Douglasville …theplumbingnews.com/stories/2015-GA-JAN/Georgia-Plumbing-News...On a sad note, our hearts and prayers ... NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Indus-try), and

PLUMBING • IRRIGATION • KITCHEN & BATH •UNDERGROUND • ASPE

January 31st, 2015Issue 1 Volume 14

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THE PIPELINE

28 Pages in 2 Sections

CONTINUED on PAGE 3A


Jack Hardwick MorganEditor and Publisher

CONTINUED on PAGE 3ACONTINUED on PAGE 3A

WWW.THEPLUMBINGNEWS.COM


2015 Water Heater Issue

Douglasville Winnelson HostShowroom Re-Grand

Opening on 36th Anniversary

Douglasville Winnelson,located at 6480 BankheadHwy., Douglasville GA 30134,held a re-grand openingevent on January 15, 2015to celebrate their 36th Anni-versary and introduce theirnew and improved show-

room.Douglasville Winnelson

opened their spectacularshowroom in 2010 and re-cently made renovationswhich included new displaysand updated working dis-

KBIS Has AnotherBanner Year

This year's State of the Industryaddress, sponsored by Danze,was presented by FergusonBath, Kitchen & Lighting

Gallery's COO Kevin Murphy.

The 2015 Kitchen & BathIndustry Show (KBIS), thelargest North American plat-form devoted to kitchen andbath industry design,

wrapped its 51st annualshow at the Las Vegas Con-vention Center and VisitorsCenter. More than 500 ex-hibitors took part in the three-day show on Jan. 20-22,2015. According to KBIS pro-ducers, Emerald Exposi-tions, and show owners, theNational Kitchen & Bath As-sociation (NKBA), early indi-cators show the 2015 eventsaw a five percent growth inverified attendance.

“Everything about thisyear’s show lived up to thepromise of bigger, better andbolder,” said Bill Darcy, NKBACEO. “We were thrilled, notonly by the turnout, but byhow many innovations were

Jonathan Raines Promoted toField Supervisor for CovenantMechanical Contractors, Inc

Bianca Lowe JoinsCovenant Mechanical

Covenant Mechanicalwould like to welcome thenewest member of the fam-

ily. Bianca Lowe will beworking as the Office Assis-tant for the estimating de-partment. Bianca is new tothe plumbing world; however,she is very excited aboutlearning all she can andhopes to work her way up inthe area of estimating.Bianca is married with twokids, a 5 year old girl and a2 year old boy. Bianca en-joys roller skating, karaoke,scrapbooking, fishing (shehopes to win the biggest fishcontest at the next Covenantfishing trip), and spendingtime with her family.

Congratulations toJonathan Raines on his pro-motion to Field Supervisor

for Covenant MechanicalContractors, Inc. Jonathanhas worked for Covenant for8 years as a plumber. Hesays that what he enjoysmost about his new positionis being able to deal withmore people on a daily ba-sis. Jonathan lives inMarietta with his wife andtwo kids. They have a 2year old son and an 11month old daughter.Jonathan enjoys all thingsoutdoors; hunting, fishing,etc. He also likes to spendhis free time doing wood-

PMA 2nd Annual FamilyDay at Snow Mountain an

Avalanche of Fun

Plumbing & MechanicalAssociation of Georgia con-tinued the tradition of familyfun by holding the 2nd AnnualFamily Day at Snow Moun-

tain on Sunday, January 25th.Once again the event was ahuge success! The eventwas open to the entire

Sue, Issac and Jerome SabolGreeting Plumbing Pros!

Once again, Happy Newyear to you! I hope you allhave a prosperous 2015!

I would like to start off bycongratulating Devore andJohnson on their 65th yearAnniversary. That is a won-derful accomplishment andI wish you all many moreyears of great business.

On a sad note, ourhearts and prayers go outto the families and friendsof Clyde Rodbell of ApexSupply who recently passedaway in January 10, 2015. Ifirst met Mr. Clyde Rodbellwhen I first established ThePlumbing News 17 yearsago. He was one of my veryfirst clients, placing an 8page insert in the very firstedition of the GeorgiaPlumbing News. I remembersitting down with him forseveral hours in his officediscussing the ad and ar-ticle on Apex Supply that

Page 2A Georgia Plumbing News - January 31st, 2015

THE GEORGIAPLUMBING NEWS

5579-b Chamblee -Dunwoody RDSTE 157 Atlanata Ga. 30338

Phone: 770.378.1194Fax: 770.395.7069

[email protected]: www.theplumbingnews.com

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E-mail: [email protected]’s E-mail: [email protected]: [email protected]

Advertising Department : 770.378.1194Jack Hardwick Morgan - Editor and Publisher

Lee HyaducK - Administrative [email protected]

404.754.0633Shea Britt - Staff [email protected]

The Georgia Plumbing News is a monthly publication of MorganPublishing Company. The publisher does not assume responsibilityfor statements made by advertisers and reports opinions by dealers,suppliers and manufacturers as quoted. The advertising and copy

deadline for the next issue is February 21st, 2015. All contents arecopyright 2015 by Morgan Publishing Company.

Advertising Index

Georgia Plumbing News - January 31st, 2015 Page 3A

APEX Supply --------------------------------------- page 11ABellamy Strickland ------------------------------- page 8BBradford White ------------------------------------ page 14ABradford White ------------------------------------ page 15ADavid Merbaum ----------------------------------- page 10BDelta Plumbing ------------------------------------ page 11BDevore & Johnson -------------------------------- page 7ADitch Witch ----------------------------------------- page 5BE&E ------------------------------------------------- page 2BGeorgia Power ------------------------------------ page 6AGeorgia Power ------------------------------------ page 9BMobile Fleet Solutions --------------------------- page 4ANoritz ------------------------------------------------ page 12BPDI -------------------------------------------------- page 16APMA ------------------------------------------------- page 10BRectorSeal ------------------------------------------ page 10ASaniflo ---------------------------------------------- page 5ASoutheast Pump & Equipment, Inc. ------------ page 1BSuperior Plumbing -------------------------------- page 12ATaco ------------------------------------------------- page 3BTaco ------------------------------------------------- page 4BWinnelson / Noland ------------------------------- page 2AWinnelson ------------------------------------------ page 8AWinnelson ------------------------------------------ page 9A

January 31st, 2015

ASPE Monthly Meeting -------------------------- page 6BCalendar -------------------------------------------- page 4AEngineer Spotlight -------------------------------- page 2BPMA Luncheon ------------------------------------ page 10APMA Snow Mountain ----------------------------- page 13ATruck of the Month -------------------------------- page 9BWinnelson - Douglasville ------------------------- page 7B

CONTINUED from PAGE 1A

THE PIPELINE


Snow Mountain


Winnelson

Jonathan RainesCONTINUED from PAGE 1A


KBIS 2015CONTINUED from PAGE 1A

plays. They have alsoadded many new lines whichinclude lighting, mirrors,cabinetry and vanities. TheShowroom is approximately3400 sq. ft. and highlightsseveral working displayscreating a hands-on expe-rience for their customer’sadded convenience, includ-ing Working Shower Displaythat has 16 functions(showerheads, body sprays,steam unit, and handhelds)2 working tubs, warmingdrawer, and heated flooring.Other nonworking displaysinclude: walk in tub, 4 free-standing tubs all differentstyles, clawfoot tub, pedes-tal base tub, wood frame tub,and solid surface contempo-rary freestanding tub, vani-ties, faucet displays, pedes-tals, suites, vessel bowl dis-play, and much more.

