26. Improved plastics will replace copper tubing
for refrigerant lines.
27. Furnaces will have automatic, fully variable (variable capacity) flame
control.
28. There will be a noticeable growth in the ground-source heating/cooling
market nationwide.
29. Slot-diffuser vents will become widely used in the residential HVAC market.
30. Separate residential discharge plenums will be eliminated through better
air-conditioner cooling-coil housing designs.
31. The need for crankcase heaters will be
eliminated through better refrigeration management and improved compressor
designs.
32. There will be much greater growth of off-peak-use thermal-storage
systems in both residential and commercial cooling applications.
33. Wired 24V control systems will be a thing of the past.
34. All residential thermostats will be capable of being programmed.
35. New materials will be developed to replace all copper and aluminum in HVACR
systems.
36. Residential HVACR systems will be replaced instead of repaired.
37. Simpler, less costly and more reliable duct system designs and materials
will be developed.
38. There will be much more use of hydronic cooling distribution in commercial
refrigeration.
39. All circulating pumps in
commercial/industrial heating/cooling systems will come with built-in variable
capacity capabilities.
40. The dedicated-controls market will vanish as such systems become
easier to design, program and install.
41. Economizers and energy recovery will be required on all new commercial HVAC
installations.
42. Pre-packaged ductless-split systems will
be sold over the counter to consumers.
43. Carbon monoxide detectors will be required for all residential gas
and oil furnace installations.
44. The air-conditioning minimum efficiencies will be legislated as 15-SEER by
2012, and 18-SEER by 2015.
45. Thermo-electric (Peltier effect) heating systems will be introduced.
46. There will be positively dripless airhandler designs for attic
installations.
47. Residential/commercial systems will be required to shut down or sound an
alarm whenever airflow is severely impeded (as with dirty air filters).
48. There will be built-in refrigerant
charge indicators in all residential cooling systems.
49. Screw compressors will cut a
major swath into the centrifugal-compressor market.
50. The EPA will (hopefully) open its
eyes and realize that many banned refrigerants are really ok to use when
properly managed.