What's Your Future?

Posted on March 8, 2010

While many of ACCA’s Learning Labs focus on today’s challenges and what contractors can do to facilitate near-term growth in their companies, we did want to pause to take a peek into the future. We can’t provide a crystal ball, but those who attended Harvey Sachs’ presentation, “Can You Profit from Emerging HVACR Technologies and Practices?” are likely to have a better idea of what may be coming down the road, especially the energy-saving realm.

“I have the luxury of thinking of the next generation of technology to make it possible for you all to differentiate your businesses,” says Sachs of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Sachs walked workshop participants through the results of an analysis his organization did on 15 energy-saving HVAC technologies. Robust equipment, ventilation controlled by indoor air quality sensors and proxies (particularly CO2) and outdoor reset controls for residential boilers offer particularly large savings opportunities, he reported.

He presented other technologies ACEEE evaluated, but ultimately said many save much more if coupled to better installation and system designs, especially with things like heat pumps in the northern climates.

“There are people who have gone out looking for a well-installed heat pump and have had a hard time finding it,” he said. "I would argue that manufacturers have done a lousy job of making heat pumps that are hard to install wrong. I think that all-climate heat pumps with great installs could get a serious contender in the market."

There are also huge but under-studied opportunities for decreasing energy use with system approaches, such as combination space- and water-heating approaches.

Other workshops on a variety of HVACR business topics are continually presented this week in Tampa as part of ACCA’s 42nd Annual Conference and Indoor Air Expo. Read all of our blogs and news updates from the event at www.accaconference.com, or from your mobile phone at www.acca10.com.