New Year’s resolution for plumbing contractors: join The Radiant Professionals Alliance

Dec. 16, 2013
In general, The Radiant Professionals Alliance has been extremely busy under the surface and behind the scenes. We are developing a comprehensive code to be known as the Uniform Solar Energy Hydronics Code. This is a long, slow process, but progress is being made. We are also developing our certification programs for designers and installers.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this very important membership message:

Season’s greetings from the new The Radiant Professionals Alliance (RPA)! As we near the end of our second fiscal year, I want to take a moment to thank all of our supporting members for their monetary and physical support.

As an organization, we have been in the “rebuild” mode. We are scrubbing all of our previously existing educational presentations and general presentation materials for rebranding under the new RPA logo, updating our PowerPoint presentations to reflect the current state-of-the-art technology, developing new online training materials and adding new course materials and instructors for these convenient online training courses.

In general, we have been extremely busy under the surface and behind the scenes.

  • We are developing a comprehensive code to be known as the Uniform Solar Energy Hydronics Code. This is a long, slow process, but progress is being made.
  • We are also developing our certification programs for designers and installers.

Both of these previously mentioned developments, by their nature, are a slow and progressive process. They are being developed under the American National Standards Institute’s open-consensus process, which requires specific timelines to allow review and public comment to ensure that we have taken all stakeholder thoughts, opinions, wishes, wants and needs into consideration.

They are also somewhat interdependent upon each other, because you can’t have one without the other.

In addition to these direct member benefit opportunities, the RPA intimately is involved with the rest of our industry in developing marketing programs that will benefit all aspects of our industry, from the manufacturer to the contractor installer, and all entities in between.

This is being done on a commercial scale as well as a residential scale.

We are continually looking for educational opportunities based on member feedback. Many of these opportunities have nothing to do with pipes, valves, fittings or heat sources, but have more to do with the business of doing business.

We are constantly pursuing cooperative agreements with like-minded organizations to continue to promote the benefits of radiant comfort. We are scheduled to present at numerous conferences this year and will be making an announcement soon regarding our annual Educational Conference and Business Meeting.

Stay tuned for more on this exciting event!

So, with all these irons in the fire and balls in the air, what’s missing? You — the contractors, wholesalers, manufacturers, manufacturers’ reps and educators. We are an organization of the members, by the members, for the members, with you — the members — benefiting from all of these efforts.

These efforts require the input of the general members, and I know for a fact that many of the former members of the old RPA have not come back into the organization yet.

We are developing all of these programs for you, the members. It is time to come in out of the cold, join or rejoin the organization, and get behind our efforts to “Grow Radiant and Hydronics.”

A high tide lifts all boats, and as we are on the verge of a large economic recovery, it is time to get behind this organization and give a big push to get this ship moving forward again to the benefit of all members. I can’t thank those members enough who have helped us right the ship, bail out the water, clear sand out of the pumps and get it back on course.

I’d also like to thank our publishing partners for their part in helping to get the word out about this excellent nonprofit organization’s efforts to deliver excellent comfort and further our industry efforts to “Grow Radiant and Hydronics.” Here’s to a prosperous 2014, and please, get signed up and join our gargantuan efforts, won’t you!

See you in New York City at the ASHRAE/AHR conference Jan. 21-23, 2014. Drop by and see us if you’re in the neighborhood.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

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