Contractors tend to be conservative when it comes to new technology. Theres a good reason for that. Just about everyone can report a bad experience with some piece of whiz-bang plumbing or heating equipment that resulted in callbacks and even, in some cases, ripping out the equipment and replacing it with something else at the contractors expense. Never again thinks the contractor, and he usually sticks to that. One wants to be seen as a leader, but sometimes getting in on new technology while it is still in the experimental stage can leave the contractor looking like a schmuck. However, as weve pointed out before, technology evolves and there comes a point where sometimes things are worth a second look. Such is the case with residential forced air zoning. If there is one thing I learned in interviewing about a dozen contractors on their experiences with the technology for an article in this issue it is that they are either passionately for it or passionately against it. There are no fence sitters. Both sides back up their beliefs with installations that went extremely well or very poorly. About two-thirds of those I spoke to had written off the technology. And thats too bad because both zoning technology and heating/air conditioning appliances have made the proverbial quantum leap in the past 10 years or so. Those that had success with zoning are using two new technologies in particular computerized zone control panels and variable speed blower motors. Even they admitted that they werent nearly as thrilled with the concept when it involved spaghetti-wired zone control panels, five-wire master/slave thermostats, single-stage heating/cooling and bypass dampers. If you asked them, most would say that old stuff should be relegated to the HVAC Heritage Centre (www.hhc-canada.net) now theres a sneaky way to put in a plug! But this applies to so many technologies in this industry. Various forms of plastic piping are widely accepted today it wasnt always so. Hydronic heating has made a remarkable comeback after so many old cast iron radiator systems were ripped out. (Many contractors and homeowners have developed a new appreciation for how well those cast iron rads work if set up properly.) The need for greater energy efficiency and water conservation combined with the demand for better products from home and building owners is driving the development of new technology at an unprecedented pace. This has largely been good for the industry. Todays products are the best ever. There is a downside to such rapid product development. Sometimes products arrive on the market before they are fully developed. In most cases they still do what they are supposed to do. Air conditioning manufacturers, for example, scrambled to get 13-SEER and higher products on the market in time for the new regulations. Much of this equipment was bigger and bulkier than one would like. But the first generation 13 and 14-SEER equipment, even though its only a couple of years old, is quickly being replaced by more compact and even more efficient equipment. And, of course, there have been other plumbing and HVAC products launched over the years that proved an absolute disaster but we wont get into those! The point is that while it pays to be cautious, one shouldnt hold on to bad experiences so firmly that they ignore technologies that could benefit the customer. Perhaps its time for all those contractors with a bad taste from previous efforts at forced air zoning to wash away the after-taste with a stiff drink and give the technology another try. It deserves it.
