AHR Expo 2025 Returns to Orlando

ORLANDO, FL — The 2025 Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Expo (AHR) will take place from February 10th to the 12th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. This year the Expo will welcome more than 1,800 exhibitors, 350 speakers, and 50,000 attendees.

Professionals from every sector of the industry will be in attendance including contractors, manufacturers, engineers, system design professionals, facility managers, architects, wholesalers, distributors and more. While the focus of the show is HVAC/R, almost all aspects of the built environment are represented at the expo, including plumbing, piping, hydronics, heating, cooling, controls, tools and software.

What follows is a brief overview of what’s on offer at the show specifically for plumbing, hydronic and mechanical systems professionals. To learn more and customize your show experience visit the Expo website at www.ahrexpo.com, or download the show app at the Google Play Store.

Expo Schedule

The Expo floor opens at 10:00 AM on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, closing at 6:00 PM on Monday and Tuesday, and 4:00 PM on Wednesday.

The Expo co-locates with the ASHRAE Winter Conference. Important events for the conference include:

Monday, February 10

President’s Luncheon 12:15 PM – 2:00 PM

Honors & Awards Ceremony 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

Tuesday, February 11

Members Council Meeting 8:15 AM – 12:00 PM

Life Members Club Luncheon 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

Members Night Out Cocktail Hour 6:15 PM – 7:15 PM

Wednesday, February 12

Board of Directors Meeting 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Education Sessions

This year’s education program will feature more than 250 sessions, including free industry seminars, a robust panel series lineup, new product presentations and more.

“Educating our current and future workforce is an area of dedicated attention and effort across most industry conversations,” said Show Manager, Mark Stevens. “Over the years, the AHR education program has grown into an important complementary asset to the show floor experience, lending an opportunity for deeper understanding of what’s happening within the industry, how to apply skill and knowledge, and how to prepare for shifts.”

“AHR Expo is a unique opportunity to pair session learning with application practice due to the complementary aspect of our education programming and the exhibition floor,” said Kim Pires, Director of Education. “Taking learning one step further, attendees can apply what they’ve just learned in a classroom to products, technology, or conversations on the show floor—creating a valuable opportunity that’s hard to find elsewhere in the industry.”

Education opportunities include panel sessions, free industry seminars and for-credit sessions (which offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs), Professional Development Hours (PDHs) and American Institute of Architecture Learning Units (LUs), but which typically charge a fee).

Other educational opportunities can be found at the New Product Theaters, four of which (A, B, C and D) will host more than 150 rapid-fire 20-minute presentations from manufacturers on their latest offerings. Attendees are invited to follow up presentations with a visit to the booth for a more in-depth explanation and 1:1 interaction with products and representatives. No fee or individual session registration is required.

For plumbing professionals, some can’t-miss sessions include:

AI and Plumbing: How Smart Applications Can Lead to Smooth Waters Ahead

Presented by John Mullen, RPA Technical Liaison at IAPMO and Susan Frew, PHCC.

Learn how AI and other applied smart technologies can transform the way we think about plumbing. We'll discuss trends in AI and how they can be applied to the plumbing and mechanical field.

Monday, February, 10th, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, W314

Appetite For Construction

Presented by John Mesenbrink, Editor-at-Large for CONTRACTOR, and Tim Ward PHCC Pros.

The chat digs deep into the building trades industry, and features interviews with industry professionals and a variety of irrelevant, fun stuff.

Monday, February 10, 4:00 PM to 4:50 PM, Podcast Pavilion 1

The Connected Contractor: Strategies for Building a Digital Footprint

Featuring Becca Stamey, Social Media Strategy Expert, Carson Brown, Chief Marketing Officer at Surge, Danny Braught, LMH Agency, Hanna Egg, Media Marketing at Egg Geo LLC, and John Mullen, RPA Technical Liaison at IAPMO.

This panel session offers a deep dive into the transformative power of digital strategies for the plumbing and mechanical industry.

Wednesday, February 12, 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM, W331G

Beware of Scammers!

Unfortunately, all trade shows face the threat of unauthorized companies targeting exhibitors with fraudulent offers and the AHR Expo is no exception. If you encounter any offer that seems too good to be true or is off in any way, the first line of defense is to verify the company is on the approved vendor list.

AHR Expo’s registration company is the only authorized source for attendee lists. If anyone else reaches out with list offers, be aware that these are not legitimate offers and do not participate.

onPeak is the only hotel provider endorsed by the AHR Expo. If you are contacted by other third-party companies offering hotel assistance, please be aware that they are not endorsed by the AHR Expo.

If you have received fraudulent emails or phone calls soliciting you to purchase attendee lists, book hotel rooms, or other products/services, file a report. Go to Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Tips to Remember

Make a plan and stick to it: use the show app or your own calendar to set up a schedule. Be selective about the booths you want to visit, the sessions you want to attend, and the time you want to commit to events. If you want to spend time wandering the expo floor, budget that time and stick to your budget—with so much going on, it’s easy to wander aimlessly and not get the most out of the show.

Hydration and nutrition: if you don’t bring a water bottle, make time to visit the drinking fountains. Concessions at the convention center can be expensive and lines can be long—pack some trail mix or a few power bars in case of emergency.

Wear comfortable shoes: you don’t need to wear sneakers with your suit, but make sure whatever footwear you’re bringing to the show is broken in and comfortable.

Don’t be a disease vector: if you’re sick, stay at your hotel. If you think you might be sick, mask up and social distance. Wash your hands frequently and well.

Visit us!: CONTRACTOR Magazine will be attending the show. Drop by our booth in the West Building, #2261.

Safe travels, and we’ll see you in Orlando!