Trane Commercial Blog

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Revolutionizing Healthcare Facilities with Connected Mechanical Service

Connected Mechanical Service uses tech to monitor and optimize HVAC systems in healthcare facilities, enhancing patient care, reducing costs, and improving performance.

March 12, 2025

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Engineers Week: Professional Development

Learn how we’re supporting the professional development of Trane engineers through education and training, mentoring and networking, and diversity and inclusion.

February 17, 2025

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Rent or Buy? Considerations When You Have Upcoming Commercial HVAC Decisions

Several crucial factors exist when deciding whether to rent or buy commercial HVAC equipment. Here are some key considerations to help you make an informed decision.

January 17, 2025

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Modern Unitary Heat Pump Applications: A Trane ENL Program Preview

In our latest Trane® Engineers Newsletter LIVE (ENL) program, we will overview various heat pump configurations ranging from traditional systems to advanced dual-fuel heat pumps.

December 18, 2024

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The Evolution of Mechanical Services: A Connected Approach for the Future

Explore the evolution of mechanical services, from traditional maintenance to a connected approach, enhancing reliability, reducing costs, and extending equipment lifespans.

December 13, 2024

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Trane Engineers Newsletter: Storage Source Heat Pump System:  A Trane Building Case Study

In this Engineers Newsletter (EN), Trane applications engineer, Sarah Hilden, reviews real-world operational performance of a Storage-Source Heat Pump System installed in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and shares lessons learned from design, installation, and operation.

November 20, 2024

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MacDonald-Miller’s Road to Sustainability

Company embraces high tech and high touch to achieve climate and other goals.

November 13, 2024

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Unveiling the Key Benefits of Connected Mechanical Service

Connected mechanical service leverages technology for proactive maintenance, cost improvement, enhanced asset performance, and remote diagnostics. Embrace this solution to reduce downtime, lower maintenance costs, and boost efficiency for long-term success.

November 11, 2024

Closeup of the documents of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The Unites States Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the climate, tax and healthcare legislation, on Sunday, August 7, 2022.

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Navigating the Inflation Reduction Act Process with Trane

Navigating the Inflation Reduction Act process with the help of Trane building experts can help you utilize clean energy while leveraging HVAC tax credits and rebates.

November 05, 2024

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Retrofitting Hydronic Heating Systems: A Trane ENL Program Preview

In our latest Trane® Engineers Newsletter LIVE (ENL) program, we cover concepts to help enable electrification in the retrofit market, including the central plant and hydronic distribution systems.

October 23, 2024

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Real-life Connected Service Success Stories

Connected Mechanical Service represents the next generation of how Trane does mechanical service. Explore these two real-life situations.

October 21, 2024

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Decarbonizing Healthcare: Why Refrigerant Management is the Next Big Step

Actively managing the refrigerants used in your facilities can play an important role in decarbonization. As the healthcare industry works to help lower its carbon footprint, your healthcare operations likely have a sustainability goal that facilities are expected to meet.

October 15, 2024

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Key Considerations for Choosing Connected Mechanical Service

Connected mechanical service agreements are transforming maintenance operations by leveraging system compatibility, robust data security, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. By choosing the right provider, businesses can enhance asset performance, reduce downtime, and improve overall efficiency.

September 25, 2024

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In Conversation with Holly Paeper and Becky Wacker: Women Driving Climate Action

Two of Trane’s top women leaders talk about Climate Week, its key issues, and the opportunities it presents for organizations considering a clean energy transition.

September 25, 2024

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Trane Engineers Newsletter: Artificial Intelligence in HVAC

In this Engineers Newsletter (EN), Trane applications engineer, Greg DuChane, shines a light on the evolution, intersection, and future of AI in the HVAC industry.

August 21, 2024

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Award-Winning Rockwall County Detention Center Project

When Rockwall County, Texas, needed to expand its jail facilities, it turned to the Brandt Companies, Trane and others to get the job done. The team helped build an 83,000 square-foot addition and shepherd it through the state’s rigorous oversight process.

August 14, 2024

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Trane Feature: Pioneers of Data Center Cooling Sustainability

Global Director for Data Centers, Danielle Rossi discusses Trane’s innovative cooling technology & its commitment to help meet its customers’ evolving needs.

August 08, 2024

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Fostering Future Engineers: Trane Collaborates with RenewAire and University of Wisconsin

Trane and RenewAire have teamed up with the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Engineering Summer Program (ESP) to inspire the next generation of engineers. This collaboration introduces high school students to HVAC technology and engineering disciplines through hands-on activities, industrial tours, and mentorship.

August 05, 2024

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What Problems Connected Mechanical Service Agreements Can Solve for You

Discover how connected mechanical service agreements (CMSAs) use real-time data, proactive maintenance, and remote monitoring to reduce downtime, cut costs, and boost efficiency, allowing businesses to focus on their core activities.

July 31, 2024

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Take Advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) When Decarbonizing Your Building

Discover how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives can increase the impact of decarbonization investments in your building

July 30, 2024

Trane's Commitment to Sustainability in Education

July 29, 2024

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Understanding A2L Refrigerants: A Q&A with Steve Kujak

Trane is committed to helping customers transition to next-generation, low-GWP refrigerants, ensuring the right solution for each application. With insights from Steve Kujak, Trane's Director of Next Generation Refrigerant Research, we explore the role of refrigerants in decarbonization and the benefits of A2L refrigerants.

July 22, 2024

Mechanic air conditioner technician using manifold gauge checking refrigerant for filling home air conditioning and air duct cleaning and maintenance outdoor compressor unit.

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What HVAC Technicians Need to Know about the Refrigerant Transition

Familiar refrigerants, including R-410A and R-134A for chillers, are being phased out in newly manufactured equipment, with next-generation, low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants becoming the new reality. Discover how Trane can help you prepare for these new refrigerants by boosting confidence with facts, recognizing what is changing and what is not, learning new handling processes and leak detection and site modifications, and practicing safe storage and transportation.

July 09, 2024

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Top 10 Reasons to Transition with Trane

The HVAC industry is moving to next-generation refrigerants that are more friendly to the environment. Discover the Top 10 reasons why Trane, with our complete approach, full portfolio of heating and cooling equipment and trusted* industry expertise, has you covered during this transition.

July 09, 2024

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Building a Proactive Healthcare Decarbonization Strategy

Decarbonization is essential for reducing carbon footprints, cutting costs, and minimizing environmental impact in healthcare facilities. Trane helps you achieve this through energy efficiency, electrification, eco-friendly refrigerants, and renewable energy solutions.

July 08, 2024

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Trane Can Help You Navigate the Transition to Low-GWP Refrigerants

Changing to next-generation, low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants is critical to lowering the carbon impact of buildings and Trane is staying a step ahead. Learn how, from accessing your equipment needs, all the way to implementing and practicing new Trane field safety standards, we can help as you face the new industry requirements.

July 01, 2024

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System Controls for Applying ASHRAE® Guideline 36: A Trane ENL Program Preview

In this Engineers Newsletter Live (ENL) Program, we will discuss how ASHRAE® Guideline 36 can be applied to maximize energy efficiency and performance and how it can enable real-time fault detection and diagnostics.

June 26, 2024

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HVAC Systems Can Transform How Data Centers Are Developed, Designed and Operated

Unlock the hidden power of your data center's HVAC system with Trane. Discover how our expertise can enhance growth, boost profitability, and revolutionize sustainability by maximizing energy efficiency, leveraging renewable sources, and implementing cutting-edge cooling technologies. Don't miss out on this game-changing opportunity for your data center

June 21, 2024

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Catie Ball Makes Friends Wherever She Goes

Trane account manager is making big inroads in Boston.

June 20, 2024

Bearded IT Technician in Glasses with a Laptop Computer and Black Male Engineer Colleague are Talking in Data Center while Working Next to Server Racks. Running Diagnostics or Doing Maintenance Work.

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Go with the Flow: Is it Time Yet for Liquid Cooling?

Is liquid cooling the future for data centers? Tech giants like Meta, Google, NVIDIA, Intel, and Equinix are already adopting this innovative technology, but find out why air-cooled systems still have their place in the data center industry.

June 20, 2024

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How Access to Power is Hindering Advances in AI

Discover how data centers are adapting to the power demands of the booming AI industry, from optimizing infrastructure to implementing energy storage solutions, in order to unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence.

June 18, 2024

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Celebrating National HVAC Technician Day

Each year on June 22nd, Trane joins the rest of the nation in honoring the skill and dedication of America’s HVAC technicians.

June 17, 2024

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Unleash the Power of Smart Buildings with Trane

When you connect buildings, equipment, systems, and operations, you connect possibilities.

June 14, 2024

Two Heavy Industry Engineers Stand in Pipe Manufacturing Factory, Use Digital Tablet Computer, Have Discussion. Large Pipe Assembled. Design and Construction of Oil, Gas and Fuels Transport Pipeline

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Discover the Power of Connected Mechanical Service Agreements

Unlock the power of Connected Mechanical Service Agreements (CMSAs) and revolutionize your HVAC maintenance. With real-time monitoring, remote diagnostics, and proactive maintenance, CMSAs optimize asset performance, reduce costs, and enhance occupant comfort.

June 07, 2024

Data Center Female System Administrator and Male IT Specialist talk, Use Laptop. Information Technology Engineers work on Cyber Security Protection in Cloud Computing Server Farm.

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Stay Cool—Help Maximize Uptime by Avoiding HVAC-Related Outages

Mechanical equipment controls could prevent 20% of all Data Center outages.

June 03, 2024

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Engineers Newsletter PREVIEW: Building Performance Standards for Existing Buildings

In the 2024-Q2 Engineers Newsletter (EN), Trane applications engineer Scott Delo discusses ways to apply ASHRAE® Standard 100-2024 to the built environment.

May 22, 2024

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How to Absorb a New Standard: ASHRAE® 241 and More

COVID-19 brought Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) to the forefront, yet the lack of established standards caused confusion and ineffective measures taken. ASHRAE stepped in, releasing Standard 241 to provide comprehensive guidance on ventilation and IAQ, optimizing indoor environments and reducing disease transmission.

May 16, 2024

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New Mexico's VRF Lab: Sustainability and Training for a Decarbonized Future

Discover the story behind New Mexico's VRF Lab, a state-of-the-art training facility created by Trane and SMART Local Union 49 to provide comprehensive VRF and BAS training.

May 16, 2024

Newsletter

Watt's in the News? - Volume 40

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #33: Year End Wrap Up

May 13, 2024

Blog

Don’t Sweat Supplemental Cooling: Trane Rental Services' Turnkey Approach

Trane Rental Services offers a turnkey approach to custom-engineered solutions. From design to deployment and decommissioning, our experts ensure optimal performance.

May 10, 2024

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Sustainability Goals Without a Plan Won't Drive Success

A response to ISPE’s 2024 Pharma Predictions

May 01, 2024

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Electrified Heating System Control Strategies: A Trane ENL Program Preview

In this Engineers Newsletter LIVE (ENL) Program, we’ll uncover the latest plant control and design tool support for various chiller-heater systems, including those with heat recovery, auxiliary heat, and thermal energy storage.

April 24, 2024

Newsletter

Watt's in the News? - Volume 39

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #31: Where Does Our Electricity Come From?

April 23, 2024

Newsletter

Watt's in the News? - Volume 38

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #28: Reviewing the Big Picture

April 16, 2024

Blog

Trane Rental Services Can Help You Successfully Spring Into Summer

As the weather warms, HVAC system maintenance becomes crucial. Discover how Trane Rental Services can provide stop-gap coverage, avoiding disruptions and ensuring operational efficiency.

April 15, 2024

Newsletter

Watt's in the News? - Volume 37

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #29: Taking the pulse of High Voltage Transmission Lines Taking the Pulse of High Voltage Transmission Lines

April 09, 2024

Blog

Navada Takes on Indoor Farming

To bring agriculture inside, design-build engineers must create precisely-controlled environments. Canadian contractor Navada collaborated with Lufa Farms and Trane to develop sustainable and economical indoor farms.

April 04, 2024

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Watt's in the News? - Volume 35

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #27: It’s NOT Blowin’ in the Wind!

April 02, 2024

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Watt's in the News? - Volume 36

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #28: Natural Gas to the Rescue! Energy has been one of the main themes for our newsletter this year. This edition will also focus on a component of the energy sector. In a recent Inside Clean Energy article it was noted how natural gas has been filling the void created by the removal of many coal-fired power plants in the United States. After all, natural gas burns much cleaner than coal, making this trend a winning move for the environment.

April 02, 2024

Blog

Tracer® Ensemble®’s Critical Control: Designed for 21 CFR Part 11 Compliance

Discover Trane's Tracer® Ensemble®, equipped with Critical Control, designed to help life science manufacturers achieve compliance with 21 CFR Part 11.

April 02, 2024

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Watt's in the News? - Volume 34

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #26: Mission Possible

March 28, 2024

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Meet Your Sustainability Goals: A Plan for Life Science Decarbonization

Discover a comprehensive plan for life science decarbonization, from enhancing energy efficiency and electrifying heat to managing refrigerants and adopting renewable energy solutions.

March 27, 2024

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Watt's in the News? - Volume 33

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #25: Energy & Economics

March 19, 2024

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Watt's in the News - Volume 32

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #24: Energy Efficiency & Growing Career Opportunities

March 12, 2024

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Data Center Hot Topics at DCD NY 2024

Find out which experts from Trane will present on important data center topics at DCD NY 2024.

March 05, 2024

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Watt's in the News - Volume 31

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #23: Everything Must Go Somewhere

March 05, 2024

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Watt's in the News? - Volume 29

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #22: How Much Do those Home Appliances Cost in Kilowatts?

February 27, 2024

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Making an Impact: How We Are Contributing to Our Enterprise's 2030 Ambitious Goals

Our enterprise, Trane Technologies, is setting hefty goals to help reduce our customers' carbon footprints. Trane is an integral player within the Gigaton Challenge, setting the pace through innovation and efficiency.

February 27, 2024

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Looking Back on Engineers Week

Reflecting on the shared stories and experiences from different generations of Trane engineers as part of Engineers Week 2024.

February 26, 2024

In the Industrial Engineering Facility: Diverse Group of Engineers and Technicians on a Meeting Gather Around Table with Engine Design Technical Drafts, Have Discussion, Analyse Technology

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Through the Eyes of a Young Engineer

Meet Sophie Meloro, Seth Revere, and Brysen Tyler, three young Trane sales engineers who have shared their stories of starting out in the engineering field.

February 22, 2024

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Watt's in the News - Volume 30

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #21: Kilowatts Cost What?

February 20, 2024

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Engineers Newsletter PREVIEW: Hydronic Heat Recovery Control

In the 2024-Q1 Engineers Newsletter (EN), Trane applications engineer Mick Schwedler digs deeply into the design, operation, and control of hydronic systems that incorporate heat recovery.

February 20, 2024

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Navigating an Engineer's Journey Through New Roles and Phases of Life

Meet Tyler Malm, VAV Portfolio Leader from Detroit, Michigan. Tyler's tenure has spanned over 13 years, with a variety of experiences and opportunities along the way.

February 20, 2024

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Longevity in Engineering: Challenges, Opportunities and Finding your Passion

Meet Bill Faulkner, a seasoned sales engineer with over 50 years of experience at Trane. Bill is committed to helping his customers achieve their objectives through building technology and energy solutions.

February 19, 2024

Blog

The School Construction Challenge: Fast Work, Hard Deadlines

Kirkwood High School is part of a school-building boom in north central Tennessee.

February 14, 2024

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Watt's in the News? - Volume 28

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #20: Data Analytics & The Big Game

February 13, 2024

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Watt's in the News? - Volume 27

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #19: SPP, EIA, & Our World in Data

February 06, 2024

Video

Achieve Building Decarbonization With Modern Controls

Trane is dedicated to helping you meet decarbonization efforts efficiently while being cost-effective.

January 25, 2024

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Watt's in the News? - Volume 26

BTU Crew Newsletter Volume #17: A Growing Trend: Consumption & Demand Charges. With a goal to spread out electrical demand and reduce stress on the grid, many utility companies are in the process of implementing demand charges and/or time-of-use rate charges. Here are two short videos from two utility companies in the Midwest, Understanding Demand Rates & Time Based Plans, to have your students watch to help explain these new rate programs.

January 23, 2024

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Spotlight on Success: Elizabeth Jedrlinic, Client Services Leader

Elizabeth was recently named to Engineered Systems list of 2024's Top 20 to Watch: Women in HVAC.

January 16, 2024

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Top 10 Green Building Products of 2024 Spotlights Trane System Innovation

Discover why BuildingGreen named the Thermal Battery™ Storage-Source Heat Pump System as an award-winning solution.

January 11, 2024

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 25

One of the benefits of using energy as a theme for PBL/WBL is that it truly brings an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to learning. This real-world application involves science, math, economics, and politics all in the same lesson, taking us back to Barry Commoner’s Law of Ecology – “Everything is connected to everything else.”

January 09, 2024

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This Year from Trane: The Top 5 Perspectives from 2023

From our experts at Trane, discover the 5 most popular perspectives of 2023.

January 02, 2024

Blog

State-of-the-Art Air-to-Air Energy Recovery: A Trane ENL Program Preview

In this Engineers Newsletter LIVE (ENL) program, the various technologies used for air-to-air energy recovery are explored, reviewing considerations for integrating these technologies into HVAC systems and explaining proper control.

December 21, 2023

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HVAC and Energy Efficiency: The Road to Sustainability in High Tech Manufacturing

As global industries aim to shrink their carbon footprint, the emphasis is on sustainable, energy-efficient solutions.

December 21, 2023

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Industry Hot Topics at the ASHRAE 2024 Winter Conference

Discover which experts from Trane will be presenting and what topics they will cover at the upcoming ASHRAE Winter Conference and AHR Expo

December 20, 2023

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The Evolution of Trane’s Design and Analysis Tools

Trane brought HVAC into the computer age and continues to innovate.

December 19, 2023

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All Systems Go: Achieving Integration and Compatibility Among High Tech Manufacturing Building Systems

Advanced manufacturing processes are diverse and complex. From semiconductor fabricators to EVs and batteries, each industry has specific indoor environmental needs that include precise temperature control, humidity management and air quality standards.

December 15, 2023

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This Week from Trane: Week of December 11, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve. Using leadership in building technology and energy solutions to get it right for the customer and the climate.

December 15, 2023

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Think Forward: Designing Scalable HVAC Systems for High Tech Industry

The semiconductor and electric vehicle markets are closely intertwined.

December 08, 2023

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Managing Indoor Environmental Quality Throughout the Seasons

As the seasons change, what happens outside has an impact on what happens inside. When it comes to thermal comfort, lighting, and indoor air quality, there are several solutions to consider as the outdoors get warmer, colder, lighter, darker, and everything in between.

December 08, 2023

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Trane Awarded New Department of Energy Contract

For the fourth time in a row, Trane has been awarded a US Department of Energy (DoE) indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, known as an IDIQ. This lists Trane as a trusted provider that the DoE allows to bid on large energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs).

December 04, 2023

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No Margin for Error: Four Ways Precision HVAC Impacts Your High Tech Manufacturing Facility

In the high tech manufacturing industry, even the smallest deviation from the required environmental conditions can have a significant negative impact on product quality. Therefore, precision control and quality management are of utmost importance.

December 01, 2023

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This Week from Trane: Week of November 27, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

December 01, 2023

Video

Meet Trane’s CDS Design and Analysis Tools

Designing mechanical systems for commercial buildings requires managing small details, big decisions and complex analysis – all while keeping building owners happy. Trane’s suite of CDS Design and Analysis tools are purpose-built to support your design process from initial system selection and concepting, through energy load analysis and detailed design development.

November 29, 2023

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Seven Ways to Accelerate Your Decarbonization Journey

It isn’t your imagination, decarbonization really is what every building manager is talking about these days, and for good reason.

November 28, 2023

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Trane Engineers Newsletter: Hydronic Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems

In this Engineers Newsletter (EN), Trane spotlights hydronic variable refrigerant flow systems; the next generation of all-electric heat pump systems that can help achieve building decarbonization goals, while satisfying upcoming demands for reduced refrigerant charge.

November 22, 2023

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This Week from Trane: Week of November 13, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

November 17, 2023

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Andrew Kozak: The Early Sustainability Adopter

Mechanical Engineer Andrew Kozak has sustainability in his DNA.

November 13, 2023

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Webinar

Overcoming the Biggest Hurdle in Decarbonizing Buildings

When it comes to decarbonizing buildings, one of the biggest roadblocks is simply getting started.

November 07, 2023

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This Week from Trane: Week of October 30, 2023

Read the Trane blog for the week of October 30, 2023. Get insights on HVAC trends, energy efficiency & sustainable solutions to enhance your building's performance!

November 03, 2023

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How to Maintain Constantly Evolving Smart Buildings

Modern building systems must support devices from yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Here are some best practices for how to make that all work.

November 02, 2023

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Using Campus Buildings as a Live Learning Tool

With Trane’s Virtual Living Learning Lab (VL3™), students learn how to apply data to decision making.

November 01, 2023

Blog

Become an Energy Savings Hero for your School District

Whether it’s a holiday break or summer vacation, properly shutting down your school is an essential step for saving energy.

October 31, 2023

Customer Story

Collaboration and Innovation to Meet Industry Needs

Recently, Kristie Upton, Senior Marketing Manager at Trane, sat down with Robert Beck, president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and CEO of John W. Danforth Company, and Trane Vice President and North America Commercial Business Leader Terry Dugan to discuss the flourishing innovation in the HVAC industry and the deep collaborations between manufacturers and contractors to meet the country’s net-zero goals.

October 31, 2023

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Trane Trains the Industry: From Classroom to Whitepaper, Employee to Customer

Trane’s educational programs help keep contractors, engineers, and employees on top of the latest HVAC system designs and technologies.

October 30, 2023

Blog

Building Decarbonization for Hydronic Systems: A Trane ENL Program Preview

In this Engineers Newsletter LIVE (ENL) program, we delve into how heat-recovery chillers, heat pumps, and chiller-heaters can be configured and controlled in a hydronic system to provide heat efficiently.

October 25, 2023

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Ask Trane Experts: Why Every Project is a Decarbonization Project

This is part three of a three-part series that explores decarbonization, solutions and the importance of modern equipment controls in buildings today. Trane experts discuss how regulations and incentives for decarbonization are impacting customer decisions about which projects to pursue and why controls are included in virtually every one.

October 24, 2023

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Ask a Trane Expert: What is Really Influencing Equipment Controls Decisions?

This is part two of a three-part series that explores decarbonization, solutions and the importance of modern equipment controls in buildings today. Trane experts discuss how regulations and incentives for decarbonization are impacting customer decisions about which projects to pursue and why controls are included in virtually every one.

October 18, 2023

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5 Ways to Optimize Indoor Environmental Quality Without Sacrificing Energy Efficiency

When you think about optimizing indoor environmental quality (IEQ), you might think about sacrificing energy efficiency. However, there are many ways to enhance air quality, lighting, temperature, and acoustics of a building without sacrificing energy goals - and oftentimes, continue to work towards them.

October 17, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of October 9, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

October 13, 2023

Blog

Ask Trane Experts: Why the Evolution of Green Buildings is Landing Squarely on Controls

This is part one of a three-part series that explores decarbonization, solutions and the importance of modern equipment controls in buildings today. Trane experts discuss how regulations and incentives for decarbonization are impacting customer decisions about which projects to pursue and why controls are included in virtually every one.

October 12, 2023

Blog

How to Properly Size a Temporary Cooling Need

Our custom engineering systems will result in a properly sized temporary cooling solution to save you time, money, and carbon emissions.

October 11, 2023

Blog

Heat Pumps in Schools: A Win-Win for Educators and Contractors

Schools are being pressured to do more with less. Budgets are shrinking and, in many districts, infrastructure is aging.

October 10, 2023

Blog

Dee Cramer’s Rise From Humble Origins

The Michigan-based company embraces old-fashioned relationship-building, community service, and sophisticated technologies to take on big jobs.

October 10, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of October 2, 2023

Read the Trane blog for the week of October 2, 2023. Get insights on HVAC trends, energy efficiency & sustainable solutions to enhance your building's performance!

October 06, 2023

Video

Simplify System Control Strategy and Design with Trane® Design Assist™

Designing a modern, connected building automation system requires balancing a range of factors from increased occupant expectations around comfort control to changing energy efficiency standards and broader sustainability and decarbonization goals. Trane® Design Assist™ is a collaborative design tool built to put proven control strategies and industry best practices at your fingertips.

October 02, 2023

Blog

Trane Engineers Newsletter: A2L Refrigerants and ASHRAE® Standard 15

In this Engineers Newsletter (EN), Trane applications engineer John Murphy explains the nuanced refrigerant updates in ASHRAE® Standard 15-2022.

