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Me chanical

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Heating Report

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CONTENTS O F

70

Remaining relevant

26

Keeping pace with technology is vital for a successful heating season.

Andrew Snook

COVER STORY Colin Mochrie has spent most of his adult life doing what he loves, making people laugh, and he’s very thankful for that opportunity.

He says that good fortune should never be taken for granted, and is always ready to give back.

Andrew Snook

GETTING TO KNOW STATIC PRESSURE TROUBLESHOOTING high temperature limits

46

HYDRONICS Ever wonder why a hydronic boiler system could have frequent high temperature limit alarms, but the actual heating load is not satisfied?

Understanding how to mitigate this problem is critical to managing the system.

Erin Sperry

66

Similar to the head calculations in a hydronic system, when working on forced air systems it is important to consider static pressure to understand its effect on system performance.

Matthew Reid

AT THE

TAP

108Consumers want hot water in a hurry and manufacturers are answering those demands with a wide variety of technologies to deliver hot water to household and business taps. Bill Riley

On the cover: Colin Mochrie earns his living making people laugh using his impressive ability to improvise on stage. He believes that kind of good fortune should never be taken for granted. Photo: Helen Tansey, Sundari Photography.

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F E A T U R E S

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34PLUMBING

Contemporary kitchens: modern and convenient Andrew Snook

56CONTROLS

Harnessing boiler multiplicity for efficiency Elizabeth Brown

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CONTENTS O F

LEAD-FREE UNCERTAINTY

65TOOL TIPS

52

The impact of your bits

With lead-free legislation, codes, standards and regulations in all stages of progress here in Canada, the only thing that can be said with any certainty and consistency for all regions of the nation is that the rules regarding lead-free valves and fittings in Canada will not be the same as the U.S. Adam Freill

74PLUMBING

Water conditioning: A natural fit Jon Sandomirsky

78EVENT IN PICTURES HRAI AGM 2013

80HYDRONIC ZONING

The benefits of individual temperature controls Cyrus Kangarloo

HEATED JACKET MARKET CHARGING 88 UP

84HVAC

Condensing with oil Carol Fey

86REFRIGERATION

Selecting a leak monitoring system Andrew Snook

96HVAC/R

Versatile batteries have opened the doors to a variety of heated jackets and other products for contractors to help them stay warm in Canada’s cold climate.

Andrew Snook

Designs for conservation Leon Hawkinsn

98PLUMBING

Cross-connection avoidance Marc Lesley

102GUEST COLUMN

The wholesaler: The value of a sales rep Kevin Gill

106ROAD WARRIOR: Jason Dupuis Andrew Snook

114CASE STUDY

Solar City shining brightly for Halifax residents Andrew Snook

TIME TO GET T FIRED UP

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HVAC Winter is coming, which means that it’s annual heating startup service time.

Carol Fey

HEATING STARTUP CHECKLIST

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Can you spot the AquaRise difference? ®

Exaggeration aside, more and more plumbing contractors are switching from ® copper to AquaRise for all of their potable water ® projects. AquaRise is easier to install than

copper, saving you time and money on the job which means you’ll keep more money in your pocket.

For real-life contractor testimonials, please visit www.ipexinc.com/aquarise, or call us today at 1-866-473-9462.

Start saving time and money today!

Non-Metallic Potable Water Systems for Commercial & High-Rise Construction Product manufactured by IPEX Inc. The colour of the AquaRise® pipes and fittings is a trade-mark of IPEX Branding Inc. AquaRise® is a trade-mark of IPEX Branding Inc.

Call 1-866-473-9462 or visit www.ipexinc.com

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CONTENTS O F

S P E C I A L I S T S 40

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64 120

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REFRIGERATION Controlling refrigerant-oil mixtures Phil Boudreau The presence of refrigerant in the oil impacts oil viscosity and carry-over rate. By using a few tables, we can get a better idea of what to expect when we operate the compressor at various conditions.

HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC Opportunities with F280 Gord Cooke Identifying opportunities that changes to the F280 Standard could provide when applied to HVAC equipment in existing homes.

MARKETING Building a logo? Doug MacMillan A strong logo is an essential business asset that must work hard to communicate the definition and attributes of an organization, and set the tone for the experience to come.

ASK ROGER Engaging your people Roger Grochmal Looking beyond the money for why people want to work for one company over another.

PLUMBING The impact of the Calgary flood Fred Bretzke When he’s not training Western Canada’s future plumbers, Fred Bretzke is the general manager of A&B Plumbing & Heating in Calgary, and is the most recent addition to our lineup of specialists.

The full-time pipe trades instructor for SAIT Polytechnic specializes in teaching plumbing code and has been working in the industry for almost 30 years, including more than 20 years as a journeyman plumber-gasfitter, estimator, and manager. Be sure to check out all of Fred’s columns in future issues of Mechanical Business.

HYDRONICS Power to the People! An overview of fuel choices and uses Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr Natural gas, LP, fuel oil and electricity are the most common choices, but alternate energy and renewable energy are also choices that are getting a lot more attention.

WORLD VIEW It’s the little things that matter Jeff Patchell The fairly rapid emergence of videoscope inspection instruments in the plumbing sector is allowing technicians to view components in great detail.

D E P A R T M E N T S 10From the editor’s desk 12News 22Letters to the editor 24Profile: Marc Gendron 104Find the Fix 136The Info Page 138Calendar 142By the Numbers

P R O D U C T S 26Heating 32,44,130HVAC/R 33,134Hydronics 128,135Plumbing 132Stuff you need

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FROM Content Media Group Inc. 19 – 1525 Cornwall Road Oakville, ON L6J 0B2 Canada Tel: 905.465.2919 Fax: 905.465.2913 www.mechanicalbusiness.com

THE

EDITOR’S

DESK

Never a dull moment As we were wrapping up the current issue, I couldn’t help but marvel at all of the activity that the mechanical sector has going on right now.

Sept/Oct 2013 Issue Published 6 times per year.

Editor: Adam Freill, ext. 224 adam.freill@mechanicalbusiness.com Associate Editor/Web Editor: Andrew Snook, ext. 225 andrew.snook@mechanicalbusiness.com National Accounts Manager: Laura Goodwin, ext. 221 laura.goodwin@mechanicalbusiness.com Controller: Liz Mills liz.mills@mechanicalbusiness.com Art Direction: JJM Graphic Ltd. davem@jjmgraphic.com Circulation Manager: Shila Naik (905) 272-4175 shila.naik@mechanicalbusiness.com Publisher: Bruce Meacock, ext. 222 bruce.meacock@mechanicalbusiness.com PM:41536047 ISSN 1916-0674 MB (Print) ISSN 1906-0682 MB (Online)

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Notice: Mechanical Business is published for owners, managers and decision makers with mechanical contracting firms and the sector’s supply chain partners in Canada. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information, Mechanical Business, Content Media Group Inc., its staff, directors, officers and shareholders (‘The Publisher’) assume no liability, obligation or responsibility for advertised claims, for errors and/or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Manufacturers’ instructions take precedence over published editorial. The publisher reserves the right to publish a printed correction in a subsequent issue for editorial errors, omissions and oversights.

Subscriptions are available for $90 plus taxes in Canada and the U.S. Single copies are $15.00. Outside Canada and the U.S., the rates are $150.00 (annual) and $25.00 (single copy).

At the time of writing this note, we were still waiting on the publishing of an interim change to the National Plumbing Code that will affect lead levels in plumbing fittings. While the goal of some may have been to match the Want to keep up with timing and scope of the what’s going on? legislation enacted in the U.S., our regulatory Follow us on Twitter, @mechbusiness, structure is different, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter and we started down at www.mechanicalbusiness.com. the road to lead-free product later than our neighbours to the south, so it will be a little while before the dust settles and there’s clarity, and hopefully some conformity, across all jurisdictions.

If you are in the plumbing game, this is going to affect you. And while we may not know exactly when it is going to affect you, rest assured it will eventually. If you are in Ontario there is some clarity, but you might be scrambling to ensure any inventory and projects you have on the go will be ready to handle the January 1 effective date that was recently announced. Check out our feature on page 52 for more on that topic.

Also on the docket is the sale of Noble. Announced last issue, the sale of the wholesaler by Rona to Emco is close to being finalized. The competition bureau is expected to give the deal a green light anytime now. Watch for updates on that one online and via our Twitter feed.

While at the HRAI annual conference this summer (photos are on page 78), we were told that the HVAC Coalition is again playing watchdog as a number of utilities are starting to stray into the comfort heating game again. With technologies like solar and geothermal finding footholds, it looks like some of the same concerns that were raised when utilities wanted to play in the gas-fired equipment game are starting to emerge again, albeit with a different fuel and some different players.

Rest assured we’ll be watching those developing stories as well, and will bring you details as they emerge.

Enjoy the issue. There’s a lot in this one, and I’m hoping that our look at the approaching heating season will help you continue to do what you do.

From time to time, Content Media Group Inc. makes subscribers’ names available to reputable companies whose products or services may be of interest to readers. If you would like your name excluded from these mailings, please notify the publisher. © Copyright 2013. The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission of the publisher.

Until next time,

Proud members of:

Adam Freill, Editor

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10.13

News

www.mechanicalbusiness.com

CuPro enters piping market

Ontario ruling issued on lead

Piping industry veteran Brad Sigouin is back in the marketplace with his new company, CuPro Solutions.

In 1996, Sigouin introduced factory-coated copper tube for gas, oil and water, and also created inner-grooved factory-coated oil tubing to provide leak detection for that market segment. CuPro Solutions is introducing two products for the gas industry, yellow factory-painted copper tubing and inner-grooved polycoated yellow copper tubing. Additional products will be forthcoming from the company in the near future.

The Province of Ontario recently announced a Minister’s Ruling (MR-13-S-24), which includes amendments to several standards in O. REG. 332/12, the 2012 Building Code that comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. The ruling includes amendments to reference the 2012 editions of the joint ASME/CSA B125.1 standard and the CSA B125.3 standard.

These standards address lower lead content in plumbing fittings. Part 4 of Division C of the Building Code includes the transition rules for construction projects where a building permit was applied for before Jan. 1, 2014. ontario.ca

cupro.ca

Daikin residential coming

Cruisin’ the harbourfront Guests mingled on the yacht The Yankee Lady while enjoying the weather and scenery offered by Toronto’s harbourfront during an event on the water hosted by Gordon R. Williams on Aug. 21.

Before the trip on Lake Ontario, guests were treated to the company’s Product Discovery sessions.

Daikin Industries, Ltd. has announced that Daikin brand residential heating and cooling systems will be made available for the 2014 selling season in the North American market. The brand will be sold through Goodman Distribution branch locations across Canada, with dedicated Daikin brand territory sales managers in place throughout the country. The brand will be supported by an aggressive brand reinforcement campaign, including several unique co-marketing partnerships and programs to drive prospective sales leads to qualifying Daikin dealers.

williamshvac.com

daikincomfort.com

Follow Us on Twitter! It’s MB’s Twitter Roundup Caught the twitter bug? We’ve got you covered with tweets about everything that matters to the mechanical trades in Canada. Follow us @mechbusiness.

Kim Allen

Vossler Plumbing

Kerr Smart Energy

UberFacts

@KimAllenPEng

@VosslerPlumber

@KerrSmartEnergy

@UberFacts

We must prepare and inspire all students for the knowledge economy because their careers will require #STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills.

Before choosing a plumbing contractor, make sure they are licensed and insured. #plumbing #tip.

So important to stay positive in sales, or in any aspect of life for that matter!

Cell phones are actually dirtier and contain more bacteria than public restroom toilet handles.

August 29, 2013

September 2, 2013

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July 7, 2013

Recognizing code contributions Shabbir Rawalpindiwala, manager of codes and standards, engineering and plumbing at Kohler, smiles after receiving the 12th Joseph K. Seidner Award during the Canadian Advisory Council on Plumbing meeting in Edmonton on Aug. 20. The award was presented to Rawalpindiwala in recognition of his contributions to Canadian plumbing codes and standards. ciph.com

Alberta acknowledges SCCaccredited inspection body The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) recently announced that the Government of Alberta has formally recognized Energy Efficiency Engineering Ltd. (ENEFEN) as the first SCC-accredited, gas-fired appliance and equipment inspection body in Canada. ENEFEN became accredited under the SCC Inspection Body Accreditation Program (IBAP) for commercial and industrial gas-fuelled equipment. scc.ca enefen.com

IAPMO R&T launches Canada-only program The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) is now offering manufacturers the option of having their plumbing products certified solely for the Canadian market. The program is a streamlined version of its service that previously included certification to Canadian and U.S. standards. Upgrades are available to add U.S. certification at a later date. iapmo.org

MCA Hamilton president Lorraine Waller (far left) and education committee chairman Mike DiLallo (far right) pose for a photo with a few of the 2013 MCAH scholarship recipients.

20 scholarships awarded

Novo looking to make wishes come true Novo Water Conditioning will be donating $5 for every water softener sold through its plumbing and heating wholesale partners to the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, and an additional $25 for every new plumbing customer that purchases a Novo water softener.

The company’s goal is to raise $25,000 by the end of the year. novowater.com

Mechanical Contractors Association of Hamilton (MCAH) recently presented its 19th annual scholarship awards. Twenty $1,000 scholarships were presented to students who are children of salaried employees of local area contractor employers who are either entering or currently enrolled in universities or colleges across Canada. Since the program’s inception in 1995, it has awarded more than $364,000 in scholarships. mcahamilton.org

Canadians awarded CM status by RSES RSES recently awarded RSES Certificate Member status to Andrew Boilea and Brendan Myers of the Canadian Capital Chapter in Lanark, Ont., and to Pasquale Mirabelli of the Ontario Maple Leaf Chapter in Toronto. CM status is earned by passing the RSES CM exam, which is based heavily on theory and practical applications. rsescanada.com

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Flushometer specs in the works The EPA recently announced its intention to develop a draft specification for flushometervalve toilets under its Watersense program, a voluntary water conservation program that is often cited on plumbing products sold here in Canada. Comments on the NOI can be sent to watersense-products@erg.com.

New incentives available from OPA The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is offering new incentives for commercial rooftop systems through its saveONenergy program. The incentives are available until December 31. The minimum EER is now consistent with CEE Tier 2 requirements, which ranges from 12.0 to 12.5 EER for AC units greater than 3.0 tons but less than 7.0 tons, and 10.2 to 12.2 EER for AC units greater or equal to 7.0 tons. For more information on CEE Tier 2 requirements, visit saveonenergy.ca/AC or contact the local electric utility. The CEE Tier 1 incentive was discontinued on July 22, 2013.

epa.gov

Danfoss hits major milestone Danfoss celebrated its 80th anniversary on Sept. 1. The company was originally founded by Mads Calusen in his parents’ farmhouse in Nordberg, Denmark, and now employs 23,000 staff in more than 100 countries, including Canada.

saveonenergy.ca

danfoss.com

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APP ALERT Strengthening the Red Seal The Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) has initiated a pilot project designed to clearly outline the performance required by industry to be Red Seal certified in a trade. The pilot standard also features learning objectives designed to support greater harmonization across Canada for apprenticeship training and assessment. The CCDA is testing the new standard’s features and development process with the steamfitter/pipefitter trade, through a partnership with the UA and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC). The results of the pilot project will determine the final format and process for development of standards for all Red Seal trades.

Parts finder The Industrial Refrigeration (IR) spare parts app from Danfoss offers information on the company’s industrial refrigeration valves to help identify spare parts or part kits. The app is available on iTunes and Googleplay. danfoss.com

Literature catalogue Goulds Water Technology’s free product and literature catalogue app offers users access to brochures, submittals, performance curves, drawings, applications, part lists, and installation and operation manuals for the brand’s pumps and package systems for the residential and commercial building markets. It is available for download from iTunes and the Google Play Store. goulds.com

mcac.ca

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OXFORD ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC. www.oxfordenergy.ca 519-532-6373 M e c h a n i c a l

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Incentives rise in Saskatchewan

College of Trades appoints new CEO David Tsubouchi has been appointed to the position of registrar and CEO of the Ontario College of Trades. Tsubouchi served as a Progressive Conservative MPP in Ontario for two terms and held various provincial cabinet posts. He will replace outgoing registrar and CEO Bob Guthrie, who recently announced his retirement.

Tsubouchi took over the position on Sept. 9.

Saskatchewan-based natural gas utility SaskEnergy has increased the incentives under its Commercial Boiler Program, which is designed to assist consumers with retrofits and new purchases of natural gas condensing boilers and high efficiency circulating pumps.

The utility has also increased incentives for its Commercial HVAC Program, which covers highefficiency natural gas furnaces, boilers and rooftop units.

Both incentive programs are available until November 30. saskenergy.com

collegeoftrades.ca

Energy Star tool launched The upgraded Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool was launched in late August and will provide Canada’s only standardized energy benchmarks. For more information, visit the energy benchmarking web pages at: oee.nrcan.gc.ca/commercial/eb/18392, email info.services @nrcan-rncan.gc.ca, or phone 1-877-360-5500. oee.nrcan.gc.ca

A 3-hour tour

NTCCC talks prompt payment in Vancouver Representatives of the National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC) recently met in Vancouver to discuss prompt payment legislation in British Columbia, and offer members an update on Ontario Bill 69, An Act Respecting Payments under Contracts and Subcontractors in the Construction Industry, the prompt payment bill that passed its second reading this past May. There is currently no scheduled date for the third reading, but Richard McKeagan, president of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada, says he is hoping the third reading will happen this fall.

The B.C. organization, now known as the British Columbia Chapter of the NTCCC, is working on a similar proposal for its province. McKeagan added that B.C. isn’t the only province discussing the possibility of adopting a prompt payment bill, with Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec also currently in the discussion stages. The next NTCCC meeting is scheduled for November in Ottawa. ntccc.ca

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Parker Wheat, Emerson Swan CEO, welcomes guests during the company’s recent sunset cruise on Lake Ontario.

Emerson Swan Canada welcomed approximately 130 customers and business associates on board the Captain Matthew Flinders for a sunset boat cruise around the Toronto harbour in September. In addition to taking in the skyline views, attendees had a chance to learn a little more about Emerson Swan, including an introduction of its Canadian sales team. Emerson Swan is a stocking manufacturer’s representative organization that dates back to 1932 and recently opened its first office in Canada. emersonswan.ca

Canadians strike gold Two UA Canada apprentices placed first at the UA International Apprentice Competition, which took place at the annual UA Instructor Training Program from Aug. 11 to 15 at Washtenaw College in Ann Arbor, Mich. Gian-Paul Roman of UA Local 527 took first place in the steamfitter category, while UA Local 787 apprentice Derek Sisera won the HVAC/R category. uacanada.ca

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MB Goodman jjm 10.13_Layout 1 2013-09-30 2:49 PM Page 3

THE BEST VALUE IN A

MODULATION COMBINATION IS NOW AVAILABLE!

Choose the Goodman brand bra for the BEST VALUE in a modulating gas furnace! ®

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The ComfortNet™ compatible GMVM96 delivers quiet, precise temperature control with a self-calibrating modulating range from 35% to 100%. All in all, the Goodman GMVM96 Modulating Gas Furnace delivers the best combination for maximum value: energy-efficient operation, precise temperature control, exclusive tubular heat exchanger and ComfortNet communicating system compatibility.

For more information, visit us online at at www.goodmanmfg.com.

© 2013 Goodman Manufacturing Company, L.P., Houston, Texas.

Goodman Locations 6741 Cariboo Road, Unit 111, Burnaby, BC V3N 4A3 2640 Jacques Cartier-Est, Longueuil, QC J4N 1P8 4313 Autoroute Des Laurentides, Laval, QC H7L 5W5 1055 Cardiff Blvd., Mississauga, ON L5S 1P4 1161 Parisien Street, Ottawa, ON K1B 4W4 15700 Robins Hill Road, London, ON N5V 0A4 46 Zatonski Avenue, Brantford, ON N3T 5L8 8305 Jane Street, Unit 3, Vaughan, ON L4K 5Y3 963 Brock Road, Suite 1-5, Pickering, ON L1W 3A4 18043 111th Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5S 2P2 7007 54th Street SE, #141, Calgary, AB T2C 3C2 807 60th Street E, Saskatoon, SK S7K 5Z7

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Movers and Shakers www.mechanicalbusiness.com

Wolseley teams up with Toto Wolseley Canada has partnered with Toto and is the plumbing products manufacturer’s first national distributor in Canada. Wolseley has been offering Toto products in Western Canada for more than 10 years. totousa.com

wolseleycanada.ca

Morden National hires new agent Morden National Sales has hired A.M. Agencies for the Calgary South region. They will be selling all lines offered by Morden National. To reach A.M. Agencies, contact Brent Hodder at 403-243-1161. amagency.com

Napoleon partners with ECCO Supply Napoleon Heating & Cooling recently teamed up with ECCO Supply. ECCO will be representing Napoleon in B.C. and Thunder Bay, Ont. napoleonheatingandcooling.com eccosupply.ca

Novo appoints sales agent for Manitoba Novo Water Conditioning has named Stringer Sales its sales representative for Manitoba and Thunder Bay, Ont. Doug Pylatuk has been named the sales rep for the Novo product line in this territory. He can be reached at 204-250-2896 or doug@stringersales.com. novowater.com

Pro-Par, a manufacturer of storage tanks, dispensers and transport units for the Canadian propane industry, was recently acquired by Granby Industries. The company will continue to operate as Pro-Par with the current management structure, people, existing facilities and support programs remaining the same. propar1978.com granbyindustries.com

stringersales.com

Supco buys A-1 Components Sealed Unit Parts Company, Inc. (Supco) has purchased the A-1 Components product lines from Henry Technologies, Inc. Henry will focus on its core product lines, serving the commercial and industrial refrigeration sector. henrytech.com supco.com

E.S. Gallagher teams up with Cambridge-Lee E.S. Gallagher Sales Ltd. now represents Cambridge-Lee Industries for copper tubing in the Canadian market. E.S. Gallagher can be reached at dave.shaw@esgallagher.com. esgallagher.com

ECCO Supply has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Williams Comfort Products for the Lanco Fan Coil and Air Handlers line. The Williams line of gas/wall furnaces, evaporative coolers, and air curtains will also be made available through all ECCO Supply sales branches.

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Aquatherm was recently ranked 1,617 on the Inc. magazine 5,000, a ranking of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. Aquatherm is the North American partner of Aquatherm GmbH. The company markets and supports German-manufactured polypropylene-random (PP-R) pipe systems used in a variety of plumbing, HVAC, and industrial pipe applications throughout Canada and the U.S. aquatherm.com

CCTF Corporation recently entered into an agreement with the Milwaukee Valve Company to become the master distributor of Milwaukee Valve products in Canada. Milwaukee Valve manufactures valves for commercial, marine, industrial and plumbing applications. CCTF will sell the company’s products through its national distribution network. cctf.com milwaukeevalve.com

eccosupply.ca williamscomfortprod.com M e c h a n i c a l

Aquatherm honoured

CCTF takes on Milwaukee Valve

ECCO Supply gets exclusive

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People in the news www.mechanicalbusiness.com

Wolseley Canada has appointed AKBAR MAKALAI to the role of vice-president responsible for the company’s plumbing and HVAC/R division.

