Carrier Hits the Strip

HVAC equipment manufacturer Carrier, last month, held a customer event in a town well known for requiring year-round air conditioning: Las Vegas.

The affair, which took place at Caesars Palace, featured breakout sessions on various HVAC topics, and also served as a tradeshow of sorts, where Bruce Burdon, director of product management and marketing for the company's North America Commercial Division, said the company hoped to launch the largest new commercial HVAC product introduction in Carrier's history. Offerings included the new Centurion rooftop A/C unit, which uses PURON refrigerant (R-410a); the new line of AQUASNAP air-cooled chillers, which also uses Puron; and the new 3V (variable volume/variable temperature) packaged control system.

At the keynote luncheon, Carrier president Geraud Darnis expressed his company's goal to do its part to improve the quality of life by creating a comfortable, clean indoor environment, adding that Carrier needs partners to help with this. As such, the company announced supply arrangements with ABB and American Air Filter.

In looking to the future, Darnis said lower life-cycle cost and improving the efficiency of HVAC systems will be major drivers. Furthermore, he predicted green buildings and sustainable technology will become the norm; fuel cells will become more economically viable; system integration will increase; building devices will become more intelligent; and HVAC systems will play an increasing role in the prevention of disease with better indoor air quality.