September 27, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of September 18, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

September 22, 2023

Blog

Trane’s (Not So) Secret Sauce: Combining Expertise, Teamwork, and Motivation to Achieve Sustainability

Culture of collaboration, innovation and teamwork pays dividends when tackling decarbonization and other challenges.

September 19, 2023

Video

Ice Heating: Reimagine Electric Heating

Decarbonization is the future, and we're leading the way with our Thermal Battery™ Storage-Source Heat Pump System.

September 18, 2023

Blog

Managing Indoor Environmental Quality in a Changing Climate

Think about when you enter a building. What do you need to be productive or comfortable? It might depend on what is happening outside – a hot day or a big storm. With extreme climate and weather events like wildfires and heat waves, it is crucial to allow building occupants to be comfortable, healthy, and productive.

September 15, 2023

Blog

How Desired Business Outcomes Influence Your Building Technology Solution Needs

Throughout centuries, we have turned to technology to conquer complex challenges and attain desired results. As businesses confront the critical task of reducing their carbon footprint, technology emerges once more as a solution to solve challenges.

September 14, 2023

Blog

Insights From an Expert: A Holistic Approach to Building Solutions

As a Building Services Sales Leader at Trane, Keri Taylor has the expertise and experience to help Trane's customers find opportunities in the challenges of building operations and ownership.

September 12, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of September 4, 2023

Read the Trane blog for the week of September 4, 2023. Get insights on HVAC trends, energy efficiency & sustainable solutions to enhance your building's performance!

September 08, 2023

Blog

The Trane Thermal Battery™ System: What It Is, Why You’d Want It and How the Inflation Reduction Act Can Help Pay For It

For the first time, thermal energy storage is one of the technologies eligible for federal incentives.

September 07, 2023

Video

Trane CDS: Your On-Demand Load Design and Energy Analysis Tool Support

Trane offers a suite of load design and energy analysis tools like TRACE 3D PLUS. We know that when you need support using these tools, you need it now. The Trane Customer Direct Service (CDS) group is your go-to resource for collaboration during the design process to troubleshoot applications and specifying challenges.

September 06, 2023

Blog

Top Five Business Benefits of Connected Buildings

Done right, connected buildings are future-proof and ready for the technologies and challenges of tomorrow.

September 05, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of August 28, 2023

Learn about Trane legacy, Innovative Building automation, energy savings for hospitals, and optimizing indoor air quality. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

September 01, 2023

Blog

Trane is Part of the Fiegen Family Legacy

Three generations, five family members and a new trajectory for the future. Don Fiegen, late Trane Engineer, paved the way for his family. Read more about Don's legacy, including two sons and two grandsons.

August 30, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of August 21, 2023

This week from Trane: August 21, 2023 Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

August 25, 2023

Blog

The Importance of Connected Buildings When Addressing a Skilled Labor Shortage

By leveraging the power of connected buildings, businesses can not only mitigate the adverse impacts of the skilled labor shortage but also utilize their data to impact the operational success of their buildings.

August 24, 2023

Blog

5 Areas Where Your Building Might Be Falling Behind

Buildings that have fully connected building automation systems have competitive advantages over those that do not.

August 24, 2023

Blog

How Thermal Energy Storage can be the Key for Cold Climate Heat Pumps

The Thermal Battery™ Storage-Source Heat Pump System is the innovative, all-electric cooling and heating solution that helps to decarbonize and reduce energy costs by using thermal energy storage to use today's waste energy for tomorrow's heating need. This makes all-electric heat pump heating possible even in very cold climates or dense urban environments where roof space is limited.

August 23, 2023

Blog

How to Become Net Zero and Achieve Resilience

Net zero buildings – those that produce as much energy as they consume – can both help companies achieve their sustainability goals and future-proof their buildings amidst rapid regulatory, economic, and ecological changes.

August 22, 2023

Blog

The Building Blocks of Funding, Financing, and Procurement for School Infrastructure Projects

Modernizing school infrastructure through HVAC, lighting and other facility upgrades can help to improve student performance by optimizing learning conditions . A recent influx of federal funding has created a window of opportunity to manage deferred maintenance or kick off modernization projects.

August 21, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of August 14, 2023

Learn about Semiconductor Efficiency, Schools transforming with VRF, and veterans becoming Trane Controls Technician. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

August 18, 2023

Blog

From Combat to Controls: Training Veterans to Serve as Trane Controls Technicians

Transitioning military service members joined Combat to Controls, Trane's controls technician program for veterans. The program addresses the industrywide shortage of controls technicians while helping military service members train for their next careers as Trane building automation controls technicians.

August 16, 2023

Blog

St. James Catholic School: Transforming Learning Environments With VRF

Over 65 years after the school was built, St. James Catholic School was on a mission to turn their aging building into the optimal environment for their students, teachers, and staff to succeed.

August 15, 2023

Blog

Trane Talks Semiconductor Efficiency at SEMICON WEST 2023

Last month, Trane’s High Tech vertical team traveled to San Francisco to participate in SEMICON West with other industry innovators. While there, Director of Global and Complex Accounts, Andy Alcorn, joined Semiconductor Digest Editor-in-Chief, Pete Singer, for a video Q&A.

August 14, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of August 7, 2023

Learn about building technology and Trane emergency response. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

August 11, 2023

Blog

Be Prepared for Problems: Get a Trane Emergency Response Plan Started Today

It is critical for organizations to have a plan for what to do in case of an emergency. With Trane Emergency Response planning, you can protect your business when hardship hits.

August 10, 2023

Blog

Tee-up Building Technology: Drive Bigger Benefits From Your HVAC

Discover the competitive edge that building technology can bring to your building and business.

August 08, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of July 31, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

August 03, 2023

Video

TRACE® 3D Plus: Simplify Multi-Story Design with Zone Multiplier

TRACE® 3D Plus is the industry go-to for load calculations and energy analysis. See first-hand how TRACE® 3D Plus Zone Multiplier could save you time on your next energy analysis project.

August 02, 2023

Blog

Top Energy Influencers and How They Can Work for You

Purchasing equipment with peak efficiency ratings is only the tip of the iceberg for potential energy savings. A capable building automation system can mine deeper energy cuts using data from internal and external sources. The cost benefits can be significant.

August 01, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of July 24, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

July 28, 2023

Blog

Can a Connected Building Turn You Into a Superhero?

In connected buildings, an app can save the day. Scheduling errors, equipment faults and other conditions that undermine comfort and drive up energy use can be solved remotely, in minutes.

July 27, 2023

Blog

Trane® Zoned Rooftop Systems: Designed with Ease in Mind

Trane Zoned Rooftop Systems help to provide affordable options for small buildings, to increase comfort and efficiency, while simplifying installation, startup, and maintenance.

July 26, 2023

Blog

Hermanson Company Likes a Challenge

Construction and engineering company is known for taking on major projects.

July 25, 2023

Blog

Meet Trane's Educator in Residence Bill Nelson

Meet Trane's Educator in Residence, Bill Nelson, and learn how he acts as a bridge between industry and the classroom through the Trane BTU Crew™, our interactive curriculum that brings STEM learning to life using students' own school building as an educational tool.

Meet Trane's Educator in Residence Bill Nelson July 24, 2023

Blog

ASHRAE® Design Guide for Commercial Kitchen Ventilation: An Author Q&A

Through the new Best Practices Guide from ASHRAE®, design engineers and end users can deep dive into the unique challenges and influencing factors for commercial kitchen ventilation. Follow along with Trane® Application Engineer and restaurant vertical market expert, Greg DuChane, as we discuss his perspective on this new publication.

July 24, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of July 17, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

July 20, 2023

Blog

Department of Education School Infrastructure and Sustainability Effort Commitment

We're committing to advance school sustainability, encompassing infrastructure, health, environmental sustainability education, climate, and environmental justice in America.

July 20, 2023

Video

A Centralized Approach to Multi-Site Decarbonization

Your journey to achieve environmental sustainability goals can become more complicated when you have multiple facilities and facilities located in different geographies. Finding a partner to help consistently implement carbon reduction solutions and strategies across a portfolio can be a key factor in effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving validated outcomes that can be measured and reported.

Trevor Joelson July 20, 2023

Blog

Ask a Trane Expert: Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and the Future of Education

When it comes to building infrastructure, the systems of the future will be leaner and greener. The transformation to carbon-reduced and carbon-free solutions is well underway. What will the decarbonation transformation mean for your schools? We sat down with Trane’s Ty Vierling and Eric Bauer to find out.

July 19, 2023

Video

Electrification: A Pathway to Carbon Reduction

Electrification can be an important element in a plan to meet sustainability and carbon reduction goals. Listen to Trane expert, Charlie Jelen, as he provides key considerations to help maximize the benefits of electrification for your building and organization – from carbon reduction to cost savings.

Charlie Jelen July 18, 2023

Blog

Are Your Decarbonization Efforts Paying Off?

When you’re putting money into decarbonization, you need to prove that what you’re doing is working.

July 13, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of July 3, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

July 07, 2023

Blog

Achieving More and Spending Less: Connected Building Benefits on a Budget

There are ways to make your building more like a smart building using the HVAC equipment and controls you have right now.

July 06, 2023

Blog

What Can Schools Do To Decarbonize?

Decarbonization in buildings is an important sustainability topic. National commitments have resulted in funding opportunities that schools can take advantage of to help reduce their carbon emissions.

July 05, 2023

Video

Increase Design Efficiencies with Complete Project Specifications from Trane® Design Assist™

Documenting open and compatible Building Automation systems has never been more efficient with Trane® Design Assist™ at your fingertips.

July 03, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of June 26

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

June 30, 2023

Blog

The Impact of Policies, Regulations, and Incentives on Decarbonization

Energy plans play a critical role in helping organizations achieve sustainability goals, offset rising energy costs, and optimize a comfortable environment for all.

June 29, 2023

Blog

Heavy Metal Summer Experience Attracts a New Generation to the Mechanical Trades

Hands-on training program gives teens new career opportunities.

June 28, 2023

Blog

Systems Using Thermafit™ (MWS) Water-Source Multi-Pipe Technology

Multi-pipe technology has a unique ability to serve both the chilled-water and hot-water needs of a building simultaneously, allowing for the design of highly-flexible thermal distribution systems. Dive in to learn more.

June 28, 2023

The Impact of Policies, Regulations, and Incentives on Decarbonization

June 27, 2023

Blog

A 3-Step Guide: Investing In and Adapting Your Infrastructure for the Future

Investing in infrastructure is a complex undertaking, with a wide range of options and challenges that organizations must navigate. Careful consideration is required to develop a well-defined plan that sets the stage for future success.

June 27, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of June 19, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

June 23, 2023

Blog

HVAC Refrigerant Regulations: Three Success Strategies Every Building Owner Should Know

There's good news and bad news when it comes to refrigerant regulations and it can be confusing to know what is right for you and your building. Discover 3 HVAC refrigerant success strategies and how the experts at Trane can help you navigate the related regulations.

June 22, 2023

Blog

3 Ways Distributed Energy Resources Help Add Value to Your Building and Operation

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and microgrids can create organizational value by helping manage energy expenses, ensure reliability and resiliency, and accelerate sustainability efforts.

June 21, 2023

Video

From Design to Operation: Award-Winning Lifecycle Solutions from Trane®

For 2023, Trane is proud to announce that Trane® Connected Service and Ascend® Air-to-Water Heat Pump, Model ACX have each received Product of the Year awards from Consulting-Specifying Engineer (CSE).

June 21, 2023

Blog

Transform a Replacement Hassle into a Replacement Opportunity

Don't just replace, replace and improve. While it can be easy to swap your HVAC equipment when a failure happens, consider upgrading your systems to invest in your facility and meet organizational goals.

June 19, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of June 12, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

June 16, 2023

Blog

What’s the Big Deal About the Refrigerants in My AC System?

Hear from Trane refrigerant expert, Keri Taylor, on upcoming and ongoing changes to refrigerant use in commercial buildings, what you can do to ensure you are ready, and how Trane can help.

June 15, 2023

Blog

Trane’s Little Red Hens Lead the Way in Make48 Competition

A Trane-sponsored team of girls with vision impairments won the Kansas School for the Blind Make48 competition late last year.

June 12, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of June 5, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

June 09, 2023

Blog

Dollars for Decarbonization: Top Six Funding Sources All Building Owners Should Know About

Decarbonization is a universal challenge for building owners to reduce emissions through energy efficiency, electrification and renewable energy. Here are six ways you can fund decarbonization efforts and grow value for your business.

June 08, 2023

Blog

Four Ways to Decarbonize with Chillers

Discover the four factors to consider when reducing the carbon impact for new or replacement HVAC comfort systems.

June 06, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of May 29, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

June 02, 2023

Blog

Insights from an Expert: Investing in Lighting Solutions

Many things you do to reach sustainability goals and decarbonize are invisible - but not lighting. Choosing the right lighting solutions today will allow for bigger opportunities tomorrow. Learn about the value of lighting investments with Trane expert, Tate Honaker.

May 31, 2023

Blog

The Challenges and Rewards of Sustainable Engineering

Discover how a collaboration between IMEG and Trane helped to achieve Net Zero in the River Trails retrofit project.

May 30, 2023

Blog

Mitigating Mold in Military Facilities

In areas with centralized airflow, like many military facilities, it can be challenging to enforce airflow practices that can help reduce mold. But there are many ways to help mitigate mold - with air-cleaning devices and more.

May 29, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of May 22, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

May 26, 2023

Video

Make Project Sharing Easier with Trane® Design Assist™

Trane Design Assist™ is a complimentary web-based Building Automation System design and collaboration tool. See how easy it is to collaborate and share work among colleagues, clients, and your Trane account team.

May 25, 2023

Blog

Myth versus Fact: Understanding the Value of Heat Pumps

Is electrification the right step for you on your journey to decarbonize? Hear from Trane Experts as they debunk 5 common myths about heat pumps

May 25, 2023

Blog

Trane Engineers Newsletter: Using Hot Gas Reheat for Humidity Control

In this Engineers Newsletter (EN), Trane applications engineers Eric Sturm and Greg DuChane explain the new humidity control requirement in ASHRAE® Standard 62.1.

May 24, 2023

Blog

Trane Education Programs Enable Early STEM Start for Students

Explore how creating an optimized, safe, and efficient learning environment in your school can lead to the opportunity for hands-on STEM learning pathways for your students of all ages.

May 23, 2023

Blog

What are Distributed Energy Resources?

There are several technologies and solutions that may be used to generate or store energy as distributed energy resources for a building or operation.

May 21, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 24

As we work with students in the Information Age, it is easy to look up details/answers that have a specific answer. To help them develop more problem solving and critical thinking skills, facilitating discussions of topics like this that aren't as easily answered can lead to interesting and sometimes eye-opening conversations with students. In a lot of cases, we simply take things for granted and don't give a lot of thought to what's behind the scenes. Again, taking a step back to help students see connections in the bigger picture and involving local resources can be time well spent.

May 16, 2023

Blog

Using Energy Savings Performance Contracting for Infrastructure and Sustainability Improvements

As organizations begin to pursue sustainability and environmental goals, Energy Savings Contracting can be a great option to help deliver the outcomes to support their goals.

May 15, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of May 8, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

May 12, 2023

Blog

The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Consider Upgrading?

With competing priorities for limited funds, putting off infrastructure upgrades may seem like a smart choice. The following can help you determine whether it makes good fiscal sense to stay the course or consider cost-saving upgrades.

May 11, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 23

The study of energy hits all STEM subjects and includes developing an understanding of politics and environmental policy, too. We want and need affordable energy in various forms to meet demands in our daily lives, but how and where this energy is produced/delivered can sometimes create challenges.

May 09, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of May 1, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

May 05, 2023

Blog

4 Benefits of taking a Consultative Approach when Building High-Tech Manufacturing Facilities

Manufacturing for high-tech products is growing, and it seems like supply can't happen fast enough. New and retrofitted facilities, which often need to be built quickly, despite the complexity of the indoor air environment required. Developing a consultative approach can help.

May 03, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 22

Energy Resources: The Big Picture Perspective

May 02, 2023

Blog

A Four-Generation Commitment to Trane

For Angela (Pearse) Puent, Trane is the family business. Read the story of how her family's commitment and passion for Trane began and still lives on four generations later.

May 02, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of April 24, 2023

This Week from Trane: April 24, 2023. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

April 28, 2023

Blog

Jamie Simmons: Embracing Data's Power to Inform

Discover how a life-long interest in solving problems lead Jamie Simmons from a controls technician to leading a team of data analysts and the role that data played along the way.

April 27, 2023

Blog

The Decarbonization Dictionary: Defining Key Energy Terms

Sustainability and decarbonization buzzwords are everywhere, but what do they all mean? Dive into the decarbonization dictionary for insight on key energy terms and how they can help you.

April 27, 2023

Blog

Building Pressure Control: A Trane ENL Program Preview

In this Engineers Newsletter Live, we review the factors that influence building pressure and use a model building to demonstrate several common building pressure control techniques.

April 26, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 21

Which States Stepped Up with Renewable Energy Production Last Year? When it comes to the production of electricity by wind and solar means, one state clearly led the way by producing twice the number of gigawatts of electricity than any other state.

April 25, 2023

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Blog

Demystifying Decarbonization: What it Means to Schools

We know that educators are devoted to preparing kids for the future. You can help ensure that their future has a livable planet too. Learn about decarbonization and what it means for schools.

April 24, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of April 17, 2023

This week from Trane: April 17, 2023 Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

April 21, 2023

Blog

Crosstown Concourse is a Living Lesson in Sustainability

How can sustainable, smart buildings bring value to local communities? See the results of Crosstown Concourse's sustainable infrastructure project through a collaboration with Trane on initial redesign and ongoing building and energy management.

April 20, 2023

Blog

Beloit USD 273 Students Drive Installation of Educational Solar Farm

When leaders at Beloit Unified School District 273 undertook building upgrades, they also took the opportunity to elevate STEM learning and help prepare students for future technical careers by implementing the Trane BTU Crew™ program.

April 19, 2023

Blog

Energy Solutions Across Industries: Intersecting Sustainability and Profitability

Trane uses tailored, data-driven strategies that help you meet goals for your buildings and operations while gaining long-term financial benefits.

April 18, 2023

Blog

Demystifying Decarbonization: A Building Owner and Business Executive Quick Guide

Organizations face challenges to create more efficient operations and achieve sustainability goals. But it doesn't have to be a challenge. Here are 3 steps to successfully decarbonize your building and business.

April 17, 2023

Blog

10 Steps to Peace-of-Mind: Contingency Planning With Trane Rental Experts

Whether an outage is induced by a natural disaster, facility distress or equipment failure, having an intelligent contingency plan for your HVAC processes is indispensable.

April 14, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of April 10, 2023

This week from Trane: April 10, 2023 Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

April 14, 2023

Blog

3 Ways to Mitigate Supply Chain Challenges for High Tech Manufacturers

The demand for high tech manufacturing is growing, and so are supply chain challenges. Lessen the impact of these hurdles with the right approach and partner.

April 12, 2023

Video

Trane Celebrates 110 Years of Making Buildings Better

Celebrating our 110th anniversary as a world leader in creating comfortable, energy efficient indoor environments.

April 11, 2023

Blog

FAQ: Sustainability in Infrastructure

All of your frequently asked questions about sustainability in infrastructure answered by the experts at Trane.

April 11, 2023

Blog

Learn more about working with K-12 schools

The business opportunities are almost endless when you become the problem solver.

April 10, 2023

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Blog

Celebrating 110 Years of Making Buildings Better

We are proud to celebrate 110 years of innovation and look forward to 110 more.

April 07, 2023

Video

Joplin High School Implements Energy Savings Strategies

District leaders wanted to reduce the building’s energy and operational costs and address indoor air quality (IAQ) concerns while increasing staff productivity. Based on their more than 20-year relationship with Trane, they turned to consultants at the building technology and energy solutions company for answers√

April 06, 2023

Blog

True Cost of Downtime

Connected controls and solutions use data to report and predict HVAC equipment performance. So you can react before trouble strikes. Optimize and maintain building performance with today’s building automation.

April 05, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 20

What principle building activities exhibited the largest increase in energy efficiency from 2012 to 2018?  Did any show an increase in energy intensity? If so, which ones? 

April 04, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of March 27, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

March 31, 2023

Blog

How High Tech Manufacturers Can Decarbonize Their Operations

Discover 5 decarbonization tips for High Tech manufacturers that can help no matter where you are on your decarbonization journey.

March 30, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 19

The Energy Information Administration offers some statistics about how U.S. commercial buildings consume energy. How do you think most energy is used in big buildings? What is a BTU? How much is a trillion?

March 29, 2023

Blog

Use grants and funding for schools today and tomorrow

Trane offers personalized, data-driven strategies to help schools reduce energy and operational costs, using our portfolio of energy-efficient HVAC equipment, connected controls, and outcome-driven solutions.

March 28, 2023

Blog

What Can a Connected Building Solution Do for You?

You've heard the buzz about connected buildings. Providers are probably contacting you. When you’re evaluating the options, the question isn’t “What is it?” The real question is, “How will it transform my business?” Here are 10 questions to help you find out.

March 27, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of March 20, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

March 24, 2023

Blog

An Engineers Newsletter Preview: Selecting DX Coils for Both Cooling and Heating

In this Engineers Newsletter, Dustin Meredith, Systems Development Engineer, explains guidelines for choosing direct-expansion coils for heating and cooling in heat pump split systems.

March 22, 2023

Video

Central Piedmont Community College Customer Story

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) is one of the largest community colleges in the country with over 30 buildings across 6 campuses.

March 21, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 18

There has been a lot of focus on the "gas vs. electric stove" discussion lately, but to really understand the big pictures as it relates to natural gas, we need to take a closer look at all of the ways we use it to do far more than just cook our food.

March 21, 2023

Blog

Seven Costs to Avoid

Looking to lower operational overhead? Your building is a good place to start; specifically the HVAC system.

March 21, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of March 13, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

March 17, 2023

Blog

Prioritizing Refrigerant Reduction with Latest VRF Innovation

Effectively managing refrigerant use can be a complex task. As industry regulations evolve, innovations like the new Trane® / Mitsubishi Electric HVRF system can help achieve more ambitious decarbonization goals.

March 15, 2023

Newsletter

Watt's in the News? - Volume 17

Here's a great resource from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) that you and your students can use to find out more about energy production and consumption trends in your state. Before you have students reference this site, ask them: "What do you think are the top three energy sources our state produces? What are the top three sources that are consumed?"

March 14, 2023

Blog

Grow your business with Restaurant Customers

Brush up on their challenges and all the ways that you can help.

March 14, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 16

Much like Aldo Leopold's quote about the importance of understanding heat doesn't come from the furnace, many states are now looking at the resources used to provide space heating in buildings. This article from The Washington Examiner covers a proposal from New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, banning natural gas in all new buildings.

March 07, 2023

Blog

This Week from Trane: Week of February 27, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

March 03, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 15

There have been a lot of articles published over the past month from a wide variety of sources expressing views on the "gas vs electric stove" debate at the federal level. The use of natural gas, though, goes far beyond just cooking our food. Here is a series of articles that can be shared over the next two months as we take a look at energy transformation and resources that can help identify regional production/consumption data for a variety of energy sources. 

February 28, 2023

Blog

Building Sustainable Futures: Perspectives from Young Engineers Today

The future belongs to those who are ambitious enough to create it.

February 24, 2023

Blog

Five School Improvements to Make Right Now

An unparalleled influx of funding is available. Here’s how to use it.

February 23, 2023

Blog

Modular Chiller Plant Design: A Trane ENL Program Preview

Are you 'equipped' to specify modular chillers? Join us for the Q1 Trane® Engineers Newsletter LIVE to learn about modular chiller essentials including equipment considerations, systems considerations, and more.

February 22, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 14

Energy is needed to heat and cool buildings. Buildings have a carbon footprint when they consume electricity that emit carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Carbon emissions are common from heating of buildings with a direct fossil fuel source such as burning natural gas with furnaces, boilers, and water heaters. Buildings are also responsible for carbon emissions when they use electricity for heating and cooling which was produced by fossil fuels at the utility generation plant.

February 21, 2023

Blog

The Secret Sauce: Trane’s Light Commercial Unitary Support

Trane’s Light Commercial Unitary Help Center provides timely service to help contractors quickly troubleshoot challenging problems and finish the job.

February 21, 2023

Blog

Trane’s Early Days Set the Stage for Ongoing Innovation

James Trane started customizing heating systems nearly 140 years ago, but the goals remain the same: comfort, efficiency, safety.

February 17, 2023

Blog

Trane's Early Days Set the Stage for Ongoing Innovation

James Trane started customizing heating systems nearly 140 years ago, but the goals remain the same: comfort, efficiency, safety.

February 16, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 13

fill in

February 14, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 13

With student teams in many schools around the country preparing for competition in this year's KidWind Challenge events, here is a great site that shows how wind turbines work. Have fun and good luck to the competing teams!

