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Trane Chillers & Contractor Service Named Best in Class

On the basis of Frost & Sullivan's independent research, 2008 U.S. HVAC Contractors' Choice: Which Manufacturer Passes the Test...

Trane emerged as the overwhelming leader in the chiller product category among U.S. HVAC contractors.

"Roughly seven out of ten U.S. HVAC contractors ranked Trane as a top chiller brand," says Frost & Sullivan Project Manager, Krishnendu Roy. "While 71 percent voted Trane as one of the top three chiller brands, what is significant is that 40 percent ranked Trane as the number one chiller brand - a 29 percent lead over the nearest competitor."

A positive reputation, coupled with loyal customers, is what positions Trane as a leader. Of the 36 percent of U.S. HVAC contractors' who reported using Trane chillers for non-residential projects/installs, all agreed that Trane was one of the top chiller brands.

The largest proportion of those surveyed said that the manufacturer's sales person is the most important source of information when deciding on purchasing an HVAC component (80 percent).

Interestingly, 22 percent made independent decisions for buying an HVAC component, while 56 percent reported that the decision for HVAC brand were jointly decided along with their customers. Thus, it appears that HVAC contractors have strong influences in choosing brands of HVAC components

The Frost & Sullivan HVAC Contractors' Choice Award is conferred on the company that has demonstrated excellence. The recipient has distinguished itself through its proactive strategies that position it to emerge or continue as an industry leader.

The Choice Awards measure the best brands based upon the highest brand perception index (BPI) score. The BPI is calculated by multiplying the weighted mean score and loyalty index score. Award recipients must have BPI scores of 10 or greater. Trane received a 10 BPI score for Overall Best Brand of Chillers.

Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Trane

Trane has over 55 years of experience providing chillers to the commercial market. Trane offers scroll, helical rotary, centrifugal and absorption chillers in capacities from 20 to 3950 tons, cooling towers and packaged combinations of all the above. Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand, improves the performance of homes and buildings around the world with solutions to optimize indoor environments with a energy-efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, building and contracting services, parts support and advanced controls for homes and commercial buildings. For more information, visit www.trane.com.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan,  enables clients in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides research and best practice models to drive growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com



Indoor Air Quality and Home Energy Efficiency Challenges

Many homes have moisture, combustion safety or indoor air quality problem that result from inadequate or non-functional energy systems.

  • It is estimated that 40% of basements in Canada are damp and for children, the health effect of living in damp environments is equal to exposure to secondhand smoke (Fugler 2007).
  • One in 15 homes in the US has elevated radon.
  • 64 million homes have lead-based paint somewhere in the building.
  • Over 20 million Americans have asthma and in 1990, asthma was the cause of 4500 deaths annually.  Many asthma triggers are found in indoor environments.
Energy improvements can potentially exacerbate or create new problems as well as fix existing problems.  We need a trained workforce to properly install energy efficiency projects.

Information and misinformation abounds and is often contradictory.  This can be overwhelming for home owners.

In many cases, true efficiency improvements are not the function of mere presence of a high efficiency product -- but rather, its appropriateness and correct installation.
Certification and quality assurance programs offered by organization help support a trained workforce.  These organizations offer programs:

  • NATE
  • BPI
  • ACCA
  • EPA Home Performance
  • Energy Star
Three paradigms influence residential energy efficiency efforts:
1. the products
2. whole house or home performance
3. sustainability strategies
Product Rebate Programs

Products that sport rebates for high-efficiency models such as Energy Star rated appliances, CFLs, LEDs and high performance air conditioners can lower product costs and increase adoption.

Rebate programs can ramp up quickly, are easy to deploy, and fairly easy to evaluate.  While widget-based rebate programs have relatively low savings per unit, the high nuber of units and low per-unit transaction cost can yield significant and cost-effective energy reductions, particularly if the market is truly transformed after the removal of the incentive. 

One problem of rebate programs is that they usually do not address site-specific selection/application, installation, measure interaction or deal with side effects.  Because of these limitations, rebates can sometimes result in lost opportunities for more significant alternatives and create negative side effects.

Home Performance Programs
 
The whole house or home performance paradigm focuses on building system performance ith energy reduction as one part of the greater whole.  To date, whole house programs have mostly been delivered through low-income programs and are beginning to filter into for-profit energy efficiency programs. 

Typical costs range from $3-$35,000 per house; and energy reductions range from 5-35%.
A home performance job may include work and cost tht is directed to solving problems such as correcting a wet basement or crawl space, which may not generate direct energy savings.

Sustainable Paradigm
Current and long erm impact on the community and larger environment are considered in a sustainable paradigm that assesses the life cycle of building components and products consumed in house operation.  Land use, water use, and site environmental impact, as well as building durability and energy use are examined.  This is a "green building" approach.

