What the Future Holds for HVAC

After a two-year hiatus, the ASHRAE Winter Conference and the AHR Expo is back, this time held in Las Vegas from January 29 through February 2. Although the event alternates between four preselected cities, it seemed appropriate for Vegas to be this year’s site. First, everyone had been cooped up in the house, social distancing and just needing a break – Sin City was the perfect place for this (though safety precautions were always at the forefront and the casinos held firm to the mask mandates). In addition, Vegas has plenty of outdoor attractions, including ziplining, touring the Hoover Dam and walking the Strip itself to see the famous Fountains of Bellagio and other sights, so there was plenty to do during our downtime.

HAWA sent me and Mechanical Department Manager Andy Fouss to this year’s conference, and I attended the tradeshow portion of the event. It came as no surprise that the biggest attractions revolved around indoor air quality and energy efficiency. There were also plenty of great exhibits on ultraviolet light, bipolar ionization and filtration, but I was more interested in the latest chillers and refrigerants. One particular chiller, manufactured by Smardt, utilizes R515B, R1234ze and R513A. It was exciting to see the what the future holds for the HVAC industry. The trip was great – we met other engineers who were passionate about their fields, we learned a lot about what is coming up in engineering design technology and equipment, and we got to enjoy the casinos and other fun activities Vegas has to offer. Want to see how our experience can shape your upcoming projects? Reach out today and let’s chat.