The Showroom hours ofoperation are Monday-Fri-day from 8am to 5:00pm.Douglasville WinnelsonShowroom welcomes walk-ins but you may also calland make an appointmentwhich is always appreciated.If you would like more infor-mation on the showroomplease contact their newShowroom Manager, MandyGreen at 770-949-1370.

working projects. The wholeCovenant Mechanical fam-ily is excited for Jonathanand what his future holdswith the company.

introduced by exhibitors thisyear. We couldn’t be happierthat the industry sees KBISas the platform to success-fully launch new products.”

The addition of 500,000square feet in the South Halloffered the opportunity to

provide thought provoking,inspired ‘on floor’ program-ming, as well as additionalexhibit space. Branded asKBISNeXTTM, the area wasa destination for discoveringthe next ideas, trends andinnovations in the kitchenand bath industry. In additionto programming on theKBISNeXT Stage, the area

also featured a Tech Bar,and the FutureHaus Kitchen,presented by Virginia Tech.

Once again, the NKBA’sVoices From The Industry(VFTI) delivered huge valueto attendees with more than90 sessions in 11 confer-ence blocks. Many of thesessions offered continuingeducation units (CEUs) fromthe NKBA as well as otherindustry associations, in-cluding NAHB (National As-sociation of Homebuilders),NARI (National Associationof the Remodeling Indus-try), and AIA (American In-stitute of Architects).

In collaboration with theNational Association ofHome Builders (NAHB), KBISco-located with the Interna-tional Builders’ Show (IBS)for the second annual De-sign & ConstructionWeekTM. Two additionaldesign and constructionevents – the winter 2015Las Vegas Market and TheInternational Surface Event

plumbing industry and theirfamilies.

PMA thanks its sponsorsFederated Insurance, Geor-gia Power, ECCO, CashAcme, Ferguson, PDI,Plumbing News, Sharkbitefor their financial support.PMA also thanks CovenantMechanical, DeVore &Johnson, Integrated Plumb-ing Services, PDI, PlumbWorks and Superior Plumb-ing for hosting their employ-ees and families at thisevent.

PMA thanks the FutureLeadership Council (FLC)Chair Chris Johnson, of C&AJohnson Plumbing Servicefor taking the lead and work-ing so hard on all the detailsthat made this an event tobe remembered. The FLC,in it’s fourth year of opera-tion, has a goal of providinga “community” within theplumbing industry. They em-brace younger members of

the plumbing community andencourage them to partici-pate and get involved.These guys and gals are thefuture leaders of the indus-try and need to be heard.

Mark your calendar forthe next FLC event which ispart of the Leadership Lun-cheon Series held atMaggiano’s in Dunwoody onthe 1st Wednesday of themonth. PMA’s 2nd AnnualPlumbing Heating CoolingExpo is Thursday, April 23rd,2015 at Jim Miller Park. Formore information contactPMA at 678-947-3473 or goto www.Plumbingpros.com.

The Plumbing & Mechani-cal Association of Georgia(PMA) is the professionaltrade association for plumb-ing and mechanical contrac-tors. PMA and its nationalaffiliate, the Plumbing-Heat-ing-Cooling Contractors—National Association (PHCC)(www.phccweb.org), havebeen representing the inter-ests of the industry in Geor-gia since 1892.

would go along with it. Hegave me great informationon the history of Apex Sup-ply and how it was estab-lished by his father with thename of Hide & Metal in1912. In 1955, the companywas purchased by Clyde,who changed the name toApex Supply. Clyde was anicon and was such an inspi-ration to all who knew him. Hewas a wonderful person whocared so greatly about hisfamily, friends and our indus-try and will be greatly missed.In lieu of flowers, the familyasks that memorials be madeto: Shepherd Center 2020Peachtree Road, NW, Atlanta,GA 30309, Camp Sunshine1850 Clairmont Road,Decatur, GA 30033, JewishFederation of Greater Atlanta1440 Spring Street, NW, At-lanta, GA 30309.

I hope to see all of you atsome great upcoming eventsour industry will be holdingincluding, the NCPMA Con-nections Conference will beheld on April 16th , PMA Expoon April 24th, and the TAPHCCTradeshow and Conventionwhich will be held on May 7th .

With Spring approaching,please be sure to contact usregarding any events you maybe holding so we can place iton our Events Calendar.

The Plumbing News con-tinues to exceed our analyticsand digital download, whichtotaled just over 1,117,000from June 23rd thru November15th, 2014. We are astonishedby our ratings compared toother national media compa-nies. We are also offering our2015 Budget Promotion thatwill be running until March15th, so please keep this inmind and contact me for de-tails at 770-378-1194 or byemail at [email protected] totake advantage of this amaz-ing deal! Also, please contactmyself, Lee Hyaduck [email protected] or SheaBritt [email protected] forevents, articles, news, etc. thatyou would like the PlumbingNews to cover. Don’t forget toalso check us out on FB andTwitter.

Thank you to all of our ad-vertisers and please supportthem because without them,we would not be able to pub-lish your news and, as always,I will see you down thepipeline.


CONTINUED from PAGE 1AE V E N T S C A L E N D A R

1st Thursday of MonthNorth Georgia PHCC- BraseltonLOCATION: Houndstooth Grill

2nd Tuesday of Every Other MonthSouth Metro PMALOCATION: McDounoughCONTACT: Tim Irvin 404-361-1928

3rd Tuesday of the MonthNorthwest Metro PMA, MariettaLOCATION: Delkwood GrillCONTACT: Troy Callahan 678-410-1629

February 24th, 2015 6PMASPE Atlanta Chapter Meeting.BSL4 High Containment plumbing design withOvidu MuresanLocation: 4000 Summit Blvd, Atlanta, GAContact: [email protected]

March 24th, 2015 6PMASPE Atlanta Chapter Meeting.Instantaneous water heater developmentwith Jeff Hubeny.Location: 4000 Summit Blvd, Atlanta, GAContact: [email protected]

April 18th, 2014 6PMASPE Atlanta Chapter MeetingFire Protection Alarms and Controls

Send all of your open house, continuing education, seminar, and trade show information to:THE GEORGIA PLUMBING NEWS CALENDAR: [email protected]

with David AllenLocation: 4000 Summit Blvd, Atlanta, GAContact: [email protected]

April 23rd, 2015PMA Heating/Cooling Contractors ExpoLOCATION: Jim Miller Park - MariettaCONTACT: [email protected]

May 26th, 2014 6PMASPE Atlanta Chapter MeetingBooster pump design and code with DavidCarrier. Officer elections for ASPE AtlantaBoard 2015/2016.Location: 4000 Summit Blvd, Atlanta, GAContact: [email protected]

June 11-14, 2015PMA Annual ConferenceLOCATION: St. Simons IslandCONTACT: [email protected]

July 28th, 2014 6PMASPE Atlanta Chapter MeetingLocation: 4000 Summit Blvd, Atlanta, GAContact: [email protected]

September 15th, 2015PMA Fall Annual Golf TournamentLOCATION: Suwanee, GACONTACT: [email protected]

September 28th- October 2nd, 2015PHCC Connect National ConventionLOCATION: Hollywood, FloridaCONTACT: phccweb.org

MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATIONSClick the link and make hotel reservations for the

convention today!!Southern Wholesalers Association

Start date: 6/23/15 End date: 7/2/15Last day to book by: 5/29/15

Marriott hotel(s) offering your special group rate:· Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa for 199.00 USD

- 239.00 USD per nightCALL 843-686-8400





– SURFACES and The TileExpo took part in this year’sevent. The International Win-dow Coverings Expo (IWCE)also continued its participa-tion. Early estimates showthe 2015 mega-event drewmore than 125,000 design-ers, builders, dealers andsuppliers and more than 300members of the media.

