AHR Expo 2022 Innovation Awards Winners Announced

The AHR Expo (International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition) today announced the winners of the 2022 AHR Expo Innovation Awards. Each year, winners are chosen in ten industry categories to represent the most innovative products and technologies hitting the market in the coming year.

“This past year was a challenge for everyone, and in unique ways, the HVACR industry,” said Show Manager, Mark Stevens. “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 honor those that are pushing the bar to create innovative solutions to difficult problems. We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s winners and what they bring to the industry, as well as to continue to champion innovation among our professionals. ”

The Innovation Awards encourage exhibitors to submit new products and technologies for recognition via review and selection by a panel of third-party judges made up of distinguished ASHRAE members. Entrants are evaluated based on overall innovative design, the creativity of the product or service offered, application, as well as potential market impact.

“This industry is tremendously exciting for its role in our everyday lives,” continued Stevens. “Now more than ever we have the chance to show the world just how important HVACR is. Manufacturers on the AHR Expo Show floor are in tune with their stakeholders and the greater needs of the world and are responding by developing new tools, products and services that offer safety, efficiency, and sustainable smart solutions.”

The Innovation Awards program serves as a metric to see the year-to-year growth in the industry. While the Awards officially recognize only a select few, the Show floor is a robust example of how manufacturers are growing the industry in exciting ways.

“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. “We look forward to seeing these innovators in the marketplace in the coming year, and in-person on the Show floor in 2022.”

The 2022 AHR Expo Innovation Award Winners and finalists were selected in ten industry categories, including building automation, cooling, heating, indoor air quality, plumbing, refrigeration, software, sustainable solutions (formerly green building), tools and instruments, and ventilation.
 

COOLING

Winner: Danfoss, Danfoss Turbocor VTCA400 Compressor, Booth C3906

Innovation: The new VTCA400 from Danfoss 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. In this design, the first stage impeller uses a mixed flow impeller with both axial and radial components while the second stage impeller uses a radial design. The hybrid compression design allows for a compressor footprint that is half the physical size and weight of a conventional radial-only design. It also maintains high efficiency levels - a 10% improvement in full load efficiency and 30% improvement in IPLV above ASHRAE 90.1-2019 minimums when considering a three (3) compressor, 1200-Ton system.
Finalists in this category include: Copeland Compressors and Condensing Units / Emerson, Copeland oil-free centrifugal compressor; Teqtoniq GmbH, Teqtoniq TRC150 Oil-Free Centrifugal Compressor.

HEATING

Winner: Carrier, Infinity 24 Heat Pump with Greenspeed Intelligence, Booth C1310

Innovation: The Infinity 24 Heat Pump with Greenspeed Intelligence is Carrier’s highest-efficiency and most advanced heat pump with up to 24 SEER and 13 HSPF for premium energy savings, extremely quiet performance and premium comfort features. The unique, variable speed compressor of this unit allows it to adapt its output to the needs of the home with infinite adjustments between 25 - 100% capacity. The heat pump offers excellent humidity control and is capable of removing up to 400% more moisture than standard systems. Based on Carrier testing, all data was run with the systems cycling once they met the assumed home load. The assumed load at AHAM conditions (80/70, 80) is the capacity of the variable-speed running continuously in dehumidification mode. The difficult conditions load was determined by a Wrightsoft load calculation for a home in Florida at 69 OD 72/63 ID. This condition was provided by a customer in Florida as “worst case.”
Finalists in this category include: HVAC Manufacturing and Technology Inc., SpaceGain Air Handling Units; Addison, FrostShield Defrost-Free Heat Pumps.

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

Winner: Antrum, AntrumX IAQ Facilities Monitoring System, Booth C1071

Innovation: AntrumX is a patented centralized sensing technology. AntrumX monitors IAQ for 32 spaces from a single location, using one sensor for every 16 rooms. Consolidating one centralized sensor for multiple spaces increases sensor accessibility while ensuring better overall control. Centralized sensing ensures better overall control because the data from 16 spaces comes from a single source, allowing building managers to optimize their ventilation strategy, and save energy without sacrificing IAQ. Additionally, the AntrumX has the ability to transport air without moving parts. Leveraging the building’s pressure differential between supply and exhaust, AntrumX is able to move air samples from each space to the Sensor Pack without adding energy to the system. The Sensor Pack also monitors multiple data points across multiple rooms. Using over-the-air software updates and a state-of-the-art hardware design, the Sensor Pack can be customized to sense what’s required today and be easily exchanged or updated as requirements change over the life of the building.
Finalists in this category include: LG Electronics USA, Inc., LG Split Rooftop DOAS (Dedicated Outdoor Air System) with Energy Recovery Wheel; TZOA, HAVEN IAQ.

REFRIGERATION

Winner: ebm-papst Inc., AxiEco 630-910 Axial Fan, Booth C3324

Innovation: The AxiEco 630-910 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, which is extraordinary for axial fans. With a maximum air flow of up to 30,000 m³/h the AxiEco 630-910 covers a wide range of different applications, especially those where high-efficiency and high back pressure are key. The integrated commutation electronics with an active PFC (power factor correction) as an option enables the fan to be used in applications with low harmonics requirements, without any external filtering measures.
Finalists in this category include: Copeland Compressors and Condensing Units / Emerson, Copeland horizontal variable speed scroll compressor for refrigeration (1 to 4 HP); Johnson Controls, Inc., ZS series horizontal scroll compressors with R290 and variable speed compatibility.

Registration for the 2022 AHR Expo is free until January 30, 2021, and can be completed on ahrexpo.com.