When we arrived in Chicago for AHR Expo this year, we were excited to have the opportunity to chat with industry professionals about the latest trends in everything HVAC, hydronic balancing and sustainability. This year’s show did not disappoint! Absorbing as much as we could by attending various educational sessions, we left Chicago feeling ready for more. Even the chilly, windy weather and dreaded bus lines couldn’t deter our excitement. If you were at the show this year, then you know what we’re talking about: the hustle and bustle of the crowd as it anxiously awaited the opening of the expo hall was one of our favorite parts of each day.
Keep reading for our thoughts on AHR Expo 2012.
At our booth this year, we featured the Victaulic Advanced Groove System (AGS) for 14-60″/350-1525 mm pipe, various hydronic balancing products, our new Vic-Press™ system, and our ever-popular QuickVic® installation-ready line, which still elicits marvelous reactions. We also discussed the successes we experienced on projects including Chicago’s own Trump Tower. For those who couldn’t make it to the show, we shared takeaways from several of the educational sessions via Twitter and our blog. Here’s a quick recap:
Day 1
The first session we covered discussed the best methods for making invisible green metrics “visible” with Jim Sinopoli and Ken Sinclair. Expanding upon why it is so important to use graphics or a dashboard to show the effects green applications have on a facility, we walked away with some real insight into the reporting aspect of green manufacturing.
Next, we dug a little deeper into building automation with Ken Sinclair, Jim Sinopoli, Anno Scholten, Anto Budiarjo and John Petze. A follow-up to the previous session, we learned how open-source technologies are leading to bold new advancements in the building automation industry with OpenADR’s unprecedented methods of automation.
Day 2
Earl Delatte and Erik Rasmussen led us through an interactive session in which we discussed system performance verification and the detailed processes behind metrics technicians use every day. Relating these processes to achieving increased efficiency and comfort, this was a good session to gain a little background on the terms HVAC professionals take for granted.
The last session we covered this year dissected the reasons why it is so important to make your HVAC system more sustainable and discussed a few strategies for using building automation to increase sustainability. Ben Dorsey of BACnet International walked us through some methods for reducing operational and maintenance costs by utilizing a BAS.
All in all, AHR Expo was quite a success this year, as you can see from the headline in ASHRAE Journal’s Show Daily:
ASHRAE conducted a survey about HVAC professionals’ thoughts on the show this year as well as the industry in general. Among the more interesting questions and responses were the following:
When asked how they would rate their business prospects for 2012, 58 people said “excellent,” 225 said “good,” 93 said “fair,” and only 17 people said “poor.”
The trend toward green buildings and sustainability was also apparent. ASHRAE asked industry professionals how they were being affected by this trend, and 91 people said they were being affected “a lot,” 205 said they were being affected “some,” and 86 said they were being affected “very little.”
In terms of motivation, ASHRAE wanted to know what was driving people to embrace sustainable business strategies, and 108 people mentioned “personal benefits,” 96 said “company culture,” 47 said “regulation,” 85 said “financial rewards,” and 77 said “keeping up with the competition.”
An interesting survey to show us where the HVAC industry is headed this year, it’s safe to assume the trend behind green building and sustainability will continue to flourish and advance.
Well that about wraps it up for AHR Expo 2012! It was great to meet so many new faces and catch up with old friends. Thanks for following along with our coverage. We’ll see you next year in Dallas!
