Four members of Probes Unlimited Inc. braved the polar vortex a few weeks back to attend the Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Trade Show (AHR EXPO). Our main purposes for attending the show were to:  market our new line of products TTmini Temperature Transmitters, identify the latest technologies that will help us continue to efficiently design our products, so we can meet engineering demands of the market, and last but not least, create new contacts and nurture existing business relationships.

Overall this was a successful trip and was worth battling the artic-like conditions. Below are some impressions and reflections from two of our attendees.

Ernie (President): “61K attendees in NYC.  I saw the continuing trend of focusing on energy efficiency/environmental awareness to reduce greenhouse gases.  There are growing opportunities for sensors as instrumentation is developed to maintain, monitor, and confirm increased efficiency.  The industry is far from the days of blowing hot and cold air while gobbling energy.  Buildings have endless options for climate control.  ROI for up 99% efficient condensing boilers, wireless building energy management systems, and advanced tools for installation have been reduced as the technologies advance in development.  I continue to be blown away year after year of the compact size and output potential of the condensing boilers at the show.  Roy and I got a preview of a boiler in development that was a 4 stage [4 individual modulating burners/heat exchangers] that adjusted according to demand.  It was capable of up to 1 million BTU and was smaller than a standard fridge.

It will be interesting to see how the smart grid technologies develop from year to year.  People are now focusing on generating electricity on site burning natural gas/propane/oil/solar/wind.  There are some opportunities for our TT mini devices in these applications that require advanced controls.”

Roy (Head of Sales): “In this industry, cost is still more important than new technology.  You don’t see much in the way of wireless products like you see in the packaging and automation industry.  This is talking about the OEM market only.  Building automation is an area where new technology can blossom and I think our TT Mini is a good fit there.”

We look forward to incorporating what we have learned into marketing our latest product and were thrilled to see that there is a demand for it in this particular industry.