While IAQ can be an integral part of an HVAC installation, not every consumer is aware how or why these products are necessary. That education must come from the contractor. And, those who present solutions through an informal, low-pressure approach seem to have the most success.
As the weather gets colder and we crank up the heat inside our homes to compensate, humidity levels tend to drop significantly, especially in the coldest regions of the country. Homeowners often turn to humidifiers to moisten the air, which, in turn, helps keep their skin from cracking and eyes from itching.
Suncoast Technical College in Sarasota, Florida, has become a de facto testing ground for a unique student training program that Direct Energy plans to roll out nationwide over the course of 2016.
By expanding its offerings and locations, administrators at Blackhawk Technical College are hoping to increase the number of qualified technicians, as well. In August 2014, the college moved its two-year HVAC program, as well as other manufacturing programs, into a new 105,000-square-foot facility, which is situated away from the school’s central campus.
While online training may have initially been scoffed at by seasoned technicians, it’s now becoming a quality complement to community colleges, tech schools, and apprenticeship programs. And, as more and more options present themselves, HVACRedu.net remains a reputable place for contractors to turn for online education.
What if, instead of a prospective star athlete sitting at the podium, it was a potential HVAC technician? Would this drum up interest in HVAC? What if the industry treated its future prospects as the stars that they are?
HVAC contractors must develop policies and procedures for technicians that please non-smokers, yet don’t vilify those who do smoke. It’s a problem with no easy answer; one that is likely greyer than the cloud of smoke at the end of a cigarette.
Hydronics is simply the use of water to transfer conditioned air from one medium to another. For many HVAC contractors, offering these services has extended a worthy return on investment.
Traditionally, the approach of winter means a rise in fuel prices along with a steep drop in temperatures, but this year is looking to defy those expectations. Heating oil prices have fallen in several states. According to the U.S. Energy Information Association (EIA), those price drops are the beginning of a long-term trend rather than a short-term reprieve.
The 30 percent federal tax credit for residential geothermal heating and cooling installations (as well as solar and wind) is set to expire at the end of 2016. This is an irrefutable fact, but everything else surrounding the tax credit remains in a state that is best described as limbo.