What Glitters Isn't All Gold,
But May Prove Even More Valuable

I was intrigued by this article about the potential for tiny pieces of glitter leading to flexible solar panels that could be employed to myriad uses. Don't be brought down by the naysayers. Our environmental and energy problems will eventually be solved by technological feats like this. (Image courtesy of  Murat Okandan/Sandia National Laboratories.) -- Jim Olsztynski

In this issue of The Radiant & Hydronics eNews:

• News about Lochinvar, HTP, Watts, Mestek & Taco
• Full training schedules 
• PM Live Sign-Up
• This month's The Glitch & The Fix
  

Register now for "PM Live" Plumbing & Mechanical's Hydronics/Solar/Geothermal Symposium with renowned hydronics expert John Siegenthaler, PE, at the 2010 AHR Expo in Orlando, Jan. 25.

Green Building Standard Nears Completion
As publication of the nation's first code-intended high-performance green building standard draws nearer, a web page providing the detailed information about the standard, including a draft copy of the document, has been launched. Proposed Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, moved one step closer to publication in December after approval by the boards of directors of ASHRAE, IES and USGBC, the three groups that are partnering in its development. Visit www.ashrae.org/greenstandard.

AHR Exhibitor Count Passes 1,800
A total of 1,813 companies will be showcasing their latest products and technologies to more than 35,000 HVAC/R professionals at the 62nd AHR Expo in Orlando, January 25-27. According to Show Management, the number of exhibitors is on par with the last AHR Expo in Orlando (2005) and only slightly off from other recent AHR Expos. In addition, more than 200 companies have signed on to exhibit at the Show for the first time and over 375 companies from outside the U.S.

Solar Cooling Workshop Slated At AHR
A Solar Heating and Cooling program will be held on Jan. 27 in conjunction with the Orlando AHR Expo. Click on the headline for more information.

A Year To Forget
A year-end survey by the North Central Wholesalers Association, representing PHC wholesalers in the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, found members reporting an average sales decline of 15.7% for the year 2009 (16.6% median). Only two of the 33 respondents reported a sales increase for the year, in both cases a tiny 1% gain, while 13 members said sales had declined between 20-30%. Conditions do appear a bit on the upswing, however, as NCWA members reported December sales decreased an average of only 6.7% compared with Dec. 2008.

Lochinvar Kicks Off 5th
VIP Contractor Program
Lochinvar is kicking off its fifth annual VIP Contractor Program for 2009-2010 with a wealth of sales tools and updated incentives for installations of KNIGHT residential and commercial boiler lines. Additionally, the Squire Indirect Water Heater joins the program this year.with a fresh new offering of rewards and resources. The   12 top-selling contractors and their guests will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Lochinvar World Headquarters for the exciting Nashville Experience in June, with lodging at the widely renowned Gaylord-Opryland Resort.

HTP Appoints VP Of Engineering
Heat Transfer Products announced the appointment of Phillip Stephens to the newly created position of vice president, engineering. A licensed professional engineer, Stephens will oversee all research, design, development and testing activities for HTP products, reporting directly to President Dave Martin. Stephens and his family are relocating to Massachusetts from Montgomery, AL, where he headed his own consulting engineering firm in recent years. Previously, he worked for the Advanced Research Group of the Rheem Water Heating Division, also based in Montgomery.

Watts Issues T&P Recall
Watts Regulator announced a voluntary recall of 1-in. 140X-9 temperature and pressure relief valves for water heaters. No injuries have been reported at this time, but the relief valve can fail to reduce pressure and avert failure or rupture of the water heater tank and associated valves, posing rupture and burn hazard to consumers.

Education For The Energy
Challenges Of The Future

MCA Chicago leads the way 

Student representatives from 21 area high schools attended conferences organized by the Mechanical Contractors Association of Chicago. It gave them a glimpse of some of the exciting careers offered in our industry.

Read the Complete Article

High-Efficiency Heat Pumps Cited To Reduce Carbon Emissions

High-efficiency heat pumps, presumably including geothermal systems, were among the technological fixes cited by delegates attending the recent Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen. Read more about it here.

Also check out what Danfoss North America President Robert Wilkins had to say about the Conference.

©2010, J. Siegenthaler - all rights reserved

Floor Heating Dilemma

Click here for a full-size PDF view

The Glitch

Overview: The system below uses a gas-fired cast-iron boiler to supply three zones of low-temperature floor heating. The installer selects a 1-inch-pipe-sized three-way thermostatic mixing with Cv=3.5 for the mixing device. Each zone is piped in parallel from a common header downstream of the mixing valve.

Exercise: Find at least five errors in this layout.

The Fix:

There are several problems with the original schematic. They are corrected in the schematic below:

First, the zone circuits are not equipped with check valves. Without them, reverse flow will develop in circuits that are off. The fix is to either install check valves or use circulators with integral flow checks as shown.