February 14, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 12

This article by internationally best-selling author Bernard Marr shines a spotlight on the growing need and opportunities for students in the area of data analytics. The need for data analytics skills reaches across all industries, so these are skills that all students should be learning.

February 07, 2023

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of January 30, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

February 03, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 11

Help students learn about energy prices across the U.S. with a new interactive tool from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

January 31, 2023

Blog

4 St. Louis Communities Leverage Better Buildings to Boost Greater Savings

Four St. Louis area cities – Des Peres, St. Ann, St. Charles, and Wentzville – are achieving an array of goals with one common solution: better building infrastructure.

January 31, 2023

Blog

Trane Presenters at ASHRAE 2023 Winter Meetings

Discover which experts from Trane will be presenting and what topics they will cover at the upcoming ASHRAE Winter Conference

January 30, 2023

Blog

Decarbonization 101: A Six Part Guide

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve. Using leadership in building technology and energy solutions to get it right for the customer and the climate.

January 27, 2023

Blog

3 Strategies to Future-Proof the Sustainability of Your Data Center

How do you meet the needs of your data center and business today while preparing for the future? Discover 3 of the key strategies to future-proof the sustainability of your data center.

January 26, 2023

Blog

Expanded Horizons: An Engineer's Development Journey

Over the years, Steve Kujak has built internal networks at Trane and external ones through ASHRAE and AHRI, broadening his knowledge, boosting his network, and gathering tools to sharpen innovation.

January 24, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 10

Keeping students’ attention while teaching sustainability is not always easy, the article below lays out three climate-friendly tax credits coming this year, with one topic in particular that is bound to catch students’ attention and interest… “free money”. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/12/29/climate-tax-credits-clean-energy/?utm_medium=email

January 24, 2023

Newsletter

Watt's in the News? - Volume 9

This time of year, light becomes a focus for many of us. We light candles, trees, our homes, and a neighbor of mine even decorates his old pickup with lights to celebrate the season. This effort to brighten our world with colorful lights adds to the festive environment as we gather with family and friends, but it also adds expense to the season when we receive our electric bill!

January 17, 2023

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of January 9, 2023

Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

January 13, 2023

Newsletter

Watt's in the News? - Volume 8

Now that everyone is settled into the school year, here's a chance to do some long-range planning for you and your students. As a xc and track & field coach, I always wanted each athlete and the team to have goals for the season. This can be just as effective for students in the classroom.

January 10, 2023

Blog

What is the process of an energy efficiency audit?

Understanding how your building consumes energy is a vital step in effective energy management. Discover the process of an energy efficiency audit and how it can help you on your decarbonization journey.

January 06, 2023

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 7

Looking for a way to provide additional review for the energy lessons students are learning in the BTU Crew™ modules? Here is a short (5 min.) TED-Ed video that does a great job of pulling lots of energy and environmental topics together. I encourage you to take a look!

January 03, 2023

Video

City of Claremont Saves with better building Initiatives

Together, Trane and Claremont leveraged the buildings that residents rely on most to fund community infrastructure modernization needs and accelerate decarbonization goals - without relying on additional tax dollars.

December 31, 2022

Blog

This Year From Trane: Top 5 Blogs of 2022

From the experts at Trane, discover the 5 most popular blogs of 2022.

December 30, 2022

Video

South Carolina Department of Transportation Headquarters Building Cuts Energy Use by 41%

South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) partnered with the experts at Trane to reduce their building’s energy use by 41 percent while helping to improve building comfort, indoor air quality and lighting.

December 21, 2022

Video

South Carolina Department of Transportation Headquarters Building Cuts Energy Use by 41%

South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) partnered with the experts at Trane to reduce their building’s energy use by 41 percent while helping to improve building comfort, indoor air quality and lighting.

December 21, 2022

Blog

Donation Supports New Shepherd Hotel’s Hospitality with a Purpose

A recent donation supporting Shepherd Hotel in making a positive impact on guests and the Clemson, SC community.

December 16, 2022

Blog

The Long-Term Impact of Trane’s Graduate Training Program

The knowledge and relationships students acquire during Trane’s Graduate Training Program can make a career and last a lifetime.

Amy Fitzgerald December 14, 2022

Blog

Acoustics: 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

As mentioned in our January blog post, 2022 marks the 50-year anniversary of Trane’s Engineers Newsletter publication! This month we hear from EN author, Trane Systems Development Engineer Dustin Meredith.

Dustin Meredith December 12, 2022

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 6

Want to take the BTU Crew™ lessons regarding renewable and non-renewable energy sources a step further? Here's a fun activity that can help provide students with additional review with a little bit of competition added in!

December 06, 2022

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 5

Here is a great article to help your students look ahead at future careers and skills most needed in the workplace. What skills are needed most?

November 29, 2022

Blog

Grant Opportunities Imminent: Fund Energy Upgrades at Your School

Improve your school's energy efficiency and reduce your energy and operational costs with funding from Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Learn about the timing, coverage and scope of the IIJA grant and more.

November 29, 2022

Blog

Trane Intelligent Services: Driving Operational Efficiency

In business, access to the right information is the key to good decision making. As the world becomes increasingly networked and interconnected, the pace of business also increases, making timely access to information more important than ever.

Paul McMurphy November 29, 2022

Blog

What are the primary objectives of an Energy Management System?

Discover the primary objectives of an energy management system, why it is an important piece of your decarbonization journey and how Trane can help.

Eric Wilson November 28, 2022

Blog

Optimize Your Building’s IAQ to Support Student Well-Being This Winter

What can you do to help ensure that your building provides an optimized environment to support well-being for students, teachers and staff as national illness rates soar?

Chris James November 23, 2022

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 4

Here's a great two-minute STEM video to help students understand the important role HVAC systems and the physics of thermodynamics taking place behind the scenes in our homes and in commercial buildings on a much larger scale.

November 22, 2022

Blog

What is an energy efficient building?

In recent years, much attention has been focused on the concept of energy efficiency. Companies of all sizes are prioritizing decarbonization and other energy saving efforts by creating short- and long-term sustainability plans.

November 21, 2022

Blog

Thermal Storage: 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

The changing of the seasons and approaching cold weather creates a perfect time to discuss a new way to use ice storage for the electrification of heat. And the timing is also very relevant, as US building owners can now take an investment tax credit for thermal energy storage systems!

Mike Filler November 18, 2022

Video

Connected Buildings: How Buildings Communicate

Buildings talk. Understanding them can reduce energy costs, cut carbon emissions, ensure comfort, and positively impact the world. Learn about building communication protocols.

November 15, 2022

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 3

A lot of energy-related curricular materials focus on the various types of resources that can be used for electrical generation, but before that electricity can reach the end consumer it has to go through the grid. Just as the terms "producer" and "consumer" are used in life science classes to discuss the flow of matter & energy, these terms are also appropriate for helping students understand the electricity (and other forms of energy) must be moved from a generation site to the end consumer, so infrastructure is needed. (i.e. - electrical grid, natural gas pipelines, etc.)

November 15, 2022

Blog

Watt's in the News? - Volume 2

Module 2 of the upper level of the Trane BTU Crew™ curriculum focuses on energy usage, so this week we want to share one of the best resources we are aware of to have accurate, virtually real-time data for Kansas and the central US region that you can share with your students. (This is an example of a lesson that can't be taught using a textbook if it is going to be relevant.)

November 09, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of October 31, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

November 04, 2022

Blog

Electrifying Buildings with VRF Technology

Heating systems that run on natural gas and other fossil fuels have been keeping America’s buildings warm for decades. But now, as many in the private and public sectors are doubling down on commitments to mitigate climate change and create more sustainable spaces, that era may be ending.

Steve Hamlin November 04, 2022

Blog

Learning from Experts to Become an Expert

Jessica Ely grew up in Western Pennsylvania and fondly remembers visiting her grandparents on the other side of the state, near Philadelphia. Her grandfather worked in the building industry as an inspector and would often take her with him to work.

November 02, 2022

Blog

Trane’s Graduate Training Program: HVAC Bootcamp

Twenty-week class provides intensive education on everything from physics to professional practice.

Amy Fitzgerald October 31, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of October 24, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

October 28, 2022

Blog

Clarifying Misconceptions around BAS Communications

With so many viable options for every building, knowing which ones to use and when to use them can be confusing. As a result, building communications are frequently misconstrued in the industry. To help clarify, we’re shedding light on some of these common misconceptions.

Krista Hubbs October 28, 2022

Blog

What is the cause of carbon emissions by buildings?

Carbon emissions (or carbon production) is a general measurement of the amount of CO2 generated through direct, indirect, or value-chain emissions. Discover the common causes of carbon emissions in buildings.

Erica Velarde October 27, 2022

Blog

Savvy Stewardship: Invest ESSER Funds Now to “Future Proof” Your Building

Effective learning goes beyond ensuring that you have great teachers. Empowering them with educational tools and the right learning environment plays a critical role in helping students thrive

October 26, 2022

This Week From Trane: Week of October 17, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

October 21, 2022

Blog

Now is the Time to Welcome Women into HVAC and the Trades – The Future of the Industry Depends on It

From contractors to engineers to welders to maintenance and service technicians, skilled employees are the number one resource the HVAC industry depends upon most to meet the growing demand for comfortable indoor climates.

Michelle Murphy October 21, 2022

Blog

Insights from an Expert: How you can Efficiently Heat and Cool your Building While Meeting Decarbonization Goals

In this 3-part Insights from an Expert series, we are exploring the practical solutions Trane can provide to help you take advantage of electrified heating as a mechanism for achieving decarbonization goals. In today’s discussion, we dig into how HVAC Building Services and Intelligent Services are a critical piece of any customer’s sustainability story.

Corey Letcher October 20, 2022

Blog

Insights from an Expert: Learning How to Increase Energy Efficiency While Planning How to Fund Electrification of Heat

In this 3-part Insights from an Expert series, we are exploring the practical solutions Trane can provide to help you take advantage of electrified heating as a mechanism for achieving decarbonization goals. In this post, we’ll explore how energy services and controls can support you on your journey to electrification, including helping you to fund electrification projects.

Tate Honaker October 19, 2022

Blog

Insights from an Expert: A Discussion on Reducing or Eliminating Fossil Fuels from your HVAC System

In this 3-part Insights from an Expert series, we are exploring the practical solutions Trane can provide to help you take advantage of electrified heating as a mechanism to achieving decarbonization goals. We will start by exploring the portfolio of all-electric and hybrid HVAC equipment Trane can provide and popular solutions customers are exploring to achieve decarbonization goals.

Khalil Badran October 18, 2022

Blog

Clarifying Misconceptions in Lighting and HVAC Integration

What’s changed to shift the lighting conversation to consulting engineers rather than electricians? Every technology prior to LED has been based on a prescribed form factor lamp with either a filament rate or a gas discharge. These lights could simply be turned on or off.

Doug White October 17, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of October 10, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

October 14, 2022

Blog

What are the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint?

Staying relevant in today’s competitive market can be challenging, especially since there's more to success than simply meeting traditional business goals.

Doug Robertson October 14, 2022

Blog

Insights from an Expert: Building Automation and Healthcare with Michael Leach

Mike Leach leads building automation sales for the Florida Region. He has been with Trane since 2009 in progressive positions as Sales Engineer, Controls Operations Manager, Systems Sales Manager, and his current role. Mike is based out of the Tampa office with his wife and two daughters. He is a licensed professional engineer and has a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a Master of Business Administration, both from the University of Florida.

October 12, 2022

Blog

How to Design a Data Center with Heatwave Resiliency at its Core - Part 2

With temperatures rising across the globe and heatwaves becoming increasingly common, designing data centers to be resilient through extreme weather events has never been more important. But how exactly do you approach designing and building a data center today that can withstand future climate shifts?

Danielle Rossi October 11, 2022

Blog

Building a Better Future by Designing Data Centers for Heatwave Resiliency - Part 1

Protecting our important data center infrastructure and making it resilient through extreme weather events is critical to our modern operating world. We must approach designing new buildings and retrofitting existing data center infrastructure to be able to withstand extreme temperatures with a sense of urgency.

Danielle Rossi October 11, 2022

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Blog

Ventilation: 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

As mentioned in our January blog post, 2022 marks the 50-year anniversary of Trane’s Engineers Newsletter publication! This month we hear from a frequent EN author, Trane applications engineer John Murphy.

John Murphy October 10, 2022

Blog

How many hours is your chiller unsupervised?

Traditional On-Site Service utilizes on-site inspections to log the chiller operation on that specific day. This standard service method only provides an operational "snapshot in time" analysis. If you are using a typical quarterly inspection schedule, that’s 2189 hours between inspections or 6567 hours/year of no visibility to how your chiller is operating!

October 07, 2022

Blog

Do you know what downtime is REALLY costing you?

When talking with manufacturers about the potential costs of downtime, we regularly hear that it is difficult to quantify all the components that factor into the true cost of downtime. There are three obvious costs that most companies consider and can easily calculate:

October 05, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of September 26, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

September 30, 2022

Blog

Upcoming Events Spotlight: Building Resiliency and Decarbonization into Data Centers

The changing climate means rising temperatures in many places around the world. And while many industries are feeling the impact, building resiliency in data centers is particularly critical.

September 30, 2022

Blog

HICAPS: Delivering ESPC projects to enhance energy security, efficiency, and sustainability nationwide

Energy security is a critical driver of our nation’s ability to sustain itself on many levels. One of the pillars of energy security is resilience, which has been a focus of many federal agencies over the last few years. This resiliency consists of the ability for a consumer to rapidly recover reliable power to critical building and campus systems. Resiliency can be achieved by synchronizing redundant systems through an advanced grid infrastructure and or having the ability to “island” or operate an independent energy microgrid until reliable primary power is accessible. Additionally, with the use of renewable energy sources on, or near, the customer site and largescale upgrades of mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems to improve energy efficiency; you can appreciate both the challenges and potential of energy security for our country.

September 28, 2022

Blog

Energy Monsters that can take over your healthcare facility

Is it October? We need to look at some monsters, but not the goblins and ghouls that come out at this time of year. We’re talking about energy monsters that take over facilities!

Angie Stokes September 28, 2022

Blog

A (Net) Positive Outlook on Energy

Sustainable practices have become a key part of the planning process when it comes to assessing building assets today. Over one-fifth of the world’s 2,000 largest public companies have net zero commitments according to the report “Taking Stock: A global assessment of net zero targets.” These companies together represent annual sales of nearly $14 trillion. While we once strived for net zero, is that enough or can we push ourselves to go further and achieve net positive?

Jeff Light September 26, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of September 19, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

September 23, 2022

You Can’t Afford to Have Your Building Call in Sick

When it comes to optimizing the indoor air quality (IAQ) of your building, there is more to address than simply reducing the possibility of potential virus exposure for occupants. Factors such as bacteria, mold, fungi and volatile organic compounds pose a potential risk to IAQ. Removing the source of contaminants can help support the well-being of the building’s occupants

September 23, 2022

Blog

Insights from a BTU Crew Parent

Dana Cheney, who has had two children who have participated in the Trane BTU Crew at Beloit Jr. High School in Beloit, Kansas, shares her perspective on how the program has impacted them. The BTU Crew, a science, technology, engineering and math program (STEM) transforms schools into Virtual Living, Learning Labs (VL3) – engaging students and teachers alike. The BTU Crew’s easily integrated lessons and activities take a project-based learning (PBL) approach to ask students to identify solutions to specific challenges, helping them understand energy while expanding their analytical and problem-solving skills.

Dana Cheney September 21, 2022

Newsletter

Watt's in the News? - Volume 1

Welcome to the start of the weekly BTU Crew™ "Watt's in the News?" newsletter for 2022-2023! Most newsletters won't be this long, but I would like to take this opportunity to share the vision for what we will be working to do with this resource to help support your efforts in the classroom.

September 20, 2022

Blog

Trane Helps District Undertake Nationally Recognized Energy Saving Lighting Upgrades

A lighting upgrade recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) is expected to reduce energy use by more than 60 percent for the Holt Public School district, which serves more than 5,000 students in nine buildings in central Michigan. The upgrades have helped to make the learning environment more comfortable: previously, overbright lighting had driven some teachers to turning classroom lights off entirely.

September 19, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of September 12, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

September 16, 2022

Blog

Bethany Children's Health Center: A Decades Long Collaboration Built on Service

Streets, LLC is a family business that has provided philanthropic support and HVAC contracting for the Oklahoma City pediatric rehabilitation campus for more than 50 years.

September 16, 2022

Blog

Planning for the Worst to Deliver Your Best

No one wants their HVAC unit to go down, but in a manufacturing plant the cost of downtime can add up—and quickly. More than likely, you have redundancies in place for your critical process equipment. If a machine goes down, you and your staff are prepared for a seamless transition. Perhaps you keep an inventory of key parts and have a technician on 24/7 call.

September 14, 2022

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Blog

Chilled Water Systems: 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

The first-of many Trane Engineers Newsletters on chilled-water systems were published in 1973 with concentration on chilled and condenser system piping design. At that time, chilled-water systems had a constant-flow design. This began to change in the late 1970s as a new technology, the variable speed drive, was applied to chilled-water pumps. To educate the industry, “A Need for Variable Flow Chilled Water Systems” (1977), “Water Chiller (Control): Decoupler Variable Flow Systems” (1979), and “Chillers are Constant Flow Devices” (1980) were published. These articles provided background on primary-secondary (decoupled) systems which operated more efficiently and became common design practice for the next decade.

Mick Schwedler September 12, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of September 5, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

September 09, 2022

Blog

In-Room Air-Cleaning Can Optimize Your IAQ

How important is the air inside your school? Air quality and performance in schools have long been a concern, especially since there are more than 50 million K-12 students in America who spend, on average, 1,000 hours in school each year.

September 08, 2022

Blog

What is Decarbonization and why does it matter?

“Sustainability” is a key priority for businesses, but its broad scope can make it difficult to translate goals into action. “Decarbonization” is a deliberate set of tactics that are part of a larger sustainable business model.

Chris Jones & Joe Lucash September 07, 2022

Blog

Helping the Federal Government Meet Audacious Emission Reduction Goals

As a society, we can no longer ignore the impacts of climate change. The planet is warming at a rate twice as fast as typical levels, causing an increase in extreme weather events. Business and government alike have a role to play in combating the causes of climate change to ensure we have a thriving planet for future generations.

September 07, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of August 26, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

September 02, 2022

Blog

Insights from a Building and Energy Expert: Richard Viglione

Many of our higher education, municipal and government customers need help navigating ESSER and other funding to complete much needed upgrades. They have always had deferred maintenance on their building operations but have not had enough funding to address it. When it comes to using that funding, it looks different for each customer. Ultimately, they are facing a lot of infrastructure challenges. This includes rising rates on the energy side and the need to keep up with technology.

Richard Viglione August 31, 2022

Blog

Get Your Building Back to School Ready

The school year is just around the corner, but there are lots of projects you can start now that will have a big impact on how your students, parents and staff feel about your building.

August 30, 2022

Blog

Who is servicing your grocery HVAC? (And why it could be a million-dollar question)

Data from Trane shows that 40-60% of truck rolls can be prevented with remote monitoring by factory-trained HVAC technicians. It may sound cost-effective to contract HVAC service with your refrigeration vendor. But we’ll show you why it’s the opposite. Modern mechanical systems are complex, and refrigeration technicians aren’t equipped to solve most issues. Trial and error at several hundred dollars a pop can add up quickly—in dollars, downtime and carbon emissions.

Ethan Kinsey August 29, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of August 22, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

August 26, 2022

Blog

Industry 4.0: Evolving Manufacturing with Connected Controls, Digital Twins and Predictive Services Using AI

Industry 4.0 is here and is dramatically changing how industrial facilities are managed. Just as our watches have evolved from telling time and counting steps to sending text messages, measuring our heart rate and exercise and providing weather updates, building maintenance and management has evolved significantly as well. New products and technologies are being integrated into production facilities and throughout building operations.

August 25, 2022

Blog

Preventative Maintenance, Saving Time and Money

It is the situation no one wants to encounter; your system breaks down and equipment isn’t readily available. Along with, regulations regarding emissions and proper refrigerant handling and leak reporting can be costly mistakes if completed wrong. You may be saying this won’t happen to me, but the possibility is most likely will if your building is not properly maintained.

August 24, 2022

Blog

A Customer Perspective: Overcoming Engineering Challenges for Clients and Personal Growth

Now a mechanical engineer and Director of Operations at Net Positive Consulting Engineers in Clovis, California, Hannah Brigdon, P.E., has a great career. Still, without a blunt conversation with an engineering professor, she might have gone in a different direction.

Amy Fitzgerald August 23, 2022

Video

Powhatan County Public Schools Customer Story

When leaders at Powhatan County were adding a new school building, they wanted to address a host of deferred maintenance issues that plagued four existing dark and gloomy school buildings before the new school building opened its doors. Powhatan County Public Schools leaders wanted to upgrade these existing buildings to create an equitable, optimized learning environment for all district students. Since the district lacked additional funding, Trane helped them fund the upgrades with future energy savings using a performance contract. The upgrades helped to improve the teaching and learning environment, enhancing comfort and indoor air quality while decreasing energy use and operational costs. Upgrades reduced energy costs by more than 20 percent and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3.3 million pounds of CO2.

August 22, 2022

Blog

The VL3 Educates Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s Workforce

There is a need to fill the talent pipeline for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related jobs. Trane has a solution to help with this. The Trane Virtual Living Learning Lab (VL3) offers an innovative approach that turns your building into a broad-based learning tool for students, to help them be more prepared for their future careers.

Mike Hines August 22, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of August 15, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

August 19, 2022

Blog

AMSCO Thrives on Challenging Jobs

Air Mechanical and Service Corp. (AMSCO) in Orlando likes big jobs. Part of a state-wide company, AMSCO Orlando specializes high-profile projects, often for local governments in Orlando, Orange and Seminole counties: schools, city and county buildings, courthouses.

August 19, 2022

Blog

Three Reasons Indoor Air Quality Remains Important

The need to holistically assess and optimize indoor air quality (IAQ) as part of your building’s indoor environmental quality (IEQ) program represents more than just a pandemic-response requirement. It can be key to employee health/wellbeing and business success.

Jeff Wiseman August 17, 2022

Blog

Preparing For The GSA's Proposed Social Cost Rule

President Biden’s administration has issued a variety of Executive Orders to address climate change. Through its Federal Sustainability Plan, the administration has “set a range of ambitious goals to deliver an emissions reduction pathway” to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030. To successfully track progress on this goal, a standardized method of measurement is needed.

August 15, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of August 8, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

August 12, 2022

Blog

Leverage Your Building Upgrade for Student Education

As part of our mission to grow the pipeline from grade school to careers in emerging heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology, Trane offers hands-on education opportunities for students. Customers can leverage their projects for real and rigorous student learning through the Trane Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education Capstone Program.

Chris Torline August 12, 2022

Blog

Optimizing Manufacturing Spaces: The Critical Role Process Cooling Plays in Industrial Facilities

Given all these considerations, how can organizations reduce their risk? The opportunity cost of unplanned downtime can be devastating. Whether a cooling unit is down for a day or for a week can have enormous consequences: lost revenues, damaged product or inventories, lower employee satisfaction, slower speed to market and more. For example, if a chiller goes down for one day that might mean $1 million in lost revenues. But if that chiller can’t be serviced for four days, the lost revenue is significantly greater—to the tune of $4 million.

August 11, 2022

Blog

Run Your Healthcare Facility Like a Military Base

Imagine, if you will, a hospital without power. Severe weather took down the power lines leading to the hospital, or a cyber-attack destroyed the power station and the emergency generator stopped working. Whatever the reason, the hospital is now extremely limited in its ability to treat patients. Operating room staff are scrambling to find lights so they can finish surgeries. Nurses are using flashlights while trying to triage patients. Electronic medical records are instantly inaccessible.

August 10, 2022

Blog

Heat Recovery: 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

The warmth of the summer sun feels terrific after a lengthy, frigid winter but when it gets to be too much an escape to the cool, refreshing indoor air conditioning is a welcomed break. And living in western Wisconsin I can surely claim I enjoy both -- nothing feels more rejuvenating than an air-conditioned space after a hot, sunny day on the Mississippi River! My name is Dan Gentry, and I recently celebrated my five-year anniversary with Trane; I started my career with the company in the Centrifugal Product Support group. Previously, I worked in sales support at another chiller manufacturer where I primarily focused on heat recovery and heat pump type systems. About a year ago in the spirit of leveraging and strengthening my work experience, I transitioned to the role of Applications Engineer and now work with the field to help design energy efficient systems, many of which utilize some form of heat recovery, often with heat recovery chillers.

Dan Gentry August 08, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of August 1, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

August 05, 2022

Blog

BTU Crew Program Leads to National Win for Beloit Junior High Team

For some students, combining Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning with competition can be a game changer, getting them more fully engaged and committed to learning. This hands-on learning approach can set students up for success in the classroom, and in STEM competitions, while fostering their interest in future STEM careers.

