It was a packed crowd at the 2020 AHR Expo in Orlando—the last in-person iteration of the trade show.Las Vegas, Nevada—North America’s largest HVAC/R trade show will be returning in 2022 after missing two years due to the global pandemic.
In anticipation, AHR Expo has announced the winners of the 2022 rendition of its Innovation Awards, a competition that honours inventive and original products, systems, and technologies. The event will run from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, and from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. on Feb. 2. The three-day show will be returning to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“Our industry was called to the front lines to put our very best products and technologies to the test. The Innovation Awards purpose is to honour those that are pushing the bar to create innovative solutions to difficult problems,” said Mark Stevens, AHR show manager.
Each year, winners are selected in 10 industry categories, which include: building automation, cooling, heating, indoor air quality, plumbing, refrigeration, software, sustainable solutions (formerly green building), tools and instruments, and ventilation.
This year’s winners are as followed:
- Building Automation: iSMA CONTROLLI S.p.A. (Booth #C969)—The iSMA-B-MAC36NL Hybrid IoT Controller powered by Niagara Framework provides an all-in-one solution for mini-BMS. Created visualization can be displayed and controlled via HDMI output and two USB ports that enable the connection of a mouse/keyboard or dedicated touch for the HMI panel.
- Cooling: Danfoss (Booth #C3906)—Danfoss Turbocor VTCA400 Compressor offers improvements on traditional centrifugal compressor designs that are large in physical size and footprint, which ultimately lead to higher cost and space constraints for the end-user. The VTCA400 solves this problem by using a patent-pending hybrid compression design that uses a combination of mixed flow and radial impellers enabling both high-performance and a compact footprint.
- Heating: Carrier (Booth #C1310)—Infinity 24 Heat Pump with Greenspeed Intelligence offers humidity control and is capable of removing up to 400 per cent more moisture than standard systems.
- Indoor Air Quality: Antrum (Booth #C1071)—The AntrumX IAQ Facilities Monitoring System is a patented centralized sensing technology that monitors IAQ for 32 spaces from a single location, using one sensor for every 16 rooms.
- Plumbing: Franklin Electric (Booth #C4334)—The Little Giant, Inline SpecPAK, Multi-Pump Pressure Boosting System is 14.5 inches deep, making it small enough to be hung in a small utility closet or wall-hung to preserve critical floor space.
- Refrigeration: ebm-papst Inc. (Booth #C3324)—AxiEco 630-910 Axial Fan incorporates new impeller geometry with a rotating diffuser and optimized blade design in order to reach a low noise level and high efficiency. The steep air performance curve provides a pressure increase of more than 700 Pa.
- Software: Bluon, Inc. (Booth #C2737)—The Bluon Support Platform is a mobile application that becomes a centralized hub for HVAC technicians. Bluon was built for technicians and provides detailed system information, just-in-time training, best practices and 24/7 live tech support.
- Sustainable Solutions: Enginuity Power Systems Inc. (Booth #N7435)—The E/ONE Home Power System is a modern rethinking of a classic combined heat and power system. Using clean and plentiful natural gas, the E/ONE produces both electricity and heat for homes or businesses.
- Tools & Instruments: Fluke Corporation (Booth #C2837)—The 378 FC Non-Contact Voltage True-rms AC/DC Clamp Meter with iFlex uses FieldSense technology to make testing faster and safer, all without contacting a live conductor. The meter measures accurate voltage and current measurements through the clamp jaw.
- Ventilation: Aldes (Booth #C2734)—InspirAIR Fresh provides a newly developed counterflow enthalpic core and unique fan scrolls ensure 75 per cent sensible recovery efficiency at 32F as tested to the new CSA 439 standard required as of October 2020.
“AHR Show Management would like to formally congratulate each of our 2022 AHR Expo Innovation Award winners, as well as finalists and all our entrants, for their continued leadership and contribution to HVACR,” said Stevens.
In order to qualify for the Innovation Awards, exhibitors must have products featured at the show. Exhibitors are permitted to submit one product per category. However, the same product may not be entered in multiple categories. There is also an entry fee of $100 per submission. Funds raised from the entry fees will be donated to a Vegas-area charitable cause.
Each product is judged by a panel of third-party judges made up of ASHRAE members. Entrants are then evaluated based on overall innovative design, the creativity of the product or service offered, application, and potential market impact.
Each winner will also be eligible to win Product of the Year, which will be announced during the 2022 AHR Expo in Las Vegas. “We look forward to seeing these innovators in the marketplace in the coming year and in-person on the Show floor in 2022,” added Stevens.
Registration is free until Jan. 30.
