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Check out ECR’s
ULTIMATE
SPORTS EXPERIENCE
promo on page 21!
Phc New
s cele
brate
s 10 years!
The three-speed family of wet rotor circulators from Bell & Gossett. The addition of the new NRF-25 gives you an even wider range of hydraulic capabilities for residential and light commercial heating systems. The complete line of maintenance-free circulators includes cast iron, bronze and stainless steel models, with variable speed and zone controls. The new NRF-25 features:
What gives you
NRF-45NRF-36NRF-25
in all three speeds?maximum performance
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®
Cover
Piping(by others)
Flow ControlFitting
Inlet
Direction of Flow
RemovablePerforated Bottom Bucket
Auxiliary Outlet SecondaryStrainer
Skimmer Belt and Blades
Grease Reservoir
Grease+Gard® Skimmer
Timer
Outlet
Static water Line
Agitator
Grease+Gard® Stainless Steel Grease Recovery Device.
The Agitator on the lower pulley works by keeping the upper layer of grease circulating, eliminating the need of stirring the grease layer on a daily basis. The Agitator also draws the grease to the belt.
The skimmer belt goes through the skimmer blades and wipes the grease off of the belt and gravity feeds the grease down the trough into the grease container.
Grease is removedfrom the unit becauseits viscosity allows itto stick to the belt.
Grease+Gard’s trough has one of the industries most aggressive slopes. This helps gravity feed the grease to the grease container and also reduces the cleaning cycle of the grease trough.
Grease+Gard® is a completely sealed device to prevent unpleasant odors.
How It WorksGrease+Gard® uses a heater and belt technology to skim the grease out of the interceptor.
Adjustable Legs
SolidsInterceptor
ThermostatHeater
The Grease+Gard® Grease+Gard® is an automatic grease recovery device that relies on a belt and heater assembly to pick up the grease. The Grease+Gard® Skimmer can be retrofitted on any grease interceptor, metal or plastic, or can be purchased as a system complete with a grease and solids interceptor.
For more information on our products or to contact your local Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co.® representative, visit our Web site at: www.jrsmith.com
8980 Inline Solids Interceptor
8165 Grease+Gard® Stainless Steel Grease Recovery Device
®
Visit www.jrsmith.com to view a Webinar and PowerPointPresentation of the features and benefits of the Grease+Gard®
Retrofit Skimmer and Grease Recovery Device
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4 Phc News — JULY 2009In thIs Issue
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www.phcnews.com
Owner
Tom M. Brown, Jr.
Chief EditorJohn MesenbrinkManaging EditorJames SchaibleContributing EditorsMary Jo MartinMark BrunoRichard DiTomaMorris R. BeschlossPaul RohrsDan HolohanEllen Rohr
Production ManagerCate C. BrownAdministrative AssistantDebbie Newberg
Editorial Offices1838 Techny Court
Northbrook, IL 60062Phone: 847/564-1127Fax: 847/564-1264,
Sales OfficesDavid Schulte, PublisherMidwest, Southeast,Eastern Canada
1838 Techny CourtNorthbrook, IL 60062
847/564-1127Fax: 847/564-1264
Brad Burnside, East1838 Techny Court
Northbrook, IL 60062847/564-1127
Fax: 847/[email protected]
Diane Spangler, West, TexasDiane SpanglerP.O. Box 9802
Fountain Valley, CA 92728714/839-6700
Fax: 714/[email protected]
Direct subscriptioninquiries to:Cynthia LewisCreative Data Services519 E. Briarcliff RoadBolingbrook, IL [email protected] 630-739-0900 x203Fax: 630-739-7648
TMB Publishing, Inc.
Tom M. Brown Jr., President
plumbing & hydronic contractor news
Departments
K/BIS Report — pg. 32
Tool innovations — pg. 50Tool innovations — pg. 50
ColumnsDan Holohan: Your web site... you DO have one, don’t you? . . . . .20Bob “hot rod” Rohr: New products nothing to fear, but respect . . .22Paul Rohrs: Variable-speed injection mixing tried and true . . . . . . . .24Ellen Rohr: Communication — a necessary tool . . . . . . . . . . . .26Bristol Stickney: Solar hydronic technology maturing . . . . . . . .28Richard Ditoma: Contract pricing the way to go . . . . . . . . . . . .30Peter Schor: K/BIS retrospective . .32Morris Beschloss: World energy events and how I see them . . . .35
Field ReportsHETs produce significant savings . .14
In the NewsIAPMO, GreenPlumbers partner on sustainability project . . . . . . . . .6The Pulse: Hackman goes global; Teal Int’l. launches training website; fuel prices rise . . . . . .10Charlotte Pipe in NY stadiums . . . .12HeatingHelp: Makeup air; low-power zone valves . . . . . . .16Movers & Shakers . . . . . . . . . . . .18Viega product manager Jaen dead at 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Product, tool news . . . . . . . .49, 50
From the EditorsPrint and paper not going away . .58
38 Pump innovationsInnovative injection systems; 1940s technology stillvalid; ALPHA pump top dog; smart pumping.
46 Geothermal developmentThe Bridges housing development wasn’t planned as anenvironmentally-friendly, energy-efficient community,but the concept grew from the developer’s desire to begreen in all possible aspects. Geothermal systems werea perfect fit for the new venture.