Dan Whisler August 03, 2022

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4 Benefits of Cogeneration for Hospital Energy Resiliency

Few organizations need to consider energy resiliency more than a hospital. An essential service of any community, the pandemic showed us firsthand the important role hospitals play in times of crisis. It also thrust facility management into the spotlight and illustrated how the health of our buildings — things like airflow control and ventilation — play an important role in our health outcomes.

July 25, 2022

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7 Ways Lighting Enhances IEQ

Since we spend an estimated 94 percent of our time indoors , indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is critical. Along with indoor air quality, thermal comfort and acoustics, lighting represents one of four key factors comprising IEQ. The right lighting offers a wealth of benefits so it can play a powerful role in determining your building’s IEQ.

July 22, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of July 18, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

July 22, 2022

Blog

Managing the microclimates of your supermarket: a guide to modern BAS solutions for evolving food retail spaces

We have all been there. It’s a hot summer day, and you go into the supermarket to buy a few items for your backyard cookout—but as you move from produce to chips to the frozen aisles you become progressively more uncomfortable as the temperature and humidity within the space drastically swing. (Say it with me: shivering shoppers don’t shop long.)

July 20, 2022

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Breaking Down $62B in DOE Funding for Better Communities

The recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)) – provides $550 billion to State and Local Governments to improve infrastructure throughout the nation. $62 billion of this funding has been allocated to the Department of Energy (DOE) to fund clean energy innovation, provide affordable and reliable energy, improve grid resiliency, fight climate change and create good-paying jobs in related industries. Through these programs, State and Local governments can:

July 18, 2022

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2022-2023 Federal Funding Resource Guide for State & Local Governments

Recently, federal funds have been committed to State and Local Governments to help America recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and help improve infrastructure throughout the nation. When used to modernize and enhance the public spaces residents rely on the most, these investments can have ripple effects, improving the environmental, social, and economic health of communities. Simply put – better building infrastructure helps to creates better communities.

July 18, 2022

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6 Ways Better Buildings Create Better Communities

In the wake of the recent pandemic and increasing instances of natural disasters, emerges the need to redefine what it means to be a “smart city.” Today, smart communities are the ones that invest in people-first solutions that enhance equity and quality of life. Ensuring community members have access to healthy environments, reliably comfortable public facilities, and safe spaces to seek shelter in the face of crisis are just a few examples of ways civic leaders are investing in these solutions today.

July 18, 2022

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Improving Uptime, Resilience, and Reliability for Mission-Critical Federal Infrastructure

The federal government has extensive mission-critical facilities that continued to operate throughout this historic pandemic. These facilities rely on complex climate control systems to ensure indoor environmental quality remains consistent day to day and season to season. Simply put, these critical facilities cannot fail. Establishing redundancy and controls to ensure critical building infrastructure remains consistent in times of man-made or natural disasters is important for the safety and resilience of our communities.

Mark O'Reilly July 18, 2022

Blog

In Her Words: Blazing a Trail with Robyn Boling

Trailblazing, as Robyn Boling sees it, requires a combination of determination, opportunity, and support. Boling was recently honored by a Manufacturing Institute with a STEP Ahead Award for her own trailblazing career. She is the first female ductless HVAC technical specialist in her region for Trane — by Trane Technologies (NYSE:TT), a global climate innovator.

July 15, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of July 11, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane employees in our weekly blog round-up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve. This week’s weekly wrap from Trane

July 15, 2022

Blog

Refrigerants: 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

Hello Summer! The heat and humidity of the season is finally knocking on our door. This means that our heavy lemon juice consumption season is coming to sporting events, neighborhood fundraisers, and local festivals. Speaking of juice, in our July Engineer Newsletter Blog, we will quickly browse through our past newsletters and other literature on refrigerants, the so-called “magic juice” inside air conditioners.

Chris Hsieh July 11, 2022

Blog

Decarbonize Now: Your Rooftop Unit is How

Packaged rooftop unit replacements often offer opportunities beyond the immediate need to replace end-of-life equipment. Important benefits to consider when selecting an appropriate replacement unit include reduced maintenance expenses, increased efficiency, reduced carbon footprint and upgraded capabilities.

Becky Wacker July 08, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of July 4, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

July 08, 2022

Blog

Getting Your Supermarket to Net Zero: A Decarbonization How-To

Everyone’s talking about decarbonization these days, and for good reason. Leaders across the grocery industry are responding to a groundswell of pressure from consumers, investors and regulators (not to mention their own children)—by setting emissions targets.

July 06, 2022

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Ensuring Buy American Act Compliance for Federal Infrastructure Projects

Under the Buy American Act, federal agencies are required to use products manufactured in the United States for any contract performed within the U.S. While this law dates back to 1933, the exact requirements are continually changing, making it difficult for federal organizations and agencies to keep up.

July 05, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of June 27, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane thought leaders in our weekly blog round up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

July 01, 2022

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Spotlighting Rental Services at Trane: How Collaboration is Key for Paul Olczak

I really enjoy working with sales, Trane Rental Services Technical Support, and Trane Rental Services Operations teams to provide solutions for complex commercial/industrial HVAC applications that help our customers. I like the aspect of working with multiple teams across the business; especially cross-functional teams. I enjoy learning and that’s exactly what these complex applications force me to do. I learn about doing load calculations and such so we can meet the exact needs of our customers.

Paul Olczak June 29, 2022

Blog

Next-Level Indoor Air Quality for Hospitals: More than Filtration

The Healthcare industry has been concerned about indoor air quality (IAQ) for decades. Infection control and the rise of indoor infectious diseases made ventilation, HVAC, and filtration paramount. More recent global outbreaks accentuated the need to maintain or improve IAQ and how to help detect, remove, dilute, and disinfect pathogenic organisms from the hospital environment.

June 27, 2022

Blog

This Week From Trane: Week of June 20, 2022

With decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, electrification, and other ever-changing hot topics being discussed, where can you go for reliable info relevant to your world? Turn to Trane thought leaders who go behind the curtain each week with new blogs sharing industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve.

June 24, 2022

Blog

The Nomadic Life

Nomad Group Travels North America to Keep Restaurant HVAC Systems Running Smoothly

June 24, 2022

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Because Change is the Only Constant – Expertise that Addresses Evolving Needs

With customer needs, like cost reduction or resiliency planning, carbon reduction or infrastructure upgrades likely already a moving target at your facilities, how can you stay ahead of the game?

June 22, 2022

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This Week From Trane: Week of June 13, 2022

Through our people, passion, and purpose, we create comfortable and energy-efficient environments around the world. Tap into the minds of Trane employees in our weekly blog round up that connects you with the latest industry insights, innovations, and inspiration on optimizing indoor environments across an array of markets we serve. This week’s weekly wrap from Trane:

June 17, 2022

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In Her Words: Mission Alignment with STEP Ahead Emerging Leader Morgan Perras

In Her Words is a three-part series highlighting the Manufacturing Institute’s 2022 STEP Ahead Award Honorees and Emerging Leaders. The STEP Ahead Awards “recognize women in science, technology, engineering and production careers who exemplify leadership within their companies. This national honor identifies top talent in the manufacturing industry and further encourages award winners to mentor and support the next generation of female talent to pursue modern manufacturing careers. The STEP Ahead Awards give women across the country a platform to showcase the incredible opportunities the industry has to offer, whether they are running the company, designing the next big product or testing innovations on the shop floor.

June 17, 2022

Blog

A Timeline Extension for Peace of Mind

As summer break commences, school district leaders face unprecedented challenges from staffing to supply shortages to rising inflation. The U.S. Department of Education recognized the mounting concerns and notified the American Association of School Superintendents (AASA) leadership that it will allow a timeline extension for American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) funded school facilities and construction projects.

June 15, 2022

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DX Systems: 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

It is June and we are half-way through our Engineers Newsletter 50th anniversary celebration! As the temperature and humidity begin to rise, our appreciation for air-cooling equipment increases. One of the most prevalent cooling systems applied in our homes and small buildings are direct expansion (DX) split systems. Over the years, seven percent of the Engineering Newsletters have covered topics involving split systems. According to one EN, a split-system is nothing more than a packaged unit split in half, one half staying on the roof and the other half moved indoors into a central station air handler. While this is not always the case, it is a good place to start.

Rick Heiden June 13, 2022

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Demystifying Decarbonization: A Restaurant Owner and Facility Manager Survival Guide

As public and private pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions increases across industries, restaurants face several challenges to create more sustainable operations.

Trevor Joelson June 10, 2022

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Trane’s Next Generation Inspires New Approaches

Dan Broderick and his daughter Courtney have different backgrounds and perspectives but share a desire to tell Trane’s story.

Amy Fitzgerald June 08, 2022

Blog

IEQ vs IAQ: What's the Difference?

IEQ vs. IAQ: Because their acronyms are so similar, these two concepts can easily be confused. In practice, while good indoor air quality or IAQ, is important, it’s just one critical component of creating a comfortable indoor space for occupants. After all, in the classic fairy tale, even if Goldilocks was breathing quality indoor air, if she also found the Three Bears’ home too cold, too dark or too loud – she would still be uncomfortable.

Jeff Wiseman June 06, 2022

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Celebrating Women in Construction: Kelly Maniar

Kelly Maniar, LEED AP, is a systems account manager in Orlando, Florida. With 17 years of experience working for Trane, she reports that she has “sold every product Trane makes!” Learn more about Kelly and how she loves connecting to her customers in this spotlight of women in construction.

Kelly Maniar June 03, 2022

Blog

Insights from a Building and Energy Expert: Craig Washburn

We can help people balance out reliability, resilience, energy emissions and operational goals without giving something up by starting with due diligence. We get into their buildings, ask people questions, and determine some of their issues and identify the best solutions to balance their needs. So, if they need an air handling unit replaced, for example, we try to make sure that it’s going to at least maintain or preferably improve their indoor environment.

Craig Washburn June 01, 2022

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Get to know BTU Crew Expert: Christie Fouts

The biggest benefit the BTU Crew offers is that it opens students’ eyes to possible jobs/careers that they never knew existed, especially in the renewable energy field. They also learn how energy how can directly impact their lives in the future, what their energy bills are going to look like, for example.

Christie Fouts May 31, 2022

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Insights from a Building and Energy Expert: Terry Dugan

Smart design with new systems can often provide reasonable paybacks. Trane has a team of people that do this type of work every day. We evaluate buildings and listen to owners’ needs to identify comprehensive solutions to address these challenges.

Terry Dugan May 25, 2022

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In Her Words: Learning to Lead with STEP Ahead Award Honoree Andrea Rago

In Her Words is a three-part series highlighting the Manufacturing Institute’s 2022 STEP Ahead Award Honorees and Emerging Leaders. The STEP Ahead Awards “recognize women in science, technology, engineering and production careers who exemplify leadership within their companies. This national honor identifies top talent in the manufacturing industry and further encourages award winners to mentor and support the next generation of female talent to pursue modern manufacturing careers. The STEP Ahead Awards give women across the country a platform to showcase the incredible opportunities the industry has to offer, whether they are running the company, designing the next big product or testing innovations on the shop floor.”

May 23, 2022

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Your Partner in Rebuilding America's Infrastructure through the IIJA

In November 2021, the Federal Government established the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and touted as a “once-in-a-generation level of funding,” this bill aims deliver $1.2 trillion to rebuild roads and bridges, ensure access to safe drinking water and broadband, and improve America’s ports, airports, rails, and roads.

May 20, 2022

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Building and Energy Solutions - Customized, Simplified, Verified

When you’re working with a supplier to solve a problem do you ever feel like you’re being offered an “off the shelf” solution that doesn’t quite fit your unique needs? Us, too. That’s why we developed Wayform™ by Trane®, a new consultative approach that provides you with a personalized, outcome-driven plan based on your performance objectives and building needs.

May 18, 2022

Blog

Insights from a Building and Energy Expert: Kathy Cox, Part II

It’s also important to be there – always. I have a philosophy: if my phone rings, I'm going to answer it. That’s because I never know what the situation may be. It may be that a chiller is down, or it may be that a customer needs a quick answer on how they’re going to do their funding. So, it is critical to always be there, listen, and bring our full resources to the table to assist.

Kathy Cox May 13, 2022

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Insights from a Building and Energy Expert: Kathy Cox, Part I

I always want to leave things better than when I found them. I think every customer wants to do the right thing when it comes to spending money, improving indoor air quality, improving their facilities and leaving a legacy. I think every person has that same goal of making an impact and leaving things better. Personally, I absolutely can do that every day in my job with Trane.

Kathy Cox May 11, 2022

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Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

Hooray, it’s May! This reminds me of May flowers and “May the 4th” for you Star Wars™ fans. For those of us living in northern climates, the flowers have started to bloom, and it is time to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and nature. My name is Chris Hsieh and I have been with Trane® for the past 25 years. Throughout my time with Trane, I have supported a variety of initiatives, notably the international service market, Six Sigma projects, green buildings industry, and TRACE® energy modeling. My current role is as an applications engineer with a focus on airside and indoor air quality (IAQ) issues.

Chris Hsieh May 09, 2022

Blog

National HVAC Programs Creates Efficiency & Savings for Restaurants

Managing restaurant buildings is a complex job. From hot kitchens to drafty dining rooms, and heat and moisture-producing equipment, there is a lot happening in a small space. The fact is the overall comfort and environment inside of a restaurant can have as much impact on getting return customers as the food.

Keri Taylor May 06, 2022

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Insights from a Building and Energy Expert: Dane Taival

Hear from building and energy expert Dane Taival, vice president of Digital & Energy Services for Commercial HVAC Americas, about how Trane helps serve our customers and their building's energy needs.

Dane Taival May 04, 2022

Blog

Lake Erie College’s HVACR Training: Everybody Wins

Lake Erie College was established in 1856. So, it’s no surprise the northeast Ohio campus has a wide range of HVAC equipment: chillers, hot water boilers, pneumatic systems…pretty much everything.

May 02, 2022

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Lindsay D’Albani: Playing to Her Strengths

At Trane, everything starts with engineering and Lindsay D’Albani is one of our best. D’Albani is a Senior Test Engineer in Clarksville, Tennessee and loves her engineering career at Trane because it’s flexible, interesting, and collaborative.

Amy Fitzgerald April 29, 2022

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Choosing an energy services provider? Here’s 4 things to look for

When it comes to optimizing your building performance, there are so many options, yet so little time. It can make good strategic and fiscal sense to partner with a trusted energy service provider to help you save energy, improve operating costs and reduce carbon emissions. But, how do you know what to look for in a partner? Found out the four key offerings to look for in an energy service partner.

April 27, 2022

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American Rescue Plan funds for a holistic approach to building wellness

Building wellness isn’t just about limiting the spread of COVID-19. For parents & educators, it’s about addressing indoor environmental quality (IEQ) to create healthier learning spaces. Wellsphere brings a more human and holistic approach to improving IEQ. Scott Huffmaster explains what you need to consider.

April 25, 2022

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Why Upgrade? The Potential Cost of Doing Nothing

As the leader of the Intelligent Services program, Kurt drives the development and implementation of innovations directly linked to the optimization of client facilities. Learn about the steps he suggests taking to help you determine whether it makes good fiscal sense to stay the course or consider cost-saving upgrades for your K-12 building.

Kurt Barrett April 22, 2022

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Electrifying a luxury retail icon: Trane and Bergdorf Goodman

Together with Trane and Trane Technologies, the Neiman Marcus Group marks Earth Day by taking its New York City landmark building Bergdorf Goodman Women’s Store from gas power to fully electric power, for a greener-energy future. Take a look at this vital step in their highly customized decarbonization journey.

April 21, 2022

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Insights from a Building and Energy Expert: Larry Cummings

As an expert in comprehensive solutions and energy-based projects, Larry works closely with Trane's strategic clients to solve energy and infrastructure challenges, Learn how Larry's expertise in building and energy helps Trane customers reach their goals.

Larry Cummings April 20, 2022

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Adele Glaser: Puzzle Master

Adele Glaser is a Services Sales Leader in Pine Brook, New Jersey, and loves that Trane is so focused on great engineering. It’s a series of increasingly complex puzzles for her. She knows the answers are out there, she just has to dig deep to find them.

Amy Fitzgerald April 18, 2022

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Insights from a Building and Energy Expert: Amber Mulligan

Customers are trying to balance their people and running whatever their business or operation does, while also caring about energy. In this environment where supply chain is crazy and there's not an end in sight, I think customers are really trying to figure out, “how do I, in the short, medium and long term, do the right thing?”

Amber Mulligan April 15, 2022

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Lake Erie College HVACR Program Elevates Community and Campus

Lake Erie College took a step outside the box and is reaping the rewards. Founded in 1856, the school is based in Painesville, Ohio, about 30 miles from Cleveland. It’s the only four-year college in Lake County, giving the institution’s leadership, faculty, and staff an additional layer of responsibility for their community.

April 14, 2022

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Variable Air Volume (VAV) Systems: 50 years of the Engineers Newsletter

Spring has sprung, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere…for the 50th time since the Engineers Newsletters (EN) was first published in 1972! Be sure to get outside and enjoy the change of seasons. Right now, though, stay here for my segment around history of the Engineers Newsletters publications.

Sarah Hilden April 12, 2022

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5 Considerations to Connect Your Building

Connecting your building doesn’t need to be complex, these five considerations can help you to have a conversation with a controls provider, like Trane, to design a system to meet your needs.

Sarah Wilke April 11, 2022

Blog

Three Ways Rental Solutions Can Positively Impact Your Warehouse Environment—and Your Business

Any idea how hot your warehouse might get on the hottest summer day? We understand if that question isn’t even on your radar right now given the challenges in warehouse supply chain and real estate.

April 08, 2022

Blog

Insights from an engineer: Peter Andrisevic

What really drew me in to be a sales engineer is that it’s a way to apply technical solutions in a really dynamic setting. I could take something technical — I could be still stimulating that left side of the brain and still enjoying that — while being in a social environment every day and applying it. So, it was the challenge, the variety, and the mix of technical and real-world applications.

Peter Andrisevic April 05, 2022

Blog

The most important building outcome: Yours

If you wish your building performed more efficiently and sustainability but don’t know how to get there, Wayform by Trane can help. Wayform is our people focused approach to delivering operational and energy outcomes that provides you with a trusted partner committed to developing customized building and energy solutions for your building.

April 04, 2022

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Trane Educators-in-Residence Help K-12 Teachers Amplify STEM Learning

When you choose Trane to improve the indoor environmental quality and energy efficiency of your K-12 school building, you also get the opportunity to add Trane’s BTU Crew™ interactive lessons to your school. This educational program transforms your school into a living-learning energy lab that helps amplify students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as future STEM careers.

April 01, 2022

Blog

Insights from a building and energy expert: Dave Molin

It seems like almost every customer has targeted specific environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals today. While these goals are easy to identify, they can be challenging to achieve. That’s one area where we can help - whether it's reducing energy, improving comfort, delivering against decarbonization or other sustainability goals. Trane systems deliver against those key performance indicators (KPIs) and make our customers business better at the same time.

Dave Molin March 31, 2022

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Kristin Sullivan: Embracing Her Inner Leader

At Trane we get excited about engineering because it allows us to do things nobody has ever done before. For Kristin Sullivan, Senior Engineering Manager in La Crosse, Wisconsin, leading her team to take on new challenges, and finding creative ways to solve them, is just a great day at the office.

March 28, 2022

Blog

Maximizing Restaurant Profits using Remote Connectivity

Running a successful restaurant means making a million decisions daily. Ordering, staffing, menu planning, the list can seem never-ending. What if I told you that simple changes to your HVAC system could not only make it easier to operate your building’s energy systems, but could also save money?

March 21, 2022

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Things to know: Decarbonization and Ultra Low NOx in California

To protect community health and lower greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, some areas of California are regulating the nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions of commercial furnaces.

Kenley Kyle & Chan Kim March 17, 2022

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A Holistic Solution: Caney Valley USD 436

When school superintendent Blake A. Vargas stepped into his new role leading Caney Valley Unified School District 436, multiple challenges faced the Kansas school district. Beyond the district’s deferred maintenance issues, including unreliable and inefficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, the district lacked sufficient cash to meet day-to-day operating expenses—much less address necessary building improvements. Aware he needed a holistic solution that addressed far more than simply building systems and services, Vargas vetted his options and ultimately engaged Trane. He knew that Trane could help the district develop a master plan that assessed needs, identified the best solutions and uncovered the best funding options.

March 17, 2022

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Spotlighting Rental Services at Trane: Kimberly Franklin on delivering the 5 P's

Trane’s Rental Services team provides heating, cooling, and power solutions for both short and long term needs.

March 14, 2022

Blog

The contracting business is changing and folks like Beth Rovazzini are leading the way.

Beth Rovazzini has been in charge of Indianapolis-based B&W Plumbing and Heating for 40 years. It’s a family business, first established in her parents’ garage in 1961. Growing up, Beth never thought she would take over the company – that would be her older brother’s job. She went to college at Indiana University and earned her degree in accounting.

March 11, 2022

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Electrical Considerations: 50 Years of the Engineers Newsletter

When joining Trane in 2000, with a background in electrical engineering, I found the Engineers Newsletters helpful in expanding my knowledge in the HVAC realm. The content was educational, timely, and well thought out with just enough technical detail to point me in the right direction and kick start my learning. It is an honor to be an EN author myself—having now authored or co-authored three newsletters. I hope to help Trane continue this goal of concise, timely education for many years to come.

Bob Coleman March 08, 2022

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Trane BTU Crew Turns Your School into a Living-Learning Energy Lab

When K-12 students learn about science, technology and math (STEM) at school, that early exposure increases their interest in pursuing STEM careers . That’s why we developed the BTU Crew - a STEM education program just for K-12 students.

February 28, 2022

Blog

The Evolution of Changeover Systems

Many light commercial buildings have traditionally used several single-zone, packaged rooftop units with thermostats—often because better systems were thought to be too complicated and/or too expensive to install. If “zoning” was desired in these buildings, a changeover bypass system was traditionally used; this system allowed a single rooftop unit to provide independent temperature control to several zones. However, it used a constant-speed supply fan and a centralized bypass damper, resulting in higher energy use and sound levels than other system alternatives.

February 18, 2022

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4 Benefits of Preventative HVAC Maintenance for Restaurants

Heating and cooling equipment is a major expense for restaurant owners. Discover the four benefits of preventative HVAC maintenance for restaurants.

February 09, 2022

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Standards & codes: 50 years of the Engineers Newsletter

I’ve been an applications engineer at Trane for over 26 years. During that time, I’ve authored twenty Engineers Newsletters, several of which were related to a specific ASHRAE® or AHRI© standard. These standards impact engineering professionals who design HVAC systems, but they can be long, complicated documents. And since they are written in code-enforceable language, some of the requirements can be confusing. Through the EN, we attempt to highlight and clearly explain how recent changes to an industry standard will impact the job of the HVAC design engineer and how the design of HVAC systems might be affected going forward.

John Murphy February 08, 2022

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Insights from an expert: Kasey Boxleitner

Kasey Boxleitner has more than five years’ experience doing her part to improve the energy efficiency of the world by designing and implementing HVAC solutions for our commercial building customers. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison She is past president of the university’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and currently serves on the chapter’s board of directors. She also volunteers for the university’s Women in Mechanical Engineering Mentor Program.

Kasey Boxleitner February 03, 2022

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How Standard Work and Pre-Engineered Systems Can Improve the Reliability of Chiller Plants

Often, a central chilled water plant can be one of the most critical systems within a facility, especially during facility operations—so wouldn’t it be logical for the design and installation of these plants be considered critical as well? Expecting a central plant to be reliable is a given, so it makes sense that the steps leading up to the startup of that first compressor be as reliable as possible, too. Putting standard work practices, pre-engineered sequences and documentation into place can go a long way in helping to ensure the reliability of the chilled water plant. 

Brian Kirkman February 01, 2022

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DJ Brown and the Value of Collaboration

A lead technician in the San Diego office, DJ Brown works closely with contractors and has one primary goal: Help the job run smoothly.

January 28, 2022

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Celebrating 50 years of the Engineers Newsletter

Since its inception, Trane® has strived to provide objective and useful information to engineers and contractors. Early examples include numerous bulletins covering new systems and equipment. In addition, the company began publishing the Trane Air Conditioning Manual in 1938.

Eric Sturm January 11, 2022

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Getting to Low Carbon Buildings with Thermal Energy Storage

This year, there has been a lot of news around thermal energy storage as a way to reduce carbon emissions, and for good reason. Read more for two of the latest trends.

December 20, 2021

Blog

How Trane can help indoor growers optimize operations and reduce energy costs

Fundamentally, it’s an HVAC challenge. Like data centers and hospital operating rooms, commercial grow rooms are critical environments that require precise indoor climate conditions to successfully perform their mission. It’s important for growers to partner with a provider that is familiar with the challenges high-stakes environments face and has the energy-efficiency expertise to support them.

