New York HVAC Insider News

Industry Supports Education and Packs HVAC Excellence Educators Conference.

A group of nearly 550 dedicated individuals packed the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2011 HVAC Excellence National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference (NHETC).   

Nearly 1,200 schools in the United States have HVACR programs. Having nearly 550 people attend the NHETC is a testament to the dedication HVACR instructors have towards helping their student’s succeed. The National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference is an annual event dedicated to providing continuing education for HVACR educators and trainers. The train-the-trainer boot camp had over seventy sessions to attend, and an equal number of exhibitor tables to visit. 

Sessions covered: new and changing technologies, changes in federal legislation, energy efficiency, best practices, training techniques that work, and green and sustainable technologies. Gordon Holness, P.E. the immediate past president of the American Society of Heating Refrigeration Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) provided the keynote address. He stated that 80% of the buildings that technicians will be working on in twenty years, already exist today. 

With the rise of China, India and other growing economies, energy consumption cannot keep up with our growing demand. The only way in which we will meet our goals is to change the mindset of technicians and building occupants. Keilly Witman J.D., program manager for the United Stated Environmental Protection Agency GreenChill Partnership program provided an overview of the GreenChill program. She explained how commercial application users have long been allowed an annualized leak rate of 35%. This leak rate seriously effects; energy efficiency, system performance, and the environment. 

Ryan M. Colker J.D., Director of the Consultative Council for the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) discussed how high-performance has become the latest buzzword in the buildings industry, but what it really means and how does it translate to the actual work in the HVACR industry. Numerous trends are emerging within the building community that can lead to a fundamental shift in how technicians perform their jobs. NIBS is a not for profit organization created by the government to advise congress and the White House on best practices for energy efficiency.

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Nick Strickland, the Market Development Manager for E.I. du Pont Nemours and Company™ discussed ISCEON ™ MO99™ M099 refrigerant. This one gas can be used in both Air conditioning and Refrigeration DX systems to replace R-22. This unique refrigerant combines similar R-22 pressure-enthalpy characteristics with mineral oil compatibility in a zero ozone depleting refrigerant compliant with the U.S. Clean Air Act. 

Classes were conducted by industry leaders from: Carrier, Daikin, Emerson, the United Association, Genteq, International Code Council, and other leading organizations. There was a great deal of interest in learning about a national energy auditor training and certification program developed for the Federal Government. Erik Rasmussen provided an overview of the 800- contact hour curriculum. 

The program consists of 13 individual modules, allowing instructors to partially integrate the program into their curriculum or offer it as a standalone energy auditing program. During the conference over 100 persons took the time to take various educator exams in an attempt to earn the prestigious title of Certified Master HVACR Educator (CMHE). 

HVAC Excellence took time during a general session to acknowledge the educators in attendance who had earned the prestigious title in the last year. Programmatic accreditation continues to grow, the HVAC Excellence accreditation teams traveled over 100,000 miles last year while visiting 26 campuses. There are now accredited programs in twenty three states. During a general session, HVAC Excellence took the time to acknowledge the programs in attendance that were accredited in 2010. 

The 2012 HVAC Excellence National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference will be held March 18- 20, 2012 at the South Point Hotel, in Las Vegas, NV. The full conference program, photos are available at www.hvacexcellence.org by clicking on the conference button.

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