Makalai has more than 35 years experience in the industry and has been with the company since November 2001. He previously served as the company’s plumbing group vice-president for the western region, and most recently led the HVAC/R Group as its vice-president. Paul Kennedy, the current vice-president for plumbing, will return to the U.S. in November to re-join Ferguson. Kennedy has been with Wolseley Canada since October 2008.

The Ontario Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Contractors Association (ORAC) recently hired MIKE VERGE as its managing director. Verge has extensive experience at the senior executive level in the mechanical sector, from division management to CEO, and has worked for Marks Supply and Honeywell over the course of his career. He has also served on CIPH’s national board.

BRYAN COUTURE has been hired by KeepRite Refrigeration to join the company’s sales team in Quebec. Couture spent 11 years as an estimator and system designer at Groupe CSC Inc. in Les Côteaux, Que. prior to joining KeepRite Refrigeration.

KEVIN FREIDT has been hired by Caleffi Hydronic Solutions to the position of applications engineering manager. He has 30 years of experience in the commercial HVAC industry, including field application engineering, product development, engineering research and development, project management, sales and distribution.

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CIPH has hired MATT WIESENFELD as program manager for the Canadian Hydronics Council (CHC) and the Plumbing Industry Advisory Council (PIAC).

His additional duties will include working with CIPH’s charity committee which coordinates the institute’s support of Habitat for Humanity Canada.

Dahl has appointed DOUG CAMPBELL as the company’s vicepresident of sales, North America, and a member of its executive team.

Doug has more than 27 years of experience in sales management and business development.

Knipex Tools LP has hired MIKE WILBUR as its sales manager for Canada and the western U.S. region. He has more than six years of sales experience working for a manufacturer and distributor of consumer goods.

LAURA QUILTY recently joined ECCO Manufacturing’s sales and marketing team as an estimator and technical representative.

She has her sheet metal red seal, and has worked as an installer on residential and commercial projects. She will be based out of the company plant in Langley, B.C. ARNIE MACLEAN has been hired as sales and marketing manager at Newmac Manufacturing Inc.

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Williams Comfort Products has promoted RUTH ANN DAVIS to senior vice-president, sales and marketing. Ruth is involved with numerous HVAC/R industry organizations, and sits on boards and committees at HRAI, AHRI, HARDI and Women in HVAC/R. TERRENCE COLOMB was recently named the branch manager for Goodman’s Vancouver branch. He has seven years of experience in the small duct, high velocity marketplace and two years of HVAC training.

MICHELLE ROMANUK has been hired as association administrator for the Canadian Oil Heat Association (COHA). Michelle has 15 years of office, not-for-profit and communications experience.

E.S. Gallagher Sales Ltd. has hired JEREMY TORRA as its new sales representative for Eastern and Northern Ontario, including the city of Toronto. He has more than 20 years of sales experience.

Hired someone lately?

Let the mechanical world know through the pages of Mechanical Business.

To have your company’s personnel announcements included, free of charge, in an upcoming edition of Mechanical Business, simply send a note and a few details, to adam.freill@ mechanicalbusiness.com.

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10.13

Letters to the Editor www.mechanicalbusiness.com

Lead-free on tap

only produce lead-free brass plumbing products after December 31, 2013.

plumbing products in Canada.

The drivers of change in our industry are typically standards and codes, in that order. At the time of writing this letter, CSA has modified the B-125 standard so that manufacturers may

Dear Editor, Dahl Brothers Canada Limited is concerned with the lack of a clear message to the trades regarding the requirement for lead-free brass

The extent to which existing inventories of regular brass products may or may not be installed into 2014 will be determined at the provincial level. Some provinces are now beginning to adopt the new CSA standard into their codes.

It is important to note that some provinces may be on the brink of announcing changes, so be sure to check for updates regularly. CIPH, MCAC, local plumbing inspectors’ associations and provincial governments are good resources for the latest updates for local building code and/or plumbing code changes.

Even if your province has not indicated or finalized a date to incorporate the new lead-free requirements into the codes, it is important to note that leadfree plumbing products will soon be the only thing available because of the changes to the CSA B-125 standard for the manufacturers.

True HVAC professionals know their reputation is made with every sale. Which is why they choose to sell Armstrong Air.®

Yours truly, Thomas D. Husebye Vice-president marketing Dahl Brothers Canada Limited [Ed Note: check out page 52 for more on lead-free.]

Letters, oh we get letters…

HVAC professionals take a lot of pride in the work they do, and the equipment they install. They choose Armstrong Air because they know our standards are as high as their own. With smart designs like MHT™ Technology in the summer and EHX™ Technology in the winter, we have thoughtfully engineered comfort solutions that can delight every customer, every time. If you're ready to make the choice to sell something better, get started at www.armstrongair.com/become-a-dealer.asp

©2013 Allied Air Enterprises LLC., a Lennox International Inc. Company

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Got an opinion and want to share? Spotted something in the magazine that you’d like to comment on? Is something happening in the mechanical industry that you feel strongly about? Whether it’s about the industry or about the magazine, we want to hear from you.

Let the mechanical world know what you are thinking through the pages of Mechanical Business. Drop us a line, anytime, at adam. freill@mechanicalbusiness.com. We might aim to help by editing for space and clarity, so please include your daytime phone number and return e-mail address so that we can keep the dialogue going.

1 0 . 1 3 1/24/13 9:39 AM

mentorship program in Australia, and I encourage your readers, and perhaps Don, to check the article and program out so that we can keep striving for a higher level of professionalism in the trades.

Twisting statistics Dear Editor, Don Drummond may be thought of as one of Canada’s smartest economists but he, like so many, knows little about the shortages of skilled workers in the trades.

In a Carol Goar article in the Toronto Star, Drummond cites Statistics Canada’s latest survey of job vacancies that showed 6.3 unemployed people for every job vacancy. He claims this does not suggest a shortage of skills, but rather an oversupply of workers.

Sincerely, D. Brian Baker President

Seriously? An oversupply of workers? To “assume” these workers have the necessary skills that we need, is to, as they say, make an ass out of you and me. While there may well be 6.3 unemployed people for every job vacancy, how am I to put these unskilled workers on a job site and have them install a mechanical system?

And training takes anywhere from three to five years, entering into an apprenticeship structure with ratios that may limit a company’s ability to hire new workers.

Don says if Canada had skill shortages, employers would be paying a premium for workers in those fields. For us to hire an entry level unskilled tradesperson, we now have to pay $16.50 to $18.50 per hour. That used to be $10.50 per hour.

No wage spikes? Think again.

The single greatest challenge for the trades continues to be getting our strong positive messages out to the masses that a career in the trades is better than, or equivalent to, a university or college degree with wages and benefits that are often even better.

We have a serious skills shortage in the trades. While I may have poked fun at Don Drummond, he like so many just doesn’t fully understand and appreciate the barriers and responsibilities that we in the trades carry each day. To fail to recognize the seriousness of this issue is, in this person’s opinion, summed up in one word: negligent.

Jeff Patchell’s recent article, “Assisting and retaining tomorrows plumbers” (Mechanical Business, July/August 2013) challenges us to do more. In the piece, Jeff speaks about a

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10.13

Profile Catching up with Marc Gendron

Serving on a national association board, or any association board for that matter, takes a certain commitment of time that not everyone is able to devote, despite best intentions. And when you run a contracting firm where you are active on the tools, finding the time to be able to travel the country to attend functions and events that go with an executive or board position can present an even greater challenge. But that does not phase the recently appointed chairman

Q A

of HRAI, Marc Gendron. The owner of Les Enterprise MLG & Fils in Montreal, Marc has made a point of being there to support the industry in which he makes his living, serving with HRAI as well as on the executive committee of the CMMTQ in his home province of Quebec. We recently tracked him down during a trip to the west coast to chat shop, and to see if we could find out his secret to time management.

How did you get started in the industry, and what attracted you to it?

I left university to join the family business – my father had his company Andre Gendron Inc. I am the third generation of my family in the plumbing and heating business. My son is the fourth. I am a manual person, so the family business was interesting, and I like that it is always evolving.

Q

Tell us about Les Enterprises MLG & Fils, and your role with the company.

A

My father always said, you put in a bit of time and you pick up a lot of knowledge from your contemporaries.

Q

What’s the best piece of advice anyone has given you, and how do you apply that to your day-to-day work activities?

A

Never say to a customer that another contractor did a bad job. It is better for the industry to say, “I would not have done it that way,” and then present them with your design or plan for the project.

Q A

How did you get involved as an HRAI board member?

A

Well, I wear all the hats! We are a small outfit with my son, wife and a few other staff. We focus on high-end residential market, and take care of plumbing, hydronic, HVAC and geothermal systems.

Q

Tell us a little about your involvement with industry associations, boards and committees.

What motivates you to get so involved?

Photo: Brian Hawkes

BIO Name: Marc Gendron Title: President Company: Les Enterprises MLG & Fils Inc. Location: Montreal, Que. Age: 50 Born in: Montreal, Que. Currently resides in: Westmount, Que. Joined the industry in: 1978 Association Involvement: HRAI, CMMTQ Hobbies: Downhill skiing, water skiing, cycling, motorcycles and hockey Family: Wife Carole, and children Anne-Claude (23) and Marc-Andre (20)

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CMMTQ in Montreal needed someone fluent in English to represent them, and I found it to be quite interesting. The more interesting it got, the more I got involved, and here we are.

Q

As the incoming chair, what are some of the things that you’d like to see accomplished during your tenure?

A

I would like to grow recognition for HRAI in the public eye, to increase membership across the country, and to put a focus on attracting young people to the trade. I know we have been working on that, but it is hard when • Mark loves to go fast, and would the trades are competing with love to drive a Nascar race car.

Microsoft, Facebook and all • He loves to play sports, even more the other companies that than watching the pros play. are looking for smart, bright, • Marc was a ski instructor at Mont talented young people.

Blanc in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec, although he claims to be retired from that.

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Automatic backwash filters Tekleen self-cleaning water filters from Automatic Filters are built for use in cooling tower applications. The filters are designed to eliminate contamination caused by airborne dust, sand, pollen, algae and pipe scale. The filters are offered in stainless steel construction.

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HYDRONIC Products Variable speed circulator The MAGNA3 variable-speed wet rotor circulator pump features a variable-speed ECM-based motor and a carbon-fibre reinforced composite rotor can. It has a maximum head of almost 60 feet, a maximum flow of approximately 570 gpm, and is equipped with a differential pressure sensor in the pump housing and a system sensor for monitoring flow temperature.

Zone controls Taco’s zone controls feature switching relays with LED zone indicator lights on the front of the controls. Zone control relays are factory sealed and soldered. The multi-zone switching relays include ZC and ZR terminals, as well as a boiler end switch. All circulator outputs are fuse-protected and spare fuses are included.

Up to 120 zones can be connected in any combination of EXP controls.

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Hydraulic separator Caleffi Hydronic Solutions’ SEP4 combination 4-in-1 hydraulic, air, dirt and magnetic dirt separator features a removable external rareearth magnet collar. It is available in 1” to 2” sizes with union threaded or sweat connections. The body is constructed with an epoxy resin-coated steel, and it has a maximum working pressure of 150 psi.

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Hydronic furnace The MaxAir 50LV hydronic furnace from Airmax Technologies has heating capacities of 32,404 to 60,047 BTUH at 180˚F, and cooling capacities of 1 to 1.5 tons. The unit is designed to accommodate cooling, humidifiers, HRVs, and whole house air cleaners while using conventional ducting systems. An optional ECM motor is available.

Condensing boiler The Endura condensing hydronic boiler from Fulton has an input range of 1.5 to 2 million BTUH and thermal efficiencies up to 93.7%. Features include a stainless steel heat exchanger and a UV scanner for flame proving. It has latched cabinet panels, hand-wired electrical panels with terminal blocks, and can be used with a 1” side clearance in multiple boiler applications.

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33

CONTEMPORARY KITCHENS

By Andr e w S n o o k

MODERN AND CONVENIENT Moen

W

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continues on page 36

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THE RENO-FAUCET RELATIONSHIP According to Moen’s latest semi-annual remodeling survey of 1,200 Canadian homeowners, 12 per cent of homeowners surveyed said they have plans to remodel their kitchens within the next six months, with 50 per cent of them looking to add new faucets as part of the renovation. Eight out of 10 people looking to remodel their homes are doing so to accommodate their lifestyles.

“What we’re seeing right now is remodelling coming at a new high,” says Moen’s Garry Scott.

InSinkErator

ith baby boomers looking to age in place, and with uncertainty in the real estate market helping fuel renovations that homeowners expect to live in, the modern contemporary kitchen is striking a chord with buyers as it is an easy style to work modern amenities into.

In the kitchen, easy-touch and touchless faucet technologies are on the rise in popularity throughout most of Canada, and there are a wide variety of contemporary-styled faucets to choose from.

“In Canada, contemporary has always been a leader,” says master kitchen and bath designer Carolyn Cheetham, who is also an executive vicepresident and architectural technologist for the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA).

She says touch-activated faucets and pot-fillers near ranges are gaining popularity, especially with older consumers that have less mobility and dexterity.

“One of the most important trends is as the demographics change, baby boomers’ needs are going to explode exponentially,” says Cheetham.

“They are a very knowledgeable consumer, are internet savvy, and want to stay in their homes.”

Garry Scott, vice-president of marketing and brand development at Moen, says there are several factors at work influencing homeowners drives to remodel, and a desire for boomers to age in place is one of them, another is slower housing resale starts. “It’s a combination of several factors,” he says. “But when the rate of housing resale starts to slow down, then people would rather put their money into the home.”

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CONTEMPORARY KITCHENS

continues from page 34

AHEAD AT THE FINISH LINE While the NKBA’s 2013 design trend survey cites satin nickel as an extremely popular finish for kitchen faucets, chrome continues to be a popular choice, especially in the Canadian marketplace where there seems to be a split of opinions on finish options.

Grohe Canada’s Maria Bosco says she hasn’t heard a lot of talk about brushed nickel finishes recently at trade shows, and says she’s found consumers have been gravitating more towards stainless steel and chrome, with chrome, contemporary-styled faucets selling best due to their lower price point.

Chrome is starting to share the spotlight, according to Masco’s Krystin Lee. “People are primarily opting for polished nickel or chrome.”

Lee adds that split-finish faucets have also started to become popular.

According to Montreal-based Eric Richards, business group leader for residential and commercial products at Wolseley Canada, chrome finishes are still hugely popular for kitchen renovations.

“Chrome is still the big No. 1 seller ahead of any other types of finishes,” he says.

Brizo

Desco’s Pat Abbaticchio says chrome is very popular, but for kitchens he still sells more stainless steel, due to the popularity of stainless steel appliances and the desire for designers to match the designed contemporary style. continues on page 38

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Venmar’s Stephanie Lacroix says range hoods can provide a touch of style to the kitchen. Her company offers a slim line of hoods that come in numerous colours, including red, lime, orange, black and grey.

“For built-in chimney range hoods, the more popular features are LED lighting, quiet operation and a baffle filter for better capture of grease,” she says.

IT’S HIP TO BE SQUARE Square-cornered kitchen sinks have remained a very popular item for contemporary kitchens for about six years now, reports Desco’s Pat Abbaticchio. He says that the prices of these sinks have been dropping, which has made the look more affordable to more consumers, and has driven their popularity upwards.

He also says single-bowl sinks have become increasingly popular for homes that don’t have big kitchens. “Now, there are tons of options for single bowl sinks. People in a loft, condo – somewhere without a big kitchen – want a useable sink.”

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Wolseley Canada’s Eric Richards says that stainless steel sinks are his company’s bestsellers.

“I think the sink companies did a good job of promoting stainless steel, and offering different forms, like the square sinks, with better finish on them,” he says. “At one point granite sinks and cast iron sinks were gaining market share, possibly because the stainless steel companies were offering very standard types of sinks… but they’ve really done a good job with expanding stainless options.”

UPGRADING FOR ADDED RESALE VALUE “Most homeowners involved in renovations are in the 45-plus age group and list their main reasons for renovating as updating and adding value to the home,” says Phil Demarte, Canadian channel marketing manager for InSinkErator.

Equipping a homeowner’s kitchen with a few extra Grohe bells and whistles can help to add resale value to a home, and potentially an extra sale to the contractor. A few of the options available include food waste disposers and hot water dispensers.

“Both of these appliances have come to be known as modern kitchen conveniences,” says Demarte.

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Another luxury item for contemporary kitchens that can be added is a filtered water faucet.

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Grohe recently released two new specialty faucets that offer homeowners filtered or sparkling water straight from the tap.

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InSinkErator

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REFRIGERATION

B y P h il J. B o udreau

CONTROLLING REFRIGERANT-OIL MIXTURES O

Phil Boudreau is the Ontario sales manager for Bitzer Canada Inc. and provides training and technical support for Bitzer’s clientele. Phil is also a refrigeration instructor at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario. He can be contacted at pboudreau@bitzer.ca.

ne of the challenges commonly experienced in refrigeration systems is the control of refrigerant and oil mixture ratios inside the compressor. For our analysis, we will use R404A along with a 100 per cent synthetic POE blend designed for HFC and HCFC refrigerant gas miscibility in industrial and commercial refrigeration, air conditioning and chiller applications.

In order to better understand some of the dynamics that take place inside a compressor, we will use two graphs to observe the refrigerant and oil composition at different conditions. The graphs represent two sets of data. The lower one illustrates the percentage of oil, depending on the vapour pressure of the refrigerant and the temperature of the oil. The upper graph shows the approximate viscosity of the oil, depending on the percentage of oil in the mixture, along with the temperature of the oil.

It is interesting how much impact the presence of refrigerant in the oil has on the oil viscosity and the oil carry-over rate. By using tables, such as the ones shown here, we can get a better idea of what to expect when we operate the compressor at various conditions.

THE DANGER ZONE

Let’s start out with a situation where a compressor is exposed to an ambient temperature of 20°C for a lengthy period of time. In this case, the low side is not pumped down before the compressor shuts off. Also, there is no crankcase heater installed on this compressor, or perhaps there is one but it does not work. We could perhaps refer to this is as a “worst case scenario” since the results will not be good! continued on page 42

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REFRIGERATION

continued from page 40

This takes us to point A on the lower graph. At 20°C, the saturation pressure for the refrigerant is approximately 145 psig or 160 psia. The pressure at this point is 11 bar.

Note that according to our chart, less than 70 per cent of the total mixture is actually oil. In fact, in this case it works out to approximately 50 per cent oil and 50 per cent refrigerant. Unfortunately, these particular charts do not show a 50 per cent curve so we can only estimate to the best of our ability.

1 BAR IS EQUAL TO APPROXIMATELY 14.5 PSI.

One cSt is equal to one mm2 per second, which basically refers to the oil’s resistance to flow.

If we follow the blue line from point A up to the point at A1, we can see that the viscosity works out to be somewhere between 1 and 2 centistokes (cSt). As you may already be thinking, this viscosity is dangerously low for a refrigeration compressor.

HEATING CAN HELP

ge into the By installing a crankcase heater of sufficient watta e that will crankcase, we can elevate the oil to a temperatur will be present greatly reduce the quantity of refrigerant that the oil to a in the oil. In this case, our heater is able to heat B. temperature of 40°C or 104°F as shown at point to the oil is at Even though the refrigerant pressure adjacent greater. Just by what some now 11 bar, the percentage of oil is n of the portio oil the se increa heating the oil, we are able to so. or cent per mixture to approximately 82 2 cSt and now At point A2, the viscosity of the oil was less than nt, but 8 cSt is we are at 8 cSt. This is a significant improveme still considered a low viscosity. actually less than Did you notice that the viscosity at point B3 is that at higher fact the to the viscosity at point A3? This is due . However, lower what temperatures, oil viscosity will be some d be 40°C shoul case crank the the minimum oil temperature in case crank a in oil the of ity (104°F) or so. Actually, the viscos than lower what some be ally gener during normal operation will 32 cSt.

mandate the Generally, compressor manufacturers do not them in mend recom they d, Instea rs. heate case use of crank an outdoor situations where the compressor is installed in or where the unit, where there is a large refrigerant charge, s. compressor is subject to long shutdown period

START IT UP Since most commercial refrigeration systems incorporate a pump down of the low side before the compressor shuts off, the percentage of oil will usually be much higher at startup.

In this case we are going to assume a -10°F saturated suction temperature (SST). This corresponds to a suction pressure of approximately 64 psia or 4.4 bar.

According to point A1, approximately 90 per cent of the mixture is lubricating oil. This is cons idered to be acceptable.

However, we started out with a 50/5 0 mixture.

When the compressor starts up, the suction and crankcase pressures start to decrease. When there is a relatively large quantity of refrigerant in the oil, ther e can be a lot of rapid degassing of the oil as the pressure is reduced. It is this rapid degassing that can lead to violent foaming in the crankcase.

Although some compressors are desig ned in such a way as to limit the rate of pressure drop in the crankcase during startup, the viscosity of the oil can be quite low, as it is in this case. Operating the compressor through many repeated startups under these conditions is certain to reduce the life of a compressor.

By referring to point A3, we can see that the viscosity of the oil is approximately 32 cSt once the crankcase pressure is reduced to the normal operating pres sure. However, this is a moot point if all the oil foamed up and was pumped out of the compressor!

FOAM AIN’T NO PARTY Remember the foaming issue?

Let’s take a look at point B3.

With the crankcase oil temperature now at 40°C, let’s start the compressor and reduce the pressure to a point that corresponds to -10°C SST. Our viscosity of the heated oil started out at 8 cSt and has now increased to 20 cSt. This is a more favourable viscosity for the compressor bearings, etc.

Since there is a much greater distance between points A1 and A3 than points B1 and B3, it is reasonable to assume that the possibility for foaming increases with a larger distance between the two points. If the distance is very large, it is possible that violent foaming will take place.

Since the foam occupies a large volume of space within the compressor, the running gear may come into contact with the rising foam. Also, when the oil foams down to the bottom of the crankcase, the oil pump will start to pick it up.

Foam is certainly not a good medium for bearing lubrication, and the oil carry-over rate to the discharge will likely increase. In extreme cases, it is possible to pump much of the oil out of the crankcase at startup.

CHECK YOUR TEMP A pump-down cycle will increase the percentage of oil in the mixture. This means that the oil viscosity at startup will be greater. When a new system is commissioned, one should never start the compressor unless the oil is at least at the minimum temperature recommended by the compressor manufacturer.

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top performer

Industry-leading Genetron® Performax™ LT refrigerant is the clear leader in its field.

If your bottom line is a better bottom line, no other supermarket refrigerant comes close. From keeping fresh food fresher longer to energy savings to eco-friendly performance, the list of reasons to choose Genetron® Performax™ LT over R-438A or R-407A refrigerants goes on and on. Genetron Performax LT offers industry-leading capacity, industry-leading efficiency and low GWP values versus other popular supermarket refrigerants. This saves money in new installations and in R-22 retrofit projects. Plus, a mass flow that identically matches R-22, eliminates expensive expansion valve changes and adjustments in retrofit applications while maintaining superheat performance which protects costly compressors. So go with the gold standard. Go with Genetron Performax LT.

Maximize Performance with Performax LT.

Brenntag Canada Inc. Exclusive distributor of Genetron® refrigerants in Canada Ontario & Western Canada: Tel. No. (416) 243-9615 Fax: (416) 243-9731 Quebec & Maritime Provinces: Tel. No. (514) 636-9230 Fax: (514) 636-8229 To learn more, call 800-631-8138 or visit www.genetronperformaxlt.com. © 2010 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.

