The AHR Expo is the first big HVACR show of the year, and for good reason. How can contractors and other HVACR professionals resist the chance to walk aisle after aisle of innovative products? Nothing like thousands of product ideas to make you feel like getting down to work, and forgetting what people say about the economy. This year's Expo provided a welcome respite from depressing headlines.

AHR Expo show managers report more than 1,800 companies were on hand for 35,000 HVACR professionals at the 62nd AHR Expo in Orlando, January 25-27.

Hope still exists that business will pick up soon.

"We expect that there is already some pent up demand for new products and technologies and that thousands of buyers from around the world will be coming to the show to make purchasing decisions," said Clay Stevens, president of International Exposition Company, the show organizer.
In addition to the numerous products on display, industry experts provided valuable educational perspectives on leading technical topics, including energy efficiency, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), energy saving and reclaiming, and building control and automation. Green building initiatives and sustainability were also hot topics of discussion.

Contractors in Search Of . . .
Craig Mathias, president, Math Mechanical, Inc., a commercial/industrial contractor based in Portsmouth, VA, was overwhelmed by the product offerings at AHR Expo.

"There's so much great stuff here; the green products, and solar products interest me, and I've seen some things I'm going to be using. I wouldn't have known about them if I hadn’t come to the show," he said.

Mathias was also looking for franchise opportunities that would help him expand his business into other areas. He succeeded by finding two such opportunities he’s now exploring.

Dave Yates, of F.W. Behler Inc., York, PA, made the journey to AHR Expo in search of enhanced wireless controls to integrate HVAC systems for homes and businesses.

"I think wireless is the future for the HVACR industry," Yates said. "We found about three dozen control systems, at different levels of sophistication. They're still a relatively expensive item, but they're coming down in cost. Eventually, their simplicity will drive the business with contractors."

Mathias, Yates, and thousands of other HVACR contractors realize that their success is up to them, and that’s why they came to AHR Expo. Here's a sampling of what they took in. (For information on all products shown, visit http://bit.ly/CBproductinfo.)

MovinCool
The MovinCool® CM25 self-contained, ceiling-mounted air conditioner offers a very high cooling capacity for an air conditioner of its class, but at a lower cost than conventional solutions, such as precision cooling systems. It has a total cooling capacity of 25,000 Btu/h and a high sensible cooling capacity of 18,900 Btuh.
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Fulton
Fulton introduced the Reliance high-efficiency hydronic boiler. Designed for non-condensing hydronic heating applications, this newest addition to the Fulton line of commercial heating products features a copper finned tube heat exchanger with a stainless steel heat exchanger jacket. Pulse width modulation with 5:1 turndown capabilities and a variable-speed blower motor ensure precise load matching to maintain building temperatures.
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Eternal
The Eternal condensing hybrid water heater is designed for extremely easy installation. It can be wall mounted or floor standing, with water connections on the unit’s top. The Eternal condensing hybrid features a full modulation infrared burner that is dual activated by both a thermostat similar to a tank, or flow sensing similar to tankless.
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Danfoss
Danfoss’s EcoFlow™ expansion valve solves the challenge of achieving balanced distribution of refrigerant in air conditioning systems, and maldistribution in evaporator circuits. "The solution is adaptive distribution," said Stephen Gugliotta, vice president, Danfoss Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Controls, North America. "EcoFlow handles everything automatically, constantly monitoring the flow of refrigerant into the evaporator and adjusting the flow to each circuit independently," Gugliotta said.
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Honeywell Analytics
Honeywell Analytics' gas monitoring tools are helping facility owners and managers, and building contractors improve the way they manage a building's energy requirements. E3Point is a new gas detector for the commercial building industry that sources describe as more flexible and adaptable, to serve the widest range of applications. It works as a standalone device or within a network.E3Point can be configured to detect one gas or two gases. It works with virtually all communication protocols or building automation systems, including Modbus or BACnet. It connects to a wireless gas monitoring system, such as Honeywell's 301W wireless gas monitor and 301C controller, to form a hybrid wired/wireless gas monitoring system.
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