February 2014 – North American HVAC Newsletter

Snow Storm Didn’t Dampen Spirits at Record-Breaking 2014 AHR Expo in NYC

Despite a storm that dropped 10 inches of snow on New York City and created a State-of-Emergency in parts of New York, the severe weather couldn’t stop thousands of determined attendees and exhibitors from filling the aisles and booths at the 2014 AHR Expo held at the Javits Convention Center in NYC, January 21-23. According to Show organizer International Exposition Company, a total of over 61,000 attendees (42,991 visitors and 18,219 exhibitor personnel) registered for the 2014 AHR Expo. HVACR professionals from all 50 states and over 130 countries braved the elements to see the latest products and technologies on display from over 1,900 exhibiting companies from around the world. Pending verification, these figures make the 2014 AHR Expo the event with the highest registered attendance in the history of the exposition. It was announced before the Show that the 2014 event had already broken the Northeast record for exhibit space reserved at 385,000 square feet. That total exceeded the old record by nearly 6 percent.

| Full Article Source: automatedbuildings.com

2014 BRG Reports Will Be Available from April 2014

BRG Building Solutions is currently working on the following 2014 reports, to be published in April:

- 18 Heating & Air-Conditioning Reports (USA, Canada, India, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and 11

European countries: Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden,

Turkey, and the United Kingdom). Research will be carried out between January and March 2014. The 2014

BRG reports due to be published in April will cover technologies such as boilers, water heaters, furnaces, air

conditioners, solar thermal and heat pumps, and include a detailed market overview, historical trends (2002-

2013) and forecasts (2014-2018), prices and market values, end use, product and technical segmentations,

distribution flows and market shares, for each product category. Each report will also include a background and

distribution section, as well as company and distributor profiles. Air-Conditioners are covered in our US,

Canadian and Indian reports only.

The remaining 29 Heating Reports will be published between mid May and mid June, and will include additional

selected countries in South America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

Our 2014 Ventilation Reports (for 18 countries) are due out in August and September 2014.

For more information on contents and pricing, or to obtain our 2014 HVAC brochure, please contact us via email

or on +1 973-347-5300

Our 2014 North American Commercial Boiler and Water Heater Report will

also also be available in April 2014. For more detailed information on developments

within the HVAC product markets and BRG’s studies, simply reply to this email. You

can also purchase our 2013 reports online.

Source: BRG

Boilers, Water Heaters’ Efficiencies Rise

Water heater and boiler manufacturers are diligently introducing high-

efficiency systems into the marketplace with the goal of making life

easier for both the contractor and the consumer. Here are some of the

latest, most advanced boilers and water heaters to hit the market.

Bradford White recently introduced its new Brute Elite™ Series of gas-

fired, modulating-condensing boilers and volume water heaters, which

features both residential and commercial boilers from 80-850 MBtuh.

| Full Article

Source: ACHR News

AHR Expo 2014 Innovation Awards Announced A geothermal heat pump from WaterFurnace, variable speed scroll compressors from Emerson Climate Technologies, and hybrid electric heat pump water heaters from Rheem Manufacturing were all category winners in the 2014 AHR Expo Innovation Awards. All winners and honorable mentions are listed by category below. The awards recognize products that best help to provide safer, healthier, more efficient, and/or more comfortable environments. The annual competition is sponsored by ASHRAE, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), and the International Exposition Company (IEC). | Full Article Source: Appliance Magazine

Solarwood

Or some ways to combine solar collectors and wood-gasification boilers. In many parts of the U.S., the summer of 2013 was a banner season for solar energy collection.

Many solar thermal systems, especially those in the over-baked western part of the country, undoubtedly collected enough heat that they reached the upper temperature limit of the storage tank and had to dump excess heat. Indeed, someone judging the performance of solar thermal systems under such conditions might be inclined to think that supply far outpaces demand.

If only this were the case in winter. But as anyone with a solar thermal system in a challenging winter climate knows, you definitely need a backup heat source during much of the winter doldrums.

Full Article Source: Supply House Times

NATE Revises Certification Program

In an effort to increase the number of certified HVAC technicians and, perhaps more importantly, recertify techs, North American Technician Excellence (NATE) has updated its certification program. NATE will now certify technicians in two years, a significant reduction from the previous five-year requirement. In addition, certification may now be maintained with proof of 16 hours of specialty-related continuing education within a two-year period.

Full Article Source: ACHR News

New Shanghai RINNAI Plant Will Double Water Heater, Gas Stove Production Rinnai Corp.'s Chinese subsidiary will build a new factory in the Fengxian District of Shanghai, China, in anticipation of future expansion of the Chinese market. Shanghai Rinnai has achieved steady growth manufacturing and selling gas hot-water units, gas boilers, gas stoves, and other appliances. Demand for gas appliances in China is predicted to keep rising, bolstered by rising worker incomes, the expansion of infrastructure, on overall economic growth.

Shanghai Rinnai’s main production base will move from Pudong to the new facility in Fengxian. The new plant will double Shanghai Rinnai’s production capacity, giving it the capable to manufacture one million hot-water units and 500,000 stoves annually.

Construction on the 67,901-square-meter facility is expected to wrap up in August 2015, with operations scheduled to start in August 2015.

Full Article Source: Appliance Magazine

Google Moves Into Home HVAC/Home Automation with NEST Acquisition

Google agreed to buy Nest Labs, Inc. for $3.2 billion in cash, maker of programmable thermostats and smoke/carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.

Nest says its mission is to reinvent "unloved" home products. The company launched in 2011 with the Nest Learning Thermostat, which can be controlled from a smartphone, and is designed to "learn" the homeowner's schedule and adjust HVAC operation accordingly.

Full Article Source: Appliance Magazine

US Housing Production at 999,000 Units in December

U.S. housing starts ended 2013 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 999,000 units in December, according to

U.S. Census Bureau. This was down from November, when the rate was quite high, but was still the third-highest

monthly production level of the year.

“This rate is in line with our builder surveys, and tells us we are seeing a return to trend after a strong November,”

said Rick Judson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a homebuilder from

Charlotte, NC.

Full Article Source: Appliance Magazine