Refrigeration Products Cloud-based monitoring Cooper-Atkins’ NotifEye, powered by TempRak, is a cloud-based wireless temperature monitoring and notification system. The unit’s sensor has a wireless range of 250 to 300 ft. and notifications are sent via email and text message when set limits have been exceeded. The system offers 24/7 access to stored data via the internet.

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Refrigerant for retrofit

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Forane R-427A refrigerant is designed for use as an R-22 retrofit for low- and medium-temperature refrigeration equipment and air conditioning systems. The refirgerant contains no hydrocarbons, has a low GWP, and is rated at zero ODP. It is designed to have similar performance to HCFC-22, work well with residual mineral oil or AB, and requires no equipment changes.

www. arkema-inc.com

Psychrometer The SDP2 Dual In-Duct Psychrometer from Fieldpiece Instruments is built with two 38” probes designed to simultaneously measure wet bulb and dry bulb at both the return and supply to provide live readings of evaporator conditions.

The tool features the ability to transmit data wirelessly, is equipped with a blue backlit display, and comes with an ABS plastic case.

www. fieldpiece.com

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HYDRONICS

Erin Sperry is the commercial heating product manager at The Fulton Companies. She can be reached at erin.sperry@fulton.com

By Er i n Spe r r y

TROUBLESHOOTING high temperature limits WHAT’S A HIGH TEMPERATURE LIMIT ALARM? The material from which a boiler’s heat exchanger is constructed determines the operating temperature limit of the boiler.

For example, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) limit for stainless steel is 210°F. If the temperature of the water inside a boiler’s stainless steel pressure vessel rises above the 210°F threshold (which is set and managed by aquastat controls) an alarm condition will occur.

This requires a manual reset. So, someone has to go to the boiler’s physical location and reset it in order to restore normal operation.

If this happens frequently, the person responsible for managing the alarms will probably quickly grow tired of responding!

E

ver wonder why a hydronic boiler system could have frequent high temperature limit alarms, but the actual heating load is not satisfied?

Understanding how to mitigate this problem is critical to managing the system. Ultimately it’s not just a nuisance; it may lead to excessive cycling of boilers and other mechanical components, decreasing the system’s useful life.

HOW DO FREQUENT HIGH TEMPERATURE ALARMS AFFECT MY BOILER? Aside from the nuisance of acknowledging and resetting alarms, this condition can also lead to excessive cycling. A fuel-fired boiler cycle is defined as an operating sequence consisting of four phases: purge; light off/ ignition; running/operating; and post purge.

Valves, pumps and dampers – other components of a boiler system – also cycle by turning on and off, or opening and closing.

Cycling wastes electricity and combustion fuel, wears out components and stresses the boiler’s heat exchanger – all that expanding and contracting as the metal heats up and cools down is not a good thing. Cycling is a major factor in determining the useful life of any piece of mechanical equipment, including a boiler.

A good heating system should be designed to have boilers cycle less than 1,000 times per heating season. Poorly-designed systems can have boilers cycling tens of thousands of times per heating season.

Boilers with relatively low water volumes can be susceptible to localized boiling and hot spots within the pressure vessel. A combination of flow and high limit alarms is supposed to manage this effectively, however if excessive cycling is occurring, the risk of the boiling increases. continues on page 48

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F L O P R O

D E S I G N E R

S O F T W A R E

Like having a magic sketchpad

3.0

Taco FloPro Designer Software is an intuitive yet powerful design tool. With it you can lay out a complete boiler system, sizing and selecting all your components, including the boiler.

of the mouse. Plus, you’re able to develop a detailed materials list, heat loss analysis and other professional quality documents.

Our latest 3.0 software update easily generates both top and side elevations to provide an excellent aid to installation. The selection of system annotations, such as stainless steel specifications, is now a simple click

As user-friendly as FloPro Designer is, you are never more than a phone call away from expert advice and assistance. Ra Puriri is the FloPro Designer ‘Answer Man’.

Visit Ra’s blog or call him at 877-270-4685.

Do your best work.

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HYDRONICS

continues from page 46

AIR SUPPLY Don’t forget about the air component of boilers. The design of the venting system, both combustion air supply and exhaust discharge, for a boiler or system of boilers can be a major factor in overall reliability.

Design Considerations

WHY? So why does the boiler’s high temperature limit trip occur in the first place?

Well, the system must be designed so that the water being heated up by the boilers is distributed to the system and consumed by the users of the system at a comparable rate.

For the purposes of an example, let’s say that design day load is based on an outdoor temperature of 0°F but the outdoor temperature happens to be 50°F. Some heat is needed, but the amount of energy is a fraction of the design capabilities of the system.

If the boilers are outputting more energy than the system actually needs, the water heated by the boilers doesn’t have adequate opportunity to transfer its energy.

When this happens, the overall water volume in the system heats up and may make its way back to the boilers.

There are other basic system design factors that are in play, too (see Design Considerations). It’s just about making sure the boilers have the ability to match the varying loads of the system with basic turndown or modulation settings.

48

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When it comes to avoiding short cycling and the nuisance of high temperature limit alarms, piping design is extremely important. When water flows, it takes the path of least resistance. If the water needs to make many sharp turns or take bypass routes, energy is not distributed in the most efficient way and is lost.

Likewise, if piping is too small for the flow rates that the system is expected to tolerate, heat does not make its way out to the system; rather, it remains in the boilers and the immediate surrounding piping.

The design of the flow distribution in the system is another important aspect of avoiding high temperature limit alarms.

When a boiler is running, the metal in the heat exchanger is transferring energy to the water (or water-glycol solution) in the hydronic loop.

If the flow stops, for example from pumps turning off or from a valve closing, the metal in the heat exchanger of the boiler is still hot and continues to transfer heat to the water in the pressure vessel.

When there is no flow through the boiler, the volume of water in the pressure vessel will heat up and the high limit may eventually trip. The amount of time it may take for this to happen depends on the volume of water inside the pressure vessel, and how efficient the heat exchanger design is at transferring energy.

If boiler or system pumps are undersized, or if the frequency of the variable speed drives on pump motors are below a threshold resulting in an imbalance between the amount of heat being generated and what is being distributed, this same effect can be witnessed.

The boilers may be heating up all the water necessary to heat the building, but if there is not enough flow to move that water around, then the users of the building will not be satisfied.

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Control strategy is an effective way to manage flow. It is important to maintain flow through boilers for a period of time after the call for heat (demand) goes away.

Control packages, whether integral to the boiler or from a building management system, or other outside source, sometimes have a “canned” or standardized approach to managing time delays. However, these setups may not be appropriate for every system.

It is important to understand the aspects of the control strategy, and have the ability to customize as necessary.

Designing a system with a custom control package will provide the most flexibility to make changes, as it’s not reasonable to expect to have every aspect of system control perfected in the design stage of a system.

System commissioning and first year of operation is often the time when the details of controls are worked out.

If there are “too many cooks in the kitchen,” or multiple parties trying to control the boiler system, this can create issues. If there is one party controlling the boilers, another controlling pumps, and another controlling valve positions and exhaust dampers, then there is a possibility that these aspects of the system may not be functioning in complete harmony.

Finally, don’t overlook maintenance when investigating high temperature limit alarms.

The lack of maintenance, or the performance of improper maintenance with the boilers and other components of a system, can be a factor as well.

From far and wide…we’re Connecting Canadians From coast to beautiful coast, Uponor works with partners to provide innovative, efficient and trusted solutions. Whether a hotel in Toronto, a government building in Montreal, or a Condominium in Vancouver, the Uponor PEX-a Plumbing System, featuring Uponor AquaPEX tubing and ProPEX expansion fittings, consistently provides cost and labour savings, without compromising quality.

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HIGH-PERFORMANCE HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC

THE CSA F280 STANDARD: OPPORTUNITIES IN EXISTING HOMES

B y Go B y rGo d Cr d o oCke o o ke

A

t the recent HRAI conference in Vancouver, I talked about some of the changes in the new CAN/CSA F280 Standard, Determining the Required Capacity of Residential Space Heating and Cooling Appliances. Throughout the balance of the conference, and in speaking to fellow participants, I was reminded of two things: First, I hadn’t clearly identified in my presentation the opportunities that the changes to the F280 Standard might provide when applied to HVAC equipment in existing homes; and second, I had forgotten just how beautiful and engaging the city of Vancouver is.

I don’t need to elaborate on the second thought, but it seemed like it might be helpful if I offered a few of my thoughts on how and why professional HVAC contractors might want to recalibrate their thinking on the sizing of heating and cooling equipment in existing homes.

Most HVAC contractors will have experienced the poor temperature control of two-storey homes when furnaces and AC units are oversized. The freezing cold basement and the sweltering master bedroom in the summer, and the freezing cold room over the garage in the winter are no longer acceptable to most clients.

A common response is to put in a larger furnace and AC with an ECM motor and try to jack up the airflow rate to drive air upstairs. The risk, of course, is higher noise levels and frozen coils.

Sizing based on ANNUAL FUEL USAGE:

How to determine the appropriate furnace size from a client’s annual (or monthly) fuel bill.

50

STEP

EXAMPLE

Find total fuel consumption from your client’s bill (in this example we will use natural gas).

1,950 m3

Estimate consumption for other gas appliances – hot water, BBQ , by looking at off-season usage.

350 m3

Calculate gas consumption during the period for heating.

1,950 – 350 = 1,600 m3

Find Heating degree days for that period (from Environment Canada or from most utility bills).

4,060 HDD

Determine Heating consumption by degree day.

1,600 m3/ 4,060 HDD = 0.394 m3/HDD

Determine HDD at design temperature for your area = 18°C – (design day temperature).

18 – (-20) = 38 HDD design day (For a design day temp. of -20°C).

Determine fuel consumption at design day.

(38 HDD)(0.394 m3/HDD) = 14.97 m3/day

Determine fuel consumption per hour.

14.97 / 24 = 0.623 m3/hr

Determine heating capacity (based on energy content of 35,500 BTUs / m3 of nat. gas).

0.623 m3/hr x 35,500 BTUs / m3 = 22,117 BTUs/hr

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• Si• zEx i ngc ituipn go papdov ratnucneist i e•s Th • Fall e in flu ch en allen ce ges o f b u ild in g d esign How about re-doing the sizing calculations and, when appropriate, perhaps even reducing the size of the equipment and using the now oversized ductwork to accommodate zone dampers?

A CHALLENGE ALLENGE

From my previous article, “Rethinking duct design practices”, I wrote in the Sept/Oct 2012 edition of Mechanical Business regarding the changes to the sizing standard, or from your own research, you may know that the likely outcome of applying the new sizing algorithms of F280 to an existing home will result in a smaller required size than currently installed – in many cases, significantly smaller.

FOR YOU

1

And the resulting recalculation can result in some significant opportunities beyond size of equipment, with the biggest impact likely to be in homes built since about the mid-1980s.

SIZING UP OPPORTUNITIES

2

Beyond the modest price difference between one size of furnace or AC unit and another, there are other opportunities presented by redoing the sizing calculations in an existing home. For example, with smaller AC condensers, expect to see noise reductions and space savings, both inside and outside.

And smaller equipment may enable duct changes. In my own house, built in 1992, when I changed (and downsized) the air handler a couple of years ago, I was able to eliminate four heat runs and downsize the main plenums in the basement. This eliminated two bulkheads and increased overall ceiling height in the basement living area.

3

With longer run times due to properly sized equipment, filtration, humidification and even dehumidification effectiveness will all increase.

Use the new CSA F280 Standard to obtain a heat loss/heat gain assessment. Measure the house and windows, peak in the attic and basement walls for insulation levels and, most importantly, enter an air tightness number. Over one million households in Canada have blower door test results available from the ecoEnergy, BuiltGreen or Energy Star programs. Failing that, there are lots of energy advisors with blower doors in every market looking to do tests.

Use a monitoring thermostat to assess cycle times of the existing equipment before replacing it.

Imagine how your sales of high-end thermostats would go up if your sales person offered to install one in the week between the time of quoting and the actual installation. New web-enabled thermostats allow you to monitor run times, and you can assess sizing from that based on outside temperatures.

Use the past-energy-bill history and degree-day information that every consumer now receives to calculate an estimate of the proper sizing. Table 1 is from the popular CMHC About Your House series on “Replacing Your Furnace.” The example shown is from an actual house that has a 60,000 BTUH furnace installed.

Any one of these three methods will allow you to rethink/recalibrate what you thought you remembered about proper sizing. Then ask your clients about their plans for the basement or house. Ask them to describe their comfort expectations and whether they are being met.

Take those duct pressure and airflow readings in the existing system and map out the existing duct to assess potential for zoning.

All of this also facilitates better comfort control, including zoning options. In my opinion, this represents the most significant untapped opportunity related to oversizing and thus warrants further discussion.

While zoning is easiest in homes with a spilt or “T” style main plenum, there are lots of great zone dampers available that can be installed into individual duct runs to allow controlled distribution of air to where it is needed. The opportunity is presented by the oversized ductwork in virtually all homes built since the mid-1980s that can accommodate the higher airflows in branch lines when zone dampers are installed and activated.

It will take some getting used to, of course, for you to retire those long standing rules of thumb.

But before you discount the value of proper sizing, think about the opportunities now and in the future to solve comfort issues and be more competitive with smaller equipment.

Of course, you will want to do two simple tests – static pressure and airflow – to assess the possibilities and opportunities.

Measure the airflow of the existing system and the static pressure induced in the main plenum and branch lines, and use a simple duct calculator to determine appropriate zoning configurations.

I often hear contractors say there is no sense in resizing HVAC equipment in an existing home because you are stuck with the existing ductwork. This is no longer valid in all cases.

I fully realize that most equipment replacements are done by making quick assumptions about current equipment sizes and perhaps asking a few questions of clients. Take this opportunity to recalibrate your thinking about sizing.

So here is the challenge: over the fall months, pick a few homes that you are going to work in that were built after 1985. Do a thorough analysis by one of three methods:

Gord Cooke is a professional engineer who has spent 20 years helping builders and HVAC contractors implement innovative technologies into high-performance homes. He has particular expertise in IAQ and air flow management in houses, and can be contacted at gcooke@airsolutions.ca.

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PLUMBING HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC

B y Go A d am r d CFr o oeill ke

W

Moen

LEAD-FREE UNCERTAINTY ARE IMPORTS ON THEIR WAY?

ith lead-free legislation, codes, standards and regulations in all stages of progress here in Canada, the only thing that can be said with any certainty and consistency for all regions of the nation when it comes to plumbing products designed for use in potable water systems is that, though similar, the rules regarding lead-free valves and fittings in Canada will not be the same as the rules in the U.S.

The use of a January 1, 2014 effective date in Ontario does sidestep the possibility of U.S. firms exporting non-lead-free products into that province’s potable marketplace – a possibility that still exists in many jurisdictions.

In fact, the regulations on lead for fixtures and fittings designed to convey potable water may not be consistent from one province or regulatory jurisdiction to another. And it is this confusion that has had suppliers juggling to keep up with an evolving regulatory landscape.

“Unlike in the U.S., we don’t have a similar ‘blanket’ regulatory action in Canada,” says Moe Fanous of Watts Water Technologies (Canada). “We may be looking at two different valid scenarios. Municipalities can simply reference the new NPC changes in their local codes, specs and manuals, or municipalities can write their own local bylaws to enforce the new standards.”

“Given the potentially high profile of something like lead-free, it’s probably a reasonable guess that most of the provinces will have adopted it by the end of 2014,” says Thomas Husebye, vice-president of marketing with Dahl Brothers (Canada).

There will likely be some exceptions, however, such as in provinces that don’t have a history of adopting interim code changes.

Moe Fanous of Watts says that proper planning can help prevent a wave of non-conforming product making its way to the Canadian marketplace from the U.S. Watts

“If they gradually phase out the leaded items and slowly introduce the lead-free to the market, this process can go almost seamless with no unwanted leftover products.” He reports that this is what Watts Water Technologies has been doing in the U.S. market since September 2012.

“Generally speaking, yes, we should see some products being shipped to Canada for this reason. However, I personally do not think it is going to be as bad as it sounds since these products can still be used and installed in the U.S. after January 4 – in non-potable applications.”

IN CANADA The definition of lead-free is that the weighted average lead content of the brass material is less than 0.25% on wetted surface areas.

With the recent updating of standards ASME A112.18.1-2012/ CSA B125.1-12 and CSA B125.3-12, the allowable content of lead in fittings used in potable water systems will be reduced from eight per cent to a weighted average of less than 0.25 per cent as of the end of this year. Those standards are cited in the 2010 edition of the National Plumbing Code (NPC 2010), and are expected to be included as interim changes to NPC 2010 by the end of 2013.

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Price Pfister

continued on page 54

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PLUMBING HIGH-PERFORMANCE continued from page 52 HVAC

IS IT LEAD-FREE?

Of course, as the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes points out, “It will be up to the provincial/ territorial regulatory authorities to consider when and how to adopt such changes into law.”

One of the challenges that will face plumbing inspectors as lead-free becomes the new reality for potable water systems will be knowing a product’s lead content. And with the revisions to the plumbing code being adopted at a staggered pace, in some jurisdictions the ability will exist to use non-lead-free product, so long as they were manufactured prior to December 31 of this year.

Eric Gagnier, a technical advisor on plumbing with the Regie du batiment du Quebec reports that the amendments to NPC 2010 will be adopted in Quebec six months after they have been published nationally, a step that is expected to happen by next month. This will create a consistent level of regulation and implementation timeframe in the province, without a need for additional provincial bylaws or legislation, he says.

In Ontario, the provincial government issued a Minister’s Ruling in August that included the adoption of the revised B125 standards into its building code, with the Minister’s Ruling coming into force on January 1, 2014.

Existing projects with permits will be grandfathered, but new projects will have to ensure fittings used conform to the revised standards.

“Now that Ontario has ratified lead-free into its building codes, I can see others using Ontario’s laws as a prototype to follow,” says Andy Fretz, Canadian national sales manager of commercial product with Apollo Valves.

That legislation sets a consistent bar for plumbers in that province to work with, but some manufacturers and wholesalers have expressed concerns about the short implementation timeframe within which product inventories will have to be adjusted.

“Due to the speed at which Canadian authorities are trying to implement these changes, there are bound to be hiccups along the way,” says Dobbin Sales’ Jason Boyd.

“In the U.S., the plumbing channel has had a few years to prepare.”

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“What is far more important than knowing the technical definition is that plumbers and inspectors need to be able to easily identify the difference between regular brass and lead-free brass products,” says Husebye.

“If any products enter the market without a marking then this could pose a major problem for inspectors once the lead-free standard starts to become adopted into local codes.”

Knowing that there could be uncertainty, and that some types of valves and fittings will have application in potable and non-potable systems, many manufacturers are putting in voluntary markings programs.

“Although there hasn’t been a clear cut definition of how to identify lead-free product over non-lead-free product, many manufacturers have taken it upon themselves to appease the concerns from inspectors, contractors and wholesalers alike,” says Andy Fretz of Apollo Valves.

“Most manufacturers will have some type of indicator on the packaging, or in the part number or stamped on the body of the product that will indicate that it is lead-free,” adds Jason Boyd of Dobbin Sales. “It will be important for contractors to be aware of what these markings and indicators are.”

And if it is difficult to tell lead from lead-free, it may be next to impossible to sort out which products were produced prior to the cut-off date outlined in the revised CSA B125 standards.

“As such, inspectors will likely not allow non-lead-free product in a build once the enforcement date is reached, since it will be next to impossible to tell when the product was produced,” says Eric Gagnier of the Regie du batiment du Quebec.

Photo: Sloan

Many of the provinces that have adopted the 2010 NPC will set in place an effective date of six months following the publishing of the interim changes by the CCBFC. Others may take longer or shorter periods to adopt the changes, if they choose to at all.

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CONTROLS

B y E lizab et h B r o wn

Harnessing

boiler multiplicity

Elizabeth Brown is a customer support specialist and trainer with tekmar Control Systems, a Watts Water Technologies company. She holds degrees in mechanical engineering and education. She can be reached at customerservice@tekmarcontrols.com.

for efficiency

W

ith the introduction of multiple-stage boiler plants and the ability to use multiple multi-stage boilers, gone are the days of installing segments of a cast iron boiler in the mechanical room to custom build a large heating solution.

Photo courtesy of comfortableheat.com

In addition to ease of installation, boiler multiplicity offers many advantages, including redundancy, load matching and significant energy savings. Combined boiler systems that blend condensing and noncondensing boilers can extend to this list of advantages with additional savings, but only when integrated with the proper control solution.

Working with multiple boilers promises so much that often overlooked is the fact that its success is reliant upon the control.

Multiple boiler systems only perform as designed when integrated with a control that intelligently directs the boiler sequencing and the operations of the overall system.

Numerous advantages

Without the right control you might have redundancy – but will you have efficiency? The choice in controls is what makes the distinction between good heating components and a better heating system.

The benefits of multiple stage boiler plants are numerous, the most obvious being that smaller boilers are easier to install than a single large unit.

Not only are they more manageable to physically move, but with reduced heat outputs they can typically be installed by individuals with a lower classification of gas fitter’s license.

Mix and Match Multiple boiler plants allow us to create combined boiler systems, consisting of both condensing and non-condensing type units. These “mix and match” designs become very attractive when we consider the capital costs of the system and the efficiencies of each boiler type during cold weather operation.

Condensing boilers are typically two to three times more expensive than their non-condensing counterparts, due to the added technology aimed at extracting additional energy from the flue gases. Whether or not we see a return on this initial investment is highly dependant on the operation of the boiler.

We can also more readily match the heat supply with the seasonal changes in demand by enabling boilers on an as-need basis. Rather than a single boiler that’s been sized for design conditions responding to all degrees of demand, we can vary our capacity by staging the operation of a series of smaller boilers.

Condensing boilers only achieve their highest rated efficiencies when the return water is cool, and fail to condense at all when operating at elevated temperatures. In the heart of the heating season, when the supply temperatures are high, that expensive condensing boiler may not achieve any additional performance over its non-condensing counterpart.

The ability to respond to a spectrum of heat loads with comparable boiler capacity prevents short-cycling. Boiler cycling can otherwise waste countless fuel dollars with pre- and post-purge losses, and may result in unnecessary stresses to the mechanical equipment.

Since the correct application of a condensing boiler is with cool return water temperature, the suitable control choice is one that will reduce operating temperatures whenever possible.

Making the switch to multiple boilers increases the efficiency and the rangeability of our heating system, resulting in appreciable energy savings.

continued on page 60

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Beyond installation advantages, redundancy and load matching are also achieved. Multiple units provide a peace of mind that, should a failure occur, the load can most often be managed by the remaining boiler(s).

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Every Sime boiler comes complete with circulator, air eliminator and expansion tank.

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The key to Sime’s long-term success is, and always will be, partnering with the right people. From the spec stage right through to commissioning, you can expect Sime and our select partners by your side. We know that our success depends on your success – and anything in between is simply not acceptable. So, if you’re looking to increase sales and profitability, give us - or one of our distributor partners - a call today.

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CONTROLS

continued from page 56

Outdoor Temperature Reset is a control feature that automatically calculates the lowest boiler supply temperature in relation to the current outdoor temperature, and operates the system accordingly.

