More Feature Stories
West Coast Solar
This month let’s venture out to Southern California for the Solar Power International Conference, put on by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)....
East Coast Solar
Over the next two months I’m going to recount my experiences with solar energy on both coasts of the U.S., beginning with the biennial Solar Decathlon in Washington. Next month we’ll travel to California for the Solar Power International Show....
ACING THE TEST
When Brian Wagner, president of CCG Energy Solutions in Richfield, Ohio, got the green light to retrofit the Mt. Vernon (Ohio) Middle School, the building had an EPA Energy Star rating of 1. This month Wagner will deliver the new Energy Star plaque to the school, showing an Energy Star rating of 94 out of 100. Because of the outstanding work performed by Wagner and his team, CCG Energy Solutions won First Prize in the Commercial Building Category in CONTRACTOR's Green Mechanical Contractor magazine Green Mechanical Awards....
Do the Right Thing - 2009 CONTRACTOR of the YEAR
John Ward was broke in 1992, and then he met Frank Blau. Ward took Blau's flat rate gospel to heart and he has turned Applewood Plumbing, Heating & Electric into one of the most profitable and philanthropically minded contractors in the country. ...
Tracking Your Fleet Can Increase Bottom Line
If you're not yet using a GPS fleet-management system, and you're looking for a way to increase your company's bottom line, it's time to consider what a GPS fleet-management system can do for you. ...
Solar Choices
Red vs. Blue. Tastes Great vs. Less Filling. Kirk vs. Picard. Epic battles for which there really are no right answers. Enter into that pantheon the great...
Home is designated to attain LEED Platinum, net-zero energy status
When Michael Yannell decided to build a new home for himself in Ravenswood, a north side neighborhood of Chicago, he wanted his home to be revered as a sustainable residential building standard, which will most likely achieve U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum certification and net-zero energy status, meaning the home will produce more energy than what it consumes....
A Port in the Storm
In times like these any competitive edge is welcome, even for hard core entrepreneurs like plumbing contractors who think they can do things better themselves....
Technology to the Rescue
Technology has evolved throughout the years, in the field and also in the office, helping contractors streamline a variety of processes and procedures....
Antebellum estate gets hydronic makeover
Alexandria, Va. — An Antebellum estate located here received a hydronic makeover thanks to Foley Mechanical, a mechanical contracting firm located here that specializes in hydronic and HVAC systems....
Green is the Water Heating Future
There are nine million water heaters sold in the U.S. each year, more or less, definitely less this year. Around 95% of them are conventional tank-type...
THE GLASS IS HALF FULL
Mechanical contracting giants find that niche markets, such as green, hospitals, labs or water and wastewater, are still doing ok ...
100 ways contractors can cut costs
Now more than ever contractors are searching for ways to cut costs. How you go about cutting costs is just as important as where you look for those cuts. For example, too often the immediate reaction to the need for cutting costs is to eliminate positions. ...
New SYSCO facility wins design-build award for contractor Shambaugh & Son
Shambaugh & Son L.P., a unit of EMCOR Group, has completed work as the design/build fire protection contractor for the SYSCO Food Service new prototype “next generation,” award winning, facility in Knoxville, Tenn. ...
Stimulus plan targets energy efficiency, sustainable projects and infrastructure
President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a policy created to jump-start the distressed U.S. economy, Feb. 17. The policy is designed to save or create more than 3 million jobs and focus on long term economic growth by investing in a variety of industries, including energy, and the infrastructure. Tax cuts for purchasing and installing energy efficient products are also included in the economic stimulus plan. ...
Customers Want Trenchless
Homeowners and businesses across the country are replacing their clogged and disintegrating sewer mains while their floors, carpeting and outdoor landscaping...
Green building pioneer L.J. Kruse Co wins Contractor Magazine's Contractor of the Year
At a Time when most mechanical and plumbing contractors didn't understand the implications for them of green and sustainable construction and service,...
Solar Goes Mainstream
The extension of tax credits and the focus of the new administration on renewable energy give solar energy stability...
Finding Your Way
Many business owners and fleet managers may think that GPS is becoming a necessary evil since it can help them track employee activity. However, GPS fleet...
Urban Dams
When one thinks of a "dam" the image of a concrete barrier holding back billions of gallons of water immediately comes to mind. Webster's dictionary has a much...
Geo-to-Radiant Comfort
How Fitting that veterinarian Ken Hanks and his wife, Dyanne Caprio, both shared a fascination with barns, structures built to meet the needs of both man and animal. Yet, in their home state of Colorado, few of the old timbered buildings can be found. So when Hanks first played with the idea that they move and rebuild one on their new acreage in Strasburg, Colo., his search took him to Illinois, and then to Ohio. ...
Buying Into a System
A growing number of independent contractors may be turning toward franchising to be successful during this ongoing period of economic uncertainty. Donald...
Closing the File Cabinet
An integrated financial management system can enable a mechanical contractor to streamline operations and monitor its bottom line. J.F. Ahern Co. is one...
Reveling in Radiant on Golden Pond
Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda they're not. But for Wendy and Tim Brockish, this tranquil, southeastern Idaho setting is the backdrop for an “On Golden Pond” movie if there ever was one. Their elegantly rustic home is near the joining of two creeks, forming a “slough” visited year-round by wildlife, including mule deer, coyote, trumpeter swans, eagles, beaver and an occasional moose....
Guardedly Optimistic
So, are we entering a recession? Yes and no. For the nation's largest mechanical contractors, the answer is probably no. Contractors who are in the residential market or building strip malls will feel differently....
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