Peter Powell

The June 7 column looked at opportunities for refrigeration installation and service work in the supermarket sector. This column takes a look at the same possibilities in the restaurant industry. The restaurant viewpoint comes from information at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.

As of the first of the year, tighter efficiency standards were issued for Energy Star recognition. And at both the National Restaurant Association (NRA) show and Food Marketing Institute (FMI) expo, exhibitors were promoting refrigeration products that either have already been certified to those standards, or were in line to win approval.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking to step up its measurement of greenhouse gas emissions and has included refrigerant manufacturing in the calculations. It is a proposal that appears to be raising concerns among refrigerant manufacturers over reporting expectations, the amount of data expected, and questions of business confidentiality.

Many schools that provide the basics in HVACR training are saying the baseline of those basics seems to be getting higher and higher. To find out what kind of training is going on - and to see how that lines up with what the industry needs - The NEWS contacted a number of instructors to find out about their programs and expectations.

This is the time of the year, when the do-it-yourself sections of local newspapers offer advice concerning residential air conditioners.

When I was in college my goal was to have a job that would let me live in a big city so I didn’t have to own a car, could rely on public transportation, and enjoy all a big city had to offer.

In the July 5 and Sept. 6 issues of The NEWS, there is going to be a lot of talk about food and drink. Much of the material comes from the Food Marketing Institute’s FMI 2010 and the 2010 National Restaurant Association (NRA) Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show®. A major topic at these shows was food and drink safety.

I’m not a gambler these days. In the olden days, when I had a business trip to Las Vegas I’d take a set amount of money. If I lost that, I’d walk away; if I doubled my money, I’d walk away.

A space for fuel efficient vehicles is just part of a massive $13 million project designed to earn the Physical Education Center (PEC) at Rock Valley College a high profile in environmental and energy efficiency initiatives, as well as Gold certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

The chiller sector is setting its sights on a Star - particularly legislation dubbed “Building Star” offering potentially billions of dollars in incentives for energy retrofit on buildings. When that is factored in with adjusting to environmental regulations, hopes for a recovering economy and equipment innovations, there results a four-fold approach to keeping a vital sector of HVACR moving forward.