According to data from Environment Canada, 77 per cent of Toronto’s 2011 heating days occurred within the shoulder seasons of fall and spring, when the outdoor temperatures were at least 60 per cent less than the design temperature. Lowering the supply temperature to reflect the decreased demand during shoulder seasons will reduce inefficient on/off boiler cycling and otherwise high standby losses.

It just so happens that the reduced water temperatures also allow condensing boilers to perform as intended for additional energy savings.

On the flip side, peak load occurred during only six per cent of the Toronto heating days. Since high demand is satisfied with high water temperatures, extra capacity may be sensibly supplied by staging standard boilers.

As the outdoor temperatures rise and there is a decrease in demand, the supply water temperature will be lowered based on outdoor temperature reset. At this point, the condensing boilers can once again meet the demand at their higher efficiencies.

Although straightforward, this type of boiler response is only possible with an appropriate control strategy.

PICKING A LEADER An intelligent sequencing control is essential for blended boiler designs; simple on/off and cascade commands are insufficient.

Sophisticated algorithms are required to control the boiler modulation and rotation based on the efficiencies of each unit and the current environmental conditions.

Effective multiple boiler systems rely on an overall control solution that can operate either a condensing boiler group or a non-condensing boiler group as the lead, depending on the boiler target temperature.

If the boiler target temperature is below the boiler minimum temperature, then the condensing group can lead. Conversely, if the boiler target temperature is above the boiler minimum temperature, the non-condensing group can lead.

Both boiler groups can be operated with equal run-time rotation, or with a fixed lead or fixed last configuration. The sequencing of modulating boilers can be further customized with sequential or parallel staging options.

What sets intelligent controls apart is that they can be customized to provide the best possible heating solution for each unique set of equipment specifications.

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9/20/2013 9:34:38 AM

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Marketing with DOUG MACMILLAN

Building a logo?

I

n recent columns we’ve explored an organization’s brand from a couple of perspectives: how the essence of the brand should

permeate every business decision, and how the personalities of the people in an organization can align with and support a corporate brand.

What we haven’t touched on is the visual

Doug MacMillan is president of The Letter M Marketing in Guelph, Ont. To reach him, email doug@thelettermmarketing.com.

brand itself.

is usually the best route – just as the design of an

Some mythology dates the word “brand” back to

HVAC or plumbing system takes some experience

medieval times when criminals were scarred to

and training to do the best job, so too does a logo.

mark them as bad guys. More recently, ranchers

Where budget is limiting, some business owners

would burn a visual mark – a rudimentary logo

have taken to designing their own logos, at least in

– on their cattle to identify their property. Over

rough. Part of me cringes at that thought – creat-

time, more and more businesses applied a consis-

ing a timeless logo isn’t as easy as one would think

tent identifier to their products, correspondence

– however, the pragmatic business owner in me

and advertising.

understands.

Today, given our highly visual environment, a

By following some guidelines, a creative entrepre-

strong logo is an essential business asset that must

neur can at least lay the groundwork, roughing up

work hard to communicate the definition and

a concept and then contracting with a professional

attributes of an organization, and set the tone for

graphic designer to put the finishing touches on it

the experience to come.

for a lot less than the “from scratch” fee.

Building a logo can be challenging, as such, many

If you’re thinking of going the DIY route, here are

business owners turn to a professional branding

some suggestions to guide the way.

consultant or graphic designer for guidance. This

1

Stop sketching and lay the groundwork List the 10 attributes you want to capture in the brand. These are key words and feelings that will become a checklist to measure your ideas against as you move forward.

Jump on Google Images and search those words for some inspiration. While you’re online, review competitors’ logos, locally and globally, to both understand and avoid what others are doing. Consult with your staff team for their input and ideas.

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2

Assemble your toolkit As with any smart assembly project, you’ll want to have the right parts on hand. The core elements of a logo are the font, colours, possibly a symbol or icon, and a tagline.

Start with fonts. Look at hundreds, and then build a shortlist of six to eight typefaces that you feel best support the attributes of the brand.

Avoid anything too trendy or retro, overused, or so complicated that they won’t reproduce well, or anything too boring to make a statement. (Comic Sans and Times Roman are out – got that?) You will use one (two at most) in your logo.

Then, build a palette of up to a dozen complementing colours that feel right together and support the keywords.

Your palette might be earthy, vibrant, pastel, elegant, jewel-toned… each evokes a different response. Again, you will use one or two colours in your logo and the rest of the palette will guide other elements of your brand and marketing, from vehicles and uniforms to the showroom walls.

Brainstorm if a certain symbol will help articulate your brand, such as a house, snowflake, flame, leaf or globe. Those ideas sound done to death, right? That’s how tough it is to create a good, original logo symbol.

Quick colour tip Ask yourself if a symbol is necessary at all.

Not sure if colours “go together” well?

A creative approach to the use of type and Review and collect some chip cards colour is often more effective. Many of the at a paint store. They’re usually world’s strongest brands, like FedEx, Coke organized to go together. Or, ask and IBM, are simply iconic type with no someone you know with an eye for decorating. symbol.

The tagline may already be established for the business, but if not, write something descriptive and succinct. It should capture the core promise of your company, and needs to communicate what you actually do (if the name itself doesn’t already).

3

INDUSTRIAL

WA R N I N G Avoid online clip art. Your logo needs to be 100 per cent original.

Designing time!

Whether you’re using a pencil or a computer design program, at least you can start to play with the design of your logo and tagline. Drawing on all the work you’ve done, start to explore different approaches to bring them together. As the sketch progresses, consider the visual balance and how well the rough concepts reflect that key word checklist you built at the beginning of the process.

Keep it simple.

I’ll say that again. Keep. It. SIMPLE. Avoid having too much going on, as tempting Solid advice as it is to try to make a logo do it all.

Use solid colours. Gradients or With each sketch, scale the image up and blends of colour that look great on down. Logos need to be effective when very a computer screen will be a nightsmall, as well as large. mare to produce on the side of a Also, consider the overall shape. A logo with van or embroider onto a T-shirt. proportions of no more than a one-by-three ratio (either horizontally or vertically) is functional to work in most applications, whereas something that’s six times longer than it is high can be limiting.

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Our team of in-house specialists are always ready to provide technical advice and source those hard-to-find products that will make your job easier. Because that’s exactly what a good partner does.

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with Roger Grochmal

Engaging your people Roger, I want my people to want to come to work each day – not out of a need of money, but because they are engaged and plugged into what they do for a living. What makes people want to work for you?

William T., Ottawa, Ont.

I Roger Grochmal is the CEO of AtlasCare in Oakville, Ont. To submit a question about your company, business practices, or the industry in general, send an e-mail to Mechanical Business Magazine’s editor, Adam Freill, adam.freill@ mechanicalbusiness.com.

The culture club Another word for brand is culture. What is your culture?

Is your shop a fun place to work? Do your employees support each other? Do they really work for your customers? Or are they truly there just for the paycheque?

Two years ago, having been inspired by a visit to Zappos.com in Las Vegas, we produced our first culture book to capture our people in action. It was done low budget on our photocopier.

Last year we actually published a book that we use to get the message out to everyone. (If you would like a copy just send me an email with your name and address and I will mail you a copy.) It’s a great chapter in our company’s history, and a shining example of the personality of our people.

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n his book, Brand: It Ain’t the Logo, Ted Matthews defines brand as what people think of you. This is critical when it comes to marketing your company to potential customers. It is also important when it comes to marketing your company to potential employees. What do potential employees think about your company? Or, in other words, what is your employment brand?

Why do people want to work for one company over another?

Let me give you a hint – it isn’t the pay. Don’t get me wrong, money is important, but it goes way beyond that.

In addition to pay there are what I call the standard perks.

These are things like trucks to take home, uniforms, boots and tool allowances, but to really engage your crew it helps to step beyond the ordinary. For example, do you pay for staff training or for courses on their own time?

That might be important to a technician wanting to improve his skills, and anything he learns will benefit your company as well.

Have you looked at your benefit program lately?

Does it meet the needs of all of your staff? We went to a self-insured plan for health and dental benefits.

This lowered our costs and allowed us to add a

Health Spending Account, which each employee can spend on whatever benefit they wish, not just the ones we stipulate. And we also added an Employee Assistance Program.

Do you highlight the accomplishments of your people both inside and outside the business? Do you celebrate significant dates like their birthdays and employment anniversaries?

Do you recognize when they go over and above for a customer?

I use a service called Sendoutcards.com to send out personalized cards to our staff to recognize these positive events. People love getting them and appreciate that I am taking the time to acknowledge their dedication and hard work.

We do a lot of things at AtlasCare aimed at strengthening our employment brand. Yes we do lose some people, but usually to better opportunities.

Some have become teachers, firemen and management consultants. Some have started up their own businesses. The training they got from us will serve them well and maybe, someday, they will refer a potential new employee our way.

Communication is key Do you have a company newsletter to keep everyone up-to-date on what is going on in your company? You can’t over communicate to your staff. It helps them do a better job of communicating with your customers. When staff are in the loop they also feel more connected, and part of the team.

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HVAC & HYDRONICS

TOOL TIPS

The impact of your bits A

lthough drills and impact drivers may look similar, they operate in different ways, and that difference should influence the choice of bits you use on the jobsite. To avoid possible problems from malfunction, it is recommended that only impact rated bits be used in impact drivers. These bits are made of steel that has been treated differently than a standard bit.

WHEN THE COOLING QUITS, WE DON’T.

Due to the hitting power of the impact driver, the bit needs to be stronger in terms of steel density to withstand the forces and increased speed when putting the fastener in place.

Some companies offer shock absorbing bits for use with impact drivers. These have a different shape than regular bits, and will generally have a shiny curve in them, partway up the bit.

These bits are designed to break under extreme pressure, so that the bit can be removed in a critical break. Untreated standard bits have been known to melt in an impact driver, which will lead to a lot of banging to dislodge the broken pieces – something that will not be good for your impact driver.

In addition to using the right bit, remember to use the right fastener for the application, and the right size too, so that you get the proper holding power for the application.

When the unexpected happens, we know you feel it.

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We carry a complete line of heating and cooling equipment for residential, commercial and specialty applications. And we’ll drop it wherever you need it, when you need it – at no charge! But that’s not all that sets us apart.

Not a perfect circle The difference between an impact driver and a drill is that the drill’s motor is designed to turn a shaft in a perfect circle. The impact driver uses a piece of metal called an anvil, located inside the nose of the unit, to help provide extra torque

We have one of the largest teams of in-house technical specialists in the industry. So if you’re looking to reduce your footprint or improve energy efficiencies, we can create custom solutions that’ll help you breathe a little easier.

(power). This anvil does not turn perfectly round. Its action is like hitting a wrench that is on a nut, striking it from the top, on the handle, to get more torque or power to tighten or remove a nut.

We know your business.

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HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC HVAC

GETTING TO KNOW STATIC PRESSURE

B yBM y at Got hr dewC oRoeid ke

[ THE PRESSURE OF HEATING

R

egardless of the type of system at play, if you are heating or cooling a building you are moving some sort of medium through a conduit to either give off heat or absorb heat.

On the heating side of things, hydronic and forced air are somewhat similar in that they both move a medium (either fluid or air) through a series of conduits (pipes or ductwork) to deliver heat to designated areas. Both systems have to overcome resistance through their respective distribution systems.

In a hydronic system, every foot of pipe, elbow and T creates resistance to flow. These fittings are classified with Cv ratings, and the pressure drop due to friction in the pipe is also measured. A standard 1/2” copper 90° elbow has a Cv rating of 2.5. This means that when 2.5 gpm of fluid passes through the fitting it creates a one psi pressure drop.

In a hydronic system, when you move the heating fluid you are overcoming head pressure. This is measured in pounds per Pipe will have a measurable resistance based on flow and square inch (psi) or feet of 1 PSI = size. For instance, 1/2” plastic pipe carrying one gallon per head. When moving air (a gas) minute of fluid will have a pressure drop of somewhere 2.31 through a forced air or ventilation around 1.1 ft H2O per 100 feet. feet of head system, it is static pressure that is being overcome, and A designer takes these numbers and adds them up to make this is measured in inches of water column (wg). In theory, there sure that the pump selected for the project will be large enough are very few differences between the two but it is important to to overcome the total pressure drop of the whole system. If the know the differences, similarities and the importance of both. pump is undersized it won’t be able to move the fluid through the pipe, and will dead head.

Someone designing a hydronic system would be abhorred if they did not take proper steps to ensure the head pressure of the system was calculated and designed around to ensure proper operation of the system.

Ask someone installing a forced air system what the total static pressure of the duct system was and they probably won’t be able to answer that question. However if you were to speak to someone designing a ventilation system they would stress the massive importance of knowing static pressure.

When moving air, the “pipes” are usually much larger and made of sheet metal. Since ductwork is generally much larger than pipes carrying fluid, the resistance to flow is much lower. This could be a fraction of a pound per square inch, so rather than measure in psi, this resistance is measured in inches of water column (wg).

Although the resistance is lower, it is still there and is still important to consider. To measure these pressure drops we usually use a manometer. A tube placed in a duct facing into the direction of the flow will measure the total pressure in the duct.

BY TAKING MEASUREMENTS AT VARIOUS POINTS it is possible to see the pressure drop of an entire system. The volume flow rate in a system can be measured at the entrance to the system and at the exit from the system, for example, at the supply air duct and return air duct.

When it comes to the resistance of flow in an HVAC system, the needs and optimal operational characteristics vary for each of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning components of the system. Where ducting is shared for each of these systems, some compromises will be made.

There will be acceptable ranges in which a system is allowed to operate. These can be found in the installation instructions.

For the most part, in a forced air system, it should almost balance to zero. Typically, a 0.5” wg window is allowed. This difference is what can cause negative or positive pressures within a home that is heated with a forced air system or ventilated with an HRV or ERV. continued on page 68

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B y Go r d C o o ke

GETTING VENTILATED For ventilation, we need to go a bit further down the rabbit hole with regards to pressure. Fan selection is typically based upon an airflow rate, measured in CFM, and static pressure.

Luckily, software designers and engineers usually do most of the math for us when working in a large commercial or industrial environment, but when thinking about a residential or small scale application, static pressure takes a back seat to CFM. If you know how big a room is and how many CFMs a fan can move, it is usually possible to Quick tip select the right sized fan for an application If you are concerned with with little difficulty. noise, remember that the

HOW IT WORKS A manometer works based on two rules: 1) Pressure is equal at equal elevations in the same fluid, and 2) Pressure at the bottom of a column of fluid equals pressure at the top plus rho(g)(h), where rho is the density of the liquid, g is gravity and h is the height.

AIR CHANGES PER HOUR Type of room

Air changes required (per hour)

• Toilets

These rooms require between 6 and 10 ACH

• Laundries - No dryer • Cellar • Offices • Bathrooms

These rooms require between 11 and 15

• Showers • Ensuites • Kitchens

These rooms require between 15 and 20

• Laundries - With dryer

If we take a standard higher the velocity of the kitchen that is 10’ x airflow, the louder the 10’ with eight-foot system will run. So if noise ceilings, we know the total cubic footage is an issue you may want is 800. If we need to to oversize your vent duct do 15 air changes per accordingly. hour, some simple math will help us figure out the size of fan required.

In this case, the total air to be moved in an hour is 800 x 15, or 12,000 cu. ft. Then we divide that by 60 to see how many cubic feet we need to move in one minute.

This gives us a result of 200, so we need a fan that can move 200 CFM of air.

Keep in mind that we will still need to overcome the static pressure. To find that, it is best to hit the charts again.

PRESSURE LOSS (INCHES WATER GAUGE PER 100 FEET DUCT) Air velocity (ft/min) Duct Size (inches) Air Volume (cfm) 4 5 6 8 10 12 0.65 0.21 0.09 0.02 0.01 100 1146 733 509 286 183 0.8 0.32 0.08 0.02 0.01 200 1467 1019 573 367 255 1.19 0.28 0.09 0.04 400 2037 1146 733 509 0.34 0.14 800 1467 1019 1600

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0.01 286 0.03 573 0.12 1146

As per the chart, if we need to move 200 CFM and are using 5” pipe, we need to select a fan that can move 200 CFM somewhere close to or above a static pressure of 0.8” wg for every 100 feet of pipe. That will create a velocity of 1,467 ft/min.

Matthew Reid is a heating technician in the HVAC and Hydronics Department at Desco Plumbing & Heating Supply Inc. He can be reached at matthew.reid@desco.ca.

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COVER STORY

By Andrew Snook Canadian improv actor Colin Mochrie has improvised a life philosophy - a motto and it is one that seems to suit him to a tee.

“There’s a thing in improv – it’s sort of the basis of all improv – it’s called ‘Yes and...’

If someone makes an offer in a scene you immediately say ‘yes and’ then you build on it,” he explained. “I’ve decided to make that my philosophy over the past couple of years. Accept things and build on it, and try to be more positive. It’s amazing through a day how many times you say no to things. I find when I actually say yes to things, those are usually the most interesting and fulfilling times I have.

Something leads to something else that leads to something else.”

Good advice to live by? Yes, and thanks for sharing Colin.

C

olin Mochrie has a lot to be thankful for. The Canadian comedian has spent most of his adult life doing what he enjoys, making people laugh using his impressive ability to improvise on stage. The co-star of Whose Line Is It Anyway? believes that kind of good fortune should never be taken for granted, and that it is important to try and give back whenever possible.

Photos: Helen Tansey, Sundari Photography

“My entire career is based on luck,” said Mochrie when we caught up with him recently in Toronto. “I’m doing something that wasn’t an occupation when I was growing up, and it’s something I love doing, so I was very fortunate that I got into improv.”

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Over the years, Mochrie and his wife, comedian and writer Debra McGrath, have become involved in a wide variety of charitable causes and organizations including working with Habitat for Humanity and World Vision, promoting the City of Toronto as a tourist destination after the SARS

outbreak, public service announcements for Alzhiemers Disease, and many more.

“There are so many requests that it’s hard to keep up with,” said Mochrie. “My wife Deb and I decided that we would get involved with charities that needed us, as opposed to a lot of the big charities where I would just be another celebrity voice.”

Mochrie and McGrath currently act as ambassadors for Lupus, and work with Oolagen, a Toronto-based mental health crisis centre which focuses on youth mental health.

“They’ve been around since 1964 but nobody really knows about them except the people who have used them,” he explains. “They do great work. We’ve had a couple of galas and every year we honour someone. This year was Michael Landsberg, talking about his struggles with depression. Last year it was Steven Page from Barenaked Ladies.”

“There’s a thing in improv – it’s sort of the someone makes an offer in a scene you imm

Who’s line is it? It’s Colin’s line!

Mochrie was excited to have the popular improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway? back on the air after being put on hiatus in 2007. He and the rest of the cast filmed 12 episodes for the summer and just got renewed for an additional 24 episodes.

“It’s just a show that will not die,” joked Mochrie. “It’s a lot of fun, and from the network perspective I’m not really sure why they let it go away. It’s the cheapest show in the world to produce. All you need is actors and four chairs.”

Mochrie said he is happy to be back on stage with former co-stars Ryan Stiles and Wayne Brady, and hopes to bring more members of the former cast back.

“We’re hoping they can bring it back even more in the next group of tapings,” he said. “We could bring back Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood and Chip Esten – although Chip is busy being a stud on Nashville.”

Patients Please Another show Mochrie is having fun with is Patients Please, an online comedy he filmed with friend and fellow comedian Patrick McKenna.

“We’ve been friends for years. We were at Second City together and we always have a great time working together. It’s really hard getting a series on television, especially up in Canada, so he came up with this idea, a web series. We went to Sudbury and shot for a day and now we’re just waiting to see what happens with it. We had a lot of fun. It’s a chance to really goof around. We get to play all the characters – lots of wigs and funny voices, that’s my strength.” www.patientsplease.ca

Plumbing puzzle When asked if he had a funny plumbing related story to share, Mochrie said the closest thing he had was a disappearing water meter.

“I’m not technically proficient in any sense of the word,” he said. “In fact, my biggest achievement was I actually installed a filter for our drinking water system. But they’re doing this thing in Toronto where they’re replacing all our water meters. So the guy came to replace it and both my wife and I had no idea where it was. We spent an entire afternoon looking for it, and the guy couldn’t find it, so we had to get his supervisor in. It’s kind of sad when you don’t know where important stuff for your house is. We actually found it in a luggage closet.”

Although a little embarrassed by the incident, Mochrie was able to focus on the positive.

“He did say our water meter is the biggest in the neighbourhood, which I took as a compliment.”

Not quite the classics Colin Mochrie decided to jump into the world of book writing for the first time in his illustrious career this year. His book, Colin Mochrie, Not Quite the Classics, will hit bookstores this month. The book is a collection of 12 short stories that take the first and last lines of various classical stories and guides them in totally new, hilarious directions. He said writing a book was never his idea.

“My agent said one day, out of the blue, ‘You should write a book,’ and my thing has always been – and the reason I improvise – is that I don’t really like working, and writing seems like it would be a lot of work.

So he took that and got me a book deal, and I realized I had to come up with something,” he said. “It was a horrendous experience. I don’t know how you people do it. It’s just so much work.”

Colin has donated his time to such charities as Habitat for Humanity Canada.

basis of all improv – it’s called ‘Yes and...’ If ediately say ‘yes and’ then you build on it.”

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PLUMBING

B y Jo n S an d o m irsky Jon Sandomirsky is the executive vice-president of marketing with Novo Water Conditioning/Canature North America Inc. He can be reached at jon.sandomirsky@canaturena.com.

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ost business owners would bend over backwards to have an endless supply of high-quality sales leads that would dramatically increase revenue while lowering costs at the same time. If you have a full service plumbing firm and haven’t thought of water conditioning this way, then perhaps now might be a good time to explore this growing sector of the market.

Plumbers are constantly performing work that is affected by water quality. When water quality is poor, it can

Water Conditioning: A natural fit

have negative consequences for that new water heater, fixture, appliance or pipe system you’ve been installing, reducing their performance and increasing the likelihood of a callback from an unhappy customer.

Not only that, but those customers may not be happy with the taste, odour, colour or clarity of the water coming from their taps, but may not know what to do about it.

WORKING WATER Working water, the water that is used for bathing, laundry, dishwashing, cleaning and toilet flushing, can be considerably problematic to fixtures and appliances.

If left untreated, hardness, iron, manganese, total dissolved solids (TDS), tannins or a pH imbalance could result in pressure loss, stained fixtures, shortened life of water-using appliances, corrosion and loss of operating efficiency.

All are potentially costly to your customer, but all are avoidable with a properly selected, designed and installed treatment system.

Water hardness is the most common working water culprit. The minerals calcium and magnesium react adversely with heat to create scale, and with soap to form soap curd.

Scale build up can cause significant pressure loss in pipes, showerheads and taps, and can shortened the life of water heaters – not to mention robbing these units of efficiency and adding to the operating costs of your customer.

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The opportunity for making additional sales to your existing customers is definitely out there, but do you know how to identify a potential up-sell opportunity? Here are a few tips and pointers that might lead you to more revenue per call.

And remember, most water conditioning manufacturers and distributors offer plumbers support to help actively grow their business. When looking for a supply chain partner, ask about field and on-site training, the experience of the supplier’s field sales representatives, water testing services, commercial engineering and application centres, whether they charge for sales materials, and the experience of their inside customer service teams.

DID YOU KNOW?

