about the Waxman-Markey bill, H.R. 2454 - the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES). The bill, which already passed in the House, contains sweeping environmental reform that will change the way this industry and America does business.