As the founding mem-bers of Design & Construc-tion WeekTM, the NKBA andNAHB announced this weektheir respective trade shows

will continue to co-locate to-gether through 2020 as oneof the world’s largest gath-erings focused on newideas, products and tech-nologies to design, build andremodel homes. Design &Construction WeekTM isamong six events scheduledat the Las Vegas Conven-tion Center during January,making it “one of the mostrobust months of conventionattendance in years,” ac-cording to the Las VegasReview.

News of the co-locationextension is welcome, com-ing on the heels of a posi-

tive housing report releasedfrom the U.S. Commerce

Department. The report,which points toward a posi-

tive outlook for the buildingindustry in 2015, providesoptimism for kitchen andbath professionals and KBISexhibitors.

“KBIS 2015 and our par-ticipation in Design & Con-struction Week was a hugesuccess,” said Brian Pagel,VP, Kitchen & Bath, EmeraldExpositions. “We are incred-ibly excited about the futureof these events given theprospect of a stronger hous-ing market in 2015.”

At the NKBA’s annualState of the Industry ad-dress, Kevin Murphy, chiefoperating officer ofFerguson Enterprises de-claring to a cheering crowdthat the state of the industryis excellent. Murphy citedstrong employee develop-ment programs, a multi-channel experience and theneed to embrace the chang-ing expectation of customersas today’s key opportunitiesfor innovative businesses.

The 2016 KBIS will be heldJan. 19-21, 2016 in Las Ve-gas. Future show dates areJan. 10-12, 2017 and Jan. 9-11, 2018 at the OrangeCounty Convention Centerin Orlando, Florida.

About KBISKBIS, in conjunction with

the National Kitchen andBath Association (NKBA) isan inspiring, interactive plat-form that showcases the lat-est industry products, trendsand technologies. KBIS isthe voice of the kitchen andbath industry and has beenfor 50 years.

Early in 2013, the NationalKitchen & Bath Association(NKBA) and National Asso-ciation of Home Builders(NAHB) announced anagreement to co-locate theKitchen & Bath IndustryShow (KBIS) with the Inter-national Builders’ Show (IBS)in Las Vegas, Nev. in Febru-ary 2014 under the bannerof Design and ConstructionWeek™. The mega-eventwill return Jan. 20-22, 2015,in Las Vegas with eachshow occupying a separate

2015 KBIS Innovation Winners


Travis Elrod, Mike Devore , Russ Devore, Bob Clark and David Barlow


Bradford White Hires New VicePresident of Operations

Bradford White recentlyannounced the appointmentof Mathew Lewandowski toVice President of Opera-tions. Lewandowski willimplement, manage and di-rect all manufacturing and

operation functions at thecompany’s Middleville, MIfacility with a focus on driv-ing capacity, deliverability,and product quality improve-ments. He will report directlyto Eric Lannes, ExecutiveVice President and GeneralManager of Bradford White.

Prior to joining BradfordWhite, Mr. Lewandowski wasAssistant General Managerof Magna Mirrors of AmericaInc., a division of Magna In-ternational, one of the larg-est automotive parts manu-facturers in North America.

“Matt’s extensive back-ground and worldwide rec-ognition in continuous-flow,demand-driven manufactur-ing make him the perfect fitfor Bradford White as we

Mathew Lewandowski,Vice President of Operations

look to capitalize on our larg-est expansion and capitalinvestment plan in companyhistory,” said Eric Lannes.“Matt’s skillset will help ussecure our position as oneof the largest and most tech-nologically advanced manu-facturers in the industry.”

Bradford White Corpora-tion is a full line manufac-turer of residential, commer-cial and industrial productsfor water heating, spaceheating, combination heat-ing and storage applica-tions. The company is head-quartered in Ambler, PA andhas manufacturing facilitiesin Middleville, MI, Niles, MI,and Rochester, NH and a dis-tribution center inMississauga, ON Canada.


A. O. Smith Ashland CityPlant Earns CompanySustainability Award

A multi-year effort to re-duce electricity and naturalgas consumption, conservewater and increase materialrecycling culminated todayas the A. O. Smith Corpora-tion Ashland City, Tennesseeplant earned the 2013Chairman’s Green StarAward for resource conser-vation.

The 1,100 Ashland Cityemployees were recognizedby Chairman and Chief Ex-ecutive Officer Ajita G.

Rajendra in a special cer-emony recently.

“Ashland City is one of thelargest water heater plantsin the world, and the workyou have done to conserveresources is truly impres-sive,” Rajendra said in an-nouncing the award.“Equally as important, youhave made a point of involv-ing the entire team in theeffort, and this has multipliedthe impact throughout thefacility.”

A. O. Smith created theChairman’s Green StarAward in 2009 to encouragenatural resource conserva-tion efforts throughout thecompany. The award isearned by the plant thatachieves the most year-over-year reductions in natu-ral gas consumption, elec-tricity usage and water con-sumption. A total of 15 facili-

ties worldwide competed forthis year’s award.

Individual initiativesthroughout the 1.5 million sq.ft. facility focused on savingelectricity, conserving waterand increasing the amountof material the residentialwater heater plant recycles,and these initiatives havehad a major impact accord-ing to Kevin Harrell, environ-

mental safety and healthengineer in Ashland City.

“There have been a num-ber of projects aimed at re-source consumption andenergy consumption,”Harrell observed. “Over thelast few years, we have madean effort to coordinate thoseactivities.”

As a global water tech-

Mark Petaraca, senior vice president-human resources andpublic affairs; Steve Anderson, senior vice president-

manufacturing and supply chain; Kevin Harrell, environmentalengineer for Ashland City; Ajita Rajendra, chairman and chiefexecutive officer; Lisa Darnall, Ashland City human resources

manager; Keith Auville, Ashland City plant manager.




Alex Covalsen Wins CovenantMechanical Raffle

hall. Kitchen and bathbrands that have partici-pated in both shows can con-tinue to choose to exhibit inthe KBIS or IBS hall. Onepass will provide access toboth exhibits. NKBA andNAHB will continue to pro-duce separate educationalprogramming and specialevents.

For the latest news andannouncements visitwww.KBIS.com, follow KBISon Facebook at http://w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /KitchenBathIndustryShowand on Twitter at@KBIS2015.

The National Kitchen &Bath Association (NKBA) isa non-profit trade associa-tion with more than 60,000members that has educatedand led the kitchen and bathindustry for over 50 years.NKBA.org provides consum-ers with an inspiration galleryof award-winning kitchenand bath designs, as well asarticles, tips, and an exten-sive glossary of remodel-ing terms. At NKBA.org,consumers can also findNKBA Connect ( theassoc ia t ion ’s o f f i c ia lb log) , cer t i f ied k i tchenand bath professionals intheir areas, submit ques-tions to NKBA experts, anddownload the free NKBAKi tchen P lanner andNKBA Bath Planner. Tolearn more, visit the NKBAPress Room at www.NKBA.org.

