Is Bureacracy Killing Solar?

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." Hearing those words, you know it's time to run for the hills.

Or at least to the private sector, which is where many solar project developers are heading after they tire of dealing with government agencies governing public lands. Read more about this maddening trend here. -- Jim Olsztynski

In this edition:

• Siggy's New Glitch & Fix -- Just Like A Boiler!
• Viessmann's Webster wins Carlson-Holohan Award
• 5 Successful Steps to a Home Renovation Project 

Viessmann's Webster Wins
Carlson-Holohan Award
Ken Webster (right), director of sales & marketing for Viessmann-Canada, is the newest recipient of the coveted Carlson-Holohan Award of Industry Excellence. Named after legendary B&G instructor Gil Carlson (1922-1994) and renowned hydronics writer Dan Holohan, the every-other-year honor features the original "System Syzer" developed by Carlson. Presenting the award to Webster is Jean Eslick, Canada territory manager for BNP Media Co., whose magazines PM, Supply House Time and pme have sponsored the award since its inception.

Geothermal, RFH To Be
Featured On HOMETIME
Geothermal products from WaterFurnace and radiant floor heating will be featured in upcoming edition of the HOMETIME television show. The products will be featured in a 19-part series that documents the construction of a state-of-the-art house - The Stone Cottage. The first phase of the installation of geothermal equipment and the radiant floor heating system is the subject of episode nine in the Stone Cottage series. The episode is scheduled to release to PBS stations across the country on April 24. Check local listings to find stations, airdates and times for HOMETIME broadcasts.

Web-based Contractor Buying Group Formed
The recent launch of BuyMax Alliance, a Web-based business-to-business buying site, enables independent plumbing, HVAC, electrical and roofing contracting businesses to leverage the buying power of their larger peers, thereby reaping huge savings on operating expenses, such as office supplies, equipment, materials and human resources services. For a limited time, the company is offering a 90-day free trial.

EPA, DOE Plan To Expand Energy Star
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy recently outlined a series of steps to further strengthen the Energy Star program. In addition to third-party testing already underway, the agencies have launched a new two-step process to expand testing of Energy Star-qualified products. 

Introducing Efficiency First
Efficiency First is a national nonprofit trade association that unites home performance contractors, building product manufacturers and related businesses and organizations in the fight against global warming and rising energy costs. Efficiency First represents its members in public policy discussions at the state and national levels, to promote the benefits of efficiency retrofitting and to help the industry grow to meet unprecedented demand for quality residential energy improvements. ASHRAE is among its member trade associations. 

ASHRAE Seeks Papers On Net Zero Energy
Papers addressing the industry's efforts to achieve zero-energy design are being sought for ASHRAE's 2011 Winter Conference in Las Vegas. The deadline for paper submissions is April 16. For complete information on the submittal requirements, visit www.ashrae.org/lasvegas. The 2011 Winter Conference takes place Jan. 29-Feb. 2 along with the ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo, held Jan. 31-Feb. 2.

Irwin Kicks Off "Ultimate Tradesman" Contest
Irwin Tools is searching across the world for the Ultimate Tradesman. With competitions throughout the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand, the tradesman who can Grip It, Rip It, and Drive It faster than any other tradesman out there will be crowned the next Irwin Tools Ultimate Tradesman.

Sweeney-Rogers To Merge With Geraghty
Two Massachusetts-based plumbing and HVAC rep firms, Sweeney-Rogers Corp. and Frederick Geraghty, announced a merger. The new corporation will be known as Sweeney Rogers Geraghty Corp. Under the agreement Sweeney Rogers Geraghty Corp's New York division located in Syracuse will be called Sweeney Rogers Hartwell and run under the direction of company VP and partner Dan Hartwell. The new organization's New England location will be located at the current Sweeney-Rogers Corp facility located in Raynham, MA. The merger's anticipated closing date is April 30.

John Guest Hires Independent Reps
John Guest USA is expanding its network of independent manufacturer rep agencies with the recent addition of nine firms covering 16 states and the District of Columbia. The following rep agencies now represent John Guest USA:
--Action Sales of Morgan Hill, CA and Spectrum Sales & Marketing of Alamo, CA for Northern California and Northern Nevada. (Spectrum Sales concentrates on the retail market.)
-- NSC Marketing Group (Tulsa, OK) for Oklahoma and Arkansas.
-- TRI-REP Sales for southern Texas.
-- BWA Co. of Cleveland for Ohio.
-- Summit Sales of Olathe, KS for Kansas, Missouri and southern Illinois.
-- Rich-Tomkins Co. of Aston PA for southern New Jersey, Delaware, eastern PA and Maryland to include DC.
-- Duhart Company of Richmond for Virginia.
-- Carolina Sales for North and South Carolina.
The company's Speedfit product line is designed for use in plumbing (potable water, domestic hot & cold water) and hydronic heating applications in homes and light commercial buildings.