Over 92,000 water softeners and whole-house filters were sold in Canada in 2012.

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DRINKING WATER While it makes up only about one per cent of the water used in our homes, drinking water seems to get the most attention, and that should not be surprising, given its vital role in healthy living. Concerns range from purely aesthetic to life threatening safety concerns.

Installed drinking water systems, such as reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, pointof-use filtration, ultraviolet disinfection and chlorination, can affordably offer customers better tasting, safer water.

Better tasting drinking water usually leads to increased consumption, which

is important since almost two-thirds of the population does not drink enough each day.

Since water is the key to all bodily functions, we would all benefit from removing bad tastes and odours, such as those caused by chlorine, to make water more desirable.

Obviously of bigger concern is when water becomes unsafe.

On average, about one-third of a person’s caloric intake comes from sugary drinks.

Harmful bacteria, viruses and cysts are more commonly found in private surface water supplies that are not sufficiently disinfected.

They can, however, also be found in municipal supplies when water main breaks occur or undetected problems arise in a water treatment facility.

BUILDING BLOCKS. Milwaukee Valve goes in whatever goes up.

While municipalities generally do a great job providing safe, clean water, it is impossible for them to guarantee that they will be effective 100 per cent of the time. Home drinking water solutions are an added safeguard.

For new construction, retrofits, remodeling or repairs, Milwaukee Valve can make designing piping systems more like child’s play.

Using Milwaukee Valve’s extensive line of products, our experienced representatives can help you meet any water and HVAC installation, regulation and performance requirement. For faster starts on commercial-construction applications, Milwaukee Valve now offers you their new Electronic Catalog. It gives you near-instant access to dimensions, material lists, ratings, specifications, product features, available options, accessories and other important information on every Milwaukee Valve product. Best of all, the valuable Electronic Catalog can be yours, free of charge.

BIGGER SYSTEMS = BIGGER PROFITS = Commercial water conditioning is a huge potential market. The benefits of conditioned water are significant for many businesses, including car washes, restaurants, laundromats, hotels, grocery stores, hospitals, schools and other institutions. Even your local ice rink will have a harder, faster, clearer ice surface with properly conditioned water.

Don’t kid around when plans call for quality, value and performance; plan on Milwaukee Valve. For more information, call CCTF 888.399.2283

New Canadian Master Distributor CCTF Corporation www.milwaukeevalve.com The Milwaukee Valve logo is a registered trademark of Milwaukee Valve Co., Inc. © Milwaukee Valve Company, 2005

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While some plumbers may shy away from commercial opportunities, because they

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fear they are too complicated, they really shouldn’t worry.

Commercial water conditioning is pretty much the same as residential; it’s just a little bigger!

While the principles of treatment will remain the same, system sizing and understanding the required flow rates might require a little extra work. Most suppliers have a dedicated commercial engineer on staff to help support plumbers in the field.

IT ALL STARTS WITH WATER TESTING You can’t get to your destination unless you know where you’re going – well at least not very often. That is why water testing is such a critical first step in determining if water conditioning is required. And if conditioning is necessary, the test will help determine the type and size of equipment that will be required.

Testing for hardness is easy and should be done even if there is already a softener in the home.

Small, inexpensive portable test kits take about one minute to get an accurate hardness test result. If the test shows hardness in excess of 3.5 grains per gallon, then you have something to discuss with the homeowner. Either they need a softener or their current one is not working and may need replacing.

There are also a variety of test kits for the testing of other common water problems right in the field. Besides hardness, the most common tests are for problems associated with iron, manganese, pH, total dissolved solids and tannins.

Many suppliers offer free water testing for these and other common working water problems. If there are any concerns about the safety or potability of the water supply, it would be wise to get the water tested at a provincial or local health lab.

Such tests are usually available for a small fee.

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HYDRONICS

B y C yr u s K an gar lo o

Examining the

Benefits

The impact of thermal mass

Cyrus Kangarloo, P.Eng, is an engineering advisor and the western North American operations mananger for Jaga Climate Systems. He can be reached at ckangarloo@jaga-canada.com.

of individual temperature control

The thermal mass of heating outputs, or their ability to store heat, will dictate the overall speed and efficiency of heating or cooling a zone. For example, concrete, masonry and plaster have a high thermal mass, so systems that use these materials will likely take longer to heat or cool a room. Aluminum, wood and steel have a lower thermal mass, so these materials will react more quickly to temperature changes.

As an example, consider a room that is well insulated but uses a concrete slab for heat. The building occupant reduces the temperature before going to bed at night from 23°C to 21°C. This reduces the amount of heat generated by the slab, but its high thermal mass may only allow the temperature to drop marginally by the next morning.

In fact, the results would likely be the same if the thermostat had been turned down 3° or 5°.

Now, imagine the same room with a low-temperature convector. The unit works off the same hydronic system, which is heated by a highefficiency condensing boiler. By reducing the base temperature of the radiant slab to 18°C, the convector can immediately react when the thermostat is turned up or down, improving the control and flexibility of the system.

That way, if there’s heat transfer between the zones or external energy loads that enter the building through natural sources such as cooking or sunlight, the system can quickly react.

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I

grew up in a home with one thermostat. Imagine that, a single control for the entire house. If my brother got too hot in the front room watching football, that was his bad luck.

When mom cooked in the kitchen and it started feeling stuffy, she opened a window. If you slept on the third floor where it was drafty, you added blankets.

No one ever thought anything of it, because that was just the way it was.

Today, zoning strategies for heating and cooling systems are much different.

Flexibility is the name of the game — the more controls, the better the comfort of building occupants.

system zoning can save up to 30 per cent on a typical heating and cooling bill. This is largely because building occupants do not need to open up windows to offset warm temperatures.

While programmable thermostats can help enhance the flexibility of heating, a zoned HVAC system can also help achieve optimal comfort levels. But having more zones doesn’t necessarily result in quality performance. Such considerations as thermal mass of heating outputs, building insulation and exterior surface materials (e.g. glazing versus brick) can dramatically impact the efficiency of a zoned system.

With today’s systems, if you prefer sleeping in a room that is 18° Celsius, you can do that without impacting the person in an adjoining bedroom, who might prefer to sleep in a room that is 21°C. But it’s not just comfort that zoning can improve. According to recent studies,

continued on page 82

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HYDRONICS

continued from page 80

Maximizing zoning flexibility By installing a hydronic manifold with actuator valves, you can easily establish multiple zones within the building. This a primary reason why Winston Churchill Public School located in Kingston, Ont., opted to use a lowtemperature heating solution (this system was profiled in the January/February 2011 issue of Mechanical Business).

Teachers were able to easily control the temperature in each classroom, depending on room occupancy or the type of activity taking place. This was key to preventing energy loss and saving money, while helping students stay alert and attentive throughout the day.

units to be built into the walls, allowing hoteliers to increase the square footage available in each room.

Similarly, individual room controls are a requirement for other types of facilities, such as hotels, which have in the past steered away from using hydronic technology due to its slow reaction time.

Innovations in convector technology allow heating and cooling

Units can also be built into the floor without the need for extensive ductwork, reducing the amount of space required between floors and allowing developers to add to room heights or enhance top floors with penthouse suites.

Individual spaces with individual controls As the demand for green building methods continues to grow, individual zone controls will become the norm in North American buildings. The Canada Green Building Council recognizes these types of systems with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) points because they help improve energy-efficiency, which further adds to their appeal.

However, in addition to energy savings, the improved comfort levels of building occupants is another direct benefit of individually zoned systems. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the moments in technological evolution where future generations will wonder how we ever survived with just a single thermostat control â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and walked to school uphill both ways.

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OIL HEAT B y C a ro l Fey

more

approvals

better

installations

REACHING FOR CONDENSING EFFICIENCY

W

Finished ce living spa h it w

htly NO unsig es! vent pip

¼"/ft

hile gas condensing furnace technology has matured and is widely accepted, the oil furnace debate continues.

Although oil-fired condensing technology has appreciable market share in other parts of the world, its presence in North America is somewhat limited, with only a handful of boiler and furnace models available on this side of the ocean. That being said, the condensing market for oil-fired furnaces has had a jump in its step over the past couple of years with new product being introduced to the segment.

Much of the debate about the technology, and some hesitance by some contractors, stems from early forays into condensing with heat exchanger technologies that were challenged to survive the acidic condensate produced, but those early growing pains are in the past, say Kai Tao of Dragon Fire Distribution and Mario Bouchard of Granby.

The two both offer lines of oil-fired condensing furnaces in Canada, and offered to help take a look at some of the perceptions and misperceptions about condensing oil furnaces.

Pitch

COST AND EFFICIENCY

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Everyone knows that a higher efficiency oil furnace will cost more to purchase, but it also costs less in fuel than a standard furnace.

Somewhere out there is a break-even point at which the unit will actually save a homeowner money, but to find it requires a look at more than just the purchase and installation price.

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KILLING THE EXCHANGER Early attempts at oil-fired condensing equipment were often felled at the heat exchanger. The exchangers generally died prematurely due to sooting caused by poor design and installation practice. With advances in the materials of construction, this is far less likely to be an issue with the current generation of product, although

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the condensate has not strayed from its acidic nature.

When a condensing furnace is operating correctly, flue gases condense inside the heat exchanger. The resulting condensate is corrosive to an ordinary heat exchanger. In a condensing furnace, the heat exchanger needs to be able to withstand the corrosive

Carol Fey is a technical trainer who has worked as a heating mechanic in Antarctica and has published six books for the HVAC/R industry. She can be reached at carol@carolfey.com, or visit her website, www.carolfey.com.

nature of that condensate. That’s why this era of condensing heat exchangers are generally made of stainless steel.

INSTALLATION AND SERVICE A condensing furnace is not difficult to install or to service, but it needs to be done correctly. Fortunately, “correctly” includes nothing new. The same oil industry best practices that apply to standard oil furnaces also apply to condensing equipment.

Condensate is acidic – approximately 4.5 pH. It contains sulfuric, hydrochloric and carbonic acids.

To their credit, manufacturers tried to get it right early on but a couple of things weren’t quite ironed out yet. First, not all stainless steel is the same.

Some formulations are more resistant to condensate than others. Second, condensate resulting from oil combustion is not the same as from gas.

It’s been a long time since adequate setup for an oil burner consisted of looking at the flame — seeing that it’s not waving yellow or a harsh noisy blue — and peeking into the chamber for evidence of smoke.

The standard now is to analyze the combustion. While it is still possible to conduct this analysis with two simple tests: the CO2 test with the Fyrite bottle, and the smoke test with filter paper, the use of an electronic combustion analyzer and a smoke tester is advisable.

The bottom line is that despite past design and installation problems, life expectancy for heat exchangers is now good.

Condensing flue gases can also be hard on a chimney. That’s why exhaust is generally expelled through PVC pipe rather than a standard metallic or masonry flue. When designing and installing a heating system, the contractor needs to ensure that condensation happens in the heat exchanger where it belongs, and not in the exhaust. To do this, the temperatures in the system need to be controlled to within the equipment manufacturer’s specifications.

Regardless of the method used, it is imperative that the setup matches the parameters set out by the furnace manufacturer. Some equipment will allow for a trace of smoke, while others call for absolute zero smoke.

Finish first every heating season with

A CLEAN MACHINE The main reason cleaning is necessary, whether it’s a condensing or traditional furnace, is the fuel and the quality of combustion. The higher the sulphur content in the fuel and/or the quality of combustion will determine the quantity of debris and such in the furnace.

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There have been significant fuel changes over the years, and that’s for the better as far as condensing technology is concerned.

Turning back the clock just 10 years, sulphur content in No. 2 fuel oil could be up to 5,000 ppm. Today, 500 ppm is to be expected, which is rated as low sulphur.

And ultra-low sulphur fuel, which contains less than 50 ppm, is also available.

Lower ppm means less debris in the heat exchanger, and less need for cleaning, no matter the furnace technology.

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REFRIGERATION HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC

LEAK MONITORING SYSTEM W

B y A n d r ew S n o o k

SELECTING A

FAIL-SAFE SYSTEMS

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orkplace safety, annual operating costs and the health of the environment; refrigeration leak monitoring systems play an important role in all of the above for owners and operators of facilities with industrial-sized refrigeration systems.

Monitoring systems help protect workers in environments where safety is a big issue, like with ammonia-based systems, and help building owners and managers reduce operating costs by finding leaks faster, which means less gas being released into the environment.

But how does a contractor assess the appropriate system to meet a customer’s needs? Here are a few things to consider when helping a client select a system.

Emerson’s John Wallace said most systems don’t have a failsafe in place to stop a leak detection system from going down in the event of a power failure, but they do have the ability to add a backup power system. Local codes may also dictate whether a continuous power supply is required for the monitoring system.

“First of all, if you’re looking at a general space, a sensor can usually manage a distance of somewhere in the 30- to 40-foot range,” said John Wallace of Emerson.

“Also, airflow is a concern so you have to look at that. If you’re looking at pipe runs and trench runs, then you’re looking at 20 to 30 feet, but that can be extended.”

“It certainly is an option that can be installed as an add-on,” he advises.

In locations where there are walk-in freezers, Wallace recommends one leak detection point per evaporator. In mechanical rooms and houses where there are refrigeration systems with compressor racks, he says there should be one or two detection points per system, depending on the size of the system.

M e c h a n i c a l

How many sensors is enough?

Although every refrigeration system varies, and will therefore require a unique assessment by the installer, there are a few general rules to consider.

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By Go rd Cook • Heo w m a n y s e n s o r s is • Exciting en o u gh ? advances • A lar m o•p tThe io n sinfluence of

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION LOCATION

SAMPLE-DRAW VERSUS DIFFUSION

When it comes to the location of monitoring systems, John Wallace says there are rules of thumb, but the main thing to consider is where the highest probability of leaks could occur, like valve manifolds, for example.

“I would say look for areas where you’ve got a high probability of a leak, or where a refrigerant would accumulate, and then any kind of ventilation area, where a ventilation fan may be pulling the air out through an exhaust.”

When placing the sensors it is vital to remember that both length and height need to be considered.

“The height of the sensors is dependent on what kind of refrigerant you’re sensing,” explains Wallace. “It’s really dependent on the properties of the refrigerant, whether it’s heavier than air or lighter than air.”

For example, most CFC, HFC, or HCFC refrigerants used are heavier than air, so in those cases installers would want to place the sensors near the floor. Wallace says a good rule of thumb is about 18 inches off the ground.

“Now something like an ammonia is lighter than air, so you want your sensor locations to be a little bit higher in the space you’re using. You need to pay attention to what kind of refrigerant gas you’re sensing and locate your sensors appropriately.”

ALARM OPTIONS

When it comes to alarms, there are several options to choose from but most systems will have a strobe, or the ability to connect to a strobe and/or a horn, which is designed to quickly alert anyone in the area.

More advanced systems also have the ability to send emails or raise alarms that can be remotely monitored.

“Usually, those kinds of systems are connected to the building automation system in one form or fashion,” says Wallace. “Lots of times in supermarkets, a leak detection system will be integrated into the building automation system, which is controlling the HVAC, lights, fans and refrigeration systems. And then, if an alarm occurs, or if a leak occurs that passes the threshold, then a notification can be sent out to a monitoring company that can flag a follow-up ticket, or a contractor to take action on it.”

There are two types of detection systems contractors can offer as options, sample-draw systems and diffusion systems.

“Sample-draw systems usually have some sort of mechanical pumping technology where you would run tubing out into the different areas where you want to sense the leaks,” explains Wallace, who is Emerson’s director of product management, digital controls.

“The sample-draw system then pulls a sample of the air back to a central location, and then the analysis is done at that point.”

This differs from diffusion monitoring systems, which operate using sensors (often infrared sensors) that are placed in areas where the building owner/ operator is concerned about leaks, or where leaks have a greater likelihood of developing. These systems depend on ambient air movement and pressure for obtaining samples.

“The sensing is actually done there, by an analogue signal, communication signal or something similar,” says Wallace. “The information is then sent back to a processing unit that can make sense of the reading and either activates an alert or an alarm.”

His company makes both types, and he says that both systems work equally well in terms of performance, but diffusion systems tend to have more expensive upfront installation costs, whereas sample-draw systems may have higher long-term maintenance costs, due to the need replace filters, and repair and replace mechanical parts, such as pumps.

“That’s the trade-off between the two,” said Wallace.

“In general, it comes down to the number of points you need to control and sensitivity to maintenance actions and maintenance costs. It really comes down a customer’s or installer’s preferences.”

WHO SHOULD BE NOTIFIED E-MMEDIATELY? Email contact lists for alarm notifications vary, depending on the business processes a customer uses to manage a system. But as a general rule, a technician who can take the necessary actions to repair the leak should be on that list.

“In some cases if it’s a retail installation, it may go to an on-call manager or a store manager, to make sure they’re aware of a problem in the system and can take the appropriate action,” said Wallace.

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HIGH-PERFORMANCE TECH CLOTHES HVAC

All Milwaukee heated jackets are rain and wind resistant. The standard jackets come in black and high-visibility, while the multi-zone jackets are available in black, camouflage and red. The multi-zone jackets come with two control buttons that provide two independent heat zones, one for the chest and the back, and another for the pockets. Both zones offer three heat settings. The standard jackets have one control setting for the chest and back with three heat settings. The premium jacket also features a fuel gauge and a battery control with a USB port, which allows the user to charge their compatible smartphones and other electronics. milwaukeetool.com

B y BAyn Go d r ew rd S Cn oo o ke k

HEATED JACKET MARKET CHARGING UP

are becoming a hot commodity for contractors who spend a good chunk of their work day combating Canada’s chilly climate. This fall, manufacturers are offering more options for contractors to stay warm on the jobsite than ever before, using batteries most contractors already have at their disposal.

HEATED JACKETS

The heated apparel lines from Milwaukee Tools, DeWalt and Bosch all operate on the batteries used in their respective cordless power tools, and considering the way that the tool systems have been designed to share batteries, the extension to jackets and other clothing has been a welcome addition to many a contractor’s tool collection.

“Cordless power tool users are looking for ways to broaden the continued on page 90

88

Bosch’s 12V Max heated jacket is wind and water resistant. It has three heat zones, two chest zones and one back zone, with three heat settings. The jacket has a tall neckline, adjustable cuffs and waist, and five pockets.

Additional features include a USB port for charging USB-compatible smartphones and other battery-operated devices.

DeWalt’s 20V/12V Max heated jacket lineup is rain and wind resistant and features a thermal regulator to help prevent the heating elements from overheating. The jackets are offered in four styles: a black soft shell work jacket, a black hooded work jacket, a camouflage jacket and a “Blaze Orange” camouflage jacket. The battery and power source are designed to deliver consistent heat output across the entire discharge cycle of the battery.

boschtools.com

dewalt.com

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Transforming the workplace through innovation and design.

With innovative industrial workwear and footwear, including fire-resistant and hi-vis clothing, our extraordinary solutions bring it all together for over 17,000 businesses. We have over 100 consultants ready to help you maximize your safety and unite your team at 1-877-675-1513 or imagewear.ca

HIGH-PERFORMANCE TECH CLOTHES continued fromHVAC page 88 HOODIE

use of their battery platforms in order to stretch the value of their investment in such a system,” said Sean Templeton, expansion product manager for DeWalt. “Many of the same people who use cordless power tools perform their work in the elements, thus making the concept of heated work gear a natural fit.”

GOODIES

All the heated jackets available on the market are recommended as hand wash only garments. This is one area where Milwaukee’s new heated hooded sweaters will come in handy, according to Taissa Purchase, marketing manager for Milwaukee Tools Canada.

Of course it helps that battery technology has advanced to the point where the batteries are small enough to be hidden in a jacket, while offering adequate run times in cold weather.

“When contractors spend the money on the jacket they want to keep it clean and they want to think of it as an investment,” she said. “So what we’ve tried to do with the hoodies is provide the heat technology with something a little more jobsite friendly. That means everyone one of the hoodies is completely washer and dryer safe.”

DeWalt and Bosch are entering their first seasons in the heated jacket market this year, while Milwaukee is entering its fourth season, with an expanded offering of 11 products, including heated hoodies and a jacket specifically designed for women.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY…

At the end of the day, a contractor can simply toss the hooded sweater into their laundry.

All the heated jackets on the market feature wind and water resistance, but the heating aspect of the jacket should be shut off during weather conditions where jackets are becoming saturated to the point where the batteries can become wet.

“We advise that if a user ends up in this situation, to turn the jacket off and remove the battery, similar to a power tool,” said Jason Feldner, group product manager for cordless power tools at Robert Bosch Tool Corp.

“All they need to remember to do is take the battery control out before they throw it in the wash,” said Purchase.

Additional features for the hoodies include three heating elements with three heat settings. They come in four colours: grey, red, khaki and a high-visibility yellow. The high-visibility hoodie is also water repellent.

Purchase said the hoodies are not generally suitable as a top layer in the winter, but are designed to work as a midlayer, allowing for the shedding of layers during the work day to improve mobility on the jobsite.

However, Taissa Purchase, marketing manager for Milwaukee Tools Canada, said as long as the battery stays dry, the user should be fine.

“Don’t jump in a pool with it, but a little rain shouldn’t slow you down,” she said.

CAPACITY INFLUENCES PERFORMANCE How long a battery will last in the field will depend on numerous conditions, so it is often a good idea to have a spare charged and ready for use. The other factor affecting delivery of warmth is the power in the battery itself.

Milwaukee’s jackets are a part of the company’s M12 battery line, but can also use an 18V battery pack (M18). Based on their factory tests, they suggest anywhere from two to 18 hours of run time, depending on battery specs and heat settings.

DeWalt’s jackets are designed to run off the company’s 20V and 12V Max battery packs, and “runtime will be dependent on a number of factors, such as battery voltage and amp hour rating,” explains DeWalt’s Sean Templeton. “Also, the runtime or life of a battery will vary depending on the setting of the jacket – high, medium or low. On low with a 20V 4.0Ah pack, the jacket could be operated for up to 20 hours continuously.”

Bosch’s heated jackets operate on the company’s 12V Max batteries. The jacket is designed to provide heat for up to six hours on the lowest setting using a 12V 2.0 Ah battery, but a 12V 4.0 Ah battery will last considerably longer, according to Bosch’s Jason Feldner.

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LAYERING AND WARMTH Although every person is different and takes to cold differently, Bosch’s Jason Feldner doesn’t recommend layering anything over his company’s jackets.

“If a user wishes to layer underneath it that is their choice, but the jacket will offer considerable warmth once turned on,” he said.

Milwaukee’s Taissa Purchase says her company’s heated jackets are suitable as top layers or jacket liners in the winter, as the wearer desires, but ultimately all of these jackets are designed to reduce the need for users to wear as many layers.

“This will allow for improved range of motion,” said DeWalt’s Sean Templeton.

THE WORLD’S LARGEST HVAC R

C O-S P O N S O R S H O N O R A RY S P O N S O R

M A R KE TP L A C E

JAN UARY 21-23 JAV ITS CON V E NTION CE NTE R A H R E X P O . C O M / AT T E N D 4 6

HVAC

THE MB HEATING ING SEASON CHECKLIST KLIST

B y C ar ol Fey

n Ask the customer about any concerns or problems. n Replace disposable filters. n Clean washable filters, such as an electronic air cleaner. n Replace the humidifier pad. Make sure the water is turned on.

And check the humidistat setting.