Alex Covalsen hasworked at Covenant Me-chanical for over a year asa plumber’s assistant. Herecently won the companyChristmas raffle. Alex’s prizewas a 32" TV. Reports arethat his daughter is enjoyingit very much. All of the Cov-enant family is very happyfor Alex. We can’t want tosee what other great thingsare in store for him.

nology company, A. O. Smithhas emphasized making themost efficient use of its wa-ter resources and findingways to save water. InAshland City, this translatedinto modifying the processthe plant uses to wash resi-dential water heater tanks.The team introduced a “re-verse cascading” approachto the four-stage tankwasher so that rinse waterused in the later stages ispumped to earlier stages ofthe process. This reducesthe need to refill tanks, not

only saving water but alsothe amount of detergentneeded in the cleaning pro-cess.

As a result of this processchange, Ashland City re-duced its water usage ap-proximately 36 percent, withannual consumption downnearly 21 million gallons.

To reduce electricity con-sumption in the plant, theteam has installed high-effi-ciency electric motors onequipment and conveyors aswell as high-efficiency, low-watt lighting in the plant anddistribution center. As anadded conservation effort,the team installed motion

sensors so that lightingshuts down during inactivetimes. Electricity usage hasdeclined nearly 20 percentin the Ashland City plant.

The Ashland City leader-ship team, encouraged byPlant Manager Keith Auville,has enlisted the support ofemployees in the energyconservation efforts. Duringdepartment meetingsthroughout the facility, em-ployees were asked to shutdown equipment, fans andheaters at the end of theirshifts to reduce energy us-age and cost.

“In a facility this size, if youCONTINUED on PAGE 8B


A.O. Smith


Scenes from the PMA 2nd Annual Family Day at Snow Mountain


On April 16, 2015, therewill be significant updates towater heater energy factor(EF) requirements as theresult of updates to the Na-tional Appliance Energy Con-servation Act (NAECA).These new requirementscall for higher Energy Fac-tor (EF) ratings on virtuallyall residential gas, electric,oil and tankless gas waterheaters. The NAECA rulingsare important to customersbecause they reduce en-ergy usage and save moneyall year long. According tothe U.S. Department of En-ergy website, standardsmandatory in 2015 will saveapproximately 3.3 quads ofenergy and result in approxi-mately $63 billion in energybill savings for productsshipped from 2015-2044.

HOW THE ENERGYFACTOR (EF) ISCALCULATED

The energy factor (EF)indicates a water heater'soverall energy efficiencybased on the amount of hotwater produced per unit offuel consumed over a typi-cal day. The higher the EF,the more energy efficient thewater heater. The EF is mea-sured in three ways: 1. Re-covery efficiency – how effi-ciently the heat from the en-ergy source is transferred tothe water. 2. Standby losses– the percentage of heatloss per hour from the storedwater compared to the heatcontent of the water (waterheaters with storage tanks).3. Cycling losses – the lossof heat as the water circu-lates through a water heatertank, and/or inlet and outletpipes.

HOW THE NEW NAECARULES AFFECT YOU

Bradford White PresentsARE YOU NAECA READY?

Large contracting firmswill need to get employeesup to speed on the new tech-nologies. Training on thenew products will be critical.

Some installations willnow require two people and

larger trucks as water heat-ers get larger and heavier.

High efficiency gas waterheaters produce conden-sate which will require adrain somewhere in the vi-cinity of the water heater,and/or a condensate pump.

High efficiency waterheaters vent with plasticpipe, which has to be con-structed by the installer.

A heat pump water heatergenerally requires a 10 ft. x10 ft. room, or a duct to anadjoining room to operateproperly.

Water heaters installed intight areas, and increasingin height and/or diametermay present installationchallenges.

The installer must also becognizant of the impact ofnoise as new models mayoperate at a noise levelwhich will lead to homeownercomplaints if not addressedup front.

Understanding the chal-lenges that contractors willface and being able to guidethem can strengthen yourrelationship with your cus-tomers.

Wholesalers will be re-quired to re-train their em-ployees so that they under-stand the intricacies of thenew standards and thechanges to the new waterheaters.

As with the manufacturer,space is always a premium,and these new products willtake up more space in thewholesaler's warehouse.

Wholesalers will have tounderstand and train per-sonnel on any new handlingand logistics requirements.For example, a heat pumpwater heater is generallytaller and heavier than a typi-cal unit. It is especially top-heavy, and stack height maybe impacted due to theadded heat pump compo-nents.

Because the new stylewater heaters may even re-

quire additional componentsfor installation, such as vent-ing material and condensatepumps, the supplier mayhave to stock additionalSKU's.

Residential and multi-family homebuilders willbe impacted by the 2015NAECA standards in sev-eral ways.

First, new NAECA com-pliant water heaters (gas,electric and oil models)with capacities under 55ga l lons w i l l l i ke ly belarger, both in height by1-2 inches and in diam-eter by 2 inches.

As a resu l t ,homebuilders will need toaccommodate th is in -creased product size, in-c lud ing app l icab le re -quired service clearancesby allowing for additionaloverall space at the in-stallation site.

Next, homebuilders in-stal l ing larger capaci tyresidential water heatershigher than 55 gallons willneed to make several ad-justments. For gas-firedproducts over 55 gallons( = 75,000 BTU/Hr.), fullycondensing combustiontechnology will likely berequ i red . As a resu l t ,homebuilders will need toinclude l ine vol tage aswell as a means for con-densate disposal at theinstallation site.

Electric water heatersover 55 gallons (= 12 kWinput) will likely utilize in-tegrated heat pumps tomeet the new EF require-ments. Heat pump waterheaters are genera l lytaller than standard elec-tric water heaters and re-quire a 10 ft. x 10 ft. roomor a duct to an adjoiningroom to operate properly.Homebuilders must alsobe cognizant of the im-pact o f no ise, as heatpump models will operateat a higher noise level.

Homeowners have themost to gain from the newNAECA guidelines with somesaving as much as $365 peryear in energy bills. On theother hand, in some rarecases, water heaters mayhave to be moved to anotherlocation if their new widthcan't be accommodated bythe current location. In othercases, a new type of waterheater may need to be con-sidered in order to meet theNAECA guidelines.

This is where your profes-sional contractor can help.Only a professional contrac-

tor knows and understandsthe new guidelines and allthe product choices that bestfit every homeowner's situ-ation. Be sure to ask yourcontractor what he recom-mends.

In most cases, your cur-rent water heater, say a 40gallon gas model, will beeasily replaced by a new 40gallon gas that has beenmade NAECA compliant. Inmost cases, this waterheater will have added insu-lation (making it one to twoinches wider and possibly asmuch as two inches taller)and looks virtually like yourcurrent model.

Ask your professionalcontractor, who knows theproducts as well as the sizeof your family and yourhouse, for his recommenda-tion.

In any case, you're ingood hands with BradfordWhite (who has all the prod-uct choices you need) andyour professional contractor(who knows which of ourproducts to recommend toperfectly fit your household).

Gas models require ad-ditional insulation, incorpo-rate newer flue bafflingtechnologies (including fluedampers), incorporateelectronic ignition in lieu ofthe standing pilot, or anycombination of these. Oneimpact will be an increasein the overall product size,especially in diameter. Forgas-fired products over 55gallons (= 75,000 BTU/Hr.),fully condensing combus-tion technology will likely berequired. This will alsomean that line voltage will

have to be available, aswell as a means for con-densate disposal.