November 23, 2021

Blog

6 ways for indoor agriculture to grow sustainability

Precisely maintained indoor environments make indoor growing operations highly efficient. They consume up to 95% less water, use less fertilizer and pesticide and are hundreds of times more productive per square foot compared to traditional farming methods. And growers don’t need to worry about Mother Nature spoiling the harvest.

November 17, 2021

Blog

Get Smart on Creating Productive Learning Environments

Join Portia Mount of Trane and Corgan experts David Euscher, Sangeetha Karthik, and AJ Sustaita as they discuss creating effective and inclusive K-12 learning environments.

November 11, 2021

Blog

Finding a Second Career in the Trades

Haley Whiting is an apprentice pipefitter in Chicago – Union Local 597. She’s been working in the trades for nearly five years and, in her early 30s, is one of the older apprentices. Her career started off in one direction before the construction industry finally found her.

November 08, 2021

Blog

Open systems in building management systems

A communication protocol is a set of rules used to share data. An open protocol means the communication rules are publicly available. Using an open protocol is a good first step but can become complicated if a single vendor owns the protocol. That vendor could keep some of the features for only their products, making it less open than would first appear. Or worse, the vendor may change the protocol leaving existing systems in a state where an upgrade may break existing interoperability.

Chuck Lehn November 03, 2021

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3 ways colleges are using stimulus and savings to create healthier, more prosperous communities

In response to COVID’s impact on our schools nationwide, the U.S. Department of Education has stepped in to provide an unprecedented amount of funding as part of its American Rescue Plan (ARP). Through this funding, community colleges around the nation received over $40 billion in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding (HEERF III) to address the financial burden faced by institutions of higher learning and students alike.

October 29, 2021

Blog

Get Smart on Efficient and Healthy Schools: From Research to Practice

Join Anisa Heming, Director of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, and Wanyu Rengie Chan, Ph.D, Healthy Schools Research Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as they unpack the latest studies and best practices in IEQ for K-12 school buildings.

October 28, 2021

Blog

Insight from an expert: IEQ and back to school

As part of a holistic approach to building wellness, an energy service company such as Trane can help school leaders access unprecedented funding currently available to optimize indoor spaces in schools. Additionally, Trane can help leaders prepare a long-term replacement strategy should they be hit with a natural disaster or other surprises.

Jason Turner October 15, 2021

Blog

Insights from an expert: IEQ and back to school

Although a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in Texas is one of the most important components of a building, it often is underfunded for preventive maintenance and replacement. I think that fewer than 20 percent of the state’s schools have a capital improvement plan in place. Now is a great time for the remaining 80 percent to address that need.

Jason Turner October 15, 2021

Blog

Insights from an expert: IEQ and back to school

Although a heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in Texas is one of the most important components of a building, it often is underfunded for preventive maintenance and replacement. I think that fewer than 20 percent of the state’s schools have a capital improvement plan in place. Now is a great time for the remaining 80 percent to address that need.

Jason Turner October 15, 2021

Blog

Get Smart on Technical Career Pathways for Students: Industry and Education Partnerships

How has technical education changed and why should parents, students, businesses and communities consider a technical career pathway an important opportunity?

October 14, 2021

Blog

River Trails School District 26 awarded for outstanding energy efficiency commitments

Prairie Trails School is on track to save more than $32,000 a year in annual gas and electricity costs while offering optimized indoor air quality and reliable, energy efficient performance.

October 14, 2021

Blog

Open distribution in building automation systems

When it comes to building automation systems, not all uses of the term “open system” are equal. When talking about open systems, definitions typically fall into three categories: open distribution, open protocols, and open service. This blog explores open distribution.

Andrew Disher October 04, 2021

Blog

6 Ways to Make HVAC Systems as Green as Can Be

Technology and material advancements have been making buildings consistently more sustainable for decades. Some of what’s possible is truly remarkable. There are solutions readily available today that can reduce emissions while paying back building owners with financial benefits.

October 01, 2021

Blog

Get Smart on the State of the Schools: America's K–12 Facilities

Why has the U.S. PK-12 school facilities’ funding gap increased to a staggering $85 billion a year — when the learning environment is more critical than ever — and what can be done about it? Join Mary Filardo, Executive Director of the 21st Century School Fund and Rachel Hodgdon, CEO of the International Well Building Institute®, as they delve into their organizations’ 2021 State of Our Schools Report.

September 30, 2021

Blog

It's Elementary: IAQ Management and Monitoring Matter in Schools

Even well before the global pandemic, researchers reported that maintaining proper indoor air quality (IAQ) can help reduce absenteeism, aﬀect test scores, and enhance student and staﬀ perceptions of productivity. According to a literature review published in 2005 in Indoor Air Journal , evidence suggests that poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in schools is common and adversely influences the performance and attendance of students, primarily through health effects from indoor pollutants.

September 28, 2021

Blog

Insights from an expert: IEQ and back to school

Cameron Griffith offers 15 years of energy services consulting experience helping customers leverage their buildings to meet improve their business performance. Cameron helps building owners meet or exceed business outcomes, using buildings as a resource to maximize asset potential.

Cameron Griffith September 23, 2021

Blog

Insights from an expert: Designing for healthier spaces

Typically when people think of “healthier indoor spaces” they are referring to the filtration or other air cleaning technologies. What many people don’t realize is that the health of their spaces is so much more that that. It starts with thermal comfort, ie the temperature and humidity in the space. ASHRAE has tons of research that shows that there are optimal ranges for temperature and humidity to keep occupants comfortable and prevent the spread of viruses, bacteria and other microbials.

Tyler Malm September 21, 2021

Blog

Get Smart: How to use energy contracting to your school's advantage

How can schools leverage tomorrow’s energy savings to fund today’s K-12 school building improvements — and what risks are associated with these types of projects? Join Dr. Timothy Unruh, Executive Director for the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO®), as he dives into the ins and outs of this funding vehicle known as an energy savings performance contract.

September 16, 2021

Blog

There’s more to indoor comfort than temperature

Multiple studies have shown that the more comfortable people are, the more productive they become. Some applications, like healthcare, retail stores, grocery stores, and schools may have unique requirements related to one or more of the thermal comfort parameters for the comfort of the people – or food – inside their buildings.

Eric Sturm September 14, 2021

Blog

Insights from an engineer: Designing for healthier spaces

There is not a silver bullet when addressing IEQ or IAQ issues. Every building is different, and every customer is different. It is important to assess each building to determine existing conditions of the space. It is also important to understand key factors from the customer (efficacy against pathogens, energy efficiency, mold/mildew mitigation, improved productivity, comfort issues, etc.). Most projects require a layered approach to meet the unique needs of the customer and their building’s current state.

Jeff Wiseman September 09, 2021

Blog

Annual School Facility Funding Gap Grows to $85 Billion

A new report from the International Well Building Institute (IWBI), State of Our Schools 2021, shows a projected annual shortfall of $85 billion in annual U.S. K-12 public school facility funding, despite significant local and state efforts to deliver healthy and safe public-school buildings. This shortfall represents a nearly 80 percent increase since 2016 according to the report by the 21st Century School Fund, IWBI and the National Council on School Facilities.

September 08, 2021

Blog

3 Ways Facilities Managers Can Partner with Superintendents on Infrastructure Improvements

The current education stimulus funding represents the United States’ largest-ever investment in infrastructure upgrade opportunities for K-12 schools. (Source) These unprecedented stimulus funds can be leveraged for facility upgrades including indoor air quality improvements. As the district’s trusted facility advisor, one of the most important things you can do is help your school make the right decisions when it comes to funding district needs.

August 25, 2021

Blog

IEQ: What's now, what's new and what's next

Hear from Scott Huffmaster, North America Sales Leader for Healthy Spaces with Trane, as he talks about what’s now, what’s new and what’s next for IEQ.

Scott Huffmaster August 17, 2021

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VRF: The right solution for CORE Fitness

When CORE Fitness in Providence, Rhode Island, began transforming an old brownstone into an upscale fitness center they turned to Coldmasters and Trane. Specializing in cycling, weight training and boxing classes, CORE knows the importance of bringing individualized comfort to its clients.

August 16, 2021

Blog

Insights from an expert: IEQ and back to school

Insight from an expert: IEQ and back to school

Denise Chavez August 11, 2021

Video

How are schools using federal funding? Hear from 3 superintendents.

We talked with 3 superintendents from around the country to learn how their school districts are leveraging federal funding to improve building infrastructure for the upcoming school year and beyond.

August 04, 2021

Video

Are Stimulus Funds a Generational Opportunity?

We talked with 3 superintendents from around the country about how federal stimulus funds offer an opportunity to upgrade facilities in ways that will leave a lasting positive impact for generations to come.

August 04, 2021

Video

What's the impact of school infrastructure updates? Hear from 3 superintendents.

We talked with 3 superintendents from around the country about the many long-term benefits of thoughtful infrastructure improvements, specifically for students today and of future generations.

August 04, 2021

Blog

Giving a page a title

August 04, 2021

Blog

Insights from an expert: IEQ and back to school

Many schools realized that their systems, particularly mechanical and HVAC systems, were not capable of handling the CDC- and ASHRAE-recommended modifications during the pandemic, such as increasing outdoor air. Especially in the Northeast, systems are not built to handle 100 percent outdoor air in the dead of winter. Therefore, it made schools consider more holistic and creative ways of preparing their classrooms for teachers and students, such as air cleaners or better controls strategies.

Morgan Perras July 28, 2021

Blog

Drive customers in and odors out – is your restaurant properly pressurized?

Our sense of smell has been a powerful motivator throughout human history. This natural olfactory instinct can drive the decisions we make - whether they’re good, bad or indifferent. So, when it comes to restaurants and kitchens, help ensure customers only get the very best of the smells in your building.

July 22, 2021

Blog

5 great reasons to assess indoor environmental quality – and 1 bad reason.

If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s the importance indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has on the comfort and well-being of people inside. It’s been an issue for a lot longer, though. So long, it even has a name: Sick Building Syndrome. Sick Building Syndrome is a condition affecting office workers attributed to poorly managed facilities or stressful factors in the working environment such as poor ventilation.

July 22, 2021

Blog

5 ways to boost peace of mind about in-person learning

School systems across the country displayed superhuman creativity and resolve to make distance learning possible during the pandemic. Despite the herculean effort, 97% of educators believe students have suffered at least some learning disruption, with more than half believing that loss was significant1. In-person learning remains the most productive K12 educational environment.

July 19, 2021

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Navigating fundamental changes in the energy landscape

Chances are you’ve heard about decarbonization and electrification: two six-syllable words that may sound like a weird new diet. They are in a way – but for fossil fuel consumption, not calories. And engineers and building owners should be paying attention.

July 14, 2021

Blog

Keep the balance: Monitoring your building’s IEQ

The 2020 pandemic magnified that buildings — along with the operations they house — are vulnerable to unseen health threats. Now more than ever, addressing people’s confidence and comfort inside a building can be core to business success and a vital part of a building’s value proposition, and its marketability. Taking the right long-term approach to your building’s indoor environmental quality (IEQ) can help you ensure your building’s wellness, and more importantly, the well-being of its occupants.

July 09, 2021

Blog

Five Tips to Navigating the Complexity of Open System Building Controls

When it comes to building automation systems, not all uses of the term “open system” are equal. The following tips can help you identify the most critical open system capabilities so you can make an informed decision for your building or project’s needs.When it comes to building automation systems, not all uses of the term “open system” are equal. The following tips can help you identify the most critical open system capabilities so you can make an informed decision for your building or project’s needs.

Chuck Lehn July 09, 2021

Blog

Creating a Cleaner Environment for Dining Experiences

Restaurant owners and facility managers are among many who know how to deliver on cleaner environments. Their businesses are built on it and can easily be shut down because of it. Creating a worry-free dining experience and communicating that dedication to customers is fast becoming a marketing tactic to help obtain and keep customers.

June 25, 2021

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Creating Comfort Through Humidity Control

Life is slowly returning to normal, as more and more people are coming together in their favorite eating places. For restaurant owners and facility managers this uptick in indoor dining is a good sign after taking a $240 billion hit from pandemic shutdowns1. For many, recovery will take years. But that recovery is happening, which is why many building owners and facility managers are working to ensure they are creating inviting, comfortable dining spaces where customers can breathe easy.

June 07, 2021

Blog

Bring the Outdoors in with Optimized Ventilation

“It’s more than good food that will bring customers back inside,” Greg DuChane, Trane Restaurant Vertical market leader and engineer said. “Restaurants will need to ensure both their employees and customers feel confident indoors. People are ready to dine again and ensuring worry-free dining will be a key marketing strategy in many areas.”

May 24, 2021

Blog

Making the invisible visible

As we begin to transition into a post-pandemic world, indoor air quality (IAQ) continues to be a central focus for us, our customers and the world. While people collectively consider how and when to safely return to buildings, addressing airborne health risks in indoor spaces is a top priority.

May 17, 2021

Blog

K-12 Rental Programs: Short-Term Agility in an Emergency

A broken HVAC chiller. Mold issues. 500 students needing to return to school. The pressures around managing aging schools are never-ending and are further complicated when buildings close due to faulty or broken systems. For an Alabama elementary school, this was a reality. A two-month replacement lead time only made it worse.

May 11, 2021

Blog

Powering Up Indoor Air Quality in New York State Schools

The COVID-19 pandemic marked the beginning of changes for in-person learning and activities the likes of which have never been seen before in the State of New York. As thousands of K-12 schools closed and students, families and staff prepared for self-quarantine and limited social interactions, superintendents were confronted with complex and, in some cases, conflicting challenges.

May 10, 2021

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Three-Step Approach Helps School District Open Classrooms Quickly

Re-opening schools required improving indoor air quality (IAQ) to mitigate health risks for a safer in-person learning environment. Located in an industrial center that generates airborne particulates and odors that preclude opening windows, the district also faced budgetary constraints. Additionally, the district’s outdated (HVAC) heating, ventilation and air conditioning system couldn’t support use of ASHRAE®-recommended MERV 13 filters.

April 29, 2021

Blog

Are You Prioritizing IAQ Efficiently?

The importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) has truly changed. IAQ is now seen as a critical factor in determining the overall health of your building and addressing the well-being of those who occupy it. Even prior to 2020, EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicated that indoor levels of pollutants may be two to five times higher than outdoor levels.

April 22, 2021

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Is Your Building WELL?

In response, many building owners, managers and tenants are seeking validation through independent healthy building certifications and recognition. One of the leading organizations in the field is the International Well Building Institute® (IWBI). As a proud member of the IWBI, Trane® is actively engaged with the organization. We are sharing research and latest innovations, working together to solve today’s IEQ challenges.

April 16, 2021

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Trane Offers New Cold Storage Option to Boost Vaccine Effort

As vaccine manufacturers continue to roll out COVID-19 vaccines, thousands of health care networks, hospitals, and large and small pharmacy groups around the world are working to properly receive and house the critical cargo, which has unique and specific cold storage requirements.

March 18, 2021

Blog

No Silver Bullets for Indoor Air Quality

In the past year we have faced many challenges, not the least of which has been a global health crisis which continues to take its toll on our communities. The pandemic has raised awareness of the general indoor air quality (IAQ) topic, including not only aspects related to pathogens like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but also aspects related to other contaminants (dust, allergens, volatile organic compounds, etc.). People were already spending almost 95% of their time in enclosed spaces , and this percentage became even higher with the pandemic, so IAQ and the technologies that can preserve or improve it have taken center stage.

March 08, 2021

Blog

Expand Your Expertise on Healthy and Efficient Spaces

As 2021 unfolds, it may be safe to say that indoor environments have never received quite as much attention as they have now, particularly the environmental quality of enclosed spaces. People who may not have previously recognized the value of your role in the building industry might now be showing greater appreciation, or even pelting you with questions.

February 04, 2021

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Three Ways Schools Can Fund Indoor Air Quality Investments Today

We know you want to get students back into classrooms as safely and as quickly as possible — and keep them there safely — and we want to help you through this monumental effort.

January 28, 2021

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How Funding Solutions Can Help Schools Improve Air Quality of Classrooms

Schools, including K-12 institutions, can now take advantage of more than $80 billion in funding within the Education Stabilization Fund to improve their learning environment — including optimizing their indoor air quality (IAQ).

January 15, 2021

Blog

Shutdown Ready - Identify Your Best Building Connectivity-Level

Imagine being able to hit one “shutdown” button, to manage the process of preparing those dozens, hundreds or even thousands of facilities for a shutdown. A manager responsible for approximately 200 retail facilities, most of them including commercial kitchens, for example, recently became the envy of his fellow facility managers when he shared during a pandemic update that he was able to do just that: complete what was essentially a “one-button shutdown.”

January 04, 2021

Blog

"Introducing: Wellsphere, Trane's Holistic Approach to Building Wellness"

To support building owners and others navigating this new IEQ era, Trane recently launched the Wellsphere platform. Designed to offer high-level thinking around IEQ, Wellsphere is our holistic approach to building wellness.

December 16, 2020

Blog

Commercial Indoor Air Quality: Best Practices and Trends

With COVID-19-related cases continuing across the nation, many businesses remain focused on safely operating and maintaining their buildings. In some cases, small changes are making big improvements and in others, long-term building health is getting much-needed attention.

December 10, 2020

Why better overall restaurant comfort starts in the kitchen

First and foremost, employees and guests can experience better air quality and comfort throughout the restaurant. Trane’s Total Restaurant HVAC System introduces up to 10-times more fresh air than the HVAC in conventional buildings (125 – 130 percent more than most codes require). It replaces air 25 – 30 percent faster than a traditional design. It also offers a solid financial justification by delivering an average $4,000 to $12,000 in annual energy savings*.

December 07, 2020

Blog

Emergency Contingency Planning: Key Best Practices

It’s critical for organizations to have an effective, proactive power and HVAC contingency plan in place. Not only can it reduce financial risk, the contingency plan can help protect the health and safety of building occupants and increase peace of mind for the organization and its stakeholders.

December 01, 2020

Blog

Lowering emissions in the Northeast: Key Strategy for a New, Sustainable Grid

The trend to decarbonize is transforming the U.S. power grid. The grid increasingly depends less upon fossil fuels and more upon distributed energy resources or technologies such as solar photovoltaic and offshore wind alongside new energy efficiency, demand response, energy storage and other customer-based technologies.

November 17, 2020

modern business hall interior with glass wall

Blog

Cold Ahead: Prepare Your Facility Now

With 2020 driving unprecedented demands – at work and home – you may not yet have prepared your building for colder days. There’s still time! Here are a few tips and recommendations from Trane® building professionals that can help you save energy and lower your utility bills during the colder months ahead.

November 11, 2020

Careful caucasian businesswoman holding a laptop and tablet while wearing a protective mask

Blog

Avoid the Filter Frenzy: Take a Methodical Approach to IAQ

More popular than “toilet paper in April.” That’s how a recent CNBC story described the current shortage in high quality air filtration systems, many of which are currently back ordered. Due to COVID-19 and the subsequent ASHRAE® guidance to upgrade filtration to MERV 13 or greater, demand for MERV 13 pleated filters has hit unprecedented levels. Complicating this demand, both MERV 13 pleated filters and high-demand N95 masks depend on the same media: high electrostatic non-woven polypropylene fiber.

November 04, 2020

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3 Ways Trane’s Tracer® SC+ Controls Provide Outstanding Efficiency for Your VRF System

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology is becoming an increasingly common choice for commercial HVAC projects through its ability to provide outstanding efficiencies to not only the end user, but to engineers as well as contractors. Trane® / Mitsubishi Electric is uniquely positioned to offer complete VRF system solutions, including all VRF and ductless equipment, an integrated controls platform, Tracer® SC+ and industry-leading expertise you can rely on.

November 01, 2020

Blog

Now is the Time to Optimize Your Building's Grid Resiliency

Learn how you can get ahead of future strains on the power grid – whether due to temperature spikes, intermittent or variable renewable resources, or raging wild fires Discover why and how to optimize your building’s grid resiliency from systems, services and controls to energy sources.

October 27, 2020

Blog

20,000 Buildings and Nearly 1 Million Pieces of Equipment

With HVAC demand expected to triple by 2050, connected buildings that incorporate digital controls will play a crucial role in ensuring ongoing efficient energy management and sustainable building operations

October 26, 2020

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7 Ways to Minimize Installation Risk With Trane / Mitsubishi Electric VRF Systems

When it comes to VRF installation, risk management is crucial. Contractors want to know their partners have the experience and information to help guide them from system installation to building opening. That’s why Trane offers a one-stop solution that includes a vast product portfolio featuring Trane® / Mitsubishi Electric VRF technology, backed by the knowledge and expertise of industry leaders.

October 20, 2020

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Move IAQ projects forward faster with new Trane financing

Qualified districts may be able to complete IAQ projects immediately by bundling the cost of an IAQ Assessment, pertinent solutions and even ongoing service into one convenient financing solution, provided by Trane.

October 19, 2020

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IAQ can't wait. Federal funding can help schools move forward.

Available grant money may provide the funding schools need to improve air flow, filtration and air cleaning technology that can help mitigate the spread of airborne pathogens,

October 13, 2020

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5 Reasons Engineers Should Consider an Integrated VRF System With Tracer® SC+ Controls

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are soaring in popularity throughout the HVAC industry thanks to their ability to offer contractors and engineers the freedom to design and install systems tailored to customers’ specific needs. The experts at Trane have taken these benefits a step further by integrating the Tracer® SC+ controls platform with the Trane® / Mitsubishi Electric N-Gen CITY MULTI® series, creating a fully integrated VRF system.

October 06, 2020

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Trane Trends: Work-From-Home Solutions for Personal Productivity and Team Collaboration

Working outside the confines of a professional, well-designed office space can be chaotic for an engineer (or anyone) who thrives on process and organization. While working remotely from home, Ken Durham, Trane’s Regional Operational Excellence Leader for the Pacific Southwest, took steps to restore his sense of order, and his advice can help anyone do the same.

October 01, 2020

Blog

Optimize Your Restaurant Environment with Confidence

While masking, surface cleaning and social distancing can help mitigate potential virus spread, considering other measures can help restauranteurs reduce potential spread of certain airborne virus in a restaurant environment.

September 23, 2020

Blog

Connectivity Drives Results for Crosstown Concourse

Discover how Trane partnered with Crosstown Concourse, a mixed-use development in Memphis, Tennessee, to enable optimal daily operations, tracks tenant energy use, troubleshoots issues, and more through connectivity.

September 22, 2020

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Connectivity Drives Results for Crosstown Concourse

Connectivity can drive significant results for building owners and managers. After all, connected buildings open the door to better service and technology for building owners and managers. Insightful data allows for solutions that improve a building’s performance — including decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy savings, and helping building owners make the right decisions for both their facilities and the planet.

September 22, 2020

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Trane Trends: Adapting to new building priorities

As we talk to customers today, it’s easy to recognize they’re being asked to think differently. Our products and services must also morph to meet these new challenges and opportunities. What used to be a seemingly endless drive towards energy efficiency is now a balance between indoor air quality and energy efficiency – and connectivity will play a huge role in achieving this goal. How will we offset the costs of conditioning this extra outside air?

September 14, 2020

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Empower Your Tenants to Match System Operation with their Ever-Changing Schedules

Tenants are innovating to facilitate social distancing, and that is causing headaches for facility managers. Trane streamlines tenant occupancy management, allowing occupants to change system scheduling by interacting directly with the building automation system (BAS). This process also optimizes energy use.

September 09, 2020

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Restaurants and Retail: Common Challenges for Optimizing Commercial Kitchen Environments

With the ever-changing landscape of COVID-19, restaurant and retail building facility managers have an even greater opportunity to create and maintain healthier building management practices. However, maintaining, and in some cases creating, those practices are pushing facility managers to face new challenges – especially in commercial kitchens.

August 27, 2020

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Trane Trends: Growing through new challenges

We have all had to change the way we interact with customers and coworkers and find ways to stay positive during these challenging times. Kasey Connor, Trane’s Sales Engineer, New England, sees opportunity in the adversity and believes it may make us all better people in the long run.

August 19, 2020

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Optimizing HVAC Maintenance When Runtime is Never the Same

By integrating work orders with the building automation system (BAS), Trane’s work order management software makes it easy to order parts and perform maintenance based on actual equipment run time.

August 12, 2020

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Five Ways to Build Your Brand in the "New Normal"

Building a strong and differentiated brand matters now, more than ever, as building owners and managers navigate the challenges of the global health crisis. Clients are looking for a solid “say” + “do” ratio and commitments from their partners to listen, and to be transparent and authentic.

August 05, 2020

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Preparing Your District: The ABCs of Optimizing Indoor Air Quality

As a school administrator, you are already well aware there are no easy answers regarding the best way to re-open schools. While there is heavy focus on the importance of masking and surface cleaning, even more important is addressing your schools’ indoor air quality (IAQ) to meet appropriate and ever-evolving guidelines.