Carol Fey is a technical trainer who has worked as a heating mechanic in Antarctica and has published six books for the HVAC/R industry.

She can be reached at carol@carolfey.com, or visit her website, www.carolfey.com.

n Examine the flue for blockages or corrosion. n Be sure all dampers, registers and returns are open. n Check the integrity of cabinets and ductwork. n Clean and check the condensate line and drain if working with high efficiency equipment. n Clean the blower wheel, if necessary. n Examine and replace belts, if needed. n Lubricate motors, if applicable. n Amp out motors. n Check the motor and blower bearings. n Check electrical wiring for cracks or chafing. n Check electrical connections for tightness. n Check relays and contactors. n Check electric supply and draw. n Check pressure switches. n Check temperature switches. n Check all safeties. n Ensure that all disconnects and switches are on. n Check fuel connections for leaks. n Verify gas pressure. n Examine burner and clean if necessary. n Check heat exchanger for cracks. n If working with older equipment, replace thermocouple and examine pilot. n Verify that system transformer and fuel valve are turned on. n Turn thermostat on. Set it for heating, and for desired temperature(s). n Verify setback thermostat heating programming. n Cycle the system. Confirm that heat is being delivered.

Listen for noise. n Perform combustion analysis for fuel efficiency and safety, including carbon monoxide. n Clean up after yourself. Look for bits of wire, screws or footprints on the floor. n Have the service ticket signed, and collect for charges. n Advise the customer of any problems and answer questions. n Thank the customer for their business. n Offer to enroll the customer in your seasonal maintenance program.

TIME TO GET FIRED UP HEATING STARTUP CHECKLIST

A HELPING HAND

Even if heating start-ups are second nature, a list can be helpful. Whether the system is commercial or residential, there are risks to depending upon memory — even the best of us can forget some things. Think of a checklist as a no-cost way to save time, money and frustration.

It can also be a reminder of parts and supplies that are likely to be needed for the startup.

W

e’ve had a few cool days lately, and that should be a reminder to you and your customers that winter is coming, which means that it’s annual heating startup service time. Much like the air conditioning startup checklist that we ran in the March/April 2013 edition, here’s a heating season checklist that might prove useful as we work our way through the season. Feel free to put it on a bulletin board in the shop where everyone can see it, or offer each technician a copy. continues on page 94

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INDOOR AND OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE SENSING

VENTILATION INTEGRATION

HUMIDITY MANAGEMENT

REMOTE SYSTEM CONTROL

WIRELESS ZONING

PORTABLE TEMPERATURE CONTROL

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HVAC

continues from page 92

THINK OF THE

WHOLE SYSTEM Too often we think of startups as relating only to the equipment itself. The equipment is critical of course, but so is the whole system.

It is often assumed that air flow is just fine, that ductwork, grilles and registers need no attention because they have been functioning since original installation, and that nothing has changed. But there may be significant problems. Ductwork may have collapsed, or come apart.

Or the ductwork may have been originally installed with lots of leaks. Not long ago some believed that as long as the heated air stayed inside the building, it didn’t matter if the ducts leaked. But if leaky ducts are heating an “unheated” basement, that’s costing money in wasted fuel. Furthermore, leaking air clearly is not going to where it’s intended. Think of that chilly master bedroom over the garage, or that room at the very end of a heat run.

PROMOTE YOURSELF Along with your invoice or receipt, leave a copy of your startup checklist with all of the details checked off. That way the customer can see all of the things you covered during the visit. Also leave literature about something they might be interested in, perhaps a new furnace or humidifier. And be sure to make a note in your records about the next time they are due for equipment startup, so that you can contact them to ask for their business once again.

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HVAC

PROMOTE ENERGY EFFICIENCY The coming of winter is the perfect occasion to promote energy efficiency.

If you notice that that equipment is aging, you can do the owner a favour by offering to replace it with higher efficiency equipment. They can benefit from both energy savings and peace of mind.

PAY ATTENTION TO

ACCESSORIES Take a look at accessories, such as humidifiers, air cleaners, heat recovery ventilators and energy recovery ventilators. Often they’re not working and the owner doesn’t even know it.

Changing filters and pads is important to keeping air flowing through the system. If you meet resistance to replacing filters and pads, remind the owner that the dirtier a filter gets, the more it’s a barrier to air flow.

Don’t be shy about making the offer.

The worst they can say is no. If you get a “not now,” make a note in your records and follow up later.

If it gets dirty enough it can completely block air flow, and an air filter that’s acting like a piece of plywood can cause damage to the equipment.

A less expensive way to promote energy savings and win goodwill is to point out things that might be obvious to you, but could be out of the owner’s sight. Point out missing insulation, lack of weather stripping or cracked windows. And if you have the right crew and the typical slow season after the first of the year, you could even offer to do the repairs.

Try to interest the owner to have you leave some filters for them to change throughout the season.

That increases your sales by a bit, and saves them a shopping trip.

If there’s an electronic air cleaner, snapping is a sure sign that it needs to be cleaned. A residential unit can usually be washed in a dishwasher. If the air cleaner simply isn’t working, offer to repair it or to install a new one.

And speaking of installing a new one, a startup is an opportunity for you to offer accessories that they don’t have. You can mention in complete honesty that a humidifier can make the house comfortable with the heating set a couple degrees lower. That difference can add up to energy savings.

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HVAC/R

B y L eo n Hawkins Leon Hawkins is the automation and controls business leader with Trane Canada in Burnaby, B.C. He can be reached at leon.hawkins@trane.com

DEMAND CONTROL VENTILATION It is possible to regulate the amount of ventilation required just by creating awareness in the system of the occupancy level in a building.

Designing for conservation T

he face of energy has changed in recent years. With many technological advances and policy changes in energy management, the way we think about and deal with energy has to evolve as well.

With the advent of smart electricity meters, and smart natural gas and water meters not far off, utilities have now begun to implement time of use charges to their bills, where the energy consumed overnight and on weekends costs less than the energy consumed during the day. Sometimes the cost difference between day and night is double, or even triple!

In some jurisdictions in the U.S., utilities have adopted real-time pricing for consumers, who are now charged based on rates that can change every hour.

While new pricing strategies may appear to be another opportunity for the utility to take more money from our wallets, it is a means to change behavior and encourage energy reduction to reduce the strain on the electrical grid and ensure system stability during times of high demand.

Regardless whether your customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; utility providers use flat-rate, tiered-rate, time-of-use, or real-time pricing, there is an opportunity to engage building owners with new strategies to support better Most electricity bills include something called the management of energy demand charge, which is the cost for the highest instantaneous load in the building over a month. costs.

This can amount to a large cost which is not And we really donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have generally controlled. to look far as we plan out opportunities for customers to cut energy costs in the changing environment. Many energy savings strategies we currently use can support savings in consumption, peak usage and time of use.

Buildings with high levels of fluctuating occupancy, vacation periods, or ever changing uses, create an environment where savings can be achieved just by managing the building based upon the actual load.

Tools like CO2 sensors and motion detection sensors in the building can provide a means, when combined with variable speed control equipment, to reduce the ventilation, or heating and cooling loads by providing only the capacity needed to meet the needs of occupants.

With the reduction of one load, many other loads may also be reduced, given the interconnected systems in a building. This ultimately reduces the overall energy demand.

DID YOU KNOW? 96

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Studies have shown that awareness of energy demand is more likely to drive conservation behavior.

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• Dem a nd c o n t r o l v e n t i l a t i o n • E n er gy st o r age

ENERGY

STORAGE Complex systems that are currently being implemented in response to time-of-use pricing include chilled water and hot water storage, ice storage, and other such energy storage tactics. These systems are becoming more widespread, but they do require complex engineering and are typically at a high capital cost. They tend to provide significant returns to building owners, however.

One of these systems, the thermal energy storage system at the University of Southern California, creates chilled water at night when energy prices are low, stores it in a three million gallon tank, and then distributes the chilled water during the day when energy pricing is at its peak. The nice thing about these systems is that the energy cost savings generally support the construction of the facilities required, and the storage system (the tank) can be sized to suit the application.

Traditional control strategies can be implemented to support a similar effect on a much smaller scale, and at minimal costs. These include night purge, pre-heating and pre-cooling.

Each of these approaches is used to prepare the building for normal usage by introducing fresh air, leveraging free cooling opportunities and bringing the temperature to normal occupant level.

By managing in accordance with time-of-use pricing, a building engineer can adjust the precool or pre-heat temperature to a level that is two or three degrees beyond the traditional setpoint to capture the savings by not providing this heating and cooling during normal occupied hours.

Other strategies, like adjusting setpoints during high demand pricing scenarios or shifting work hours, can also provide opportunities for savings. While not appealing initially, creating awareness and providing challenges to building occupants provides an engagement level and will support energy reduction strategies.

VARIABLE SPEED CONTROL Using variable speed drives to control mechanical equipment provides many levels of savings for the building owner. Just by reducing the speed of the fan or pump there can be a significant effect on the energy required to power equipment.

A 10 per cent drop in fan or pump speed will result in a 27 per cent reduction in power required.

A 50 per cent drop in speed will reduce the energy required by 87 per cent.

The ability to control equipment to better match the needs of the building users gives the building owner better operation without sacrificing comfort. It also reduces the wear and tear on the equipment while reaping great energy savings, and that’s good news for the owner’s pocketbook on several levels.

Variable speed drives have come down in price significantly in recent years, and the installation and setup costs have also lowered because of widespread use.

SHOW YOUR WORK The use of energy dashboards for public consumption in lobbies and in energy management information systems is becoming quite popular, and can be useful in engaging building occupants. This also provides an opportunity to engage building owner customers to become their trusted advisor for energy.

Expect to be drawn into the conversation and be prepared with the tools and knowledge of the simple (and complex) solutions that will make a noticeable impact on their audience.

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PLUMBING

B y M ar c L es ley

CROSS CONNECTION AVOIDANCE

W

hat would you think if, one morning, you went down to your kitchen to put on coffee or tea, and turned on your faucet only to find that the water that comes out is dark in colour, foul smelling and has floating particulates in it? Would you still consider making your cup of coffee or tea? Would you consider jumping into the shower to get ready for work?

In the past few years, government has started to place more emphasis on clean drinking water, but the fact of the matter is that cross connections and backflow have been around for quite a long time.

At the college I currently teach at, we have been teaching cross connection control for 25 years, and in the United States, the topic of cross connection control has been around for a much longer period of time. The University of Missouri put out an engineering bulletin outlining 81 dangerous cross connections way back in 1943. So while backflow is a topic du jour, it is one thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actually been around for a good long time.

THE WATER SERVICE

blues

Here are a few examples of common connections to pressurized systems that I have seen over my career as a plumber, and they are quite commonplace.

the boiler did it I remember one service call where the lady of the house was complaining about blue water coming out of her kitchen sink faucet while she was filling a pot. My first thought was that this lady was seeing things, as water is clear when it comes out of the faucets.

Upon further investigation, however, I found out that there had been some work done on the water main up the road from her. I also found a Ty-D-Bol type of blue sanitizer attached to her toilet tank. Adding to the mystery was the old fill valve that also happened to be passing water, and was completely submerged.

A break in the pressure from the water main and the nice blue water would siphon from her tank into the rest of the domestic water system within the house, and possibly throughout the entire main on the street.

The problem was rectified by changing the fill valve in the toilet with a new one that had an internal vacuum breaker.

What can cause water to be discoloured and foul smelling?

One possibility is the hot water heating system.

A small boiler in a house with an operating pressure of around 15 psi could cause backflow if water pressure was lost and there was no backflow preventer in the feed line to the boiler.

The foul smell, and suspended particulates may not be of any great worry, and nobody will likely be severely affected by foul smelling water or suspended particulates, but if the same thing were to happen in an apartment the situation could be considerably more harmful.

A commercial boiler typically operates at a higher pressure, and there are rust inhibitors and other chemicals injected into the system. In this case, the foul smelling water with suspended particulates could easily be a deadly concoction of toxic chemicals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a real health hazard. continued on page 100

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PLUMBING

continued from page 98

feeling submerged

Photo: Adrian Sampson

One cross connection issue that happens often enough comes from older homes equipped with hand-held showerheads that do not have an integrated check valve in the showerhead, and without a vacuum breaker on the wall union that the hose attaches to.

If the tub or shower drain gets plugged up, and the showerhead is left hanging into the tub, either partially or completely submerged, a cross connection exists, and contamination of the water source could occur.

IN THE LINE OF FIRE Another possible source of cross connection contamination is with fire suppression systems. The non-potable piping in a fire suppression system is pressurized to a higher level than would be found in domestic water lines.

The national plumbing code allows for a maximum pressure entering a dwelling to be at 550 Kpa, or 79.77 psi. A typical wet fire sprinkler system has 125 psi or more pressurizing it.

Typically, fire sprinkler mains are connected at the city main a few metres from the domestic water connection. All that would have to happen is a small leak in the wet valve and the pressure would flow back to the city main and into the potable water system.

The question then becomes, what else could possibly be in the fire sprinkler line? If the fire suppression system has an outdoor sprinkler head, there would be a glycol loop on the system, and there would be a possibility of glycol getting back into the potable water system.

Our foul smelling, dark coloured water has now become deadly.

A QUESTION OF

PRESSURE

Back siphonage is another of the concerns that we should be thinking about when it comes to the integrity of the water in our potable supply systems. Back siphonage occurs when there is a loss of pressure on the supply side. A water main break, or simply turning off the main shut off valve in a house could be enough to cause this loss of pressure.

It is a known fact that 1 psi of pressure will raise water 2.31 feet, or 28 inches. Atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi, which will raise water 33.9 feet.

That does not really sound like much until you start putting it into a perspective that can be easily visualized. The average two-storey house is about 25 to 30 feet in height. So, atmospheric pressure applied to a pipe filled with water would be able to raise the water over that house â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with a bit of room to spare.

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The simple solution would be to install a check valve or vacuum breaker.

common MISCONCEPTIONS One common misconception that people have about backflow is that it happens in your drain. When the combined public sewers are unable to handle any excess rain water runoff, this is a condition that we plumbers know as surcharge, and it is easily rectified with a backwater valve.

Another common misconception is that if a backflow preventer is needed, a standard check valve will do.

That is simply not the case.

Standard check valves are not tested and put through the rigorous testing cycle that a backflow preventer is put through to be approved, and a standard check valve is not testable.

A backflow preventer is tested on its initial install, and at least on a yearly basis (or more) depending on the municipality. The check valve, however, is just there. We may tap it with our pliers or listen carefully to see if we can hear the clapper moving, but there is no formal testing protocol for it.

Marc Lesley is a plumbing and cross connection control professor in the Department of Technology at George Brown College in Toronto. He can be reached at mlesley@georgebrown.ca.

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THE WHOLESALER

B y K evin Gill Kevin Gill is an outside sales rep in Southern Ontario with Master Group L.P. He can be reached at kgill@master.ca.

The value of a sales rep S

o you might be wondering...

What golf course is my sales rep on right now?

What good are they if all they do is have expensive lunches and putt birdies? Or more commonly, do I even have a sales rep?

Well to bring our presence to light, it is important to understand who we are and what we do – or can do, if you are willing to work with us.

Wholesale sales reps are one of the driving forces within the HVAC/R and plumbing industry, and we are here to help support the contractors who build and repair the systems that make our buildings work for the consumer.

We work diligently to sort out the best possible solutions for your day-to-day questions and concerns, be they about price and availability of product, or technical support issues that may result in jobsite visits. We are a resource for all types of situations you may run into.

Taking advantage of me, and others like me, can help us help you grow your business.

Having a strong, loyal relationship with your wholesaler of choice can open doors and solutions that you otherwise may not have known existed.

Among the tools that we can help you access and navigate are custom price structures, technical support and factory training, as well as customer incentives, jobsite visits and online services.

Every customer that walks through our doors has the ability to use these tools to grow themselves and their businesses. So the next time you are in to purchase supplies, ask the question, “Who is my sales rep?” and see what doors we can open for you and your business.

STRETCHING THE KING Cash may be king, but if you are paying cash at the counter all the time, you might not be maximizing your purchasing power when stocking up.

Having an account with your wholesaler allows for easier tracking for everyone, and enables your sales rep to ascertain the correct pricing structure based on your purchase history.

And we are not only looking at the dollar value of your spending.

Sure, your purchase volumes might entitle you to a better price on some items, but looking at the types of products you are buying might help gain some efficiency in your structure – and efficiency spells money to your bottom line.

For example, if you purchase mostly refrigeration equipment and components, speak with your sales rep to create a roster of items that you frequently purchase together. And ask about bulk purchases on common items you know you go through frequently.

Knowing what you order can also allow for a quick check by your rep to ensure that the right pricing is assigned to you.

Learn with me

Don’t forget to ask your rep about product training.

Manufacturers and wholesalers will help you learn about the products you are buying, so if you want to get up-to-speed on the new technologies coming off assembly lines – which will ultimately allow for better equipment selection and troubleshooting – ask your rep if there’s any training coming up.

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SPOTLIGHT PROFILES

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www.brantradiant.com MODERN STYLE AND SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE Bring modern style and superior performance to the kitchen with Moen’s new Align™ faucet collection. Available in a single-handle with sidespray, pulldown and pulldown bar/prep faucets, the suite offers a simple and streamlined design complemented with geometric shapes – perfect for contemporary spaces. The Align suite is available in chrome and Moen’s Spot Resist™ Stainless.

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Pipe sizing revisited It is time to shift gears and instead of looking at a typical job schematic, let’s “do a little math” on some pipe sizing. Almost all of the Find The Fix columns are based on real jobsites, and a common theme of these potential problems stems for pipe sizing.

Some of the problems exist because of the fitting size on the boiler from the manufacturer. While the manufacturer may provide a chart showing flow rate at a delta T and head loss, they don’t always give you a chart showing the suggested system piping size.

Keep in mind that the pipe size should be selected to keep the average velocity between two and four feet per second.

The difference between professionals and amateurs is that professionals always “do the math.” So, based on what you know, and the charts included here, let’s see how you do with the following questions based on the system pictured here.

1) The manufacturer gives you a 1-1/2” fitting size on the boiler but the boiler has an output of 600,000 BTUH. In the case of this boiler, the manufacturer is looking for a flow rate of 58 gpm with a 20°F delta T. You should use piping with a nominal size of: A) 2” C) 3”

Jeff House is an experienced industry professional and hydronics trainer. He handles the sales territory from the Niagara region to the Greater Toronto Area for Jess-Don Dunford, a manufacturers’ rep in Ontario. He can be reached at jhouse@jessdondunford.com.

B) 1-1/2” D) 2-1/2”

2) If you wanted to use 2” piping, how would you size the circulator for the boiler? Select a higher delta T of: A) 25°F C) 35°F

B) 30°F D) 40°F

3) If you had two model 399 boilers with 1-1/4” fittings, and now a combined total of 78 gpm, what size piping should you select with a 20°F delta T? A) Up one pipe size to 1-1/2”.

C) 2-1/2” would work well.

B) 2” should be fine.

D) 3” is the right size!

4) Your job requires two model 285 boilers for residential heating, DHW and some snow melt. What is the best pipe size to use for the main sytem piping (the primary loop)?

A) 2-1/2” with a 20°F delta T. B) 2” with a 30°F delta T. C) Both A & B. D) The right choice is 1-1/2”, because it is one size bigger than the manufacturer’s fitting size of 1-1/4”. You always go up one pipe size as you add loads.

Looking for answers?

The answer key for the July/August quiz is: 1-C; 2-A; 3-D; 4-D If you need the quiz, check it out in our issue archive, available at www.mechanicalbusiness.com.

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Step right up and win a prize!

Just like Joe Entz of Brant Plumbing in Brant, Alta. Joe picked up an Milwaukee M12 Fuel 1/2” Hammer Drill, just for finding the fix.

With winter on its way, we’ve got a Milwaukee heated hoodie in red, grey, khaki or high-visibility up for grabs this issue, so drop us a line, and get those answers in

by October 31. Send your solution to adam.freill@mechanicalbusiness.com. And be sure to pick up the next edition of Mechanical Business for the next installment of Find the Fix!

ROAD WARRIOR

B y A n d r ew S nook

Name: Jason Dupuis Nickname: Jay Age: 35 Company: Good Grade Plumbing & Gas Job title: Owner/operator In the mechanical industry since: 2000 Trade School: NAIT (Edmonton) Born in: Port Alberni, B.C. Lives in: Victoria, B.C.

A

Photos: Brian Hawkes

s the owner/operator of Good Grade Plumbing & Gas in Victoria, B.C., Jason Dupuis is a man of many hats, and he likes it that way. He is always looking to learn new ways to improve and expand his knowledge of the industry.

“I had a good teacher tell me, ‘Only stay with the company until they stop teaching you,’” he explained during our interview.

Taking that advice, Jason worked for five or six companies during his apprenticeship, so he could learn as much as possible about the industry from several sources. And although he was

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with a larger number of companies than your average apprentice, he did leave each of them on good terms.

Following his apprenticeship, he went on to work as a plumber in Alberta for eight years, which is where he found a particular passion, hydronics.

“I started finding my love for boilers and higher efficiency equipment in Edmonton,” he says.

“I was constantly training and learning, doing installs on higher efficiency appliances… I never thought I’d be so eager to go to school, but now I take everything.”

F a v ou r i t e t o o l i n y o u r to o lb o x: M y co m b u st io n an alyzer .

What’s your favourite thing about the job? The evolution, it’s the ever-changing work. You’re not stuck doing the same thing, day in and day out.

How much time do you spend behind the wheel each day?

I try not to spend a lot, but it’s fair to say an hour at least, sometimes two or three. It depends on the job.

Favourite food: Prime rib Favourite beverage: Beer.

Specifically, Lucky Lager.

Favourite sports: Football and hockey.

Favourite website to browse: Island Outfitters fishing report (fishingvictoria.com)

Service area: Southern Vancouver Island

Play any sports? A lot growing up, now fishing has become my sport.

Any area you like to get dispatched to? Greater Victoria area.

Favourite sports team: Vancouver Canucks

Latest jobsite: In the Victoria Inner Harbour. My latest large job was out in Sydney, B.C., doing a custom boiler.

Favourite TV show: The Fishing Adventure

What’s your fondest memory on the job? Repairing some plumbing on one of the islands out of a boat.

What radio station do you listen to during the day? The Fox 99.3 out of Vancouver. That, or CFAX 1070 News.

Favourite band: Metallica Best concert you ever attended?

The most recent Metallica concert I went to.

Favourite magazine (aside from Mechanical Business): B.C. Outdoor Fishing Favourite cartoon as a kid: G.I. Joe Favourite car: 1965 Mustang Favourite place to hang out: On any boat.

My rule of thumb is... do it right the first time.

Biggest pet peeve: Driving and texting.

If I had $100,000 dollars to invest in my company, I would... probably open a showroom.

If you could be an animal, what would you be? A killer whale.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a... pro hockey or football player.

Favourite place to vacation: Barkley Sound, B.C. One place in the world you would like to visit: Machu Picchu, Peru Farthest place you ever travelled from home: Monte Carlo One word that describes you: Easy-going If I was Prime Minister for a day, I would... spend money on the roads and the ferries on the island.

If I had a super power, it would be… I would fly.

If I had tomorrow off work, I would spend the day... I do have the day off work, and I’m going fishing in the morning and having family time in the afternoon.