Electric water heaters willrequire more insulation.This will increase the diam-eter and/or height of thewater heater. Additional in-sulation may be required forpiping and fittings such asdrain and T&P valves. Elec-tric water heaters over 55gallons (= 12 kW input) willlikely utilize integrated heatpumps to meet the new EFrequirements, based on cur-rently available technology.

NAECA AND OILSimilar challenges are faced with the oil-fired prod-

ucts. Much like gas products, oil-fired water heaterswill likely require additional insulation and/or completelynew combustion systems. Note: After April 16, 2015,Bradford White will no longer manufacture oil-fired wa-ter heaters.

CONTINUED on PAGE 5B



Georgia Plumbing News - January 31st, 2015 SECTION B: COMMERCIAL / INDUSTRIAL

by Joseph V. Messina, President

ASPE President’s Message

ASPEEducation

Report

Carl GarofaloVP Education

Now that we have theHolidays out of the way youcan start to think about theNew Year and what is hap-pening with ASPE.

As many of you know I amon the Educational Commit-tee and we have started ourteleconference calls to setup the technical sessions forthe 2015 ASPE Symposiumthat will take place in St.Louis, October 1-4, 2015.

If you are interested insharing your knowledge youcan click on or copy this link,

h t t p s : / / a s p e . o r g /CallforPresenters, which willlead you to the information forthe Call of Presenters on theASPE web site. The Call ofPresenters is a way for theEducational Committee toselect interesting and edu-cational seminars for the at-tendees to the symposium.If you have an interestingand educational seminar thatyou would like to present Iencourage you to fill out theform and submit it for review,but you must hurry becauseas I mentioned above we arein the planning mode andmoving fast. I also encour-

age everyone to put Octo-ber 1-4, 2015 on your cal-endar and to attend the2015 ASPE Symposium.

If you are reading thePipeline you have noticedseveral events are about totake place. There arewebinars coming up as wellas Alfred Steele Scholarshipdeadline is January 31st.There are workshops spout-ing up all over the place likeCharlotte, NC, San Antonio,

TX, Austin, TX and Phoenix,AZ. If you have not read thePipeline you must to keep upwith what is going on with theSociety as far as Education,however you may be gettingemails on these subjectstoo.

If you are interested youcan now go online and reg-ister for the CPD exam if youare not already a CPD re-cipient. For those who arealready a CPD recipient youcan now submit your recer-tification online. All of thisinformation is in the Pipelinewhich you receive throughyour emails. If you are notgetting the Pipeline thenSociety must not have yourcorrect email address so youneed to contact them or theAtlanta Chapter Board tohelp you with getting it fixed.

The attendances at ourdiner meetings have beenoutstanding this pass yearand I would like to thank ev-eryone for supporting thechapter and attended thesemeetings and look forwardfor the upcoming year to beas successful.


The Atlanta ASPE boardis excited to announce thatCassandra Tidwell is the re-cipient of the 2014 ASPEscholarship. Cassandra is astudent at the University ofNorth Georgia and is thegranddaughter of past presi-dent Harry Schnirring.Cassandra will receive a$1,000 dollar scholarshipduring the December dinnermeeting, please join us incongratulating Cassandra!

Are you looking to furtheryour career within the plumb-ing design community? Do

Page 2B Georgia Plumbing News - January 31st, 2015

Steve Mastley ofMatheson-Ball & AssociatesSteve Mastley began his

career in the engineering in-dustry over 35 years ago. Hestarted in 1977 with Britt Al-derman Associates (nowknown as BAA MechanicalEngineers) where he workedfor 21 years. During thistime, Steve assisted in thedesign of many high rise of-fice buildings and hotels that

define the Atlanta sky linetoday.

In July of 1998, Stevejoined the Matheson-Ball &Associates team. In his cur-rent role at Matheson-Ball,Steve holds the position ofSenior Plumbing Engineerand is responsible for thedevelopment of projectdrawings and specifications

during the design processand construction administra-tion for plumbing and fireprotection. Steve’s motto is“Anything worth doing, isworth doing well to the bestof your ability”.

Steve has been a mem-ber of ASPE since 1987 andhas served on the AtlantaChapter Board of Directorsfor 15 years in various Boardpositions, most notably, 6terms as Chapter President.He earned his CPD Certifi-cation in 2000 and has been

recognized by Society for hiscontributions to the plumb-ing industry, having ad-vanced the profession ofplumbing engineering, earn-ing the ASPE College of Fel-lows FASPE designation in2010. Steve is very passion-ate about engineers anddesigners belonging to, andactively participating in aprofessional society relatedto their field of work. Stevebelieves this connectiondemonstrates commitmentto the profession and pro-vides opportunities in thecompany of piers that can-not be found anywhere else.

Steve enjoys running,racquetball, tennis, andhome remodeling during hisfree time. Steve also alwaystakes advantage of everyopportunity to promoteplumbing engineering andthe merits of an ASPEmembership.

ASPELegislative

Report

Ovi MuresanCPD, LEED AP


Happy New Year! Whishyou and your family a joyful,bright, healthy, prosperousand happiest new yearahead. Due to a delay inpublishing beyond anyone’scontrol we will combine De-cember and January news-letter issues.

At the last month’s meet-ing I did brought up a ques-tion/suggestion about how toget more young profession-als to our monthly meetings.I don’t want this to be inter-preted as an additional fi-nancial burden to our localvendors and manufacturerrep. I want to assure you thatour board is fully committedto this and we are open toany idea and suggestions.

Georgia Plumbing News - January 31st, 2015 Page 3B

by Jeff Long VP Membership

ASPE Membership Report ASPE V.P. Technical

by Nick Mosley


EducationCONTINUED from PAGE 1B

you want to be as knowl-edgeable as possible and bethe “go to” guy at the office?Do you want more acronymsbehind your name when yousend an email? If you an-swered “yes” to any of thesequestions, you want to pur-sue a certified plumbing de-sign certification (CPD)!

The 2015 exam dates areApril 9-10, 2015. Registra-tion will open on January 2,2015. Online registrationcloses March 12, 2015. Withregistration right around thecorner it’s time to start plan-ning now for the 2015 exam.If you would like more infor-mation please contact me [email protected] visit http://www.aspe.org/CPD.

Over the last few weeksJeff Long had some awfullytough decisions to make.The ramifications of thosedecisions were more publi-cized and criticized than anyother decision he’s evermade in his entire life. Nomatter how right he believeshis final decision was, thereare millions of people thatagree with him, and morenoticeably, millions that donot. To make things morestressful, his final decisionon December 7th had impli-cations on millions of dollars,millions of people, and his-tory as we know it.

Would you willingly putyourself in Jeff’s shoes? No,I am not writing in the thirdperson. I’m referring to theCollege Football Playoff se-lection committee chair, JeffLong. For those of you thatare not college football fans,Jeff and his committee willbe selected four teams tocompete in the first ever col-lege football playoff. Trustme when I tell you there aremore than four fan basis whobelieve their team is qualifiedfor one of the four spots. Toanswer my own question,that’s not a level of stress or

position I envy. The Atlanta ASPE Board

does not have near the re-sponsibilities of Jeff Long,the CFP chair. Our respon-sibilities focus specifically onproviding our members witha valuable service. A servicewe are to provide by: Keep-ing them up-to-date on cur-rent trends, code changes,and technologies affectingthe plumbing engineeringindustry; Providing themwith direct access to the lat-est information and techni-cal developments in the field;Offering education and pro-fessional growth and devel-opment opportunities; Main-

taining a Chapter networkthat enables them to buildpersonal and professionalcontacts and to network withengineers, designers,wholesalers, and manufac-turers. It makes for a uniqueopportunity for peer-to-peerand professional-to-profes-sional interaction in an infor-mal and friendly setting.