Interest in USGBC and ASID's green guideline for existing homes, REGREEN, released in 2008 has exceeded the expectation of the developers (Yost 2008).

Deep Energy Reduction Paradigm

The deep energy reduction paradigm builds on the strengths of the previous paradigms.  The deep energy paradigm fits well in a sustainable paradigm that incorporates a design centered approach and inclusion of impacts beyond the homeowner's site.

While many strategies can be used to achieve deep energy reductions, universal principles are emerging.  To summarize them:

  • A systems approach is necessary to optimize on-site and off-site benefits and interactions
  • Good indoor air quality and building durability are integral elements
  • Performance must be verified with a combination of diagnostic equipment and actual measurement of all benefits.
  • Occupant behavior and community solutions are an integral part of the strategy
  • Deep energy reductions should be viewed as an ongoing process to ensure proper maintenance and operation
  • A trigger event can capture opportunities as they emerge, ie: roof, siding or HVAC system replacements.
It's important to identify and target communities or situations that offer the combination of lowest costs and/or greatest benefits, access to resources and motivated occupants.

SOURCE:  Linda Wigington, Affordable Comfort, Inc; "Deep Energy Reductions in Existing Homes; Strategies for Implementation"

Energy Economic Development with NREL

The National Renewable Energies Lab's  Economic Development program links investors and entrepreneurs to provide avenues to financial services, and connects small businesses with the NREL Incubator Alliance.

NREL supports the growth of renewable energy and energy efficiency businesses.

Through the Enterprise Development program, NREL can help clean energy businesses develop market orientations by facilitating strong links with the financial community, as well as other key stakeholders in the commercialization process.

Contact Lawrence M. Murphy at (303) 275-3050 to learn more about NREL's economic development program.


The Clean Energy Alliance

Established by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, The Clean Energy Alliance  provides tailored business and financial services tailored to the clean-energy community.

Incubators

The Incubator Survey summary completed in December 2006 tracks companies, employees, revenues, and capital raised as a measure of the program's success. (PDF 73.7 KB)

To learn more visit The Clean Energy Alliance.

NREL welcomes inquires from clean energy entrepreneurs, incubators, and network collaborators. 

Contact NREL representative Dr. L. Marty Murphy, Manager of NREL Enterprise Development Programs, Golden, Colorado, at 303-275-3050, lawrence_murphy@nrel.gov or contact the incubators directly:

BizTech

Dick Reeves, CEO
515 Sparkman Dr
Huntsville, AL 35816
256-704-6000(office)

Blue Hill Partners, LLC
Joyce Ferris, Managing Partner
40 West Evergreen Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215-247-2400

Business Innovation Center
Tom Siegwald, Director
1301 Azalea Road
Mobile, AL 36693
251-660-7002

Clean Energy Incubator
Kurt Faulhaber, Acting Director
3925 W. Braker Lane R5500
Austin, TX 78704
512-305-0038

Clean Energy Innovation Center
Marty Murphy
Denver, CO

CleanStart/McClellan Technology Incubator
Gary Simon
5022 Bailey Loop Rd
McClellan, CA 95652
916-566-1249

Energy & Environmental Technology Applications Center
Pradeep Haldar, Director
255 Fuller Rd
Albany, NY 12203
518-437-8686

Enterprise Center of Johnson County
Joel Wiggins, President & CEO
8527 Bluejacket Street
Lenexa, KS 66214
913-438-2282

Environmental Business Cluster
James Robbins, Executive Director
2N. First St., 4th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
408-938-3920

Georgia Institute of Technology - Venture Lab
Stephen Fleming, Chief Communications Officer
75 Fifth Street, NW, Suite 314
Atlanta, GA 30308
404-385-2360

Ignite Technology Ventures, LLC
Bruce Anderson, CEO
150 Lincoln St., #3C
Boston, MA 02111
617-290-9913

National Environmental Technology Incubator
Gerald T. Noel, Sr., Acting Executive
P.O. Box 1004
Wilberforce, OH 45384
937-376-6216

Northwest Energy Technology Collaborative
Jeff Morris, Director
300 Fluke Hall, Box #352140
Seattle, WA 98195
609-499-3600

Rensselaer Incubator Program
Michael Tentnowski, Director
110 8th Street/3101 J Building
Troy, NY 12180
518-276-6658

Rutgers EcoComplex
David Specca, Acting Director
1200 Florence-Columbus Rd
Bordertown, NJ 08505
609-499-3600

Technological Research and Development Authority
James N. Culp, Energy Program
5195 S. Washington Ave
Titusville, FL 32780
321-269-6330

Technology Ventures Corporation
Suzanne Roberts, Project Director
1155 University Blvd, SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-843-4091



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