Since its inception, air conditioning has saved lives and driven technological innovation – take a deep dive into its transformative role.

Cooling towers offer a proven and cost-effective solution for rejecting heat from condenser water and industrial processes. To maximize the operating cost savings, the fill media must be properly designed and in good condition.

The world is headed into a greener future and Johnson Controls wants to act as a leader in getting there. That will take smarter, more efficient HVAC equipment.

At this year’s AHR Expo, WaterFurnace’s booth displayed a branding system that conveys the company leadership’s commitment to the commercial market.

Across the country, state and local governments are mandating lower building emissions, pushing building owners to full electrification. Building codes and natural gas bans, however, only target new construction.

Trane Technologies and Neiman Marcus Group are collaborating to decarbonize the luxury retailer’s footprint through renewable energy, electrification, energy efficiency, and refrigerant management.

Evaporative cooling is growing in demand as cooling needs are expanding.

The cooling towers located on the roof of Granite Tower in Denver were meant to last 20 years. But at nearly 40 years, the cooling towers and fluid coolers were well past their life expectancy.

Johnson Controls has been recognized by independent analyst firm Frost & Sullivan with its Best Practices Customer Value Leadership Award for 2022.

Although evaporative cooling is great at saving energy, it does consume some water, but the benefits on energy savings outweigh the water usage, which in some places is a scarce resource.

Polymer elements in cooling towers — or entire towers made of composite materials, like Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) — can reduce the weight by up to 50%.

Creative Composites Group's acquisition of Enduro will add to CCGs suite of manufacturing capabilities and geographic reach.

The city of Phoenix sought an energy-efficient HVAC solution that would restore Phoenix Art Museum’s lost efficiency and improve the indoor climate for the museum’s specialized environment while also contributing to the city’s energy conservation goals.

Chillers use the principles of thermodynamics to remove heat from a conditioned space. But “chiller” is a broad term that encompasses system configurations, refrigeration technologies, and methods of rejecting captured heat. Experts take a closer look.

Michael Daly, chief technology officer, ECM Technologies, offers insights into the HVAC commercial market.

By splitting the absorption process into two steps, lithium bromide solution concentrations are lower in the system, enabling lower hot water temperatures within the generator, lower hot water flow rates, and the elimination of crystallization risk within the chiller.

A North Carolina-based community college replaces an aging metal-clad cooling tower with a modern HDPE unit, reducing maintenance spending while increasing efficiency.

With a double brood of cicadas forecasted to awaken, now is the time to prepare for how to deal with the mess they will leave behind and the potential damage they can do to equipment.

How does a tech know the a/c compressor he or she is diagnosing is actually failed and that the problem is not a crankcase heater, condenser fan, or rubbed out wire?

Technology is redefining how consumers control their homes. That includes everything from lighting to mood music to heating and air conditioning.

While “smart” tools and tablets are becoming more and more common in an HVAC tech’s toolbox, there are still plenty of things an app just can’t do.

Smart tools continue to grow in the HVACR industry, spurring manufacturers to create connected, digital devices that will make work in the field less manual and more automatic.

Taking home the golden honors in the Testing and Monitoring category of this year’s Dealer Design Awards is the T6 Electrical Tester from Fluke Corp. The product, first introduced to the marketplace in September 2017, went through years of research before launching.

Advancements in technology have brought a lot of opportunity to the tool market, with items like reporting, mobile apps, and wireless data transmission.

The device measures pressure, temperature, flow, and other parameters. Five different ranges are available from ±30 inches of water column to ±100 psi.

The Fieldpiece booth commanded a lot of attention on the show floor at this year’s AHR Expo in Atlanta. Those who didn’t have time to wait in line to find out why may be wondering, “What was all the rage about?”

Based on hygrometer technology, this product identifies deviations from ambient rh levels, which can cause static hazards at manufacturing sites and discomfort in homes and offices.

This product displays the temperature as real images with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and infrared images with a resolution of 33 x 33 pixels.

These products work with the Fieldpiece Job Link System App for on-the-go testing and reporting for HVACR electrical tests.

The most important features of electronic measuring devices have been established in customer surveys and are discussed in this article.

Is it time for our industry to consider using pascals for static pressure measurements? What would the transition from inches of water column to pascals look like and how hard would it be?

Technicians have the choice of using either a digital or mechanical manifold gauge. Each one has its benefits and disadvantages, which is why it may pay to own one of each kind.

Posted by Claire Dubois on Nov 11

Posted by Matt Corallo on Nov 11

Here are a few ideas that contractor can use to prime the marketing pump for this holiday.

In the past few years, the thermostat has become a cutting edge electronic. This creates new opportunities for HVAC contractors.

Thermostats are like other pieces of interactive equipment: People are thrilled by each development but move on quickly when the next feature comes along.

It’s the contractor’s job to ensure consumers understand the functionality of smart thermostats without becoming overwhelmed by the features and data.

With a little ingenuity, HVAC contractors could come out on top in the smart homes market for years to come.

The path to temperature control through smart thermostat technology is more involved than many customers realize.

When homeowners purchase a Nest product, Google will connect the customers to a qualified installer, a “Nest Pro.”

It is hard to find a contractor who does not have a firm opinion on Nest and if the company is good for the HVAC industry.

The smart thermostat market continues to get crowded.

As people spend more time at home due to the lingering effects of the pandemic, the buzzwords that come to mind are comfort and convenience. The influx of smart controls and thermostats can help fulfill these desires.

Internet-connected thermostats are gaining wider acceptance in the marketplace. About 30% of residential thermostats in the U.S. and Canada are connected thermostats.

Smart thermostats offer preventive maintenance options and rebates for customers, but contractors should be sure to get educated — and educate homeowners — on utility rebates like demand-response programs.

Programmable thermostats that can be accessed through an internet device are old hat. Here are just a few of the residential HVAC controls products featured at the Georgia World Congress Center, the host venue for this year’s Expo.

Through the new integration, ecobee thermostat owners who also own Generac home standby generators can easily see the status of the generator and remedy potential issues.

Motivated both by rising energy costs and sustainability concerns related to climate change, consumers have grown more desirous of energy-efficient living.

Since HVAC contractors are usually the ones installing the systems, not to mention performing maintenance, when necessary, their opinions on comfort controls are not to be taken lightly