July 27, 2020

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July 15, 2020

Energy-Modeling-Software

It’s an often-repeated statistic: about 40 percent of the energy used in this country is consumed in residential and commercial buildings. That’s more energy than is used in both the transportation and energy sectors. Alarmingly, however, much of that energy is wasted — 30 percent in the average commercial building, according to Energy Star. So, what can be done?

July 15, 2020

How to Identify Opportunities for Improvement

July 15, 2020

3 Ways to Control Energy Costs this Summer

July 15, 2020

Blog

Consider Creative Financing to Take a Holistic Approach in the “New Normal”

Building owners and managers are facing new pressures as we all navigate the “new normal.” While budget pressure may be higher than ever, there is also a pressing need to optimize the indoor environment – and progressing so can meet multiple business objectives.

Jeff Light July 08, 2020

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World Refrigeration Day: Honoring our Climate

Although we honor June 26 as World Refrigeration Day, focusing on refrigeration – and the sustainability opportunities it offers – is a year-round emphasis for us at Trane. Through our enterprise-wide climate commitment, we are directly addressing climate change by offering alternatives to the way the world heats and cools buildings and moves refrigerated cargo.

June 26, 2020

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8 Reasons Contractors Should Embrace Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF)

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are an increasingly popular choice regardless of a building’s size or intended use. VRF systems focus on heating and cooling only the spaces that require individual temperature control by circulating the optimal amount of refrigerant required for each zone, resulting in advantages with system operation and occupancy comfort.

June 17, 2020

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Trane // Your Partner in Resilience

There’s an old saying that adversity is a great teacher. If that’s the case, the current situation is certainly doing a lot of teaching, and we’re all doing our fair share of learning. It's testing our mettle as individuals and as organizations. It’s challenging us and pushing our limits in ways we couldn’t have possibly imagined 6 months ago. But in many ways, it’s also taking us to new heights.

May 28, 2020

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The Link Between LED Lighting and Observed Health, Learning and Productivity

Use of LED lighting is transforming the role that lighting can play in an environment. Some LED lighting technology allows for variation in lighting intensity and color temperature that can help people augment their environment.

April 30, 2020

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Where are the trustworthy COVID-19 resources for the HVAC/building industry?

The impact of such a pandemic is real and harsh. With most of us juggling different roles in our life, the question on how we stay safe and productive in tough times surface to the top. As a good citizen, we should follow the guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for personal actions. For many of us serving in the commercial HVAC field, many industry resources have become available recently.

April 15, 2020

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Your Checklist to Optimize Remote Building Management

The narrative around connected building technology has shifted, at least for the time being. Efforts around comfort, sustainability and reducing energy costs through improved building management now include strategies for doing it all remotely, when uncommon circumstances might make it difficult to work on site.

April 10, 2020

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Trane's Engineers Newsletter Live! Supporting Distance Learning for Engineers During COVID-19

Keep your training and certification current with Trane's Engineers Newsletter Live! (ENL), a complementary learning program taught by a panel of experienced and knowledgeable applications engineers.

April 07, 2020

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Top Tips For Remote Building Management

As the needs of facilities are rapidly changing during these unprecedented times, Trane wants its customers to know we're here to help.

March 30, 2020

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Celebrating International Women’s Day, Recognizing Awesome Achievements by Trane Women

International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated annually on March 8, provides an opportunity for countries around the world to recognize women’s contributions to society and calls for the acceleration of women’s equality. This year’s campaign theme, #EachforEqual, focuses on the concept that ‘An equal world is an enabled world’. It encourages each individual to take an active role in helping to broaden perceptions, promoting gender equality, and celebrating the achievements of women.

March 06, 2020

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Next Generation Lighting Illuminates New Options, Simplifies HVAC Integration

Although light-emitting diode (LED) applications have been available for decades, their use in commercial lighting has rapidly grown in recent years. While LEDS made up just 13 percent of the market in 2017, according to the latest LED adoption report produced by the U.S. Department of Energy, in 2035 they are expected to represent 84 percent, according to the same report.

February 25, 2020

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Energy Storage: Transforming How We Use-- And Pay For-- Energy

Energy storage may be the technology that fundamentally changes the grid. It’s important to know that buildings have two types of energy loads, electric and thermal, and each one has an optimal storage method.

December 13, 2019

Global Communication Networing Connection Concept

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The Benefits of Wireless Controls for Connected Buildings

Zero energy building growth has increased by 700 percent since 2012 and revenue from these buildings is expected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2035. Buildings with the greatest flexibility can offer multiple benefits to the grid and to the owners and managers of those buildings.

December 10, 2019

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Approaching Zero Energy

Zero energy building growth has increased by 700 percent since 2012 and revenue from these buildings is expected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2035. Buildings with the greatest flexibility can offer multiple benefits to the grid and to the owners and managers of those buildings.

November 21, 2019

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Designing an HVAC Systen When Your Building Occupants are Green

Green plants, such as lettuce, kale, basil, and other crops, are being grown by indoor agriculture producers around the world. Maintaining an optimal environment is just as important when plants are grown indoors as when they are outside.

November 15, 2019

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Energy Cost Saving Methods for Data Centers

When data centers want to reduce non-IT energy costs, there is no single solution. Many strategies come to mind, and the best one…depends. It depends on utility rate structures, local climate and natural resources, and on the type of IT equipment and how the center is laid out. Experienced HVAC system designers begin with energy efficient base equipment—and then we get creative. Many of the available solutions for reducing energy costs aren’t new, but we’re finding new ways to apply them to reduce the energy intensity of data centers.

November 04, 2019

3D Rendering of data center room with abstract data servers and glowing led indicators, abstract network and ceiling lights. For Big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence concept background.

Blog

Air vs. Water Cooled Chillers

Data centers and computer rooms are being built everywhere to accommodate the rapidly increasing demand for data processing. Too often, systems that are designed to manage human comfort are being applied to data centers, and they simply aren’t up to the task. Using a comfort system where precision cooling is required inevitably results in unplanned downtime, excessively high energy costs, and diminished ROI due to shortened equipment life.

October 30, 2019

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Contingency planning

No matter what industry you are in, it is critical to develop a power and HVAC contingency plan as part of a comprehensive crisis-response plan. Interruptions to power and HVAC – whether from a natural disaster or other challenges – can cause millions of dollars in damage, disrupt operations and erode stakeholder confidence. Developing an effective power and HVAC contingency plan minimizes financial risk, while protecting the health and safety of building occupants and providing peace of mind for an organization and its stakeholders.

October 18, 2019

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The Future of Data Center Energy Use

It’s one of the biggest paradoxes of our time: The world needs to build more energy-intensive data centers to meet growing demand. Meanwhile, it has become imperative to reduce carbon emissions to put the brakes on climate change. It’s both a challenge and an opportunity to introduce technologies that could transform building energy use forever—across all sectors—including machine learning and artificial intelligence.

October 07, 2019

Blog

Comfort vs Precision Cooling

Data centers and computer rooms are being built everywhere to accommodate the rapidly increasing demand for data processing. Too often, systems that are designed to manage human comfort are being applied to data centers, and they simply aren’t up to the task. Using a comfort system where precision cooling is required inevitably results in unplanned downtime, excessively high energy costs, and diminished ROI due to shortened equipment life.

October 07, 2019

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Achieving the Water-Energy Conservation “Sweet Spot"

While the focus on climate change has driven reduced energy consumption, attention to water conservation is increasing because fresh water supplies are diminishing. At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse.

July 29, 2019

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Business values are driving even greater progress

June 28, 2019

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What’s Happening with the Skilled Labor Shortage?: And how it is impacting the HVAC industry

As the dynamic HVAC industry continues to grow and change, it finds itself faced with a growing skilled labor shortage.

May 30, 2019

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Blog

Is two or three-pipe VRF system right for you?

After you’ve decided variable refrigerant flow (VRF) is the best HVAC solution for your building, you’re tasked with another important decision: do you choose two or three-pipe technology? The answer can depend on many variables, including the building application, architecture and age, to name a few.

May 24, 2019

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Women in HVAC: How we are Closing the Gender and Job Candidate Gaps

The calendar just closed on the 2019 celebration of International Women’s Day. With a new flood of college graduates poised to hit the job market, our leaders remain focused on encouraging increased representation of women in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) jobs.

April 24, 2019

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Here's what you missed at the 2019 AHR Expo

Didn't make it to the 2019 AHR Expo or just want to re-live the excitement? Check out our booth tour video and read about booth highlights from this year's show.

February 20, 2019

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An Update on PG&E's Bankruptcy

Based in San Francisco, PG&E is the largest utility in the nation. It provides electric and natural gas services to 16 million customers across a 70,000 square mile area of northern and central California.

February 12, 2019

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4 Questions to Determine Your Equipment Upgrade Strategy

You may be at a crossroads between replacing or retrofitting your building’s HVAC equipment due to age. We know this because the U.S. Energy Information Administration has reported that nearly half of all commercial buildings were constructed before 1980.1

December 11, 2018

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U.S. Natural Gas Prices Spike to Levels Not Seen Since 2014

Closing Wednesday at $4.84 per MMBtu, prompt-month natural gas prices have soared to their highest levels since 2014. Despite the multi-year high levels, this move wasn’t totally unexpected and Trane has been warning clients about the possibility of a winter price run-up since signs started pointing that direction in the summer months.

November 16, 2018

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Thinking differently about VPPAs

What’s in your sustainability playbook? Purchasing renewable energy from a local provider, reducing overall energy consumption and installing distributed renewable energy sources, such as solar panels or wind turbines, should all be considered as part of a holistic approach to energy and environmental impact.

November 14, 2018

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The High Cost of Processing Your Own Energy Invoices

An independent study recently calculated the cost of processing a single energy invoice at $13.04. A line item under $20 probably won’t catch the attention of the finance director, but a deeper look into missed benefits and opportunities elevates the priority.

October 30, 2018

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Low Storage Levels Could Spike U.S. Winter Natural Gas Prices

With the winter just a few weeks away, it has become increasingly clear that the U.S. will go into this heating season with the lowest amount of gas in storage since 2003. Storage is now expected to be at just 3.25 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), well below the 3.8 Tcf that was seen last year and the record 4.05 Tcf that we had to start the winter of 2016-2017. Some colder temperatures to end October are expected to put injections below normal over the next few weeks.

October 26, 2018

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Corporate Sustainability need not be Controversial

As corporate sustainability efforts are at an all-time high, there is increasing interest in how these efforts are reported and how they impact overall business. While many companies wish to be seen as leaders in sustainability, some question if these efforts are compatible with their core business functions. This dilemma is best exemplified in two incidents from the past several weeks.

October 24, 2018

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Five Questions with Mike Patterson, Agility Product Manager

Commercial buildings are facing a challenge rooted more than 20 years ago. Before 1980, large heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units were often placed in hard-to-reach areas — basement-level mechanical and utility rooms — to hide their bulky large appearance.

October 17, 2018

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Canadian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Facility Moving Forward

After years of waiting in uncertainty, LNG Canada, a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and export project in British Columbia, is finally moving forward.

October 09, 2018

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4 Ways to Optimize Your Building's Performance on a Budget

Delaying building improvements because of budget can ultimately cost more in reduced performance and inefficiency. So don’t wait. Here are four opportunities for building optimization on a budget.

October 03, 2018

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Power Bill 101: What’s Driving Your Price? Revealing the Secrets of Your Energy Bill

Electricity bills can be painful. Ask businesses about their operating expenses, and most will say that energy is in their top three. If the utilities in your state are regulated, look to optimize your utility rate schedule.

September 18, 2018

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U.S. Natural Gas Exports to Mexico at Record Highs

With two new pipelines entering service in June (Nueva Era and El Encinco-Topolobampo), U.S. piped gas to Mexico has been soaring to all-time highs.

September 11, 2018

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Predictive Building Analytics: The Future of HVAC Automation

Would you feel more confident in your building’s performance if technology could predict equipment failures before they happen? In the Internet of Things (IoT) age, this level of insight is possible and is known as predictive analytics.

September 05, 2018

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The Formula for Energy Supply Management

When customers ask for our help in analyzing their energy bill, we start by building a fundamental understanding of the influencing factors.

August 28, 2018

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What you need to know about using R-22 in HVAC systems

R-22 was the most popular refrigerant used in commercial and residential air conditioning units for many years because it was considered a safe and cost-efficient refrigerant choice by the HVACR industry. But as anyone in the industry knows, R-22 was phased out in the U.S. beginning in 2010 because it is ozone depleting.

August 20, 2018

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Where is Wind Energy in the U.S. Headed?

With natural gas first and solar third, wind has been the second most prolific source of new U.S. power generation capacity over the past 15 years or so.

August 14, 2018

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Nevada Looks toward Electricity Deregulation Vote

Nationally, the trend of power deregulation seems to have largely stabilized. While there are some occasional efforts in states like Ohio or Michigan to re-regulate, these rarely make it past the introduction of a bill or speculation on the part of a utility spokesperson. Similarly, few states seem to be interested in deregulating (or in the case of California and Michigan, further deregulating) their power sector.

August 07, 2018

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Summer Energy Best Practices

In the warm summer months, electrical demand goes up, driving prices higher. Meanwhile, HVAC equipment kicks into high gear to keep occupants cool. It’s the annual conundrum as building operators struggle to maintain the balance between cost and comfort. It’s time to take on a few summer energy projects.

July 24, 2018

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How to Get Started with Connected Buildings

The ability to connect building systems and equipment through the internet has been around for years thanks to advancing technology and better equipment design. This capability has led to a trend in connected or smart buildings where connected devices (e.g., lighting, security systems and HVAC equipment) produce data that can be captured and applied to significantly increase efficiency and save money.

July 17, 2018

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Do the Bulls Have a Chance?

Is sub-$3.00 natural gas the new normal? Can the NYMEX prompt-month contract actually make a rally? In short, do the bulls have a chance anymore?

July 10, 2018

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How Does Thermal Energy Storage Add Value to Your Zero Energy Building Strategy?

Fueled by new regulations such as those being imposed in California and Vancouver, Canada, requiring net zero new construction; challenges by organizations such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for all new buildings to be carbon neutral by 2030; new building codes encouraging less energy use; real estate firms wanting to differentiate their holdings in the competitive marketplace; and building owners just wanting to do the right thing for the environment, the Zero Energy Building (ZEB) concept is receiving increased emphasis in the commercial real estate industry.

June 27, 2018

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"What Going Beyond Means to Steve Tudor, Account Manager in Nashville, TN"

Let’s Go Beyond™ -- The tagline permeates Trane literature, advertisements, vehicles, videos, websites and tradeshow materials. Used to convey our company’s personality and character, the tagline elevates us beyond the simple and known, onto bigger thinking and bigger problem solving, showing that Trane is leading the way beyond just products to systems, services and total solutions.

June 19, 2018

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More accurate valuation finds thermal energy storage up to 77 percent more impactful than previously thought

According to a recent research project, Valuation of Thermal Energy Storage for Utility Grid Operators, conducted by the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at University of California-Davis (UC Davis), thermal energy storage can provide significantly greater benefits to utilities and electricity grid operators than previously thought.

June 12, 2018

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How Do Rising Oil Prices Impact The U.S. Natural Gas Market?

From the OPEC-led production cuts to global geopolitical turmoil to surging demand in China, a variety of factors have been pushing oil prices to four-year highs. U.S. WTI has recently been up 20% this year to over $71 per barrel, and the possibility of $100 oil has entered the market.

June 05, 2018

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Thermal and Battery Energy Storage Working Together for High Performance Results

The energy market is going through a mass transformation. Fossil fuels are being used less and less and renewable energy is on the rise. As a result, an important element is disappearing – energy storage.

May 29, 2018

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4 Reasons VRF is the HVAC Solution for your Building

Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) is the ideal HVAC technology for facilities that need an energy-efficient solution. Unlike other options, VRF systems can produce 30 to 40 percent energy savings, which is significant when 50 percent of a building’s energy usage comes from its HVAC system.

May 22, 2018

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Connected Buildings: Why You Need to Go Beyond the Data

Over the last five years, the terms “smart” or “connected” buildings have been used regularly, but what does that look like in practice? And how does it equate to business results?

May 07, 2018

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Women in HVAC: What we’re doing and why it matters

With Women's History Month and International Women’s Day both in March, it was the perfect time for companies like ours to reflect on what we’re doing to inspire and encourage women in HVAC — and what more could be done.

May 01, 2018

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Achieving Air Quality, Energy Efficiency, and Occupant Comfort with Air Handling Units – With Hospital Case Study

With every breath you take, you’re measuring the air quality around you. Maintaining good air quality is key to creating a comfortable environment in a facility, for patrons and residents. But how do you attain good air quality, especially when you’re dealing with multiple factors like climate, the building systems, and regulations?

April 23, 2018

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What Five Actions Would Real Resiliency Address?

Reliability has long been associated with the power sector and is, in fact, one of the cornerstones of the modern electric grid. Defined broadly as a utility’s ability to supply as much power as is needed at any given time, it is encoded in standards at every level, from NERC to state regulatory commissions. Significantly, these standards are quantitatively backed, enabling outcomes to be analyzed in detail to identify problems and ensure that expensive solutions to edge case scenarios are not over applied.

April 20, 2018

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Introducing the new IntelliPak rooftop system with Symbio 800 connected controls

We talked to Charles Abbinanti, Product Manager for Trane® large commercial rooftop equipment, to ask him what’s in store for the latest product release, coming in May. What’s new? What’s improved? And how Is Intellipak maximizing outcomes for our customers? Read on.

April 12, 2018

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The $13 Billion A Year Mystery: Understanding PJM's Demand Charges

PJM Interconnection, the Regional Transmission Organization that serves over 65 million people in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, is one of the most poorly understood entities in the U.S.’s electric landscape. PJM is the grid operator in 13 states plus Washington, DC, controlling and optimizing the flow of power through 82,000 miles of transmission lines spanning Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the Washington Beltway, and much of the Midwest.

April 03, 2018

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Sound Study: Does HVAC Equipment Support Learning Environments?

In the average school day, children spend 75 percent of their time listening. They listen to their teacher, they listen to each other, they listen to presentations and videos and readings — they listen to learn.

March 27, 2018

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What's Up With Texas Power? (Other than the Cost)

Summer power is always more expensive in Texas. This is not surprising as ERCOT, the corporation that runs the power grid for most of the state, has eschewed a capacity market and instead allows price spikes to compensate occasional generation.

March 19, 2018

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Northeast Gas Pipeline Shortages Impact Pricing And Clean Energy Goals

Despite not producing any themselves, the six states in New England have surged their reliance on natural gas-fired electricity generation. ISO New England now receives approximately 50% of its power generation from natural gas, versus 10-15% a decade ago.

March 07, 2018

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Thermal Storage Systems - Remarkable Resilience from a Sustainable Footprint

We spend roughly 90% of our time inside structures, and these structures require cooling to offset heat generated by us, our computers, lighting, and the ambient temperatures outside. Most cooling systems demand electricity during peak-demand periods. These demands are usually > 50% of the entire energy demand of the building.

March 01, 2018

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How to implement latest retrofit chiller technology in aging infrastructure

As buildings age, so does the equipment that keeps the environment comfortable. There are options for older infrastructure to improve efficiency.

February 20, 2018

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Important Information You Need to Know About Next-Generation Refrigerants

Regardless of the ups and downs of regulations in the U.S., the transition is going forward and has already begun. Our next generation products are available throughout our portfolio and are nonflammable so our customers have choices today.

February 13, 2018

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How Will Two New PJM Proposals Impact Your Power? | Trane Commercial HVAC

The PJM Interconnection has in recent months put forward two proposals that could have significant impacts on delivered power prices in the region. One would alter how LMPs (Locational Marginal Price, the technical name for the cost of energy) are calculated while the other would change how capacity charges, fixed fees paid to generators, are created.

February 07, 2018

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Six ways to keep breathing from being dangerous to your health | Trane Commercial HVAC

With people spending approximately 90% of their time indoors, the correlation between illness, respiratory problems and other issues with the indoor environment is quite strong.

February 01, 2018

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Solar Tariffs, Pipeline Approval Highlight Recent Regulatory Decisions | Trane Commercial HVAC

On Monday, January 22 President Trump approved new tariffs on imported solar panels and solar cells. The decision is in response to claims from SolarWorld and Suniva that increasing imports from foreign companies were negatively impacting domestic solar companies.

January 25, 2018

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Global Oil & Gas Discoveries Fell in 2017 - But the Future Shines Bright

Last year was a down one for adding new oil and gas discoveries to the global stockpile. Less than 7 billion barrels of oil equivalent were discovered, the lowest total since the 1940s.

January 23, 2018

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Net-Zero to Hero: A Heat Recovery Retrofit at the Science Museum of Minnesota

Finding the sweet spot of energy efficiency and comfort is challenging enough for a standard building, but it truly gets tricky when multiple areas are thrown in the mix. “We have all sorts of spaces — Omnitheater, gift shop, exhibit halls, restaurants and catering facilities, exhibit and graphic production shops, meeting rooms and classrooms, and a parking ramp — that all have different energy needs,” said Todd Gray, assistant superintendent of facilities, Science Museum of Minnesota.

January 16, 2018

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Federal Tax Cuts could Mean Power Savings for End Users

With the signing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, many state Public Utility Commissions (PUC) are now looking at how the bill will affect the utilities that they regulate.

January 12, 2018

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Appalachia Drives Growth in U.S. Natural Gas Production

In its monthly Drilling Productivity Report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration has recently combined its production data on the “Marcellus” and “Utica” shale plays into...

December 11, 2017

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Essential HVAC Equipment for Temporary Ice Rinks

Learn about the different types of HVAC equipment that are essential when building and maintaining portable ice rinks.

December 07, 2017

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TRACE® 3D Plus Building Design Modeling: More Intuitive, More Accurate, More Efficient and More Visually Dynamic

Robots… drones… wearable technologies… the smartphone we carry in our pocket. As consumers, we constantly look for the latest and greatest technologies, designed to...

December 04, 2017

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Connecticut Moves Closer to a Nuclear Subsidy

On October 31 Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed into law Senate Bill 1501. This bill would give the state’s only nuclear generator, the Millstone nuclear facility, the chance to...

November 29, 2017

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Help Maximize the Value of IoT From Building Equipment

Connected buildings, the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart devices are popular industry buzzwords. But do your clients have a true understanding of what a connected building..

November 14, 2017

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Oil Prices Are Finally Starting To Rise

Now at their highest levels since mid-2015, oil prices have steadily increased in recent weeks. International benchmark Brent has breached the technical and psychological barrier of...

November 09, 2017

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Wireless vs. Wired Building Automation Solutions

We are hearing a lot about replacing wired with wireless solutions today. While many agree with the wireless benefits, they also wonder which technology...

November 08, 2017

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Natural Gas Production Reaches Record Levels

Domestic dry natural gas production reached a record 75.8 Bcf/d on Thursday, October 26 as output continues to grow and infrastructure projects start to come online or near completion. The record production comes after relatively flat...

November 03, 2017

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Colder Days are Coming, Now is the Time to Prepare Your Facility

In most regions, the hot summer days are finally behind us. Even though the temperature is falling, your HVAC system will still work hard over the coming months. October is National Energy Awareness Month...

October 25, 2017

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EPA Repeals Clean Power Plan

On October 10th the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt, announced that he was signing a proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP), effectively ending the embattled program. This move was largely...

October 23, 2017

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International Trade Commission set to Make Recommendation on U.S. Solar Cells Case

On September 25, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously to side with Suniva Inc. and SolarWorld Americas Inc.’s claims that foreign-made crystalline silicon solar cells and panels were...

October 18, 2017

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Department of Energy Proposes Market Changes

On September 28th, the Department of Energy (DOE) proposed that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) require independent system operators make whole certain “baseload” energy generators. This is only the second time in the history that...

October 16, 2017

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Sustainable Alchemy in Vermont

After eight years of success at their original location, co-owners John and Jen Kimmich decided to open a second Alchemist Brewery location to help meet their growing production needs...

October 03, 2017

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Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the Impact to Natural Gas Prices

The impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on natural gas prices was mostly muted. In fact for futures contracts, on Friday August 25, right when Harvey's Texas landfall was imminent, prompt-month...

September 20, 2017

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Grand Hyatt New York Awarded for Outstanding Commitment to Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Ingersoll Rand, a world leader in creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments, joined international leaders from business, government and civil society at Climate Week NYC 2017 in New York City to discuss the momentum of global climate action.

September 19, 2017

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Does Your School Have Poor IAQ?

Nearly half of the nation’s school buildings have reported problems related to indoor air quality (IAQ). Why does IAQ in school buildings matter? Numerous studies link IAQ to student health and...

September 14, 2017

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On the DOE Wholesale Electricity Markets and Reliability Study Report

Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) released its anticipated study on wholesale electricity markets and reliability. Commissioned by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, the report examines if...

