As weatherization funds from the Obama stimulus bill begin to filter into the hands of state representatives, many of the test and measurement companies involved with energy auditing are becoming inundated with orders. Blower door sales are dominated by three major manufactures;
A blower door is a high power fan that mounts into the frame of a structure’s exterior door. The fan pulls air out of the house, depressurizing the structure. This forces high air pressure from the outside of the structure through any unsealed cracks and openings. Blower door tests assist in determining the air infiltration flow of a building. Blower doors normally consists of a frame and flexible, or modular panel that fits in to an external door frame, a variable speed fan, a pressure gauge, and an airflow manometer, along with hoses for measuring airflow.
Other test and measurement devices under huge demand, such as the infrared camera, duct blasters, the combustion analyzer, carbon monoxide detection equipment, and indoor air quality devices, just to name a few. Testo, a newer player in the HVAC/R test & measurement industry, was recently backlogged 2 weeks on their combustion analyzers. Testo has since focused it manufacturing on energy auditing related devices to keep up with demand. Fluke test & measurement, owned by the Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR), has been focusing intensely on their infrared camera business as new energy auditing standards as just months away from including infrared analysis. Fluke expects to see the same type of spike in their infrared camera sales that blower door manufactures currently enjoying.
Other companies are waking up to this trend. For example, power tool manufacturers, whose sales have been decimated by the horrific down turn in new construction, have started to focus on companies that offer energy saving upgrades and weatherization improvements. Makita Tool Corporation has been working on getting together with distributors and training facilities that have a current customer base of energy auditors and weatherization home improvement companies. The only concern of many of these manufactures is that this could be yet another bubble waiting to burst. The stimulus money for weatherization projects is not infinite. How long it will last is anyone’s guess.
Between environmental awareness and the new flood of cash into the weatherization industry, this could be the spark that new construction is looking for and what the construction industry may look like in the future. It could also just be a flash in the pan, that peters out as fast as it appeared.
Christopher Mayes is a freelance author who has written at least fifteen press release articles.
Copyright Christopher S. Mayes – http://www.aikencolon.com
Aiken Colon Tool Supply Inc. © 2009 – http://www.aikencolon.com
