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While attendance was certainly the talk of the 2012 AHR Expo held in late January at McCormick Place in Chicago, an equally great buzz was generated by the many new air-conditioning, heating, and refrigeration products and technologies on display.

I began writing about hydronic systems for Supply House Times’ parent company BNP Media about 16 years ago. Back then, each column was created on a boxy little Macintosh computer with a 9-in. screen, printed on a dot matrix printer and saved on a 3.5-in. floppy disk. Every month, a printed copy of the column along with the floppy disk were mailed to the editors.

Back in my rep days, the vice president of our company was a flashy guy with a gold lion’s head ring the size of a golf ball, an even bigger, fancier watch and a Cadillac that had a three-body trunk. He replaced that car every two years, alternating between an all white one and an all black one.

Last year, at this same time I wrote that experts at the 2011 AHR Expo warned there might be severe refrigerant shortages and price increases due to the lack of a key ingredient, fluorspar from China. Although there have indeed been some drastic price increases, especially when it comes to R22, the shortages simply didn’t happen. Why not? Well, according to one source, everything became available for the right price. Need I say more?

By submitting warranty registrations on Noritz products installed between March 1 and Dec. 31, 2012, participating contractors will earn chances to win prizes in monthly and quarterly drawings.

Bath and spa products manufacturer Jacuzzi Group Worldwide recently announced it has expanded its product portfolio to include a new collection of energy-efficient tankless water heaters, powered by natural gas or propane.

The school’s Large Chilled Water Design Seminar and Modern Hydronic System Design Basic Seminar are the pump industry’s first courses to be approved by GBCI to provide credit toward the credential maintenance requirements of the LEED Green Associate and LEED AP certifications.

The recall involves Coleman, Coleman Evcon and Red T brand furnaces sold nationwide between 1995 and 2000 as original equipment in manufactured homes and as replacement furnaces in manufactured homes (originally recalled November 2004).

Hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the trade-show floor at the recent 2012 AHR Expo in Chicago was a large ceiling fan.

An unstable connection can cause the water heater’s vent collar to separate or detach if pressure is applied, which poses a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning to the consumer.