Trade groups partner to further hydronics and radiant education

Three indoor environmental industry associations announced they are working together on educational initiatives to benefit the industry’s hydronics and radiant panel sectors: the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, which represents contracting businesses; the Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute, which represents manufacturers; and the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International, which represents wholesalers and distributors.

“Hydronics is of growing importance to our industry, as contractors are now being expected to understand a wide variety of different technologies in order to serve their customers, from air to water to ground and back again,” said

Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA president and CEO. “The three legs of our industry - contractors, manufacturers and distributors - all recognize this importance. We understand we need to work together to ensure that systems are properly designed, installed and maintained.”

AHRI will continue to update basic hydronics training and curricula. This material will be used by HARDI to encourage its distributor members to provide hydronics training in their local areas. ACCA also will use this material to develop online education for contractors and their employees, and encourage members to take advantage of HARDI member training where available. ACCA’s new Radiant & Hydronics Council will develop advanced online training modules for those contractors who want more than the basics.

In addition, the ACCA RHC and HARDI will be represented on the AHRI committees responsible for developing or revising hydronics training materials. The ACCA RHC will join AHRI, HARDI and many others in the North American Council on Hydronics, a U.S.-Canadian alliance group.

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