HPAC On The Air

Jim Pauley is worried. The CEO of the National Fire Protection Association was already concerned that complacency and overconfidence were raising risk levels across our buildings stock. But now the latest wave of deregulation has forced NFPA to launch its first-ever national publicity campaign.

Just days after a massive new federal funding package was signed into law this month, new data showed inflation returning and higher than expected tariffs taking effect. Here, HPAC Engineering reviews some of the wide range of emotions our industry has been expressing so far.

The ACEC Research Institute's executive director walks us through some encouraging recent data from the American Council of Engineering Companies. She also invites our audience to participate in additional ongoing research.

The signs are everywhere. Artificial intelligence will have its biggest impact yet on our industry in 2025. This month's episode of HPAC: Editor's Notes looks at compelling new data on the growing use of AI in engineering, design and construction. Are you ready?

'HPAC On The Air' welcomes veteran engineers Jennifer Leach and Keith Hammelman, who will both be presenting this June at the 2025 ASHRAE Annual Conference in Phoenix. Their topic? Next-generation engineering talent. "How to Get'em; How to Keep'em." 

The economic news has been fast and furious this spring and more than a few headlines are in conflict. Here, we briefly review the latest from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other industry voices as we try get a better picture of the road ahead.

At this time of extraordinary economic disruption, 'HPAC On The Air' welcomes back longtime industry analyst Richard Branch for his take on how design and construction firms can manage best in the face of a potential recession.

In March, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to roll back more than 30 regulations and de-emphasize the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions. Since our industry is already heavily invested in decarbonization, we spoke with a number of key engineering leaders to gauge their reaction.

HPAC 'On The Air' welcomes back cybersecurity expert Nick Espinosa to discuss the latest onslaught of technology threats and how engineers and contractors can best protect themselves in this constantly changing environment.

In this extraordinarily turbulent month, especially regarding tariffs and their tangible effect on our industry, we take a look at what industry economists are seeing in the latest data...

The new board chair of the American Boiler Manufacturers Association is not only the first-ever woman to fill that role, she is also the first non-U.S. member to lead the 137-year-old trade group. Here, Simoneau joins us to discuss the unique perspective and infectious energy that will drive her leadership for the next two years. 

With the U.S. now out of the Paris Agreement once again, questions are swirling around the state of our industry's sustainability efforts. USGBC Senior Policy Counsel Elizabeth Beardsley joins us to discuss that, as well as the recent COP29 conference in Azerbaijan. Much progress is still happening on many fronts, she says.

Infrastructure and data center projects will drive our industry this year. But new variables are mounting regarding potential disruptions to construction labor and the supply chain.

Our latest Editor's Notes looks back on a trying election cycle that has redoubled this industry's determination to make 2025 a resilient success.

HPAC On The Air this month welcomes ASHRAE's 2024-25 President, who describes how youth and new technology are enhancing the Society's global mission. 

EDITOR'S NOTES: "Firehose of solidarity?" This fall's first-ever ASHRAE Women in Leadership Symposium was truly extraordinary. Our editor-in-chief was there and explains why this meeting was so different.

Our guest this month is Bryan Hutton, the very new president of the American Society of Plumbing Engineers. A chemical engineer atop his own composites manufacturing firm, Hutton is also the first-ever African-American to lead ASPE. Listen to his refreshing and positive perspectives here.

Our latest Editor's Notes podcast explains the vintage design of our new print issue, announces some overdue changes to our Editorial Advisory Board, and takes the pre-election pulse of a very healthy U.S. economy.

This month's episode of HPAC Editor's Notes looks at the three editorials from the September 1929 issue of Heating, Piping and Air Conditioning magazine. Observations note how "technical interests stimulate business"; how Chicagoans were "amazed" to see a German zeppelin (no, not that one) sail over Lake Michigan; and how engineering schools all over the world were starting to do more scientific r...

This month, HPAC 'On The Air' welcomes back Dr. Bill Bahnfleth, ASHRAE past president, former chair of its ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force, and longtime professor of architectural engineering at Penn State University. Bahnfleth's father Donald also served as editor of HPAC Engineering throughout the 1960s, and later became ASHRAE president, himself. So there is much to unpack in this wide-ranging episo...

A thunderous brushback by a burst of nighttime tornadoes reminds our editor-in-chief of the importance of community and the inescapable fact that we are all in this together.

'HPAC On The Air' this month welcomes longtime Greenheck Fan Corp. exec Mike Wolf, PE, the 2023-24 president of the Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) International, where he will also serve as the group's 2024-25 chairman. Now in his 39th year at Greenheck, Wolf today is the manufacturer's director of regulatory business development. He speaks with us here about a subject near and dear t...

This month, we again revisit HPAC's first year in service to our industry with a fascinating time capsule from 95 years ago. Listen to some of our editorial commentary then on improving air quality in cities, the engineering value of journeyman input, and the need to create piping codes across the U.S. that conform with one another...

'HPAC On The Air' welcomes back the longtime Clark's Remarks columnist to talk about heat domes, environmental regulation, and how he "walks the talk" of his sustainability evangelism.

EDITOR'S NOTES: Women are playing an increasingly vital role in our industry today. Here, we take a look back on the path of that progress, in HVACR and society, over the 95 years of HPAC Engineering's existence.