The home services industry began 2022 with strong growth due to the home renovation trends from the previous year; however, factors such as rising material costs, labor shortages and inflation resulted in a slight decline in new work being scheduled in Q2 and Q3, according to Jobber’s Q3 Home Service Economic Report.

In this weekly feature, Plumbing Group Chief Editors Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster highlight the industry’s latest news stories.

Does anybody else feel like 2022 just flew right by, or is it just me? It seems too early for Christmas decorations and music — just a few short weeks ago, Michigan was still having 70-degree weather! But ‘tis the season!

This past year has been an unprecedented year for the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) space, hitting $5 trillion in volume in 2021 through over 40,000 transactions. The number of transactions in the distribution and manufacturing space has caused owners to take a closer look at their options regarding selling and/or acquisition options.

The National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) reported in what’s referred to as the "nation’s report card" in September 2022 that recent long-term reading and mathematics assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that “average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined five points in reading and seven points in mathematics compared to 2020.

“Governmental members” may desire a public perception of having “no vested financial interest in” the development process. But there is no requirement or mandate for them to be transparent in avoiding conflicts of interest.

A2L refrigerants are the latest refrigerants recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) as substitutes in residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump systems.

Ninety percent of seniors would rather remain in their own homes than move to assisted living, according to AginginPlace.org. Given the costs of assisted living, aging-in-place makes financial sense as well. Yet, many homes are not ready, which presents an opportunity for plumbing contractors.

Taco Comfort Solutions wins the AHR 2023 Innovation award for Sustainable Solutions with its System M. I fully expect to see a virtual explosion in the number of air-to-water heat pumps on display at the upcoming AHR Expo in February.

In this weekly feature, Plumbing Group Chief Editors Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster highlight the industry’s latest news stories.