Do you have a colleagueor friend that could benefitfrom such services? If so, Ichallenge you to bring themto our next dinner meetingon Tuesday, January 27th.

As always, members arethe backbone of our Chap-ter and Society. The moremembers we have, the morevalue WE create. We are


The ASPE Atlanta boardhas been working hard forthe Holiday’s and Christmasis just passed quickly. Mark

down our technical session’sdates and changes for nextyear and let’s make the bestwe can. Thank you to all ourSponsors, speakers and at-tendees for a great 2014year.

Special thanks to RyanChubon for his presentationat our Dec. 16th meeting.Ryan covered the practicaluses of the CPVC AND PVCpiping in today’s design. Our2015 Annual Product Showplanning is underway and allthe information will be sentout ASAP. We are going tocover the “REVIT using Au-tomatic Pipe Sizing” pro-


William Smith, FASPE,Named ASPE’s New

Executive Director/CEOThe American Society of

Plumbing Engineers (ASPE)is pleased to announce the

appointment of William M.Smith, FASPE, as theSociety’s new Executive Di-

rector/CEO. Smith joined theASPE staff last year as theSociety’s Senior Director ofTechnical and RegulatoryAffairs, serving as theSociety’s main liaison withthe plumbing industry’s codewriting and standards devel-oping organizations. In hisnew role, Smith will be re-sponsible for the administra-tion, management, and fi-nancial operations of theSociety, as well as imple-

menting the policies and pro-cedures established by theASPE Board of Directors. Hewill provide professional ad-ministrative and manage-ment support and financialexpertise to ASPE’s localChapters and for all Societyactivities and programs. Inaddition, Smith will continueto represent the interests ofASPE and the plumbing en-gineering community in codeand standards activities as

well as serve as a technicalresource for the ASPE staffand membership. He will con-tinue to build and maintainrelationships with other in-dustry organizations to en-sure that the public’s healthand safety are kept at theforefront of legislation andregulations regardingplumbing system design, in-stallation, inspection, andmaintenance.

Smith joined ASPE in1993 as an Affiliate Memberand is currently a Full Mem-ber of the Society. He as-sumed a leadership role in2002 when he was ap-pointed to the ASPE Boardof Directors as Society Affili-ate Liaison, and during histenure the position evolvedinto Vice President, Affiliate.Smith also served as Chairof ASPE’s Exhibitors Advi-sory Committee for severalyears. He was elected toASPE’s College of Fellows in2012 and received ASPE’sDistinguished Service Awardthat same year.

“Mr. Smith has servedASPE for a very long time inmany different roles and iswell known and respected inthe industry. He is veryknowledgeable and dedi-cated, and this has beenproven many times throughhis tireless efforts to ensurethe continued success of thisSociety,” says ASPE Presi-dent Mitch Clemente, CPD.“I am looking forward toworking closely with him andam confident that our mem-bers will be just as excitedas I am to have Mr. Smith asour new Executive Director/CEO.”

Smith began his plumbingindustry career in 1981 as aPlumbing Product Designerfor Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co., aleading manufacturer ofquality engineered plumbingand drainage products. Hesubsequently served as aSenior Sales Engineer andthen was promoted to Engi-neering Manager and finallyRegional Sales Managercovering both Jay R. Smith


William M. Smith, FASPEASPE’s new Executive

Director/CEO.


5430 GA Highway 85Forest Park GA 30297Phone: (404) 761-0619Toll Free Phone: 866-709-3712

1807 West Oakridge DriveAlbany GA 31707Toll Free: 866-581-4914

1633 Dean Forest Rd

CONTINUED from PAGE 2B

LegislativeAs an example we have

a plumbing trivia questioneach month on our newslet-ter to win a free dinner. Weare trying to generate moreinterest in reading the ar-ticles and an interactive ap-proach.

This month question:“What is the temperaturerange of tempered water?”Please, send the answer tome and to Jim Allen [email protected] correct answer will en-ter a draw for a free dinnerat the next ASPE AtlantaChapter monthly meeting.

Please, email me directlywith any questions and/orsuggestions [email protected], and I’ll try to answer them.If some of the topics becomehot items we’ll have an openforum, and discuss them atour monthly meetings.

constantly probing for newideas in regards to increas-ing membership and involve-ment in the Atlanta Chapter.Please feel free to contactme with any suggestions youmay have. My cell phonenumber is 770-695-8701,and my email address [email protected] again for your sup-port. See you at the Janu-ary diner meeting!


Membership

gram at our 2015 productshow. Please sign up earlyand Join us for our technicalsessions and our dinnermeetings. Help us learn andearn credits for our profes-sion. Help us make it worthyour time and our effort anduse this time to collaboratewith others in our field. CallNick Mosley at 678-904-2460 or 404-313-0036 (Ifinterested in being a Tech-nical Speaker).


Technical

and Acorn Engineeringproduct groups.

In addition to his involve-ment with ASPE, Smith hasactively participated in thecodes and standards devel-opment activities of otherindustry organizations, in-cluding the American Rain-water Catchment SystemsAssociation, ASSE Interna-tional, ASME International,ASTM International, CSAGroup, the International As-

sociation of Plumbing andMechanical Officials, Inter-national Code Council, andPlumbing and Drainage In-stitute.

“I would first like to ex-press my gratitude to theSociety Board of Directorsfor appoint ing me asASPE’s Executive Director/CEO. This is a great oppor-tunity that I humbly accept,”Smith says. “I’m extremelyexcited to have the chanceto continue working closelywith the Society’s Board ofDirectors, our talentedstaff, our membership, andthe industry as a whole—particularly to ensure thatthe public’s health and safety

are kept at the forefront ofour respective collaborativeefforts.”

ASPE is the only profes-sional organization devotedto the training and certifica-tion of plumbing engineersand designers. ASPE andits 6,000 worldwide mem-bers are dedicated to pro-tecting the health, welfare,and safety of the publicthrough the disseminationof technical data and infor-mation to expand the baseof knowledge amongplumbing engineers, de-signers, contractors, codeofficials, inspectors, andmanufacturers. For more in-formation, visit ASPE.org.

William SmithCONTINUED from PAGE 4B

HOW WATER HEATERPRODUCTS ARE

CHANGINGBradford White is commit-

ted to helping all of its cus-tomers make the transitionto the 2015 standards assmooth as possible. As newinformation becomes avail-able, we will update ourwebsite and send informa-tion to our customers.

We are also nearingthe comple t ion o f ourlargest plant expansion incompany history to meetgrowing demand and toaccommodate the produc-

t ion of addi t ional 2015ready products. This ex-pansion also includes theinstal lat ion of the mostadvanced manufacturingequipment, giving BradfordWhite the capability andflexibil ity to produce aneven wider variety of 2015compliant products thanwhat we offer today. Lastbut not least, we will continueto focus on providing ourcustomers with the best andmost comprehensive line ofwater heating products avail-able, so you get the perfor-mance, quality, ingenuityand service you've come toexpect from BradfordWhite.