September 07, 2017

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Recognizing the University of Florida with a 2017 Energy Efficiency Leader Award

Both Trane® and Ingersoll Rand remain committed to reducing the environmental impacts of the company’s operations and product portfolio. In fact, we reported significant progress toward...

September 06, 2017

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Despite Bullish Factors, Gas Bears Hanging Tough

The natural gas bears simply won’t give in. Since settling at a 2017 high of $3.424 per MMBtu on May 12, the prompt-month NYMEX natural gas contract has fallen nearly $0.50 per MMBtu and is currently trading under the $3.00-per-MMBtu level. Forecasts for summer heat, stagnant production growth, and growing levels of exports have yet to wrestle momentum to the side of the bulls as traders concentrate on a milder May and early June and strong storage injections.

September 01, 2017

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Lessons in Power Deregulation: Montana

In recent months, there has been more talk around the creation of a new Independent Service Operator (ISO) in the western U.S., sparked by Nevada’s November 2016 preliminary vote to...

September 01, 2017

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Electric Passenger Vehicles in the U.S.

Although EVs are gaining in popularity, they remain a niche market. A stronger future seems assured.

August 23, 2017

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Despite Curtailment Compliance, Crude Prices Continue to Struggle

In November 2016, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, announced that it would start to curtail its crude oil production in January 2017 for the first time in nine years.

August 10, 2017

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Three ways Birmingham Chose to be Bold

Failing building systems, unsafe conditions and exorbitant energy repairs were a wake-up call for the city of Birmingham, Alabama...

August 08, 2017

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An Update on California’s Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility (Part 2)

The Aliso Canyon natural gas leak was a public health and environmental catastrophe. Thousands of families were relocated from their homes, many complaining of health issues. The damage done to...

August 03, 2017

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Birmingham Takes Bold Actions to Cut Energy Costs

Fixing problems in aging buildings was taking a financial toll on the city of Birmingham, Alabama. City leaders spent emergency funds to make repairs and keep facilities in working condition. Failing building systems forced the closure of...

July 31, 2017

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Organizing a Critical Systems Contingency Plan

From natural disasters to everyday mechanical failures, all facilities face some level of risk due to power, HVAC or compressed air failure. A failure could result in anything from minor discomfort due to lack of temperature control to losing hundreds ...

July 27, 2017

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An Update on California’s Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility (Part 1)

In October 2015, Southern California’s Aliso Canyon, the second largest natural gas storage site in the U.S., sprung a leak. It took over four months to plug the blowout, which more than doubled the...

July 26, 2017

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Helping Schools Get Straight-A’s in Energy Efficiency

K-12 schools spend $8 billion annually on energy costs — more than they spend on computers and textbooks combined — and Energy Star® estimates about...

July 24, 2017

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Ductless Offers Great Energy Cost Savings

For many builders and property managers, the biggest reason to switch to a ductless heating and cooling system is the overall ultimate cost savings. Trane® is seeing ductless systems coming into major awareness and acceptance across the country - and no doubt the energy efficiency and cost savings is driving up the popularity.

July 11, 2017

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If it walks like a DUC and talks like a DUC

When natural gas producers successfully drill a new well, they do not automatically extract all the gas. Some of these wells are capped, their gas to be used another day...

July 10, 2017

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Global Action That Matters

Climate action is a global issue and we strive to offer our customers around the world choices about when and how they want to achieve both their business and sustainability goals...

July 07, 2017

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The Relationship Between Oil and Natural Gas Prices?

The link between crude oil and natural gas prices is critical for end-users: these two sources are increasingly being produced by the same companies and together supplied 70% of U.S. energy demand in 2016. To set the context, Figure 1 demonstrates oil and gas prices since 1997.

June 28, 2017

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PJM Power Prices Are Down…A Lot

Power pricing in PJM is down. Since 2015, we have seen average prices for 2019 power drop from $45 per megawatt hour (MWh) to $35/MWh, with 2020 prices even lower than that...

June 23, 2017

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Going Ductless? Not Just a Niche Product Anymore

Ductless HVAC and air conditioning units are still coming into their own in the U.S., but ductless offers huge benefits. As awareness and acceptance grows, we are sure to see continued growth.

June 13, 2017

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Senate Confirmation Process for FERC Commissioners Underway

On May 25, two nominees for positions at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Neil Chatterjee and Robert Poweleson, were interviewed by...

June 07, 2017

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Commitment to Climate Action

Ingersoll Rand remains committed to climate action, including reducing energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions related to our products and operations. Regardless of political opinion...

June 02, 2017

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Deja Vu All Over Again: OPEC and Friends Agree To Cut Production

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and a group of high producing allies, including Russia, have agreed to extend their combined 1.8 million barrels per day production cuts for...

May 31, 2017

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3 Steps for Reducing Restaurant Energy Costs

Restaurant owners and facility managers are challenged every day to improve energy efficiency and reduce utility costs. So what can be done about it...

May 30, 2017

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5 Tips for Sustaining Results from Your Energy Projects

With summer right around the corner, energy efficiency is at the top of every facility manager’s mind. No one wants to be forced into the position of having to choose between increases costs – either due to...

May 24, 2017

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World FM Day: Honoring Our Building’s Heroes

Simply put: the role of today’s facility manager is tough. Every day, in every corner of the world, facility managers are hard at work making a positive impact on our environments, people and communities. They do this while...

May 17, 2017

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Tips for Reviewing the Progress in Your Energy Projects

Buildings today are full of hidden potential and more connected than ever – with access to valuable data and insight, new levels of efficiencies can be reached. In honor of World FM Day, we’ve compiled a few tips from our experts to help you...

May 17, 2017

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The Triad of U.S. Natural Gas Demand Growth

Thanks to a shale production boom, falling prices, and its cleaner burning and versatile nature, there has been a rush to utilize natural gas in the United States. Looking forward, there are three sectors that will significantly increase demand...

April 21, 2017

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Meet the ZEC. It’s completely the same as the REC, but not at all.

In the past months two states have passed legislation creating Zero Emissions Credit, or ZEC, programs. While the name “Zero Emissions,” seems to hint at a...

April 07, 2017

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New Transmission Required for More Wind and Solar

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to our national goal of deploying more wind and solar energy is their incapacity to be physically transported to a power plant like coal or natural gas. Because of this, the generating facility must be...

March 31, 2017

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Two attempted Capacity Reforms in MISO come to naught

In the past weeks, two different efforts to change MISO’s capacity system have concluded. One, an in-the-weeds discussion on how transmission affects capacity pricing, ended with a...

March 16, 2017

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Drill Baby, Drill - How the Permian Basin is Leading the E&P Resurgence in the United States

The natural gas and crude oil exploration and production (E&P) sector took a hit in 2016. A downturn in both gas and crude pricing, where both traded at prices not seen in more than...

March 08, 2017

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New York Releases Plan for Distributed Resources

In late January, the New York Independent Service Operator (NYISO) released its updated Distributed Energy Roadmap. This document aims to address many of the concerns around...

February 27, 2017

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The U.S. Natural Gas Profile: A Guide for Domestic Consumers

All natural gas consumers should understand the dynamic U.S. gas demand structure as the competition for gas is becoming increasingly fierce. Given low prices and broadening environmental goals, natural gas is easily...

February 21, 2017

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Changes in Ontario Capacity Market Mark New Opportunities for Small Industrials

Independent Electricity System Operator, the Independent System Operator for Ontario, Canada, recently changed its capacity market to give medium-sized industrial customers the option to augment...

February 09, 2017

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The Outlook for U.S. Nuclear Power

The U.S. nuclear power industry faces an uncertain future. While nuclear has held its 18-20% share of U.S. electricity generation, the total number of nuclear reactors/plants has fallen to...

February 01, 2017

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Natural Gas Production Falls in 2016, Looks to Rebound in 2017

Over the past decade, the “shale revolution” has redefined natural gas production in the United States. The combination of advancements in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling opened up numerous new drilling basins in...

January 30, 2017

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U.S. Northeast Gas Plays Getting Critical Pipeline Relief

Even since the price collapse started 2014, natural gas production in the Marcellus has increased nearly 15% to 18.3 Bcf/d, with output in the neighboring Utica up 130% to 4.1 Bcf/d. These two northeast shale plays are almost single handedly reversing the U.S. gas market to flow more north to...

December 28, 2016

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Electric Imports and the Environment: What the New England Clean Power Link Tells us About Demand

"On December 5th the New England Clean Power Link (NECPL) received its Presidential Permit, a required license for any transmission project that links the U.S. power grid to that of another country. The $1.2 billion project, financed by... "

December 17, 2016

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The U.S. Leading a Globalizing Natural Gas Market

Today, only about 33% of all natural gas used is traded internationally, versus 66% for oil. Gas has typically been sold in three regionalized markets with different contract structures; North America (hub-based), Asia Pacific (oil-indexed), and Europe (hub-based and oil-indexed). But, the sale of LNG is transforming natural gas from...

December 12, 2016

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OPEC’s Production Cuts: Will They Matter?

After weeks of negotiations, OPEC ministers in Vienna on Wednesday agreed to lower their oil supplies to ease a global glut that has halved prices since 2014. The 14 Member Countries worked a deal to cut crude production by...

December 01, 2016

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CAPEX Reductions Today Could Lay the Foundation for a Price Spike

The oil and gas price collapse has discouraged investments in future production in recent months and is setting up a potential spike in prices. The industry is caught in an underinvestment cycle that could reverberate much sooner than most realize...

November 21, 2016

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Looking Forward: What a Trump Presidency may mean for U.S. Energy Markets

President-elect Donald Trump is now in place. While promising to “cancel” the COP21 Paris Accord accepted under President Obama and pushing a fossil fuel-led revival to underpin job growth, a Trump administration will rearrange domestic energy and...

November 11, 2016

Blog

Energy Modeling Software

It’s an often-repeated statistic: about 40 percent of the energy used in this country is consumed in residential and commercial buildings. That’s more energy than is used in both the transportation and energy sectors. Alarmingly, however, much of that energy is wasted — 30 percent in the average commercial building, according to Energy Star. So, what can be done?

November 02, 2016

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Mexico’s Natural Gas Production Expected To Increase

The catalyst for Mexico’s historic 2013 Energy Reforms was the 2004 peaking of the Cantarell oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, once responsible for over half of Mexico’s energy production and the second largest oil field in the world.

October 25, 2016

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The Curious Case of the U.S. Natural Gas Storage Inventory

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Weekly Storage Report and the overall natural gas storage inventory have long been drivers of NYMEX natural gas pricing in the United States. The weekly report, released at 10:30 AM ET on Thursdays, details the weekly changes to domestic natural gas storage inventory levels and tends to be followed by a quick flurry of trading activity....

October 17, 2016

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Hearing on the Clean Power Plan Inconclusive

On September 27th the DC Circuit Court held hearings on the Clean Power Plan (CPP), an action that many have wanted since its proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last August.

October 11, 2016

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Top 5 Things to Consider when Infrastructure Planning at Healthcare Organizations

With over 80% of all capital decisions being made by Executives, many healthcare organizations since 2009 have downsized their middle management ranks and thus more scrutiny is being placed on lower dollar capital decisions...

October 05, 2016

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Rising U.S. Natural Gas Production

Despite some of the lowest prices in 20 years, U.S. natural gas production has continued to increase. Thanks to the widespread deployment of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies, national output has gained every year since 2006 and is closing in on...

October 04, 2016

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Get Your Building Ready for the Changing Seasons

The dog days of summer will soon be in your rear view mirror. Even though the temperature is falling, your building and equipment will still be called upon to work hard in the coming months...

September 12, 2016

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Colder Days are Coming - Now is the Time to Prepare

Even though the temperature is falling, your building and equipment will still be called upon to work hard in the coming months. And now is the time to look ahead to ensure your systems and equipment are up to the task...

September 06, 2016

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U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Export Market Update

The U.S. natural gas industry has gone global via the export of LNG. In the first six months of this year, nearly 50 Bcf of LNG was shipped out, and the U.S. is set to become a net LNG exporter in 2017. The rapidly globalizing gas market is a critical new outlet for...

September 06, 2016

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Investing in Projects Now Can Pay Off Throughout the Year

In most cases in life, it’s better to be proactive than reactive, and now is the time to consider what improvement projects need to be done that will pay off...

September 01, 2016

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Now is the Time to Consider Building Improvements

As summer winds down, you likely have a better idea of what improvements can be made in your building to help optimize energy efficiency, occupant comfort and equipment performance. Now is a good time to consider...

August 29, 2016

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How to Identify Opportunities for Improvement

Taking stock of issues as summer wraps up — and getting a clear picture of the health of your systems and equipment — will help you prepare for the next summer season...

August 25, 2016

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How Summer Reveals Opportunities for Improvement

Each season is like a history lesson about your building — allowing building owners and managers to capture a snapshot of equipment performance, efficiency, energy use and...

August 22, 2016

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Are Renewable Energy Options Right for Your Building?

Renewable energy solutions can be a feasible option to help reduce your building’s dependence on the grid so you are buying less energy in the summer...

August 18, 2016

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Are Renewable Energy Options Right for Your Building?

Renewable energy solutions can be a feasible option to help reduce your building’s dependence on the grid so you are buying less energy in the summer — and all year long.

August 18, 2016

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How Can Renewable Energy Benefit Your Building This Summer and All Year Long

Renewable energy solutions can be a feasible option to help reduce your building’s dependence on the energy grid so you are buying less energy in the summer — and all year long...

August 15, 2016

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3 Ways to Control your Energy spend this Summer

With summer temps hitting record levels in May and June, it is important to look for ways to control energy costs. Energy spend is a big part of your budget, and...

August 11, 2016

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How understanding your Energy costs can save you Green this Summer

With summer temps hitting record levels, building owners and managers are looking for ways to control energy costs. Your energy spend is a big part of your budget, and there are two main ways to impact it...

August 08, 2016

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Being prepared for power disruption is as easy at 1, 2, 3

A power outage can result in business interruption that is costly for you and your building tenants.

August 03, 2016

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Canada's Future Natural Gas Production

With the North American shale revolution the key energy development of the past decade, it’s surprising to know that Canada’s natural gas production has actually been falling. Canada is still the world's...

August 02, 2016

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Are you Prepared for the Unexpected this Summer?

Summer’s extreme heat and potential for severe weather increase the risk of unexpected equipment failure and power outages. These disruptions can occur for many reasons...

August 01, 2016

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Nuclear Decay

Regulators are facing a dilemma of what to do with nuclear power generation in the coming years. Over the past two months, the retirements of four nuclear power plants across Illinois, California, and Nebraska have been announced...

July 26, 2016

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Reducing Utility Costs in the Summer begins with Monitoring Energy use

Commercial building owners and managers know that summer typically brings much higher utility bills. But what you may not know is that even simple changes can have a big impact on your utility bills...

July 25, 2016

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Want to Reduce Utility costs this Summer? It starts with Monitoring

Commercial building owners and managers are often searching for relief from the much higher utility bills that summer can bring. This is especially true in California, where average electricity prices for commercial customers last summer were...

July 25, 2016

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Manage the Summer Heat with these Building Technology Platforms

Finding performance-improving solutions for commercial buildings is important all year long, but it is especially critical in the summer. The increased demand on your building and its systems can result in...

July 21, 2016

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Better Control for Greater Efficiency

Finding performance-improving solutions for buildings is important all year long, but it is especially critical in the summer. The increased demand on your building and its systems can result in...

July 18, 2016

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Four phases of Retrocommissioning

There are steps you can take to minimize the impact summer’s increased demand has on your building, even on the hottest days. Equipment is often...

July 14, 2016

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Don't let the Urban Summer heat derail your Building's Performance

Summer in New York City can present a unique set of challenges for commercial building owners and managers. Beyond the need for increased power to cool buildings, there are a number of...

July 13, 2016

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How Heat Impacts Building Performance

Beyond the need for increased power to cool buildings, there are a number of factors that can put increased pressure on your building systems in the summer months, including...

July 12, 2016

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ERCOT Price Spikes

Last week, fear of increased heat across Texas pushed ERCOT North’s August peak contract price to $89.90 per MWh, an increase of...

July 12, 2016

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Keep your Building On-Track this Summer

Ongoing validation of your results is a key step to help ensure your strategies are yielding big results. Validation helps keep your building on track, while also gaining...

July 07, 2016

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Use validation to maintain your savings

Validating your outcomes is a key step to help ensure your strategies are yielding big results. Validation helps keep your building on track while also gaining the buy in, resources and funding you may need for...

July 05, 2016

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Gain Control with these 10 Contingency Planning Steps

Summer’s extreme temperatures and unpredictable severe weather can result in equipment or power outages. Being prepared for unexpected building failures can save you valuable time and...

June 30, 2016

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Federal Judge Overturns Fracking Rules

On June 21, U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl ruled that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) does not have the authority to create new rules and regulate hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on...

June 27, 2016

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Stay cool while avoiding these common summer pitfalls

Once your building is summer-ready , it's important to be aware of some common pitfalls that can keep your building from performing at its most efficient level...

June 27, 2016

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Charting a path to summer savings

From small improvement projects to large energy strategies, there are steps you can take to reduce costs during the summer months, transforming your building into an asset that can make you more profitable...

June 20, 2016

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Beat the Heat - Make sure your Building is Summer-ready

We all know it is coming, but somehow it still sneaks up on us. Summer. It brings hotter temperatures, severe weather, and greater demand on building systems and the bottom line. Commercial customers typically pay...

June 13, 2016

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Made in the Shade: How to prepare for the hottest months of the year

Summer brings hotter temperatures — and higher energy bills. Energy costs for commercial buildings can run up to 35 percent higher in the hottest months of summer compared to other months of the year...

June 06, 2016

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PJM Committee Advances Electricity Capacity Market Proposals

Last month, the PJM Interconnection's Market Implementation Committee advanced proposals related to capacity performance, agreeing to add three items to the list of parameters by which a resource’s schedule might be limited.

April 04, 2016

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U.S. Energy Information Administration Confirms Year-Over-Year Drop in U.S. Oil Production

With the release of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) yesterday came finalized figures for December 2015, allowing for balance of the year analysis, and revisions to forecasts.

March 10, 2016

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U.S. Exports First LNG Cargo from Gulf Coast

Regardless of the ultimate end game for U.S. LNG exports, this week’s shipments from Sabine Pass represent a noteworthy step in exposing a generally-insulated domestic market to more international influence.

February 26, 2016

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Trane Improves Safety with Upgraded Building Systems at Hopkins County Jail

When Hopkins County Jail discovered outdated gas heat exchangers were at risk of leaking CO2 into a building with hundreds of inmates, its technicians knew they needed to take immediate action...

February 25, 2016

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Increasing Efficiency and Driving Innovation at Mercedes-Benz USA

Whether you’re part of a small business, or a multinational corporation, no business is immune to the effects of an underperforming building comfort system. When a chiller failed at Mercedes-Benz USA, they turned to Trane, a longtime partner, to find a permanent, cost-effective solution.

February 17, 2016

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Glycol Improves Efficiency, Reduces Maintenance Costs for Restaurant Kitchens

Advancements in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technology have given restaurants a powerful system with a dual purpose—chilling refrigeration appliances while keeping facilities comfortable.

January 12, 2016

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Emergency Contingency Planning: 7 Steps Hospitals and Schools Must Follow

Extreme weather conditions underscore the need for facility teams to prepare for the worst that nature can throw at their buildings. Given their critical missions, healthcare and educational organizations must be prepared to respond quickly and efficiently when a blizzard, flood, tornado, hurricane or other disaster — natural or man-made — strikes...

October 30, 2015

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How the Built Environment (Your Building) Impacts Productivity and Risk Management

Managing the built environment has evolved just like every other aspect of our lives. We expect more than the minimums of code compliance and a roof that doesn’t leak. Healthy, productive, secure and sustainable — all are words that apply in today’s facility management world. This post is part two...

September 25, 2015

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Translating Energy Management and Facility Management into Impacts that Matter

Buildings impact business results. Or, perhaps better said, the environments we create to work, eat, play, learn, and live in impact the quality, productivity, quantity, and efficacy of all indoor activities we do in our modern society...

September 18, 2015

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"Trane Improves Comfort, Saves Costs for Vancouver Area Mall"

When the heat of summer sets in, shoppers seek relief in shopping malls where they can shop, dine and spend time in air-conditioned comfort. But when indoor comfort systems aren’t getting the job done, it can impact summertime traffic, and the bottom line, for mall owners...

July 27, 2015

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Trane Sheds Light on Energy Savings With Installation at Robins AFB

For the 78th Civil Engineering Squadron at Robins Air Force Base (AFB), home to 60 military units and the largest industrial complex in Georgia, the poor lighting levels in its hangars and engine shop was a cause for concern in regards to safety and convenience...

July 20, 2015

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How Trane Helped a High School Create a Better Learning Environment

When heat exchangers on the rooftop units at Murfreesboro School District’s high school cracked, administrators had to act quickly. Without a budget to completely finance a repair or upgrade, the district needed to rely on matching funds from the state...

June 10, 2015

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Transform Your Building's Energy Use with the Three-Legged Stool

There are three main factors that combine to impact how much money building owners and operators spend on energy. Think of these factors as three legs of the same stool — letting any one factor get out of balance will result in an unstable situation...

June 04, 2015

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Saving Energy While Improving Campus Operations in North Carolina

Higher education institutions face unique challenges when it comes to reducing energy costs. Colleges and universities often have multiple campuses, each with numerous buildings that may alternate from full capacity to empty several times each day. This can create challenges not only for heating and cooling, but lighting and water resource planning as well...

April 21, 2015

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Delivering a System that Meets LEED Certification

Contractors and developers may face various challenges throughout the construction of a new building. Missed construction milestones and bad weather delays are a couple of the multitude of issues that a developer must be prepared to deal with...

April 02, 2015

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How Trane Helped a Luxury Resort Unlock $500K in Annual Savings

(Hint: It has nothing to do with room rates or green fees) Owners at Pacific Palms Resort in City of Industry, California were at a crossroads. Many of the resort’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems were original to the facility...

March 24, 2015

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Learn How Trane Building Advantage™ Can Improve Your Building

This week, Trane launched the new Trane Building Advantage brand at the National Facilities Management and Technology (NFMT) Conference in Baltimore. The brand represents the suite of energy services...

March 11, 2015

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A Watershed Moment: Realizing Energy Efficiencies in Water Treatment

It’s important for municipalities to manage their water treatment facilities with an eye to efficiency in every phase of the water treatment cycle. Trane, a known performance leader in the wastewater treatment industry, helped a client do just that in...

March 03, 2015

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Trane: Keeping the Friday Night Lights On in City Parks

In Vestavia Hills, Ala., a suburb outside of Birmingham, city leaders knew that the cost to illuminate their sports fields, pools and tennis courts wasted budget dollars. Light fixtures were greater than 30 years old — so old, in fact...

February 24, 2015

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How Trane Solutions Maintain Cost-Efficient Healthcare Facilities

For Hardin Medical Center in western Tennessee, an outdated HVAC system affected its ability to create an optimal environment of care, especially in the critical labor and delivery areas. Read how Trane helped update its HVAC system.

February 17, 2015

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Why Trane Leverages Public-Private Partnerships to Reduce Energy Consumption

With continued variability in temperatures throughout the year, increasing energy efficiency becomes a top priority for organizations across many markets, including the government...

December 11, 2014

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Teaching the Value of Sustainability

At Trane, we think it’s important to enhance sustainability education among the upcoming generation of FMs. A recommendation by the Center for Green Schools at USGBC and Houghton Mifflin Marcourt (HMH) advocates for just that...

May 28, 2014

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Energy and Sustainability: Key Factors to Staying Competitive

Research results from Ecova predict that 2014 will be a challenging year for those responsible for managing energy resources. According to the research, 2014 will be the year that forces companies to take steps to improve results and build...

May 22, 2014

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Revised Standards May Impact Building Energy Measurement

According to a ACHR article, ASHRAE’s latest revision to its Standard 105-2014 spells good news for the number crunchers among us as it creates a common basis in reporting performance data for...

May 21, 2014

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Why You Should Use Energy Modeling Tools

In today’s cost-sensitive market, building and facility managers are proactively seeking solutions to help control costs while improving building efficiency. They all want to know, “How do I get more for less?” I aimed to answer this question in my presentation...

May 13, 2014

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2014 Could Be Even Better than 2013 for Energy Efficiency

This year promises to be another strong one for energy efficiency. For example, several actions included in Climate Action Plan will take place in 2014, such as the release of draft CO2 emissions standards for existing power plants. We think these measures are taking us...

April 25, 2014

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Tech Tip: Manage Buildings Effectively in Extreme Weather

Web-based tools can help building managers optimize building operation to meet tenant needs and energy consumption goals, utilizing alarm functions that alert the property manager if temperatures fall outside of desired levels...

April 18, 2014

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How Trane is Helping Customers Realize More Efficient Buildings in 2014

In February, Trane featured a post highlighting Hammer & Hand’s top 10 predictions for the high performance building industry in 2014. Today, we offer thoughts on these predictions and how our company and solutions fit into forecasted trends...

