Net-Zero Homes

The concept is still in its infancy, but some builders are trying to capture a niche with "net-zero" homes -- houses that produce as much energy as they consume. As this Wall Street Journal article describes, the payback isn't very attractive yet. But as energy costs rise and the green movement burgeons, this niche market could grow into a fad.

And wouldn't that be just dandy for everyone involved with low-consumption radiant heat! -- Jim Olsztynski 

In this edition of Radiant & Hydronics e-News:

• Siegenthaler's Glitch & Fix
• First consensus green model code
• Free EPA lead rule webinar 
• More training schedules

ASHRAE, ICC, Etc. Announce Green Model Code/Standard
In the first of its kind collaboration designed to boost critical green building practices across the country, the International Code Council (ICC), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES)  announced the launch of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). A landmark addition to the technical content of the IGCC is the inclusion of ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, as an alternate path of compliance. Standard 189.1 is a set of technically rigorous requirements, which like the IGCC, covers criteria including water use efficiency, indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency, materials and resource use, and the building's impact on its site and its community. For more information on IGCC: www.intlcode.org/cs/IGCC/Pages/default.aspx and on Standard 189.1: www.ashrae.org/greenstandard.

Free Webinar Offered On New EPA Lead Rule
The EPA's new Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule goes into effect in less than one month. Join expert speaker Eric Hunter on April 7 for an online presentation that will explain the new federal law going into effect on April 22. It will require contractors who perform renovation, repairs, and painting jobs in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities to become EPA Lead Certified Renovators. Penalties range up to $37,500 per violation, per day. The Webinar is being sponsored by Restoration & Remediation and ICS Cleaning Specialist magazines. Both are sister publications of PM. Click here to register.

ASHRAE Confab Tackles Efficiency In Existing Buildings
From the city's most recognizable building to its first green commercial office tower, lessons learned underneath the sustainability skyline of New York City will be shared at an ASHRAE speciality conference April 19-20 at the Grand Hyatt in NYC. Among the speakers at ASHRAE's "Existing Buildings in Urban Areas: Dramatically Cutting the Energy Waste,: are Tony Malkin, president, Malkin Properties, a real estate firm that owns and manages over 14 million square feet of office, retail residential and other properties in 15 states, including the Empire State Building, and Jody Durst, co-president, The Durst Organization, the owner, manager and builder of 9 million square feet of mid-town Manhattan office and residential properties. To register or for more information, visit www.ashrae.org/cutenergywaste.

Bidding Opens To Study HVACR Climate Impact
The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology Institute (ARTI) is accepting bids for a new research project to establish a standardized methodology to calculate the Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP) for HVACR. LCCP is a concept that identifies all the global warming impacts due to the use of a product throughout its lifetime, including both the direct effect of refrigerants and blowing agent emissions from the product and the indirect effect of carbon dioxide emissions related to the energy consumption of the product. Prospective bidders can download bidding instructions, the statement of work, and other pertinent information at  http://www.ahrinet.org/Content/ProjectsOpenforBid_860.aspx. The deadline for submitting proposals is April 26, 2010.

Noritz Offers Help For Commercial Projects
Noritz America Corp. has developed the Noritz Commercial Department. which will consist of regional teams of commercial professionals to assist with all retrofitting and new commercial projects, according to Yoshi Asano, Noritz America Senior Marketing Manager. "Their sole focus is to develop and assist businesses in the switch to tankless, whether it's converting their existing system to our more energy-efficient method or setting up their business with our new Noritz Modular System Commercial Line," said Asano.  To contact a member of Noritz's Commercial Department call 877-986-6748 or visit www.Noritz.com/commercial.

Honeywell Names Rob Andersen To Head ECC Sales
Rob Andersen has been named vice president of sales for Honeywell's Environmental and Combustion Controls (ECC) Americas. In this role, he is responsible for leading the ECC Americas trade and retail sales organizations as well as the customer care organization.   Prior to this, he served as the OEM sales director.