ECR To Switch Ductless Production
ECR International announced the shift of production for many of its EMI ductless and RetroAire air conditioning products from its Rome, NY facility to its Utica plant. "At ECR, we recognize the importance of our EMI and RetroAire products sold under the Buy American Act," said Tom Legutko, Business Director of Air Conditioning Systems at ECR. "With the systems we manufacture in Utica and now our special order products, our goal is to continue serving our customers in those markets where this designation is essential."

Hart & Cooley Honors Vent Sales Reps
The Commercial Products Group of Hart & Cooley has honored several independent firms which represent its AMPCO, Selkirk and HeatFab lines of venting products. Award winners include:
-- AMPCO Excellence in Sales: JBC Chimney, Centereach, NY; AMPCO Most Improved Sales: Norman S. Wright, Phoenix, AZ.
-- Selkirk 2009 Diamond Sales Award (over $2 million): United Energy Products, Crofton, MD; Selkirk 2009 Platinum Sales Award (over $1 million): Mechanical Sales/Precision Vent, Marietta, GA and Energy Products, Broomall, PA.
-- HeatFab 2009 Excellence in Sales Award and Most Improved Sales Award: Thermco, Clifton, NJ.

Uponor Hires Canada Western Region Manager
Uponor Ltd. recently announced that Jason Woodman has joined the company in the role of Western Regional Sales Manager. Woodman brings 20 years of experience in account management, marketing and training in the automotive aftermarket and consumer electronic sectors.

Grundfos Reports Modest Loss In 2009
Grundfos Group reported 2009 revenue was $3.1 billion vs. $3.4 billion in 2008, with profits at $158 million, or 5.1% of revenue, which is virtually equal to the 2008 percent. Grundfos North America reported results in-line with those reported by the Group.

Raypak Announces Low-Lead Compliance
Raypak stated their water supply appliances now have low-lead bronze fitted equipment to comply with the CA and VT low lead laws.

DDI To Host Next Inform Demo May 13
DDI System announces the availability of Inform software as a hosted service providing many benefits to wholesale distributors who don't have the capital for hardware and IT personnel. DDI's next live online demo is Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 1:00 pm EST. Distributors can sign up by calling DDI System at 877-599-4334 or registering online at www.seeinform.com.

Triangle Tube Opens New Training Center
Triangle Tube has opened an all-new training facility in Denver, CO.  Equipped with four operational condensing Prestige Boilers, the course offers hands-on training on proper installation practices, system and pump sizing and troubleshooting. After successfully completing the 2-day course, all participants receive a 2-year parts and labor warranty on all Prestige boilers they install.

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.

Five Successful Steps To A Home Renovation Project

by Michelle LaBrosse

Planning a major overhaul or a small renovation is stressful to many home and business owners. For most, the anxiety is beyond which plumbing fixtures to change or heating system to convert to - it's about the time and money it will take to get the job done. This is where project management comes to the rescue, letting you keep your eye on the budget and manage time effectively.  Learn how to break it down.

©2010, J. Siegenthaler - all rights reserved

Just Like A Boiler

Click here for a full-size PDF view

The Glitch

Overview: A customer, who originally agreed to install a zoned radiant floor heating system supplied by a modulating/condensing boiler, changes his mind after the system has been designed. He now wants the system to be supplied by a geothermal heat pump. Since the radiant floor system used can operate on low water temperatures, the installer doesn't see this as a big deal. He decides to simply replace the boiler with the water-to-water heat pump using the same closely spaced tee detail as with a mod/con boiler. The piping he installs is shown below.

Exercise: Find at least five design omissions or other details that need changing.                        

The Fix

One of the big differences between a mod/con boiler and the water-to-water heat pump is that the latter is an "on/off" device. There is no modulation of the heat pump. It's either full output or nothing.

There is also very little water and metal content in the heat exchangers used in a typical water-to-water heat pump. This means there is very little thermal mass to referee between the output of the heat source and the needs of the distribution system. The end result will be short cycling under partial load conditions. The solution is to add a properly sized buffer tank.

Other errors include:

• Lack of purging valves on the return side of the zone circuits.

• Lack of adequate valving to purge the earth loop.

• Locating the circulator on the right side of the heat pump such that it "pumps away" from what is typically a high head loss heat exchanger within the heat pump. This placement will encourage cavitation within the circulator.

• The supply temperature sensor providing input to the temperature controller operating the heat source should always be located downstream of the hydraulic separation point - in this case, the closely spaced tees. This allows control of the heat source based on the true supply temperature to the zone circuits.

• The expansion tank connected to the supply header as shown in the glitch drawing forces the distribution circulator to "suck," rather than push, water through the zone circuits. Again, this sets the stage for cavitation and air removal problems in the distribution system.

• I also recommend an expansion tank on the earth loop circuit to minimize pressure variations over the range of temperatures the earth loop will experience in a typical year. These omissions/details have been corrected in the drawing below.    

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.

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