Another serious error is the flow capacity of the three-way thermostatic mixing valve. A valve with a Cv of 3.5 means that a 1 psi pressure drop will occur with a 3.5 gpm flow rate. If we assume a conservative 20-degree temperature drop on the manifold stations, the required design load flow rate would be 12 gpm. At this flow rate, the pressure drop through the thermostatic valve would be almost 12 psi! This is way beyond the capacity of typical 1/25 horsepower zone circulators and, thus, it simply won't occur.

Instead, flow through the zone circuits will be severely restricted and heat delivery would suffer the same fate. The fix is to use a mixing valve with a higher Cv rating. Select a valve with a Cv approximately equal to the full design load flow rate; this will limit pressure drop through the valve to about 1 psi under these conditions.

Still another problem on the original schematic is a lack of boiler inlet temperature protection. There is no provision for a mixing point to boost boiler inlet temperature. Furthermore, there is nothing to "react" to lower boiler inlet temperature; thus, the boiler is not protected against flue gas condensation. The fix is to use a motorized three-way valve with a controller that measures boiler inlet temperature and, when necessary, restricts the flow of hot water into the valve so that flue gas condensation does not occur within the boiler. The circulator in the boiler loop is necessary to create the second mixing point that boosts boiler inlet temperature.

Other errors are: 

•  Circuit purging valves installed backwards.

• Zone circulator inlet too close to header (allow minimum 12 pipe diameters of straight pipe on inlet to any circulator).

Visit www.HydronicPros.com

Radiant Floor Heating Thermostat: Azel Technologies' D-508F digital non-programmable heat-only thermostat is designed to control either ambient or floor temperature, or a combination of both. An auxiliary remote sensor is provided to measure slab temperature in order to control the floor temperature (within maximum and minimum limits). It can also be used for sensing the outdoor temperature. www.azeltec.com

Taco Support Stands:  Taco announces the availability of new support stands for its vertical in-line pump offerings for use in HVAC and industrial applications as well as domestic water service. Made of rugged ductile iron, the stands can be added to all Taco KV Vertical In-Line Pumps and KS Vertical Split-Coupled Pump models. www.taco-hvac.com

Bryan Steam's New Condensing Boilers: Bryan Steam announced that it will be introducing its Triple-Flex (patent pending) ultra-high efficiency condensing boiler series at the AHR Expo 2010 in Orlando, FL, booth #3030, from Jan. 25-27. Triple-Flex boilers deliver minimum 90% operating efficiency. www.bryanboilers.com.

Taco's Solar Pump Line With Integral Controls:  Taco's latest addition to its 00® family of circulators includes a line of variable speed 00 solar pumps designed to match solar collector output, a feature that increases solar system performance by 20%. Taco's variable speed circulators with integral solar control includes the 009 solar drain-back circulator and several cast iron and non-ferrous pump sizes with integrated controls for jobs of all types and sizes.  www.taco-hvac.com

Noritz's NH Boiler Series: John Siegenthaler addressed an overflow audience of contractors from all across the Northeast on the benefits of Noritz America NH Boiler Series, according to Yoshi Asano, Noritz America senior marketing manager. The event, which was held at Noritz's New York branch showroom on November 5, introduced Noritz's ASME certified tankless hydronic boilers, NH-1501-DV and NH-2001-DV, for both residential and commercial use. Visit www.noritz.com.

M&M Series 1575: McDonnell & Miller announces the new Series 1575 Low Water Cut-Off / Pump Controller. The Series 1575 provides continuous protection against a low water condition and satisfies pump control needs for commercial steam and hot water boilers. The Series 1575 is used as a low water cut-off, feed water control and alarm for boilers, vessels and tanks and includes a 1Hp pump relay, as well as adjustable burner and pump settings. www.mcdonnellmiller.com.

B&G Low-Flow Balance Valves: Two new Low Flow Automatic Balance Valves featuring a unique field adjusted cartridge that allows the user to select exact flows for specific applications has been introduced by Bell & Gossett. The Low Flow Circuit Sentry and the Low Flow Wye-Strainer are designed for automatic flow limiting style balancing of both HVAC cooling and heating circuits. www.balancevalves.com.

High-Efficiency Hybrid Water Heater: Gas appliance manufacturer Grand Hall USA announced that its Eternal Condensing Hybrid water heater has qualified for Energy Star program. Available in early February 2010, the Eternal Condensing Hybrid is lab-verified at 0.96 EF, which far exceeds federal requirements listed at 0.82 EF. www.eternalcondensed.com.

Joist Space Radiant Heating: REHAU will display its new RAUPLATE joist space radiant heating system (right), among many other products, at the upcoming AHR Expo, Jan. 25-27 in Orlando. Also featured will be the REHAU EDGE professional contractor development program. Visit REHAU at booth 2359 or log on to www.na.rehau.com/heating.

2009's BESTSELLERS