Lochinvar Names SHIELD Drawing Winner
Lochinvar Corp. announced that Brad Vines, president and owner of John's Plumbing in Birmingham, AL, as Grand Prize winner of its recent promotion surrounding the SHIELD Commercial Water Heater. Vines received a PowerMate Stair Climbing System, which is valued at more than $4,000 and designed to provide a cost-effective and safe way to move heavy products. The promotion, which ran from June through December 2009, invited contractors to receive a $50 rebate for every SHIELD Commercial Water Heater they installed, followed by a prize drawing. Pictured from left to right: Fran Williams, President, Williams & Associates, Birmingham, AL; Brad Vines, President, John's Plumbing; Ken Blackburn, Southeast Regional Manager, Lochinvar Corporation; Kenny Sullivan, Vice President, John's Plumbing.

HeatLink Introduces "Mechanical Room In A Box"
HeatLink Group will be formally launching their "Mechanical Room in a Box" line of zone control panels at CMX?CIPHEX 2010 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre March 25-27. The full range of enclosed panels include: mixing panels, pump mixing panels, isolation panels, traditional and tankless water heater panels, solar panels, snowmelt panels, combination panels, and a wide range of panels with manifold options. "Our panels have an appliance-like appearance, so mechanical rooms will no longer look like a science-project," say Wade Peterson, vice president of North American sales and marketing.

Digital 2010 Radiant Flooring Guide Now Available

Are you at a client's home and forgot to bring a copy of the 2010 Radiant Flooring Guide? Or are you at a convention and need some quick information about using cork flooring over a radiant heating system?

Open your Internet browser, key in this address - http://tinyurl.com/rfg-digitalmag-2010 - and browse through the pages at your convenience. The Table of Contents contains links to take you directly to the article you want to read. Or you can browse through page by page as you would with the printed version.

Ads are linked to advertisers' web sites to provide more information on products or services readers are interested in.

The 2010 Radiant Flooring Guide is an indispensable tool for architects, heating contractors, mechanical contractors, floor covering retailers and installers, builders, wholesalers, radiant system specifiers and homeowners. It provides all the information for making proper choices on flooring over radiant heating systems, including an updated directory of radiant floor product manufacturers.

To purchase printed copies of the 2010 Radiant Flooring Guide for $15, contact Stephanie Weingartz at weingartzs@bnpmedia.com, phone 248-244-1275, or visit www.AECstore.com.

MADCAD.com is the first and only web-based subscription service that provides online access to building codes and standards from major codes and standards developing societies in cross-referenced HTML format. MADCAD.com's database includes more than 10,000 codes and standards that can be searched simultaneously in less than a second.

Founded in 1995, MADCAD.com's subscribers include top AEC firms, educational institutions and government agencies. 

©2010, J. Siegenthaler - all rights reserved

Multiple Boiler System

Click here for a full-size PDF view.

The Glitch

Overview: A multiple boiler system has been configured to supply two loads as shown below.

Exercise: There are several piping errors in this proposed design. Can you spot at least five of them?

The Fix

I've shown two solutions: The first stays with primary/secondary piping and the other uses a hydraulic separator. Both are viable.

The solution using the hydraulic separator allows the supply temperature to each load circuit to be equal.

With the primary/secondary system, the supply temperature to the downstream load circuit will be lowered if the upstream secondary circuit is operating.

Visit www.hydronicpros.com

  HOT OFF THE PRESS 

Greening Steam: How to Bring 19th-Century Heating Systems into the 21st Century (and save lots of green!)  -  $30.00 

Author: Dan Holohan 

When it comes to saving money on heating, old steam systems are delicious low-hanging fruit. There is so much you can do to make them better, and most of what you do won't cost a fortune. - Dan Holohan There are many steam systems in service today, and they'll be around for some time to come. It's not that easy (or inexpensive) to rip out a steam system and start anew, and that's why so many of them are still around. Dan Holohan's Greening Steam: How to Bring 19th-Century Heating Systems into the 21st Century (and save lots of green!) walks you through your old steam heating system and shows you how to get the most out of it without putting a lot of money into it. It's an entertaining and informative book that will have you looking at steam heating in a whole new light. You'll be amazed at how small changes can make a big difference when it comes to efficiency and savings. Read this book and start greening your steam heating system (and your wallet) today! Follow this link to view the table of contents or to purchase this item.

Visit AECStore.com to view all of our products for the Radiant & Hydronics Pro.