Entries for the 2010 AHR Expo Innovation Awards competition must be submitted by Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. In its eighth year, the Awards recognize the most innovative and useful products among the thousands on display at the AHR Expo and are judged on the basis of their design, unique performance, market impact, and value to the HVAC/R industry.

Entries for the 2010 AHR Expo Innovation Awards competition must be submitted by Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. Widely recognized as one of the most prestigious awards in the HVAC/R industry, the Innovation Awards are designed to promote and encourage new product development.

In its eighth year, the Awards recognize the most innovative and useful products among the thousands on display at the AHR Expo and are judged on the basis of their design, unique performance, market impact, and value to the HVAC/R industry. The nine Innovation Awards categories are:

• Building Automation

• Cooling

• Green Building

• Heating

• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

• Refrigeration

• Software

• Tools & Instruments

• Ventilation

Exhibitors can submit one product per category, but winning products from the previous year are not eligible. For complete rules as well as the Innovation Award Exhibitor Entry form, visitwww.ahrexpo.com/innovation.

Sponsored by International Exposition Company, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, the 2010 AHR Expo Innovation Awards competition seeks out products and solutions that meet today’s complex energy challenges, offer innovative design, provide value, and have useful applications.

A panel of judges will review and evaluate all submissions based on the competition criteria. Winners of the Innovation Awards will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the AHR Expo in Orlando and will receive special placards to place in their booths, as well as an etched crystal award to be displayed in their company headquarters. In addition, one of the nine winning entries will be selected as the 2010 AHR Expo Product of the Year.

All entry fees from the AHR Innovation Awards will be given to a Central Florida humanitarian organization as a way for AHR Expo and its Co-Sponsors to “give back” to the community where the show is held. Since the conception of the program, thousands of dollars have been donated to several technical schools’ scholarship funds.

The 2010 AHR Expo will take place Jan. 25-27 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando and will feature more than 1,600 exhibitors from around the world showcasing hundreds of innovative new products to more than 45,000 attendees and exhibitor personnel.