Bradford WhiteCONTINUED from PAGE 15A


Robert Shonerd, Southern Poly Specialty Consultantswith Jim Sulko and Bill Stewart of Cotton & Welsh

Jay Dawson of McKee Nix and Jeff Hubeny of NavienTankless Water Heaters

Nick Mosley- Atlanta ASPE, $40 shirts now on sale,deductable donation

Tom Schoendorf of Highland Tank, Mark Lyons ofHighland Tank and Paul Winstead of Lubrizol

Mike Adams of Covenant Mechanical, Allen Demoiseyof Covenant and Jon Raines of Covenant Sales

Jim Sulko of Spotswood, Cotton and Welsh, SteveMastley of Matheson & Ball and John Bertrand of

Covenant Mechanical

Chris Berry of Orr and Richard Hanson of GeorgiaWater Tanks

James Reeves of Sharkbite/Cash Acme

Robert Hall of Viega, Dick Nelson of Repco Sales andGary Miller of Viega

John Castorina of Phillips Partnership, Mike Mahadyof Atlanta Airport and Pete Haun of United Sales

Robert Shonerd of Southern Poly SpecialtyConsultants and Rufus Ray of Southern Company

Jim Clarke of Apex Disaster and Mike Adams ofCovenant Mechanical

Wes Taylor of American Valve, Adam Murrietta ofAHA Consulting Engineers and Timothy Goeglein of

AHA Consulting Engineers

Rhonda Rogers-Orr

Jim Sulko and Chris Cotton of Spotswood, Cottonand Welsh

Scenes from the Monthly ASPE Meeting


Mandy Green, Showroom Manager

Mary Elizabeth Frinkey of MTI Baths

Walt Studard of Moen

Charlie Pulley of Pulley & Associates

Jason Buckel-Outside Sales, Sean Massey-PurchasingAgent, Drew Wilson-Warehouse & Driver, Michael

Seals-Outside Sales

Gail Moore of Custom Plastics and More, KimberlyDecenzo of Douglasville Chamber of Commerce and

Melissa Roberts of Douglas County Sentinel

Stan and Patty Wench of Douglas Chamber ofCommerce

Barbara Amey of H&R Block

Jason Buckel-Cutting Ribbon

Kali Boatright from Douglas County Chamber ofCommerce interviewing Buddy Stoops President of

Douglasville Winnelson

Chris Pumphrey of Douglas County Economic, KerryRigdon of WSA Board and Julian Carter of Douglas

County College Career Institute

Douglasville Winnelson Host Showroom Re-Grand Opening on 36th Anniversary

Sean Massey-Purchasing Agent, Mandy Green-Showroom Manager, Buddy Stoops-President, JasonBuckel-Outside Sales, Michael Seals-Outside Sales,

Drew Wilson-Warehouse & Driver

Sean Massey-Purchasing Agent, Buddy Stoops-President, Mandy Green-Showroom Manager, DrewWilson-Warehouse & Driver, Michael Seals-Outside

Sales, Jason Buckel-Outside Sales

Mandy Green of Douglasville Winnelson & MaryElizabeth Frinkey-MTI Baths showing bath designs

to customer

Sara Ray-Douglas County Chamber of Commerce


leave the equipment run-ning, you can waste a lot ofenergy,” Harrell observed. “Itwas not difficult to get ouremployees to participate inthis initiative, and now it’s apart of their standard oper-ating procedure.”

In addition to electricityand water, the Ashland Cityteam has reduced its annualnatural gas consumptionnearly 12 percent.

Although Ashland Cityhas recycled materials formany years, the team hastaken the effort to a newlevel in recent years. Re-cently, it began re-using thewooden pallets a sister plantuses to ship components tothe plant, reducing theamount of wood waste goingto landfills and saving ap-proximately $50,000 eachyear.

The recycling quicklyadds up. Last year, the plantrecycled more than 11,000tons of steel—the equiva-lent of 5,500 small cars. Italso recycled more than 960tons of other material includ-ing cardboard, paper, batter-ies, electronic waste, oil,and fluorescent lamps. Lastyear, the plant recyclednearly 22,000 gallons ofspent solvent from its waterheater painting operation.The material is distilled andreturned to Ashland City asclean solvent.

New initiatives under wayinclude recycling the plasticbands that are used oncrate packaging.


A.O. Smith


Rheem Introduces EcoNet™

Smart Technology Rheem, the nation’s only

manufacturer of completeheating, cooling and wa-ter heating solu-tions, has intro-d u c e dEcoNet™, asmart technol -ogy that will effi-ciently manage65 percent of a home’senergy consumpt ion .

EcoNet is the first systemto connect a home’s heat-ing, cool ing, and water

heat ing sys-tems through acent ra l hub,making it easyf o rhomeowners toc o n v e n i e n t l y

manage energy usageand monitor diagnostics

and maintenance sched-ules.

The sys tem uses ahome’s existing WiFi con-nection to locate and linkall compatible Rheem airand water products.

Homeowners can thensecure ly cont ro l theseproducts through the freeEcoNet mobi le app onsmartphones or tablets(both iOS and Andro idplatforms), or a controlcenter mounted in theirhome.

Heating, air condition-

ing and water heating sys-tems dominate monthlyutility bills and combinedaccount for more than 65percent of a home’s en-ergy use (U.S. Energy In-formation Administration,2013 Residential EnergyConsumpt ion Survey) .When homeowners incurdamage in their homesdue to a water heater fail-ure, they end up payingmore than $4,000 on av-erage per inc ident(source: Insurance Insti-tu te fo r Bus iness and

Home Safety). Rheem’sEcoNet system enableshomeowners to not onlycustomize and managehome air and water systemsbased on lifestyle habits,but also see important real-time alerts about mainte-nance issues.

Homeowners can man-age their EcoNet systemthrough a smart thermostator a mobi le app. TheEcoNet smart thermostat isa wall-mounted 4.7” touchscreen that has many of thesame features of a tradi-tional programmable ther-mostat - al lowinghomeowners to regulatetemperature, change set-tings, program schedules –as well as smart featuressuch as automated ser-vice alerts and reminders(i.e., when to change anair filter). The free Rheem

EcoNet app g iveshomeowners the samefunctionality to set comfortlevels and change operat-


Michael Begitschke in front of his brand newSuperior Plumbing Sprinter

ing modes—all from theirmobile phone or tablet.

EcoNet goes beyondsurface controls and getsdeep into the operations ofthe products. The diagnos-tic alerts not only tell thatservice is needed but alsopinpoint what is wrong withthe unit and what parts areneeded to fix it, saving timeand money on service calls.One important alert thatRheem provides is a leakdetection alert, which letssends a push notification toa homeowner ’s phonewhen water is detected inthe vicinity of the waterheater.

“Homeowners are ac-customed to programmingtheir air conditioning andheating units, and shouldbe just as vigilant with theirwater heater – especiallywith their vacation homesor rental properties,” saidBil l Alderson, corporated i rec tor, market ing ,Rheem. “A water heatercan account for almost 20percent a home’s energyconsumption so program-ming the temperature andkeeping it properly main-tained can amount to sig-n i f i cant sav ings eachyear. Not to ment ion ,learning about an impor-tant serv ice issue, l ikeany kind of leak being de-tec ted, cou ld savehomeowners both dollarsand headache.”

