Industry News

CCI Declines for First Time, Contractors Still Anticipate Growth

For the first time since the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) began measuring contractor attitudes toward short-term economic growth with the Contractor Comfort Index (CCI), the index has declined. For July, the CCI is 64, down from 69 in June.  Even with the decline, the index still shows that contractors anticipate short-term growth.  “Given the unusual heat of this summer season across the country, and the fact that many of our member contractors have been extremely busy with record activity, it is interesting that their short-term economic outlook is growing more cautious,” said Kevin Holland, ACCA Division Vice President, Business Operations & Membership. “The entire business community is uncertain about activities in Washington, and that may be fueling contractor concerns, as well. Since this is a new index, we will continue to monitor trends from month to month, and season to season.”

In its first six months, the CCI has increased 16%. The CCI is calculated based on a survey of the association's contractor members who are asked how positive they feel about new business prospects, existing business activity, and expected staffing decisions in the short-term future. Weighted and averaged into one number, a CCI of 50 or above reflects anticipated growth. Source: ACCA.org

DOE Awards up to $30 Million for Energy-Efficient Housing Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced 15 research and deployment partnerships to help improve the energy efficiency of American homes. The DOE said that these multi-disciplinary teams will receive a total of up to $30 million for the initial 18 months of projects that are anticipated to deliver innovative energy efficiency strategies to the residential market.  In addition, the projects are expected to address the barriers to bringing high-efficiency homes within reach for all Americans. A total of up to $20 million per year will also be made available to the partnerships for three potential one-year extensions. These research and deployment partnerships will provide technical assistance to retrofit projects and will leverage industry expertise and funding to support the DOE’s energy efficiency retrofit programs. This effort will support the Department’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative which brings communities, governments, private sector companies, and non-profit organizations together to deliver energy-efficiency upgrades, or retrofits to whole neighborhoods and cities.

The DOE said these partnerships will research and deploy new technologies and demonstration projects, and provide systems engineering, quality assurance, and outreach for retrofit projects throughout the country. The Department noted that existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home and cut energy bills by $40 billion annually.  For a brief description of each of the selected multi-disciplinary teams chosen by the DOE, visit: www.achrnews.com. Source: achrnews.com

Consumer Financing Programs Available to Contractors

GE Money, the consumer lending unit of General Electric Company, announced a multi-year agreement to provide GE Money Home Design consumers a financing program through the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), the nation's largest association of professional environmental systems contractors.  “GE Money is known for their ability to provide consumers with convenient, affordable financing options,” said Paul Stalknecht, President and CEO for ACCA. “The Home Design program includes special financing offers to make the purchase of HVAC products faster and easier, and it is sure to be an asset to our contractors and their customers.”

The program, managed by GE Money’s Sales Finance Unit, is available through ACCA’s group of more than 4,000 air conditioning contractors nationwide, and can be used to finance HVAC-related purchases and repairs. Consumers can find an ACCA contractor in their area via GE Money’s online Business Locator.  “ACCA provides its members with the resources they need to succeed, and we’re pleased to partner with them in offering a financing solution,” said Bruce Christensen, Vice President and General Manager for GE Money. Christensen went on to explain how GE Money’s Sales Finance unit provides billions of dollars of consumer financing through more than 145,000 small and medium-sized businesses nationwide. Source: GENewscenter.com

Health Care Sector More Likely to Invest in Energy Efficiency

According to new research from the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) and Johnson Controls, health care organizations are more likely to invest in energy efficiency for their facilities compared to other industry sectors across North America.  Johnson Controls, in conjunction with ASHE and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), commissioned the 2010 Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey, which polled 2,882 executives and managers responsible for making investments and managing energy in facilities worldwide. Of these respondents, 288 operated in the health care sector in North America.

The research found that 58 percent of health care building decision-makers say that energy management was very or extremely important to their organization, compared with 52 percent among North American respondents across all sectors. Sixty-two percent of health care organizations plan to make capital investments in energy efficiency over the next 12 months, compared with 52 percent overall in North America. Compared to results from the 2008 EEI, the 2010 findings suggest an upward trend in the percentage of health care executives that have a goal of either achieving green building certification or incorporating green elements into their new construction projects. Source: The HVAC Source

Utilities Need to go Beyond Smart Meters to Cut Energy Use

Consumers could cut their household electricity use as much as 12 percent and save $35 billion or more over the next 20 years if U.S. utilities go beyond simple smart meter initiatives to include a wide range of energy use feedback tools that get consumers more involved in the process of using less energy, according to a new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). ACEEE based its findings on a review of 57 different residential sector feedback programs between 1974 and 2010.

The new report concludes: “Advanced metering initiatives alone are neither necessary nor sufficient for providing households with the feedback that they need to achieve energy savings. To realize potential feedback induced savings, advanced meters must be used in conjunction with in-home (or online) displays and well-designed programs that successfully inform, engage, empower, and motivate people.”  ACEEE found that three of the most promising approaches in the short-to-medium-term include enhanced billing, daily/weekly feedback, and “off-line” and web-based real-time feedback. Source: ACEEE.org

New “Red Flags Rule” Now in Effect 

As of June 1st, new Red Flags Rule came into effect. Do you know what that means to your business?  Promulgated under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), Congress directed regulations that require businesses to address the risk and economic problems caused by identity theft. The resulting “Red Flags Rule” requires financial institutions and creditors to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs.

What is a red flag? A red flag includes unusual account activity, fraud alerts on consumer reports, attempting to use suspicious account application documents, and strange or suspicious activity relating to an individual’s personal information. Those covered under the Red Flags Rule must develop, adopt, implement, maintain, and update an Identity Theft Prevention Program (ITPP) to combat identity theft. The ITPP must include reasonable policies and procedures to identify, monitor for and detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft. Source: Lightner Property Group