“North America is far behind the rest of the world in inverter adoption,” he said. “But pressure on electricity costs will continue to push the market forward. Inverterization is inevitable, and Daikin intends to lead that movement.”
Another significant element of Daikin’s strategy is its choice of R-32 refrigerant, especially given the rest of the industry’s heavy reliance on R-454B.
“As the lone R-32 A2L provider for unitary products in North America, we see tremendous opportunity,” Widenmann explained.
“R-32 is proven, easy, efficient, available, and low-cost. It has been used in Daikin products globally since 2012. For contractors, that means familiarity, affordability, and reliability.”
New Products, Capabilities, and Opportunities
With major regulatory transitions (DOE23, UL 2-40, A2L) mainly in the rear view (for now), Daikin is turning its attention to growth, innovation, and contractor support.
Widenmann offered a look at what’s coming:
- Expanded application capabilities for Daikin FIT
- The U.S. launch of Daikin Altherma, a domestic hot water heat pump system
- Enhanced controls through Venstar, an advanced controls company acquired by Daikin
- Expansion of the Daikin Energy Rebates Calculator (DERC) — a powerful contractor tool to simplify state and local incentive management.
“DERC is designed to simplify the complex task of navigating incentives,” Widenmann said.
“Contractors can quickly find, offer, submit, and track rebates that significantly enhance the affordability of our products.”
Another opportunity is the company’s partnership with the Houston Astros. Widenmann says Daikin just finished its first year of a 15-year exclusive naming rights partnership that brands the Astros’ home as Daikin Park.
Contractor Relationship: Sovereign, Strategic, and Essential
If there was one theme Widenmann returned to repeatedly, it was the role of the HVAC contractor, especially high-performance contractors.
“Daikin believes that its contractor customers are sovereign,” he told me. “We want a relationship far deeper than a traditional dealer-manufacturer arrangement.”
He said that training plays a central role in this approach.
“The new technology we’re introducing isn’t complex, but it is different,” he said. “Training is essential to delivering value and keeping promises to the end user. Our distributors share responsibility for training our loyal professional contractors, and it’s a core part of the commitments we make to them.”
According to Widenmann, High-Performance HVAC contractors are essential to Daikin’s success.
“They don’t just install equipment — they optimize comfort, efficiency, reliability, and lifecycle value,” he said. “That’s the story Daikin wants to tell.”
A Shared Commitment to Performance
During our conversation, Widenmann explained that Daikin’s relationship with National Comfort Institute (NCI) continues to deepen and grow in importance, particularly in High-Performance HVAC training.
“Our relationship with NCI is very important,” he said. “Training builds confidence, customer motivation, and loyalty. NCI recently led duct design training for over 500 contractors — that’s the kind of impact we value.”
Widenmann sees the partnership as central to the company’s future.
“Our goal is alignment,” he explained. “Daikin is a principled company, and we tie everything we do to bringing value to society. We want to innovate together, especially using technology to expand access to high-quality training.”
Challenges Ahead and the Opportunities They Create
Looking forward, Widenmann sees both headwinds and tailwinds.
The Challenge: Affordability: “Affordability will remain a major challenge,” he said. “We have to keep developing high-efficiency products and tools that help contractors express the economic value to end users.”
The Opportunity: A Regulatory Pause: Widenmann said the industry is currently experiencing a slowdown in new regulatory
requirements — something Daikin plans to capitalize on.
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