Over 60,000 visitors attended the 2016 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating (AHR) Expo to exhibit and explore innovations from around the world. The show offered attendees an opportunity to learn about new technologies and products through exhibitor booths, seminars, courses, technical papers, technical committees, as well as the ability to learn through interaction with others in the industry.
A nationally-recognized industry organization named ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America) provides a good resource on this topic. While Emerson is not affiliated with ACCA or otherwise endorsing this organization, this non-profit organization has been around for over 40 years and includes more than 60,000 professionals, along with 4,000 businesses in the indoor environment and energy services community.
We have been working on a video series about designing a state-of-the-art air conditioning system for a large, new construction home near Knoxville, TN. Along the way, we began calling this the “Mega House” due to its physical size and the scope of the project.
Over 500 contractors, OEMs, and facility managers registered to attend this one hour online presentation. Over 90% of attendees rated the webinar as good or excellent and said the content provided a great understanding of how different types of compressors work.
There are a few updates to Tax Credits and Incentives in 2015. The reinstated 2012 HVAC tax credits (25C) for certain equipment is now expired as of 12/31/2014. However, there are a few new incentives that homeowners should be aware of.
The breadth of electronics and other controls being displayed was astounding. I expected the majority of the show to be the traditional duct work, compressor, and system level components.
The air conditioning and heat pump efficiency regulations that went into effect on January 1, 2015 will only affect new equipment, including both the indoor and outdoor units. General repairs to an existing system should not be affected unless the whole indoor or outdoor units are replaced. For example, the cost of replacing a part or general maintenance costs should not be affected.
The new efficiency standards going into effect on 1/1/15 do not really address any questions about refrigerants directly. However, we believe the new regulations will have some indirect effects on demand for R22 dry charge systems since almost all of the dry charge units today are 13 SEER and there will be restrictions on where 13 SEER can be used after the regulations change.
The minimum allowable energy efficiency for residential air conditioners is changing on Jan. 1, 2015, as discussed in our last update on this topic. The Department of Energy (DOE) periodically increases energy efficiency standards as technology evolves and higher efficiency systems become more affordable.