The best advice somebody has given you is… never stop learning.

DID YOU KNOW? • Jason is a big fan of the ocean.

• He would like to run a fishing charter when he retires.

Favourite local restaurant: The Four Mile House Pub & Restaurant M e c h a n i c a l

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By Bi l l Ri l e y

S

hotst uff

o your customers want hot water at the tap sooner – not later – that’s fine.

Manufacturers have responded with all varieties and types of technology to help deliver hot water to household or business taps in a jiffy, but it might help to temper their expectations, to avoid landing in hot water yourself.

The first thing I say when a customer expresses interest in “instant” hot water is that it’s not exactly instant. Hot water recirculation systems, by design, work quickly to provide hot water for showers and taps, but it may be a few seconds before the hot water’s there. Without a doubt, though, these products greatly improve access to hot water and they do save water and money as well – another huge advantage.

Bill Riley is a heating and plumbing contractor with extensive experience working with hot water recirculation systems. He can be reached at info@rileyplumbing.com.

So what’s available to reduce the wait for hot water?

AT THE

TAP

In speaking with Taco product manager Carl Perrone about hot water recirculation, he shared some insights into “point of use” and “dedicated return line” technologies, as well as some of the types of products that are available in the marketplace to provide hot water comfort, convenience and conservation.

These devices are a great investment for homeowners, especially in areas where water costs are high, or where water conservation needs are greatest.

It also makes great sense for installers who want to offer solid, affordable recommendations to homeowners.

Delta Faucet

An average family of four can waste almost 50,000 litres of water a year waiting for hot water to reach showers and faucets. In many cases, homeowners not only pay for water at the faucet, but to get rid of it as well. And, when there are long, inconvenient waits for hot water at the tap, homeowners are also paying more to heat domestic water. All of these things are improved when hot water recirculation technology is installed.

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PLUMBING

continues on page 110

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PLUMBING

continues from page 108

POINT OF USE products

HOT WATER ON COMMAND For the homeowner that wants it all, there are products that speed water to fixtures with the push of a button, or are activated by a sensor.

These products can operate round-the-clock to provide hot water “on command” and, at the same time, save water, energy and money.

Generally, these systems are based around a small pump that’s attached to the hot and cold water lines within the vanity. When activated, the cool water that most often goes down the drain and is wasted is instead recirculated back to the water heater through the cold water line.

On command from the sensor, the pump circulates the hot water from the water heater. When the hot water arrives at the fixture, a heat sensor and control board shut off the pump to prevent pumping excess hot water into the cold water line.

Standard plumbing and distance often requires that these devices be installed between the hot and cold water line at the fixture that is most distant from the hot water heater.

WORKING ON THE TIMING When retrofitting a home that has no dedicated return line, another method for accomplishing hot water recirculation for domestic water is to incorporate a programmable timer into the system.

These systems often come complete with braided flex hoses, prewired power cord and a bypass valve for under the sink that closes or restricts hot water flow when water temperature at the valve increases. Other devices offer an integral thermal sensor disc that closes when hot water reaches the valve. The pump is installed back at the water heater or hot water source. Some also offer an internal flow check that prevents cold water from backing into the hot line.

FULL CLOSE When working with bypass valves, it can be advantageous to use valves that will close completely, with no residual flow into the cold water line.

A common complaint from homeowners whose bypass valve doesn’t completely close is that their cold water can become lukewarm water – not very appealing if going for a quick glass of H2O. The reason for this is that as hot water temperatures increase at the bypass valve (with the recirculation pump in operation) the valve increasingly restricts the flow of hot water into the cold line, but with the pump in operation the valve never completely closes to cut off the path of hot water into the cold line. continues on page 112

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DEDICATED RETURN LINE options PROGRAMMED FOR USE Builders and remodelers with a focus on sustainability and “green” may find selfprogrammed technology to be a big asset when making recommendations to homeowners.

These systems are fully automatic and can be preprogrammed to “learn” household usage patterns.

The hot water recirculation device will record “events” each time sustained hot water is called for over a given timespan. For example, a system I use records over a seven-day period, and then for the next seven days the device repeats the preceding week’s pattern to cycle the pump, providing instant hot water at all fixtures. This energy saving process happens continuously, so hot water is ready when it’s needed.

Events, for instance a typical shower, use of the dishwasher, or a washing machine’s warm or hot cycle, will begin to set patterns that are recorded within the circuitry.

When compared to traditional, continuous-run recirculation pumps, these systems save an enormous amount of energy – more than 90 per cent in some cases.

Some of these devices can also be set to operate intermittently, for example, 150 seconds every 10 minutes. This is enough flow to maintain hot water at all fixtures.

GOING AWAY? With recirculation technology going the programmable route, some systems allow for a vacation override function that will shut the pump off and circulate water once a week while the homeowners are away – that occasional circulation cycle is used to prevent corrosion and scale buildup.

When the homeowners return, the unit can resume normal operation.

SIZED TO FIT Hot water recirculation devices are typically available in a range of sizes and system connection options to accommodate residential and light commercial domestic recirculation applications.

Many are available in lead-free bronze or stainless steel, with an optional integral flow check.

MORE EFFICIENT DISHWASHING It’s interesting to note that some dishwasher manufacturers are now recommending that homeowners run hot water at nearby taps, prior to turning on the machine, so that the line is first primed with hot water.

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This does permit dishwasher manufacturers to claim that their equipment is more efficient, but the requisite waste and inconvenience to homeowners is ignored.

The use of a hot water recirculation system would be a much better option.

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CASE STUDY

B y A n d r ew S n o o k

Solar City shining brightly for Halifax residents

T

he sun has finally risen over Solar City. The Halifax Regional Municipality’s (HRM) $8.3-million pilot program is well underway to equipping the roofs of 1,000 homeowners with

turn-key installations for residential solar thermal heating systems for the production of domestic hot water.

This is exciting news for the creators and administrators of the project, which has had to overcome serious financing hurdles, including the rejection of the HRM’s initial request for funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. In the end, the region was able to obtain a grant of $545,000 and a low-interest loan of $5.4 million from the federation.

More than 500 assessments have been completed to date, and the first installations started this past March.

Julian Boyle, strategic energy policy and initiatives manager for the region, said the municipality has been supportive of the project since Day 1.

“We topped 150 homes, things are ramping up great,” he said.

Boyle predicts the project will hit its full stride this November, at which point he expects the program to be conducting 60 to 70 installations per month.

Two thirds of the homes for the project are equipped with two-panel systems, which have an official rating of 12 GJ of energy production, while the remaining homes are equipped with one-panel systems that generate 9 GJ of energy production. The panels’ dimensions are four feet by eight feet.

Homeowners in the Halifax region are currently split fifty-fifty between oil-fired systems and electricity for generating domestic hot water. continued on page 116

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SKILLED LABOUR SHORTAGES Although the pilot project has overcome its financing hurdles, it still has challenges to overcome, including finding enough experienced installers.

“In the absence of that, I’ve had to hire untrained labour and train them myself with my staff,” said Babak Farsi, operations manager for Dr. Solar, a subcontractor for Thermo Dynamics Ltd., the manufacturer of the solar panels used in the project.

Dr. Solar is performing assessments, installs and homeowner training on the Solar City project.

The fact that solar installations are not a recognized trade adds to the training challenges, says Farsi. The Canadian Solar Industry Association (CanSIA) no longer offers its certification program, so he has had to rely on American programs for training.

CASE STUDY continued from page 114 FINANCING FEATURES The financing model being used for the program is somewhat unique. The HRM passed legislation that allows homeowners to finance the installations through the municipality, paying the money back through their taxes.

Approximately half of the residents decided to pay for the systems up front, with the other half financing the installs, and some of the residents will be able to recoup a percentage of the money back through government rebates.

The typical cost for the material and installations of the one- and two-panel systems ranges between $6,400 and $8,500, plus financing costs.

The HRM charges a fixed interest rate designed to cover the municipality’s financing costs. The rate currently sits at 3.5 per cent and is fixed for the entire payment schedule, which has an upper cap of 10 years; however, residents can pay off the balance of their systems at any time without penalty to save on financing costs.

MONITORING USAGE Members of the Solar City team are currently having a monitoring system created that will allow homeowners to view what’s going on with their systems in real time, via the internet on their desktop or laptop, or through a smartphone app.

“Basically it will tell them what it will be saving them daily, weekly and monthly,” explained Julian Boyle, strategic energy policy and initiatives manager for the HRM. “For the first time we’ll be monitoring real-time water consumption, so people can understand how many litres per day are being consumed.”

continued on page 118

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CASE STUDY continued from page 116 rebates get cancelled, purchases stop and we go stagnant and have to lay off our trained workforce… training the staff is not hard as long as I can keep them, but I can only predict so far in the future.”

HRM strategic energy policy and initiatives manager Julian Boyle says the Solar City project is creating between 50 and 70 jobs through manufacturing and installations. He’s hoping that the project will be more than a pilot and be able to add some stability to the market.

“We have been able to bring a lot of contractors back into the market,” he said. “We’re hoping to remove the cyclicalness. We wouldn’t be doing this just to run a pilot program. We want this year after year. The whole reason to do the pilot is to ‘kick the tires’ and make sure we can handle this, and it’s on budget.”

BOOMS AND BUSTS Although finding experienced and trained installers can prove challenging in the solar industry, there is a more powerful factor influencing the sector.

“I think the real challenge in regard to the solar industry has been the fluctuations in government policy which moves our business through a boom and bust cycle,” said Babak Farsi, operations manager for Doctor Solar, a subcontractor working on the Solar City project. “When we have rebates – residential rebates, commercial rebates – our businesses flourish during that time. Then the federal rebates and the provincial

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PLUMBING

B y Fr ed B r et zke Fred Bretzke is a full-time pipe trades instructor with SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary and the general manager of A&B Plumbing & Heating. He can be reached at fred.bretzke@sait.ca.

The impact of the

Calgaryonflood the mechanical trades D

uring the economic boom a few years ago, Calgary was a thriving place to work for all tradesmen. SAIT Polytechnic was beyond full enrollment, busy building a bigger and better trades building to accommodate future students. The recession slowed student enrolment down and put many plumbers and gasfitters out of work. However, this all changed on June 20, 2013 when a mountain of rain came pouring down in the Calgary area.

The Elbow, Highwood, and Bow rivers, in a period of two days surpassed their flow rates, at times reaching up to five to 10 times their normal rates. These flooded rivers overflowed into downtown buildings, residences, the Stampede and the Calgary Zoo, affecting over 100,000 people.

Case study:

Rideau Park School Just a week after the flooding took place, while driving through Rideau Park Southwest, I had an eyeopening experience that did not match the previous shortage of work for mechanical contractors. There seemed to be a mechanical plumbing and heating van in front of almost every house on the block.

Nestled in this neighbourhood is the Rideau Park School, which was overcome by a wave of water from the Elbow River. It was now the task of restoration and mechanical companies to restore this school in just a couple of months.

At the height of the flood, the basement of the school was immersed in approximately eight feet of unsanitary water and mud. Classrooms, bathrooms and the mechanical room were destroyed.

All levels of government, private insurance companies, and thousands of volunteers were called in to help restore the flood-ravaged streets and buildings, which made Calgary look like the dumping-ground capital of Canada.

Among these buildings, several schools were severely flooded, leaving a wake of mechanical and structural damage. Skilled tradespeople quickly became a key factor in the restoration of this disaster. continued on page 122

David Smith, from Alberta Fire and Flood Restoration, committed to restoring the school by September 4, just in time for the start of the 2013-14 school year.

Photos: A&B Plumbing & Heating

The project involved the removal of all contaminated and destroyed mechanical items, including the huge steam boilers in the mechanical room. A plan was devised to create an exterior ground door to remove the two steam boilers by crane and reinstall the new ones.

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After the flood, the mechanical room looked like a muddy warzone. The condensate pump and the commercial hot water tank both warranted replacement as well.

As of late August, the school was almost finished, and looking like new with all signs of the flood vanished.

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Flood damage Water damage can ruin plumbing and heating fixtures by two different methods, pressure and contamination. The sheer pressure that eight feet of water can exert will destroy what’s in its path. And when rivers spill over onto the streets of a city they tend to plug up the storm and sanitary sewers. When storm sewers and sanitary sewers overflow they can cause the sanitary sewers to back up into below grade areas, contaminating anything in its path. Once any mechanical appliances’ insulation becomes saturated with unsanitized water, it requires replacement.

Saturated mechanical controls are similar to when a cell phone is accidently dropped into water. It may work afterwards, but only for a short period of time. Eventually it will fail, thereby requiring replacement. In Calgary there was a lot of mechanical equipment replaced. When replacing broken toilets, the flushometer vacuum breakers were also replaced. Their main purpose is to prevent a crossconnection of possible polluted water from entering the potable water supply, so ensuring they are not compromised is important.

Dean Campbell from A&B Plumbing & Heating Ltd. described this flood as being an overwhelming experience as his company attempted to service all the mechanical needs of the community.

“Plumbing and heating is an overlooked commodity until a disaster happens, then clean water, sanitation and heat become very needed resources,” said Campbell.

Final impact?

The obvious impact is that the floods will cost billions, according to government and insurance sources. Its effect on enrolment at apprentice trades schools such as SAIT Polytechnic will be known in the near future.

It has been said that the thousands of building insurance claims could keep tradesmen busy for a year or two, so this might be a blessing in disguise as it might carry Calgary through to when the economy finally stabilizes.

As Calgary has been said to still be busier than most parts of Canada before this unexpected rainfall, it might be expected to see a flood of apprentices move here to find employment. Time will tell.

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HYDRONIC REPORT

B y B o b “ Ho t R o d ” R o h r

POWER to the people An overview of fuel choices

I

t’s a decision every building owner needs to make: “Which fuel source coolshould I select to provide heating, cool ing and domestic hot water?”

Natural gas, LP, fuel oil and electricity are the most common choices, but alternate energy and renewable energy are also choices that are getting a lot more attention. Perhaps in the back of every building owner’s mind should be a goal of energy independence, and some places are already targeting “net zero” or better for building energy consumption.

Natural Resources Canada is a good place to start any energy search. They have plenty of helpful, current data and comparison guides that you can share with your customers.

And regardless of fuel choice, heat sources and emitters, don’t forget to consider spending time and dollars to lessen the building load. Simply upgrading insulation or sealing air infiltration leaks with spray foam cans can make a huge difference in energy consumption costs.

Many upgrades can pay for themselves in relatively short order.

Until the next article, stay thirsty (for knowledge) my friend.

CATCHING SOME RAYS Solar is a reliable and simple technology to consider. Harnessing this energy source can be as simple as pointing a glass wall towards the sun. Passive energy has been used since pre-historic times.

Passive home design is making a comeback, and several associations are driving the concept with renewed vigor.

Beyond passive is what we refer to as active solar. These systems require pumps or fans to transfer energy around.

Perhaps the best use of solar thermal is solar domestic hot water (SDHW). For most families, this would involve up to two collectors that can be roof, building or ground-mounted. Expect to harvest about half the energy required to supply DHW for a family from a small array, and 60 to 80 gallons of storage. And this method can be

scaled to larger commercial applications.

Solar thermal can also be used for heating loads. Wintertime energy from the sun is less harvestable, due to shorter days and colder ambient conditions, so storage becomes the driving cost. The trick is to store it until the need is present, usually in the evening hours.

Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr has been a plumbing, radiant heat and solar contractor and installer for 30 years. A long-time columnist and trainer, he is manager of training and education with Caleffi North America. You can reach Hot Rod at bob.rohr@caleffi.com.

To use solar for comfort heat, it will likely come down to how much money your customer wants to invest in the capture, storage and shuttling of the solar thermal energy.

One rather simple way to use solar to heat is a warm air collector.

This is designed to capture the energy of the sun and distribute it into the space just as a forced air continues on page 126

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continued from page 124

heating system would. Gone are the pumps, pipes, and tanks required with water or fluid based solar thermal systems.

At the InterSolar Fair in Europe, I spotted miniature solar air heaters for agricultural applications. These small collectors were placed in poultry barns, for example, to provide spot heating for the brooders. They also included a PV powered fan so they could be mounted and used without needing additional wiring.

Wood chip burners take one processing step out, and are currently available for larger commercial equipment, while pellets are more user-friendly for consumers at the residential level.

Bags of pellets are available for small parlor-type burners, and truck delivery will keep larger boiler systems up and running.

With this type of system, consider the emissions and help your customer shop for an efficient product with a gasification-style of combustion, or other means to combust at high efficiency.

GROWING ENERGY Wood, biomass and pellets are other fuel sources that are gaining steam. In Canada these resources are plentiful. In some cases, the waste from saw and planer mills is a viable energy source to pellet-ize.

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Admittedly, I don’t have a lot of experience with fuel oil systems, but in certain areas it is one of the only viable sources of energy. It is a fuel that packs a lot of punch (BTUs) and combusted in a properly tuned appliance it can be a dependable, efficient option.

In places like Germany, it is not uncommon to see condensing boilers, but that technology is not commonly found in North America. Condensing oil is making some headway though, and I know of a few brands of condensing oil furnaces that are now on the market, which is helping to push the efficiency of these appliances ever higher.

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A natural gas glut has had prices at an unbelievable low, and there are literally hundreds of boilers and heaters designed to run at efficiencies of 90-plus per cent on natural and liquid propane gas.

Finely tuned, cleverly engineered products will modulate based on loads, reset temperatures based on load conditions, and even notify your customer – and possibly you – when they need service.

Sure it’s a bit conventional, but it works well, there’s a ton of affordable equipment, and it is not likely to throw up any warnings in the eyes of your customers.

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Engineers and architects in countries around the world look to Runtal for innovative heating solutions. From health care to high-rise and everything in-between, Runtal is the leader in heating efficiency, durability, comfort and style.

THE ELECTRIC GLIDE Electricity offers a plethora of options for heating and cooling, from baseboard to boilers to heat pumps.

Simple resistance baseboard heaters require little more than mounting screws, wiring and breaker protection. These units have come a long way over the years. Designer looks are now available, as panel radiators, towel bars and decorative heat emitters, from a number of suppliers.

An electric boiler converts electrical energy to thermal, which widens the options of how to manipulate those BTUs. A single boiler can provide heat for radiant floors, ceilings and walls, as well as panel radiators and cast iron radiators.

Modern electric boilers are small and highly refined, with microprocessor controls and monitoring, as well as variable output. This allows them to perform like

their modulating gas-fired kin.

Perhaps the best way to leverage electricity as an energy source is with a heat pump. These can be air or water based, and can provide heating, domestic hot water, and energy for additional loads, but one of the biggest selling features is that a single appliance can provide both heating and cooling.

And with engineering assistance just a click or phone call away, you can rest assured that form matches function.

Make it extraordinary.

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PLUMBING

Products

Solar-powered flush valve Sloan’s Solis solar-powered, sensor-activated flush valves are designed for use in high-use facilities. The unit’s concealed flushometers for wall-hung water closets flush at 4.8 or 6 lpf, and install behind the wall for secure operation in vandal-prone restrooms. They feature an infrared sensor and backup battery compartment located in a wall box with a stainless-steel access panel and vandal-resistant screws. The urinal flushometers are available in 1.9 and 3.8 lpf models.

www. sloanvalve.com

Toilets

Showerhead Moen’s Halo Rainshower features a pivoting, double-ring design and three spray settings. It is built with a 9” outer ring that pivots to increase spray coverage from 9” to 14.5”. It is available in a chrome finish.

www. moen.ca

Skirted toilet kit

Mansfield Plumbing Products’ Montclair high efficiency toilets have a flow rate of 1.28 gpf and are built with a smooth contoured tank and lid. They feature concealed trapways and are built with 3” flush valves and pilot-operated fill valves. They comply with ADA requirements and are IAPMO certified/MaP certified to flush 800 grams.

Dahl’s skirted toilet kits are designed for use with an existing stub-out and are available with inlets for a variety of pipe materials including copper, PEX, iron and CPVC. They are available in lead-free models.

www. dahlvalve.com

www. mansfieldplumbing.com

Pipe locator General Pipe Cleaners’ Gen-Eye Hot Spot pipe locator is designed to locate inspection cameras, sondes, active power lines and utility lines, without having to interpret numbers and bar graphs. The pipe locator features total field antenna array, a line direction compass, and is built with an auto backlit LCD display.

The unit locates two sonde frequencies, two power frequencies and four line frequencies.

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Bathroom faucet The Odin two handle deckmount faucet can be used with widespread 6” to 16” centres and has a 9” high rigid spout. It has a maximum flow rate of 1.5 gpm at 60 psi. The line also includes a model with hands-free technology. They are available in brushed nickel and polished chrome finishes.

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PLUMBING

Products

Greywater pump The Saniswift greywater pump from Saniflo comes pre-assembled with all check valves. The unit features three inlets for a variety of hook-ups and a 1” discharge pipe. It discharges up to 14 ft. vertically and 140 ft. horizontally at 18 gpm. It is designed to operate at a maximum temperature of 140˚F.

www. saniflo.ca

Wall-mounted faucet Axor Bouroullec’s wall-mounted faucet with deck-mounted handles has a flow rate of 5 lpm and a projection of 245 mm.

The faucet is offered in a chrome finish and features a laminar spray.

Vertical pump Xylem’s e-SV series of stainless steel vertical multistage pumps are offered in 11 models with flow rates up to 700 gpm and head up to 1,150 ft. The series of pumps feature standard NEMA motors ranging from 0.5 to 75 hp. The pump’s design allows for the removal of the mechanical seal without having to remove the motor.

Standard versions have a temperature range of -22˚F to 250˚F.

www. hansgrohe.ca

www. xylemappliedwater.ca

On average in Canada, 13% of municipal piped water is lost in pipeline leaks. Leaks can take as much as 30% of municipal piped water in some communities.

Brass ball valve

Soaker tub

Jomar Valve’s T-100NEG dezincification-resistant brass ball valve has a blowout proof, two-piece design. The 1/4-turn, lever-operated valve features a triple sealing stem with two Viton o-rings and Teflon seal. They are available in six sizes ranging from 1/2” to 2”, and are CSA ASME B16.33 certified.

The Cadet 58-gallon (220 litre) bathtub from American Standard is built with high-gloss acrylic-capped ABS with fibreglass reinforcement and is equipped with an accessory storage deck. It is available in Arctic White, has nominal dimensions of 66” x 32” x 23” and weighs 120 lb.

www. neovalves.com

www. americanstandard.ca

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HVAC/R Products P Multi-view fireplaces Napoleon HD4 clean face multi-view fireplaces offer upwards of 30,000 BTUH. They are available as a see-through or three-sided peninsula, and feature multiple firebox configurations and electronic ignition with battery backup. Optional zen modern door kits, contemporary rectangular door kits, media kits and decorative panels are available.

Programmable thermostat

www. napoleonfireplaces.com

Honeywell’s VisionPRO 8000 seven-day programmable thermostat features a menu-driven touchscreen, a backlit digital display and a built-in humidity sensor.

Additional features include reminders for servicing and replacing filters and batteries, a real-time clock and multiple hold options designed to allow the homeowner to override the program schedule as deisred.