The EcoNet system iscompatible with the Winksmar t home p la t fo rm.Wink is one of the largesthome automat ion p la t -forms providing a simple,in tu i t i ve , and peop le-f r iend ly way to cont ro lhundreds of connecteddev ices th rough onesingle app.

“We’re excited to ex-pand our partnership withRheem,” sa id Bre t tWor th ing ton, genera lmanager and vice presi-dent of Wink. “Their moveinto the connected homeis no surprise given theirlong history in producinginnovative, cutting edgeproducts, and EcoNet sys-tem will help further Wink’sgoal of making people’slives easier through con-nected devices.”

Currently, Rheem 96%AFUE variable speed gasfurnaces, hybrid electricheat pump water heaters,and Performance Platinumgas and e lec t r ic waterheaters from The HomeDepot are EcoNet com-

Rheem EcoNetCONTINUED from PAGE 8B pat ib le . Per fo rmance

Plat inum water heaterssold at The Home Depotprior to July 2014 can beretrof i t ted to work withEcoNet, through the pur-chase of a $99 module. Inaddition, when paired withthe Rheem Comfort Con-t ro l2 Sys tem (CC2S)translator, EcoNet is back-wards compatible with cur-rent communicat ing airconditioning equipment.

The EcoNet smart ther-mostat is so ld throughRheem independent con-tractors and through TheHome Depot’s HVAC In-stal lat ion Services pro-gram. Rheem will roll outnew air conditioners, air

handlers water heatersand modulating furnacesthroughout 2015, and 13of these new products willbe EcoNet-enabled.

“This is just the begin-ning for EcoNet – it’s afuture- f r iendly technol-ogy,” said Alderson. “Ouropen API allows us to part-ner with many differenthome automation systemsso we are

unfettered by interfaceissues that have plaguedexisting home automationproducts. We see tremen-dous opportunity to forgepartnerships with l ike-minded products and be-come part of a total smart-home resource.”


IN MEMORIAMClyde A. Rodbell

Clyde Armand Rodbell, alife-long resident of Atlanta,Georgia, passed away onJanuary 10, 2015. Mr.Rodbell was born in Atlantaon August 16, 1927, and wasthe son of the late Joseph

Russell AllenHodgson

Beloved husband andfa ther, Russe l l A l lenHodgson, 53 , passedaway a t h is home onJanuary 3, 2015 after acourageous bat t le wi thcancer. He is survived byhis beloved wife and col-lege sweetheart, TanyaSue, and their son, Tyler,and daughter, Kelsey.

Allen grew up in eastAt lan ta and graduatedfrom Woodward Academy.He attended and playedfootball at Georgia Techand transferred to Geor-gia Southern Universitywhere he also played foot-ball and graduated. Aftergraduating college, Allenbegan work ing in theplumbing industry in 1985with his first sales job atHardwick-Morr ison. In1988, he changed jobsand began working for B-Line Systems as a Re-



Henry Rodbell and the lateFannie Turetsky Rodbell ofAtlanta. Mr. Rodbell is sur-vived by his wife of 40 years,the former Robin GrahamMcKenzie of Halifax, NovaScotia, Canada, their child,

Lindsey Rodbell Palangioand her husband, Jason, his(Clyde’s) four children,Marsha R. Cintorino and herhusband, Tony, of Atlanta,Jeffrey D. Rodbell and hiswife, Margaret, of Atlanta,Keith S. Rodbell of Los An-geles, CA, Kim R. Allison ofAtlanta and his grandchil-dren Trent Allison, AmandaAllison, and AlexandraRodbell. Mr. Rodbell gradu-

ated from Boys High Schoolin 1945 and received hisBachelor of Business Admin-istration from Emory Schoolof Business in 1949. Mr.Rodbell was a dedicatedalumnus and served on theEmory University Board ofVisitors (Chairman 1997 &1998). After graduation fromEmory University, Mr.Rodbell joined his brother,the late Leonard Rodbell, at

Apex Supply Companywhere he worked for 54years, serving as Presidentthen Chairman until the com-pany was sold to The HomeDepot in 2000. Apex startedas Capitol Hide & Metal, ascrap metal business,founded in 1911 by their fa-ther, Joseph. The businessgrew into a plumbing, heat-ing, air-conditioning, kitchen,bath and specialty buildingproducts distributor receiv-ing many accolades andawards including twice se-lected as “Wholesaler of the


Year” by Supply HouseTimes magazine and the“Family Business of theYear” presented by the Fam-ily Enterprise Center ofKennesaw State College.During his career, Mr.Rodbell served on a numberof boards, including Ameri-can Jewish Committee (hon-ored as 1984 Man-of-the-Year), Anti-DefamationLeague of Bnai Brith, AtlantaJewish Federation, StandardClub (Vice President), Kid-ney Foundation of Georgia(President), SouthernWholesalers Association,Georgia Citizens for GoodGovernment, WholesalersAssociation of Georgia(President), Shepherd Cen-

Rodbell



Hodgsongional Sales Manager. In1992, Allen joined MikeAtchison as part owner ofRepco Sales of Georgia,which he recently retiredfrom.

Al len and h is wi fe ,Tanya had been marriedfor almost 30 years andmarr ied shor t ly af tergraduating college. Allenloved sports and coachedyouth sports for over 15years. He coached his sonTyler’s football & baseballteams as wel l as h isdaughter Kelsey’s softballteams. Al len’s chi ldrenwere his pride and joy. He

loved to fish and later inl i fe , d iscovered kayakriver f ishing. Allen alsoloved telling stories to any-one who would listen, in-

ter, Coverdell and Company,Camp Sunshine, Atlanta Ro-tary Club (Vice President),American Red Cross, andseveral Industry AdvisoryBoards. Mr. Rodbell held alifelong commitment to phi-lanthropy, eventually creat-ing the Clyde Rodbell Fam-ily Philanthropic Foundation.His support of charitiesranged from The TempleCongregation, United JewishAppeal, Shepherd Center,Atlanta Jewish CommunityCenter, The National KidneyFoundation, Camp Sunshineand Rotary Foundation. Hewas awarded a CommunityAchievement Award by At-lanta Chapter AmericanORT in 2003 and the 2004Heroes, Saints and LegendsAward from Wesley WoodsCenter at Emory University.Mr. Rodbell was a pioneer in

championing the Republi-can party in the state ofGeorgia and was activelyinvolved for the Fund forAmerica’s Future, Presi-dential Candidate GeorgeH.W. Bush - National Fi-nance Committee GeorgiaState Co-Chairman, electedto the Kennedy Center -President’s Advisory Com-mittee on the Arts, memberof the Atlanta RegionalPanel on the President’sCommission on WhiteHouse Fellowships, andfundraised tirelessly forconservative candidatesand incumbents around thestate and nation. Since hisretirement, he and his wife,Robin, spent 5 months outof the year at their home inNantucket, Massachusetts,where he began a newhobby of painting.

cluding strangers.Allen fought a 5 year

battle with brain cancerand NEVER gave up. Hewas fighting until the veryend and his positive atti-tude and outlook on lifewas incredible. He wastruly a wonderful husband,father, and fr iend to allwho knew him and will begreat ly missed by somany!


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Documents

Douglasville …theplumbingnews.com/stories/2015-GA-JAN/Georgia-Plumbing-News...On a sad note, our hearts and prayers ... NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Indus-try), and