April 16, 2014

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"Muse d'Orsay Saves Energy, Ensures Long-Term Sustainability with Trane"

When working with historic buildings, one of the unique challenges we face is upgrading building infrastructure systems without disturbing the unique architecture or the priceless and irreplaceable artifacts within.

March 25, 2014

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U.S. Government Moves to Ramp Up Commercial Building Efficiency

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill designed to ramp up efficiency in commercial buildings and data centers known as the “Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014.”

March 24, 2014

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How Does Your Company Define Sustainability?

Green construction is expected to increase along with overall construction activity in 2014. Despite market pressures, or perhaps because of them, companies and building owners are emphasizing sustainability measures that lead to greater building efficiency, lower costs and a more productive workforce.

March 11, 2014

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How Energy Modelling Tools Can Create Efficient High Performance Buildings

An inside look at why it is important to engage in modelling before you make retrofit decisions, including financial factors to consider and how to use energy modelling to predict results

March 06, 2014

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What's Next for High Performance Buildings?

Green builder Hammer & Hand recently released its ten predictions for the US high performance building industry in 2014. To no surprise, the predictions cover a wide-range of variables, including the impact of new products entering the market, procedural and policy shifts that focus on performance-based measures, and the international energy efficiency movement’s effect on the US market.

February 28, 2014

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Improving the Performance of Historic Buildings While Preserving Their Unique Characteristics

More than 1.4 million places – including buildings, districts and landmarks – are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which receives more than 30,000 applications each year. Most are at least 50 years old and meet one or more of the following four criteria for historic status: recognized as the site of an historic event, associated with a famous person, designed or built in a distinctive way, or yielded important historic or prehistoric information.

January 11, 2014

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Energy Performance | How Building Owners can find the Right Way Forward in Energy Efficiency | Trane Commercial

Energy efficiency is a journey, and the sooner started the better. Waiting for the next generation of technology sacrifices a significant net present value opportunity, and can also lead to the paralysis of...

January 02, 2014

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Sustainability in Higher Education - Bringing New Life to Old Institutions [Author: Rich Penner]

When most people hear the word “sustainability” they think of consumer products, like post-consumer paper cup`s from a local coffee shop. It’s harder to get people to understand how sustainability applies to our infrastructure, like the buildings in which we all live, work, learn and play.

December 26, 2013

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Data Centers, Warehouses, and Others Impacted by Newest Version of LEED

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched the newest version of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Program, LEED v4, at the Greenbuild International Conference on November 20, 2013 in Philadelphia.

December 19, 2013

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Get Your Ducts in a Row to Unlock Hidden Energy Savings Potential

Is there money hidden in your building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system? One often overlooked cost savings opportunity may be lurking in your ducts if your building uses a traditional...

November 25, 2013

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Green Building Congress Sets Construction Goal for India Buildings - What will it Take to Get There?

There is a huge opportunity to expand the number of green buildings in India, which currently make up less than five percent of the market, according to recent discussions at the 2013 Green Building Congress.

November 20, 2013

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Energy Efficiency's Economic Impact May Surprise You

The role of energy efficiency in our daily lives is a complicated one, according to an article from Greentech Media.

November 07, 2013

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A Tale of Two Buildings [Author: Neil Madeis]

A recent Washington Post story noted how green construction has become a common trend for new office buildings, with one-third of all new office space completed in 2011 being designated “green.” But beyond the...

October 31, 2013

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Industrial Energy Efficiency is Key to Global Competitiveness

The BlueGreen Alliance, a partnership between labor unions and environmental organizations, recently released a new policy report on industrial energy efficiency. It notes that America’s manufacturing sector – the world’s largest – can keep its lead by taking advantage of the huge opportunities to increase energy efficiencies, cut waste and save on operating costs.

October 23, 2013

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Windy City Makes Building Owners Prove Energy Savings Claims Aren't Blowing Smoke

Although several U.S. cities have energy efficiency requirements for large commercial and residential buildings, Chicago has become the first one to mandate the verification of building energy data.

October 17, 2013

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The Real Drivers of High Performance Buildings

There has been a lot of discussion in the industry lately about the factors that are really driving how people are thinking about high performance buildings.

October 11, 2013

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Don't Let Rising Costs of Building Materials Cut Short Your High Performance Buildings Journey

According to a study by Navigant Research, the worldwide market for green construction materials will more than double in the next seven years to more than $250 billion by 2020. Just how this impending spike in demand will impact the cost of green construction is difficult to predict, but it's safe to say that construction costs will increase for projects that involve these materials.

September 25, 2013

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Is the Construction Industry Resisting Lifecycle Cost Decision Metrics?

A recent Environmental Leader article claims that decision-makers at many organizations are faced with budgetary restrictions that often hinder the adoption of the best suited technology or project, even when the better solution will cost less over the long haul.

September 09, 2013

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Technology Advancements will Drive Increased Building Efficiency

A recent GreenBiz.com article highlights a report by Navigant Research that says the global smart grid market will more than double by 2020. We’re not surprised to read this, as we’ve long said that when it comes to satisfying the world’s almost insatiable appetite for energy, "nothing beats energy efficiency." Smart technology is at the heart of today's greatest advancements in building energy efficiency.

July 01, 2013

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When it Comes to Energy Management Services for Business, Who is Looking Out for the Little Guys?

Are small and mid-sized businesses being left out of the global race to improve energy efficiency? That’s the argument made by a recent article by Greentech Media.

June 23, 2013

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Benchmarking Can Reveal Surprising Results

We’ve discussed the critical importance of evaluating high performance buildings often on this blog (for example, here and here), and a recent article from Greentech Media highlights this again. In short, it’s never enough to simply cut the ribbon on a high performance building and pat ourselves on the back. Continuously evaluating and benchmarking against business goals is the only way we will continue to strengthen our technology, the buildings we support and the industry as a whole.

June 11, 2013

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10 Concepts to Take Energy Efficiency to New Heights

The global drive to improve energy efficiency, manage overhead costs, and reduce environmental impact has given facility managers in most organizations a seat at the table—or at least the attention of top management. Buildings are organizational assets, after all, and organizations need to achieve an acceptable return on their enormous investment in facilities.

June 07, 2013

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A Collective Approach to Increase High Performance Building Adoptions

The research firm Frost & Sullivan recently noted the changes and evolution of the high performance building industry in the last several years, driven in large part by the growing IT influence on physical systems and the recession’s financial pressures, have sped up the development and adoption of many efficiency technologies.

June 05, 2013

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Trane Experts Talk About the 'Next Big Thing' in Energy Efficiency in Sustainable Industries Article

Can ‘the Next Big Thing’ Wait? In a recent article published in Sustainable Industries, Ingersoll Rand and Trane experts Randy Newton and Matt Gates analyze today’s business trends to talk about how emerging technologies, as well as the basics of energy efficiency, can have a significant impact on individual building performance as well as the overall global demand for energy.

May 22, 2013

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Sweat the Small Things; They may Make a Huge Difference

We often think about high performance building construction or retrofits as large, multi-month or multi–year projects. But it’s important not to overlook the small things that may end up making a huge difference in the performance of your building and the health of your occupants.

May 13, 2013

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Subjective Assessments of High Performance Buildings: What the Numbers Don't Tell You

When measuring the performance of a building, whether new or retrofitted, it’s easy to get caught up in the metrics: the speeds, the volumes, the percentages, the of lengths time…the list goes on and on. But what many of us forget is the importance of subjective assessments when evaluating the operations of our high performance building (HPB).

May 07, 2013

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Energy Conservation Measures: Justifying Investment with a Holistic Approach

In Part 1 of our series, we examined how commercial building managers can create a strong business case for investment in energy conservations measures (ECMs) as part of their high performance building journey. In this piece, we will look further into the strategies and tools for justifying the up-front costs using a holistic approach that includes tangible and intangible benefits.

April 30, 2013

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Energy Conservation Measures: Making the Business Case Before and After

Energy conservation measures (ECMs) in commercial buildings can range from CFL lighting to the installation of a maximum efficiency HVAC system, but they typically fall into the categories of water, electricity or gas. When considering ECM investments, building managers must weigh the upfront costs of the investment with the energy and financial savings, and make the argument to leadership as to why the investment is worth precious capital dollars in the journey to becoming a high performance building.

April 22, 2013

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Upping the Ante on Sustainable Buildings

An office is building in Seattle is taking the concept of sustainable building to a whole new level: Think LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification on steroids.

April 15, 2013

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Too Much of a Good Thing: The Balance Between Building Envelope and Occupancy Comfort

A building envelope is the outer shell of the building that is used to help maintain the indoor environment and control its climate. There’s been a lot of discussion in the high performance building industry about how to leverage this component efficiently and how to manage any trade-offs with occupant comfort, so I read with interest this article from Consulting-Specifying Engineer Magazine about testing and commissioning best practices.

April 08, 2013

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Lessons Learned from 100 Years of Building Innovations - Part 2: Opportunities Abound Today in Existing Buildings

In the last post we talked about how modern technologies and building practices are boosting building performance. But with construction starts remaining low, the real opportunity to unlock energy savings potential lies within the current building inventory. In this post we’re expanding on the energy saving opportunities with existing buildings.

April 01, 2013

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Lessons Learned from 100 Years of Building Innovations - Part 1: The Future of Building Performance

Sustainable technologies like wind and solar get a lot of press coverage, but when it comes to satisfying the world’s almost insatiable appetite for energy nothing today beats energy efficiency.

March 25, 2013

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Lower Costs, More Benefits: Green Building Market is Growing Up

The World Green Building Council (WGBC) released a report this month that found the cost of constructing a green building is typically on par with a conventional one.

March 17, 2013

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Evaluating the Journey of a High Performance Building

The construction or retrofit of a high performance building is exciting: The new technology, the gadgets, the occupant buzz and the eventual launch can all make for a very dramatic affair. But what’s less sexy – and no less important – is what happens afterwards.

March 12, 2013

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From Start Up to Cool Down, IntelliPak I Can Help Achieve High Performance Building Goals

Although the International Air-Conditioning Heating Refrigeration (AHR) Expo was held in January, concerns about optimizing a building’s cooling system didn’t go away with the winter temperatures. Many expo attendees wanted to hear more about the efficiency tools that could help them achieve a high performance building year-round. I was especially excited to talk with them about the latest, ultra-efficient cooling system from Trane: The IntelliPak™ I Unitary Rooftop System.

March 03, 2013

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Intelligent Variable Air Systems Deliver 20 to 30 Percent Better Energy Efficiency

I recently returned from the 2013 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration (AHR) Expo in Dallas, where there was tremendous interest in Trane energy efficiency solutions. In fact, according to HPAC Engineering Magazine, the Trane booth was one of "the most talked about and most visited booths at the event."

February 25, 2013

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Trane Launches its Second Century with New Innovations

Trane celebrated 100 years of innovation at the 2013 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration (AHR) Expo in Dallas recently. At the show we presented and demonstrated several new forward-thinking building solutions that create comfortable, efficient and productive environments to benefit industries like healthcare, education, retail, data centers and others.

February 15, 2013

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"How Intesa Sanpaolo Cut its ""Invisible"" Inefficiencies"

Sometimes the most important energy problems are ones we can’t see. Unlike pollution streaming from a power plant or exhaust billowing from a car’s tailpipe, other forms of pollution and waste are not so easy to spot.

February 07, 2013

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How HVAC technologies Help Reduce the Spread of Infection (Part 2of 2)

The Center for Health Design (CHD) estimates that as many as 30 percent of hospital infection threats are airborne and numerous cases of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and other types of infections have been traced directly to problems with ductwork, ventilation controls, air exchange ratios and room pressure balance.

January 30, 2013

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Improving Physical Environment to Maximize Infection Control (Part 1 of 2)

Reducing the incidence of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) is a priority for everyone connected with the healthcare industry. The reasons are obvious. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, improving HAI rates by 40 percent from a 2010 baseline would save more than 60,000 lives and prevent 1.8 million patient injuries by 2013.

January 23, 2013

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Trane High Performance Building Solutions Drive Efficiency and Savings for the Unique Needs of Financial Institutions

Financial institutions handle critical data every day – data that requires specialized environments to ensure that information is processed without interruption. If a data center goes down for even 15 minutes, an organization could lose millions of dollars in information. Data centers have significant and specialized cooling needs in order to handle the heat loads associated with computational processes. Hot spots and inadequate cooling can cause costly disruptions and are daily concerns.

January 04, 2013

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"Infrastructure Enhancements at Republic Plaza to Result in Energy Savings of S$870,000 Annually"

Infrastructure upgrades at the Republic Plaza building, one of Singapore’s tallest skyscrapers, have made it one of the most efficient buildings in Singapore. The anticipated energy savings are estimated at four million kilowatt-hour of energy, or an annual savings of S$870,000. This is equivalent to powering 1,300 four-room apartments annually. The 66-story, 280-meter high Republic Plaza is a Grade A office building located at Raffles Place in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District.

December 27, 2012

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Upgrades at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School Cut Energy Consumption by More Than 50 Percent

Old Colony is a regional vocational technical high school offering a broad range of vocational careers for students in the Rochester, Mass., area. Energy efficient infrastructure upgrades at Old Colony have reduced energy consumption by more than 50 percent while improving the learning and teaching environment. An ongoing service and maintenance program helps ensure that all systems continue to run at optimum levels.

December 20, 2012

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Trane High Performance Building Solutions for Food Manufacturers Deliver Bottom Line Savings and Solutions to Unique Energy Needs

The primary concern for food manufacturers is meeting or exceeding customer expectations by ensuring the consistency and quality of their product. This approach helps shape how these manufacturers view their building systems and manufacturing processes as well.

December 13, 2012

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K. Raheja Corp. in Mumbai Drives Environmentally Responsible Construction

As the global demand for energy continues to rise, real estate developers are increasingly called upon to build more energy efficient structures that cost less to operate and have minimal environmental impact. One Trane customer that is raising the bar on green buildings is the K. Raheja Corp. in Mumbai.

December 06, 2012

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Post Hurricane Sandy - Tips and Resources for Buildings Affected by the Storms

Hurricane Sandy and the Nor’easter that followed a week later left a swath of destruction and a soggy mess in their wake. With the storms behind them, owners and operators of tens of thousands of commercial buildings – including office buildings, schools, hospitals, malls and factories – face the cleanup and remediation challenge of a lifetime. They need to get their buildings up and running quickly, but they also need to make sure that they are restoring a safe, healthy and comfortable indoor environment for building occupants and visitors.

December 03, 2012

Blue Chip Manager Monitoring Energy Efficiency

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Baxter Manufacturing Facility in Sabianigo Significantly Lowers Energy Use and Improves Comfort

Baxter International Inc., is a diversified healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other chronic and acute medical conditions.

November 21, 2012

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Why Benchmarking Matters

If someone told you that they had a service used by 267,000 buildings comprising 40 percent of the non-residential market in the United States you’d be pretty amazed right?

November 15, 2012

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"Infrastructure Improvements at Intesa Sanpaolo Data Center in Parma, Italy, Increase Operational and Energy Efficiency"

Long gone are the days of paper deposit books and hand written banking records, replaced instead by high-tech computerized data centers which make data readily available to allow banks to move at the speed of today's global business environment. While data centers have revolutionized the way businesses store and access information, the data servers themselves often consume a tremendous amount of energy.

November 08, 2012

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Ferrero Manufacturing Facility in Belsk, Poland Increases Energy and Operational Efficiency, Sustainability and Comfort

Ferrero may be best known for delicious chocolate creations wrapped in gold foil, but the global confectionary company is setting an industry “gold standard” at its Belsk, Poland manufacturing plant by embracing environmentally responsible, energy-efficient systems.

October 18, 2012

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How Healthcare is Driven Towards High Performance

We often focus on high performance from the perspective of building systems, but rarely do we get the opportunity to learn about “high performance" as seen through the eyes of a vertical industry.

October 10, 2012

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Can a Service Company Provide Better Service by Coming Out to Your Building Less?

If you asked 100 building managers to define good customer service from the technician's that service their building's systems and equipment, the top answers would likely include responsive, knowledgeable and reliable. For many building managers, the mere presence of a technician on sight is enough to instill comfort that building's systems are being brought up to, and kept in, good service.

September 21, 2012

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A Better Alternative to Running Building Systems 24-7

A lot of buildings today run 24-7, even though they are unoccupied at night. But with energy costs making up a significant portion of operating costs, it makes sense for building operators to consider alternatives.

September 13, 2012

Contemporary business people communicating while porter moving among them

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High Performance Buildings Insights: Hotels

Occupancy rates in hotels vary greatly, requiring a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system that can adapt to those types of changes while still providing an absolutely comfortable environment for guests.

September 06, 2012

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Historic New York City Center Keeps Patrons and Performers Comfortable with Help from Trane

The historic New York City Center is a 2,750 capacity dance theater in New York City. The 12-story building has been owned by the City of New York since 1943, when Mayor LaGuardia saved the building from being demolished for a parking lot and turned it into a performing arts center.

August 29, 2012

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Intelligent services enable high performance buildings

It is impossible to overstate the importance of developing and implementing effective operating, service and maintenance strategies required to sustain a new building’s original design performance expectations over its decades-long occupied life. In fact, according to the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), operating and maintenance costs account for 65-80 percent of a typical commercial building’s total lifecycle costs.

August 22, 2012

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Trane Puts Municipal Square on the Path to High Performance

Municipal Square is a five story commercial office building in West Orange, N.J. The building has more than 100,000 square feet of office space, occupied by 35 tenants, including law firms, architects, accountants and other professional service businesses.

August 14, 2012

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Intelligent Service Delivers Performance Outcomes for High Rise Buildings

In the last post we discussesd how technology and access to data gives building operators the tools they need to improve operations by performing maintenance when it is needed, rather than simply following a predetermined maintenance interval.

August 06, 2012

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Using Technology to Help Facility Managers Maximize Budgets

The combined effects of a sluggish economic recovery, high energy prices and changing environmental requirements continue to put pressure on owners and operators of high rise buildings. Facilities teams are constantly looking for ways to save energy, reduce operating costs, improve reliability and shrink their environmental footprint, while also creating a comfortable, healthy and productive place for people who work, live or visit in their buildings.

July 27, 2012

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"Smart Organizations Transform Buildings from Burdensome Liabilities into Business-essential, High-performing Assets"

Smart organizations transform buildings from burdensome liabilities into business-essential, high-performing assets. This statement might seem simple on its surface, but the idea gets at the heart of what the high performance buildings approach is all about. For building owners who grasp this concept, the reward is a building that reinforces, rather than detracts from, the organizational mission.

July 20, 2012

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Trane Helps Edmonds Community College Achieve More than $330k in Annual Energy and Operational Savings

Founded in 1967, Edmonds Community College (EdCC) helps students access educational and career opportunities in a supportive environment that encourages success, innovation, service and lifelong learning. The college spans 50 acres in the heart of a northern Seattle suburb and employs more than 1,600 people, contributing to the vitality of state and local economies. Edmonds has 21,000 students enrolled in Associate’s Degree programs, career training, adult literacy, or continuing education classes.

July 12, 2012

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"High Performance Buildings Spotlight: Trane Performance Contract Saves Ohio School District $900,000 Per Year"

Located in southwestern Ohio, Lakota is the seventh largest school district in the state, and the largest school district in Butler County. Lakota has grown in the last 20 years from a rural district to a suburban district with more than 18,000 students.

July 05, 2012

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Leaders at Three Rivers Community Schools Anticipate Infrastructure Upgrades Will Reduce Energy Costs More Than 30 Percent

Three Rivers Community recently completed infrastructure upgrades that district leaders anticipate will cut energy costs by more than 30 percent and save more than $197,000 in annual energy and operational costs. The upgrades were made to reduce costs while improving the learning environment within classrooms and increasing sustainability district-wide.

June 29, 2012

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Trane Intelligent Services Provides Relief in the Clutch for Tulsa Drillers Baseball Franchise

As a minor league farm club for the Colorado Rockies, the Tulsa Drillers understand the importance of performing in the clutch. In professional sports, game time performance is critical, and the same goes for its stadium's heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

June 21, 2012

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Trane Intelligent Services: Enhancing Building Mission

Every building operator has a set of expectations and a budget to manage. With Trane Intelligent Services (TIS), Trane is able to offer performance enhancements to meet any building’s specific requirements through advanced automation strategies called Alarm Notification, Active Monitoring and Building Performance.

June 07, 2012

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Clayton County Infrastructure Improvements Positively Impact County Budget

As local governments look for ways to cut costs and save money, one suburban Atlanta county turned an investment in energy efficiency into six-figure annual savings.

May 23, 2012

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Maintaining Uptime While Improving Indoor Comfort Was the Key for Godrej Bhaven in Mumbai

From high tech engineering to consumer goods, Godrej is one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates. Recently the company decided to implement a more energy efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) solution in its Godrej Bhavan facility in Mumbai, India as part of the company's focus on creating carbon neutral, zero waste, water positive and energy efficient businesses.

May 16, 2012

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Energy Saving Control Strategies Continued: Preventative Maintenance and Recommissioning

In the last post I talked about how a building control strategy works in tandem with a building automation system (BAS) to operate a building efficiently and optimally. In this post I'll talk about the different approaches for new construction versus existing buildings, and the recommended approaches to ongoing building maintenance.

May 10, 2012

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Building Automation Systems and Energy Saving Control Strategies

Most commercial buildings today have a building automation (BAS) system installed. While these systems are designed to help a building operator effectively manage a building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, the simple presence of a control system doesn't guarantee good performance.

May 03, 2012

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High Performance Buildings Solutions Help Airport Expansion Projects Take Off

Long before the information superhighway made the world more inter-connected, transportation advancements – trains, automobiles and airplanes – brought people together and gave them access to new and remote parts of the world.

April 26, 2012

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High Performance Buildings Spotlight: Rock Creek Unified Schools Expects $154k Annual Savings from Energy Efficiency Improvements

As budgets tighten, school districts across the country are looking for ways to lower costs. For many districts, the cost savings of investments in energy efficiency upgrades can be significant enough to help districts avoid cutting back on staff or reducing school-funded programs to meet budget demands.

April 09, 2012

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Maintenance Innovations Enable High Performance in Commercial Buildings

It's the situation every building owner wants to avoid –they've invested in new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, and yet building performance is suffering.

March 27, 2012

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Energy Conservation: How a High Performance Building Approach Saves Energy and Money

For years, conservation groups , public utilities and government agencies have promoted energy conservation as a critical priority for the nation. But energy conservation doesn’t have to mean uncomfortable conditions for occupants. By taking a high performance buildings approach, organizations can engage in conservation efforts while promoting a comfortable, safe and productive environment for all building occupants.

March 12, 2012

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Infrastructure Upgrades Expected to Net City of Marietta Nearly $100k in Annual Savings

Nestled just north of Atlanta and just south of the North Georgia Mountains, the City of Marietta, Ga., offers visitors the charm of a small city along with a stimulating urban environment. With a beautiful and vibrant downtown square filled with restaurants and antique shops, the city offers its 56,000 residents access to beautiful parks, quaint streets, Victorian homes and historic sites.

February 29, 2012

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High Performance Buildings Case Study: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital

Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital (CRMH) knew that it had no control over utility rates, but that it did have control over its energy use. The hospital sought to identify and implement energy conservation measures (ECMs) to reduce costs, in alignment with its mission to provide quality patient care as efficiently as possible.

February 15, 2012

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Calling on Partners to Deliver the Vision

In this post we'll discuss the final piece, which is calling on partners to help deliver the mission.

February 08, 2012

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"Setting Operational Priorities, Understanding Tradeoffs and Measuring Against the Mission"

This week I'll be building off the previous post about defining the building mission, and will talk about defining the operational priorities for the building, understanding the potential tradeoffs of efficiency measures, and measuring performance against the building mission.

February 01, 2012

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Identifying Your Building's Mission and Beginning the High Performance Buildings Journey

In the previous posts in this series I've talked about how industry visionaries better align building life cycle performance with organizational objectives, and the five steps leaders should consider when developing a long-term approach to improving building performance.

January 26, 2012

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The 5 Key Steps to Adopting a High Performance Buildings Approach

In the previous post I talked a about developing a more effective decision-making model around system-centric life cycle economics and the need to look beyond “simple payback” energy economics to a more long-term approach. This post will take a look at the five key steps that leaders should consider when developing a long-term approach that reduces operating costs, improves asset value and supports the long-term mission of the organizations served by their facilities.

January 18, 2012

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How industry visionaries better align building life cycle performance with organizational objectives

When it comes to improving building performance, it's easy to focus on short-term objectives and gains, and to gloss over the long-term effects of the path taken or not. A common short-sighted approach is to focus on individual component efficiency (chillers, air handlers, etc.) without understanding system implications of how these pieces integrate efficiently, or how investments in efficiency upgrades ultimately support the overall organizational mission.

January 10, 2012

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