Geothermal heat pump GeoStar’s Aston Compact dual capacity geo geothermal heat pump has efficiencies ranging from 3.7 to 4.8 COP, and 18.0 to 30.0 EER. It is available in capacities from 0.75 to 6 tons, and features Aurora communicating controls. Options include a factory-installed 24V motorized on/off water valve for VFD pumping with automatic internal water flow control; hot gas bypass and reheat; and high-efficiency PSC, fivespeed ECM or variable speed ECM blower motors.

www. forwardthinking.honeywell.com

Follow Us on Twitter @MechBusiness

www. geostar-geo.com

Destratification Fans

Applications: • • • • •

• Save Energy • Increase Comfort Commercial Fans & Dampers

Industrial Fans & Blowers

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HVAC/R Products P Aluminum manifold Hilmor’s aluminum manifolds are available in two- and four-valve combinations, with or without hoses. Features include a forged aluminum body, replaceable stainless steel valve seats, protective gauge boots, front-mounted hose positions, rubberized handles, and a permanent location for temperature clamps.

Refrigerant line connector RectorSeal’s NoKink is a flexible, non-kinking refrigerant line connector for creating refrigerant lineset connections to wall- and ceiling-mounted mini-split evaporators. It is built with a braided stainless steel body with 3” long, 1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2” or 5/8” copper stub connections on each end that can be flare-fitted or silver soldered to fit any lineset size combination. They can accommodate up to 800 psi.

www. hilmor.com

The first domestic air conditioning system was installed in a house in Frankfurt, Germany in 1894.

www. rectorseal.com

Thermostat monitoring The ecobee Smart Si thermostat offers homeowners remote connectivity to their thermostat settings through the use of a smartphone, tablet or desktop. The units give contractors the option of sending company promo-tions and service reminders directly to customers’ thermostats, as well as the ability to monitor and troubleshoot HVAC equipment remotely.

www. ecobee.ca

Two-stage gas furnace

Leak detection

Lennox’s EL296E gas furnaces have AFUE ratings up to 96% and input ranges from 44,000 to 132,000 BTUH. The two-stage gas heating unit features a sealed blower compartment, silicon nitride igniter, sound-absorbing insulation, and a multi-speed, directdrive, slide-out blower.

Spectroline’s Glo-Stick leak detection kit is designed to locate leaks in small- to medium-sized air conditioning and refrigeration systems. The kit is equipped with an Optimax 400 LED leak detection flashlight, which features a high-output violet light and an inspection range of 25 feet (7.6 m).

The kit also comes with four universal dye capsules, a bleed valve, a purge capsule and fitting, a hose, an 8 oz (237 ml) spray bottle of Glo-Away dye cleaner, and fluorescence-enhancing glasses.

www. lennox.com

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STUFF YOU NEED Cordless combihammer drill Hilti’s TE 30-A36 cordless combihammer drill delivers up to 4,500 impacts per minute and single impact energy of 2.7 ft.-lb. It features a high efficiency brushless motor, active torque control and vibration reduction, and a 36V, 6.0 amp battery. The tool weighs 12.1 lb.

Utility knife Milwaukee Tool’s Fastback II utility knife features press-and-flip, one-handed blade opening and tool-free blade change. It is built with magnetic blade storage for holding a spare blade. The knife has an integrated gut hook and wire stripper, and a wire form belt clip for attaching to pockets.

www. hilti.ca

www. milwaukeetool.ca

Press tool Aluminum level Dewalt’s torpedo level has an extruded, lightweight aluminum body, and is built with integrated solid block vials. It features rare Earth magnets, a V-groove base for use on rounded surfaces, and a rotating vial. The level is equipped with over-moulded rubber end caps for shock resistance.

www. dewalt.com

Ridgid’s RP 200-B press tool has a 270° rotating barrel and is designed to join copper and stainless steel tubing 1/2” to 1-1/4” in diameter, and PEX tubing 3/8” to 1-1/2” in diameter. The cordless tool can operate in temperatures ranging from 15°F to 122°F. It weighs 6.2 lb. and comes standard with two lithium batteries. The tool is compatible with all of the company’s compact series press tool attachments.

www. ridgid.com

Marketplace Ads

SPOTLIGHT PROFILES MCEE “2013 PRODUCT OF THE YEAR” WINNER! The Conforto CHE (condensing high efficiency) is the first oil-fired furnace built for homeowners expecting UNSURPASSED PERFORMANCE and ENERGY EFFICIENCY. Its innovative operation delivers a 95%+ heating efficiency along with superior comfort, saving up to 40% in oil consumption a year. This Energy Star® furnace (certified at ALL firing rates) can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 3,000 lb./yr. All this, in an attractive, stylish and maintenance-friendly package!

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SPOTLIGHT PROFILES

INSTANTANEOUS INDIRECT WATER HEATER THERMO 2000’S TURBOMAX heats water instantaneously, only when needed and keeps energy consumption to a minimum, with a heat transfer efficiency reaching 99%. TURBOMAX adapts to all thermal energy sources (gas, oil, electricity, wood, solar and recuperated heat) and can reduce heating costs by UP TO 30%.

www.thermo2000.com BIG JOBS CALL FOR BIG SOLUTIONS If your commercial application demands simplicity and durability, don’t accept anything less than SharkBite 2XL Fittings and Ball Valves. Ranging in size from 1 ¼” to 2”, 2XL fittings are compatible with copper, PEX and CPVS pipe and are ideal for commercial applications such as potable water, hydronic heating, chilled water, general water distribution for irrigation and more.

www.sharkbite.com DESIGNED FOR EASIER INSTALLATION When the Observer™ communicating wall control is installed with new KeepRite® communicating split-system equipment, it will automatically find the attached equipment, display its information on the screen, prompt installer to choose whether a humidifier is present, and configure the system for optimal performance.

www.gokeeprite.com WORLD’S FIRST WATER-SOURCE, MODULAR 575 VOLT VRF SYSTEM Designed specifically for the Canadian HVAC market, Mitsubishi Electric’s City Multi water-source system provides optimum occupant comfort while substantially minimizing installation and operating costs with its 2-pipe VRF technology, now available in 575 volts. Energy efficient, flexible design, compact, and quiet, City Multi water-source is an effective alternative to geothermal systems and is best fitted for high-rise applications.

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HYDRONIC

Products

Wall-mounted boiler Laars’ Mascot II wall-mounted, fully-modulating condensing boiler is offered as a 125,000 BTUH input boiler or combination boiler and water heater.

The low-NOx, sealed combustion unit offers efficiencies up to 95% AFUE and features a built-in condensate trap and auto air-elimination vent. It has dimensions of 31” x 17” x 15.75” and weighs 100 lb.

Wall-hung hydronic boiler The NH150-DV wall-hung, tankless modulating hydronic boiler from Noritz is designed to provide hot water for various hydronic heating applications, including cast-iron radiators, baseboards and radiant-floor panels. The gas-fired model has an input range of 55,500 to 150,000 BTUH, and is direct vented. It has a thermal rating of 82.8 percent, nine temperature settings, and weighs 66 lb.

www. laars.com

www. noritz.com

Snowmelt controller The iWorX snowmelt controller from Taco Electronic Solutions is designed to enable snow and ice melting whenever factory pre-calibrated moisture/temperature coordinates are met, followed by a factory preset drying period.

Since the melting intelligence is pre-calibrated, no external controller is required. The unit is built with a 65’ cable that connects directly to any dedicated boiler TT, relay, or mixing system. The iWorX housing is fully serviceable and allows for accurate detector leveling during installation, or re-leveling later, even after a slab pour has hardened.

Boiler control tekmar’s Boiler Control 275 features outdoor temperature reset, domestic hot water generation and boiler equal run time rotation. The control also has the ability to mix-and-match various boiler combinations, including up to four high-efficiency boilers; up to three high efficiency boilers and one mid-efficiency boiler; one high-efficiency boiler and up to three mid-efficiency boilers; and up to four mid-efficiency boilers.

www. tekmarcontrols.com

www. taco-hvac.com

Gas-fired boiler Racking system IBC’s MultiPlex racking system is available with 3”, 4” or 5” headers, and is designed to accommodate up to eight boilers.

Accessories include a condensate neutralizer, 40 lb. condensate neutralizer refill, a boiler interface controller and a 4” air intake filter.

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The Vitodens 200-W, B2HA gas-fired condensing boiler from Viessmann comes in nine sizes with an input range from 12,000 to 530,000 BTUH, with the ability to cascade up to eight units for a maximum heating input of 4,240,000 BTUH. The units are built with a stainless steel heat exchanger and offer multiple venting options up to 180 ft. in length, with common venting capability for up to four boilers.

www. viessmann.ca

PLUMBING

Products

Circulator pump The Stratus Z high efficiency DHW circulator pump from Wilo has built-in technology for regulating constant head, pressure and rpm speed. It features lead-free construction, and has an NSF Annex G certified stainless steel volute. It has a variety of built-in overload fault contacts and optional interface modules.

Mixing valve kits Honeywell’s AMX300 Series mixing valve kits come with a cold water tee and flexible connector, and require a maximum of two sweat connections for installation.

They are available in low-lead content versions and have a Teflon coating to reduce hard water scale build-up.

www. wilo-canada.com

www. forwardthinking.honeywell.com

Tankless water heater Navien’s NPE-S series of tankless water heaters is offered in three models with a maximum heating input range of 150,000 to 199,900 BTUH. All three models have an energy factor (EF) of 0.98 and have flow rates of 8.4 GPM, 10.1 GPM and 11.1 GPM. The units can use 1/2” gas pipe up to 24’ and 2” PVC venting up to 60’. They feature dual stainless steel heat exchangers, and can be converted in the field from natural gas to propane.

Domestic hot water heating Roth’s Flat Collector Heliostar 252 S4 for domestic water heating features a vacuum formed polycarbonate case and 2.5” rockwool back wall insulation. The units range in DHW offerings for between three to four people, and seven to 10 people, and are compatible with drainback systems. Its dimensions are 82.7” x 47.3” x 4.3” and it weighs 82 lb.

www. navienamerica.com

www. roth-america.com

Toilet fill valve The Governor 80M2 universal toilet fill valve from Watts is equipped with a leak sensor that detects leaking flappers and prevents tanks from continuously refilling. The valve also includes a built-in surge release to protect pipes from thermal expansion surges, and an adjustable flow control that prevents tanks from overfilling.

www. wattscanada.ca

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ClimateMaster® delivers complete water-source or geothermal heating and cooling solutions for every segment of the commercial construction market. # the components required for PAGEall Because we can provide most applications, you are assured a perfectly matched, perfectly controlled, perfectly installed system.

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Comfort, style, versatility, durability and energy efficiency are engineered into every radiator that Runtal builds. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exactÂŽ weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been delivering since we invented panel radiators some ly what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d expect from the world leaderAand E #exactly what P G fifty years ago. One look at our craftsmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meticulous welds, precision bends and flawless colours and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll know why hundreds-of-thousands of installs worldwide bear the Runtal name.

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For more information contact local plumbing Tel: your (877) 675-1513 wholesaler or visit www.insinkerator.ca.

smaller footprint, the new 410A condensing unit is a ners will love it because they tion and high efficiency in a maller than previous models. â&#x20AC;&#x153;littleâ&#x20AC;? excitement. To learn om today.

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Tel: (800) 666-3691 Tel: (800) 461-5581 TOWEL RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL www.reedmfgco.com www.napoleonheatingandair.com RADIATORS

SMALL FOOTPRINT, www.hoodchemical.com BIG HERO. TM

Fossil tooth from Leonodus, earliest known shark.

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fuelish?

Brand new tooling and state-of-the-art blow and injection molding equipment GE # appliance like produce crisp,PA attractive products Unparalleled high-gloss tank finish

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Two piece cabinet

Features That Matter

Tel: (902) 662-3840 NSF certified pressure Only the fittest survive thrive. And the tanks. and 0.00% failure rate on past 500,000 tanks! fittest ttings. whytoSharkBite push-fit www.newmacfurnaces.com fi Control valvesTh areatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NSF tested NSF 44 standards for structural integrity. Cycle fittingstesting haveexceeds quickly evolved from our first 1/2" 82 years equivalent life!

Total coupling the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only made Blowto molded brine tanks & cabinets with NSF approved high density â&#x201E;˘ Solutionpolyethylene. . With aNofast-growing cracks or pinholefull leaks.line of 1/4" to 1" High-efficiency settings allow for up to 65% less salt & 45% less water usage*

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Tel: (800) 363-5874 www.saniflo.ca

Save valuable installation time with quick connect plumbing connections,brine line, drain line and even power cord â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Meter-in-Bypassâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; design prevents meter binding and saves space PAGE #electronics Simple user-friendly Rough-In â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;No Touchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rotating diagnostic display prevents unnecessary service calls PAGE # arrives at Heavy duty packaging destination undamaged

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Tel: (888) 820-0120 www.sharkbite.com

Tel: (800) 529-9805 The most experienced team of water 65 in the industry www.noble.ca treatment professionals AGE # You Need It Real Support PWhen

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not only does NOVO supply a quality product but they stand behind it with superior support and serviceâ&#x20AC;?

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Kevin McKenna, McKenna Plumbing & Heating (Guelph, ON)

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roduct. Some restrictions apply. See your ls. Use the handy distributor locator to

31

# P â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Quality motors for every application Call to find a Stocking 133 Tel: Distributor (877) Nearest 655-6686 Tel: (905) 795-8113 You 1-877-655-6686 www.novowater.com www.gokeeprite.com

AGE

motors

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Â&#x2021; VKDUNELWHSUR FRP Â&#x2021; 'LVWULEXWHG E\ 5HOLDQFH :RUOGZLGH &RUSRUDWLRQ

Tel: (877) 836-7772 www.simenorthamerica.com

Back Row (l to r):

Dale Lewgood, John Cardiff, Don Matt, Dean Dalrymple

4/14/10 4:13:47 PM

www.novowater.com Front Row (l to r): Bill Beedle, Dave Pitman, Denton Gaiser From hotels to hospitals, from schools to stadiums, GE

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A microprocessor-based # The FuelMizer Puses controls to Symmons products carefully have been by temperature, based on regulatetrusted boiler supply the outdoor temperature.

28

Š 2010 InSinkErator, InSinkEratorŽ is a division of Emerson Electric Co. All rights reserved. *The mounting collar configuration is a trademark of Emerson Electric Co.

MaxMotion MaxMotion Tel:1HP (615) Belted Fan Split to 300HP 889-8900 Phase & Capacitor NEMA Premium Start motor Efficiency Motors www.lochinvar.com

professionals for 70 years.

TACO CANADA LTD. 8450 Lawson Road, Milton, ON L9T 0J8 Tel. 905-564-9422 Fax. 905-564-9436 www.taco-hvac.com

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Tel: (905) 564-9422 www.taco-hvac.com

FOUNDING MEMBER

10/7/10 2:31:36 PM

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MEP-2nd ad.indd 1

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Tel: (800) 688-2575 Tel: (800) 796-6667 www.nythermal.com www.symmons.ca to reduce fuel consumption - in both new and retrofit

*Compared to mechanical metered softeners MaxMotion 1HP to 50HP JM-JP Close Coupled Motors

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Typical energy savings is about 14% with some

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655 Park St. Regina, SK customers experiencing up to 30%. Boilers controlled Functions include reset ratio adjustments, warm weather #21 - 20 Steckle Pl. Kitchener, ON MaxMotion by a FuelMizer deliver optimum performance while shutdown, minimum boiler temperature and boiler Single Phase Fractional to 10 HP, HVAC differential settings. All these functions are designed simplywww.symmons.ca sipping less. and Farm Copyright Š 2012 Symmons Industries, Inc., Braintree, Massachusetts

* Availability * Expertise * Warranty * PAGE # Complete product benefits at www.motors.mep.ca 94

w solutions for stion analysis.

Tel: (800) 729-3878

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Tel: (514)-493 6400 www.powrmatic.com

M e c h a n i c a l

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NEW!

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C A L E N D A R

THE INFO PAGE

PTIONAL

ucet or hydrant you’re recommending the exceptional. y has made the family owned and operated mpany #1 in hose connected faucets and hydrants

NT PENDING

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EVENTS

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49

Tel: (888) 994-7726 Woodford RHY1 www.uponorpro.com & RHY2 Roof Mount Hydrant

2 0 1 3

The RHY series of product provides water availability on theGE PA # roof for washing down cooling towers, cleaning condenser coils, water for window washers and other types of roof 99 equipment.

The RHY2 hydrant is ASSE 1052 approved with a double check valve on theTel: nozzle(905) which is884-7444 field testable. It is not required to remove the double check to drain down the www.victaulic.com hydrant.

Both the RHY1 or RHY2 include all necessary mounting hardware for proper installation on a commercial roof including 2º shim for pitch adjustment.

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Mounting system and hydrant can be ordered separately.

Hydrant support isTel: designed to allow hydrant to be (800) 387-7373 installed later if needed.

www.viessmann.ca

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d Model RB67 Round zeless Wall Hydrant Tel: (800) 265-7246 ecially for tilt-up wall construction. www.viqua.com andard 6¨ diameter cored hole.

atically even with hose attached. listed double check backflow eld testable.

Model 26 w Protected ucet

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2013 World Plumbing Conference November 13-15, 2013 New Delhi, India www.wpc2013.in OGA 2013 Conference November 14-15, 2013 Orangeville, Ont. www.ontariogeothermal.ca

MEET 2014 May 7-8, 2014 Moncton, N.B. www.masterpromotions.ca

AHRI Annual Conference November 17-19, 2013 Amelia Island, Fla. www.ahrinet.org

11th IEA Heat Pump Conference May 12-16, 2014 Montreal, Que. www.iea-hpc2014.org

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Tel: (816) 796-3900 www.watcomfg.com

Greenbuild 2013 November 20-22, 2013 Philadelphia, Pa. www.greenbuildexpo.org

CSA Annual Conference and Committee Week June 15-17, 2014 Charlottetown, P.E.I. www.csa.ca

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144 Many Other Models Available In The Full Woodford Line Either Freezeless Or Close Coupled.

Contact Your Wholesaler Or Give Us A Call.

Tel: (888) 208-8927 www.wattscanada.ca

Construct Canada December 4-6, 2013 Toronto, Ont. www.constructcanada.com

CIPH ABC 2014 June 22-24, 2014 Kelowna, B.C. www.ciph.com

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19 WOODFORD COMPANY Tel:MANUFACTURING (719) 574-1101

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www.woodfordmfg.com

Solar Canada 2013 December 9-10, 2013 Toronto, Ont. www.cansia.ca

HRAI AGM 2014 August 20-23, 2014 Montreal, Que. www.hrai.ca

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110

Tel: (800) 928-7867 www.zoellerpumps.com PAGE #

36

Tel: (905) 405-8272 www.zurn.com

GET ON THE INFO PAGE Contact: Bruce Meacock at bruce. meacock@mechanicalbusiness.com

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M e c h a n i c a l

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CIPHEX West November 5-6, 2014 Calgary, Alta. www.ciphexwest.ca

AHR Expo January 21-23, 2014 New York, N.Y. www.ahrexpo.com International Builders’ Show (IBS) February 4-6, 2014 Las Vegas, Nev. www.buildersshow.com Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) February 4-6, 2014 Las Vegas, Nev. www.kbis.com

B u s i n e s s

1 0 . 1 3

CMPX 2014 March 19-21, 2014 Toronto, Ont. www.cmpxshow.com

GOT AN EVENT? SPREAD THE WORD!

If your organization has a conference, trade show or other event coming up, send details to adam.freill@mechanicalbusiness.com See it all online at www.mechanicalbusiness. com

W

RLDVIEW

It’s the little things that matter

Jeff Patchell in Australia

I

remember my first 35 mm semi-automatic camera well; it was an Olympus from that highly respected Japanese company of the same name. My camera was sleek, stylish and smaller than most, though it wasn’t as small as the famous Olympus Pen camera series, which I yearned for.

Obviously I’m talking about pre-digital times, although like most of us, Olympus has jumped into the world of digital imaging.

I am quite amazed how my joy of photography has managed to show up in one of the other interests in my life, and the reason for this column, plumbing.

What’s interesting in the plumbing sector is the fairly rapid emergence of videoscope inspection instruments with high definition resolutions that allow engineers and technicians to view components of a machine or the inside of a pipe in great detail, even when working inside confined spaces.

What we are talking about here is technology that is a significant step up from simple drain viewing cameras, though as we know, those products are also coming on in leaps and bounds.

The outside dimension of these videoscopes can be extremely small, right down to 2.4 mm, which allows them to be used for activities like checking the quality of internal welds and looking inside delicate systems to determine the cause of errors.

Advances in battery and LED technologies have allowed the units to get smaller, while offering much better image

THE MIGH MIGHTY MIGHT TY PEN The Pen would allow you to shoot 72 smaller framed pictures on a standard roll of 36 Kodak film, which was magic to me.

quality than past generations of the technology.

Early videoscopes were large, bulky devices with CRT displays.

Moreover, they needed to be plugged into a power outlet with long lengths of trailing cables, leaving a contractor tethered when working in the mechanical room. That’s not the case with the latest generation of models.

And the size isn’t the only thing that’s shrinking. The cost of units continues to drop significantly, which makes these powerful instruments affordable to a wider range of customers.

That means a lot less digging up of our infrastructure and pipe systems in buildings, and further raises the technical competency of the plumbing industry.

OLYMPUS NOW These days Olympus has expanded beyond standard digital camera technology and is now a highly respected name in the opto-electronic market, particularly in the medical field.

The company continues to develop innovative micro-solutions in lens and light technology, and if you or your colleagues have had a medical procedure called a colonoscopy, the specialist may well have used an Olympus endoscope for the procedure – not that I’m one to check for brand names during such moments!

Jeff Patchell is managing director of Connection Magazines Pty Ltd. He operates www.worldplumbinginfo.com, an online plumbing industry knowledge bank.

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Be a full-service plumbing super hero to your customers with VIQUAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free on-line Certified Installer Program. Think UV for protection from evil biological contaminants!

Think UV. Think VIQUA. www.viqua.com

Compiled by Mechanical Business

STABLE STARTS TARTS

187,197 UNITS

The annualized number of housing starts in Canada in August, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Housing trends have held stable for six consecutive months.

BUILDING BILLIONS

DON’T CUT IN

$8.0 BILLION

54%

The value of building permits in July, up 20.7 per cent from June.

This marks the sixth increase in the past seven months. The rise was led by higher construction intentions for commercial buildings.

Cutting and weaving was the most common complaint from drivers in a recent study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. This was followed by speeding (29%) and “hostile displays” (25%).

AGING WORKFORCE

18.7% The percentage of people employed in Canada aged 55 and over, according to the 2011 National Household Survey. In the 2006 census, employed Canadians over 55 represented 15.5% of the population.

FLOOD FIXING

PUT AWAY THE SHOVEL

$5 BILLION The estimated cleanup and reconstruction costs associated with the flooding that took place in Alberta this past summer.

THE OTHER 1%

5.1%

The percentage the average annual area of snow cover in Canada has declined over the past 39 years.

The percentage of Canadians who receive untreated drinking water.

Their primary source is groundwater.

Sources: Air Canada Centre, RBC, Canadian Tire, CMHC, Statistics Canada, Industry Canada

1142

M e c h a n i c a l

B u s i n e s s

1 0 . 1 3

PM# 41536047 Postmaster: Please send all address changes or undeliverable copies to: Mechanical Business, 19 – 1525 Cornwall Road, Oakville, ON L6J 0B2

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The SD22 from OS&B™ - Your job just got a lot easier.

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