AHR Expo Adds Green Building Award Dec 13, 2005

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The AHR Expo added a new category to its fourth annual Innovation Awards competition. The Greenovation Award recognizes excellence in green building products and technology in the HVAC/R industry. The category was added this year to recognize the increasing number of products and technology that make buildings "green" - favoring the environment, conserving natural resources, and reducing energy consumption and pollution.

The first winner of the Greenovation Award (2006) is VRTX Technologies LLC for VRTX Systems, which rely on kinetic energy, hydrodynamic cavitation and chemical equilibrium to control scale, corrosion and biofouling without hazardous chemicals. The system's installation reduces water usage, operating costs, and environmental impact and improves worker safety. It treats industrial cooling water from condensers and cooling towers.

"We are very excited about this new category in the awards competition," said Clay Stevens, President of International Exposition Company (IEC), producers and managers of the AHR Expo. "Green building is playing an increasingly more influential role in the HVAC&R industry and we want to recognize products that are leading that change."

Honorable Mention products in this category include the Sonoxide® Ultrasonic Water Treatment from Ashland Specialty Chemical, Drew Industrial, combines low-power, high-frequency ultrasound and a microbubble aeration to kill microorganisms without hazardous chemicals.

Another Honorable Mention is the GAHP-W from Robur Corp., which simultaneously produces hot and cold water for hydronic HVAC systems and geothermal applications using natural gas as the primary heating source. Its nominal heating efficiency is 139 percent (on HHV) and nominal cooling efficiency is 66 percent (on HHV).

The innovations Awards have a total of nine award categories, awarded from submission of products on display at the International AHR Expo, which takes place January 23-25, 2006 at the McCormick Place exhibition center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.