n Tankless & Storage

heater” in the “directory of energy efficiency programs for home” section. You’ll find over a dozen rebate programs currently operating across the country. Money that would be going directly back into your customer’s pockets. This goes for both tankless and tankstyle water heaters.

With climate change being such a big topic of discussion around the world, this is also shifting the fuel sources for our water heaters. “If you look at the general political climate and if you look at all the talk out in the industry, a lot of the legislation is pushing away from gas," explains Euverman. “That’s why we started to sell electric hot water tanks. We wanted to be in the market where that demand is going to increase.”

And for those who haven’t made the switch to fully electric, it’s coming, “Electrification is pushing us to find other ways as well to present an electric tankless on the market,” said Tran. “This affects us too in some districts of the U.S.; they are banning natural gas products, but that’s pushing us.”

Maintenance checklist

With the ramifications of the pandemic in the forced-air heating sphere, there has been a spotlight pointed directly at indoor air quality. Like the space heating world, water quality is just as important when it comes to domestic hot water heating. Tank units could need to be replaced faster than wanted when poor water quality is pushed into the system, “It is very essential to have water quality that falls within the parameters or the specifications of any manufacturer,” says Euverman.

Scale can build up over time on tankless and regular maintenance is needed just as with a tank unit. As such, it is important to make sure customers keep up with regular maintenance. Tankless water heaters should have its heat exchanger cleaned regularly. “It’s really unusual for people to clean tanks, although it’s recommended to look at the maintenance guidelines,” explains Moores. To clean a heat exchanger, all that’s needed is table vinegar. It typically takes anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes. “Most contractors are set up with all the things they need to do service and maintenance on tankless water heaters. They carry it around in their truck and can do several in a day.”

With electric storage tank water heaters in particular, the anode rod needs to be a part of the maintenance checklist. “Every couple of years, the installer technician should be coming back for a service call to look at the tank and make sure that the anode rod is still intact and if it isn’t, you’ll need to replace it,” explains Euverman. Maintenance should occur every year or two on both types of water heaters.

Making life simpler

New builds are typically easier to install any type of equipment, with equipment typically built around each other. Retrofits on the other hand tend to be a bit more challenging. Tankless manufacturers have come up with innovative solutions to make installation a bit easier on the technician. Some units now have a top-mounted connection, which reduces installation time. “We’re starting to see that kind of trend in the tankless market, where they’re starting to make top-mounted connections or connections that are both top and bottom mounted,” explains Tran. “That is sort of a trend now because I think installation time has been a big barrier for plumbers. Some plumbers are just used to throwing in another storage tank. Now with these options, it’s becoming a little more accessible for everyone.”

The most difficult part of any type of retrofit, whether tankless or tank, would be if the home was switching fuel sources. If it’s going from gas to electric, the breakers need to be tested to make sure it can handle the power draw from the new piece of equipment.

If a homeowner is going to a gas-fired unit, then the venting would need to be changed a little bit and the gas lines need to be tested to ensure that they are also the correct size.

“There are definitely some more steps involved with a tankless. That being said, for most installs, people can replace it quite fast from a tank to a tankless,” says Euverman. :

By Michael Ridler

There is an artistry when it comes to hydronics. Every component of the system is placed together, creating a masterpiece. That isn’t to say that there aren’t any miscalculations or misapplications. In the previous issue, we highlighted some of the most common “party fouls” that I have seen over the years. We are going to cover a few more in this issue.

Not using balancing manifolds

I am still seeing applications where copper stock manifolds are used for hydronic heating systems. When I was still doing installations, I used them because I frankly didn’t know better.

Let’s assume we have a bungalow with four rooms — two rooms need 10,000 btu/h and two of them need 30,000 btu/h. How are you going to make sure the flows are right with a copper stock manifold? You can’t.

CSA B214 14.3.4 clearly states that when we do these installations, we need to ensure proper design flow rates are achieved. That is a tough task with every room needing a different flow rate and no manifold balancing valves. Just about every manufacturer makes balancing manifolds, so there are lots to choose from.

Piping boilers like it’s still 1984

One of my original mentors used to always tell me, “This is how we have always done it; nobody has ever complained.” The reality is repeatedly doing it wrong doesn’t make it right. Just because they never called me back to fix it doesn’t mean it worked. My competitor very likely went in and fixed it, which is why I never heard about our system’s problems. Don’t let this be you.

Take advantage of technology, like PP-RCT piping that is taking Canada by storm and has been used extensively across North America. Typically, you weld PPR pipe using socket fusion or butt fusion but now, with the advent of electrofusion, you can fuse pipe up to 12-inches in quite literally minutes with ease and no previous knowledge outside of a quick training session. Always look to see what new innovations are on the market. I recently had the pleasure of visiting a manufacturer who is making preassembled primary/secondary headers in stainless steel. Not only does it look stunning, but it is also surprisingly costeffective and much faster than piping a primary/secondary yourself.

As for the topic of closely spaced tees, if you can decipher the problem.

The last load return water is coming back at 115.8F. What would happen if we had installed a hydronic heat pump only capable of producing 130F water? The complaint will be that the emitter on the far right of my drawing will have water temperatures that are too low to heat the space and the end user will be cold.

Imposing our own budgets

they have been used for longer than I have been alive. They can be harmless in the right application, but technology has evolved, and it does require some thought and at times can be a problem. Look at the example below and see

During the winter, the system worked perfectly, but the building owner complained that all summer long the front lobby radiators were smoking hot. Look at the way that the indirect is piped in. It works great in the wintertime, but all summer long, we are pumping heat all through the secondary piping and can end up with heat going out into the building if thermal traps and check valves are not being used. This is exacerbated by an external control that was bringing pumps on; although the boiler was off due to reset heating, the heat from the indirect was getting pumped around the building.

The other thing I want to note is the potential temperature drop across the loads.

This is a topic I discuss frequently while doing training. When it comes to hydronics, we sometimes instinctively rule out more expensive options because we think we won’t get the work or the homeowner won’t want it. Let the customer decide. Sometimes paying more upfront will result in paying less each month for the life of the home.

Don’t imply your own budget constraints on the consumer; give them options so they can choose. I know that I myself am quite guilty of this and actively work to not put my own budget limitations or design preferences on consumers/contractors/engineers that I have just met.

Air & dirt elimination

Air vents and high-efficiency air separators are not the same. When I started working at Eden Energy Equipment and met Bob ‘Hot Rod’ Rohr, it was my first introduction to a

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