Features
On the CoverDoug Kreifels, president of Lincoln, Neb.-based Action Plumbing & Heating, com-pletes a connection at a Carrierwater-to-water geothermal system at theall-geo Bridges development. The systemuses the latent energy in decorative lakesto provide heat during cold months and toserve as a heat sink for geothermal A/Cduring warm weather. Story on page 46.
To Find A Wholesaler Call 800.523.2931 | www.bradfordwhite.com | Built to be the Best™
*Ranking is based on the 2008 CLEAReport by Clear Seas Research. Please visit www.clearseasresearch.com for additional information. ©2009, Bradford White Corporation. All rights reserved.
For three years, the CLEAReport Water Heater Study by Clear Seas Research has shown Bradford White asthe water heater brand most purchased by contractors. Just as importantly, Bradford White came out
number one again when contractors were asked what brand they most often recommended.*
American Made • Employee Owned • Wholesale Only • Support for the TradeSuperior Features • Eco-Friendly Solutions • Constant Innovation
Technology That Works • Always a Premium Product at the Best Possible Price
If your wholesaler doesn’t carry Bradford White, ask why!
The Perfect Choice
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Made in the U.S.A.We do not Export Jobs.
1066 1062
“MAKE THE CONNECTION”
HIGH LIMIT STOP FEATURES... HIGH LIMIT 120OF (49OC) SCALD PROTECTION
FITS ALL SHOWER HEADS & SHOWER HOSES
SCREWS IN PLACE IN SECONDS
NO TOOLS OR ADJUSTMENTS NECESSARY
AUTOMATIC RESET FEATURE
A FLOW RATE OF 4 GPM at 40 PSI
SOLID BRASS WITH POLISHED CHROME FINISH
U.S.
GRE
EN BUILDING COUNCIL
USGBC ®
Precision Plumbing Products“Specify with Confi dence - Install with Pride”®
TEMPERA-THERM PRESSURE BALANCE THERMOSTATIC PROTECTION FOR SHOWER, LAV, AND TUB
“Specify with Confi dence - Install with Pride”
1062
1062
1066
1016
MIXINGVALVE
HOT
COLD
SHOWERHEAD
TEMPERATUREHIGH LIMIT STOP
MAX-120OF
TEMPERATUREHIGH LIMIT STOPMAX-120OF
PRESSURE BALANCING VALVE
THERMOSTATIC MIXING VALVE
USE WITH SINGLE OR DOUBLE HANDLE SHOWER MIXING VALVE ASSEMBLIES
Rev 02/06
Precision Plumbing ProductsDivision of JL Industries, Inc.6807 NE 79th Court, Suite E - Portland, Oregon 97218T (503) 256-4010 - F (503) 253-8165 - www.pppinc.net
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6 Phc News — JULY 2009
ONTARIO, CALIF. — The InternationalAssociation of Plumbing and Mechan-ical Officials (IAPMO) and Green-Plumbers® USA have signed aMemorandum of Understanding(MoU) to establish a collaborativearrangement to enhance the techni-cal content of GreenPlumbers’ train-ing and accreditation modules byextracting provisions containedwithin IAPMO’s Uniform Codes. IAPMOand GreenPlumbers also will partnerto develop additional programs andservices that will advance the sustain-ability goals of both organizations. Through the collaborative agree-
ment, GreenPlumbers will adapttheir training/accreditation modulesto follow provisions as outlined by
the 2009 editions of IAPMO’s UniformPlumbing Code, Uniform MechanicalCode, Uniform Swimming Pool, Spaand Hot Tub Code, Uniform SolarEnergy Code and the 2010 IAPMOGreen Plumbing and MechanicalCode Supplement.
IAPMO and GreenPlumbers willalso develop a Green Plumbing andMechanical Inspector CertificationProgram derived from the UniformCodes and the GreenPlumbers cur-riculum, with a target date for deliv-ery in late 2009. GreenPlumbers hasprovided IAPMO with an exclusiveConservation/Foundation Partner-ship with regard to GreenPlumberstraining and accreditation modulesand programs.
Moving forward, the organizationswill explore the feasibility of mutu-ally creating an engineer/specifiercertification module and trainingprogram.
“From its inception more than80 years ago, IAPMO has embracedthe conservation movementthrough its partnerships and provi-sions within its Uniform Codes,”said Russ Chaney, IAPMO executivedirector. “The development of aGreen Plumbing and MechanicalCertification program is an excitingnext step in IAPMO ’s ongoing ad-vancement of a sustainable environ-ment and we are excited to workwith GreenPlumbers on this pro-gressive project.”
CHICAGO — The Ford Motor Com-pany is thinking innovation with itsnew Transit Connect line of com-mercial trucks. Recently, Ford visitedChicago on its marketing campaignand the editors of Phc Newswere onthe scene. They were blown away by
the new design, engine power andtechnology. The new line offers fea-tures such as GPS and fleet tracker, in-dash access to remote computerhard drives and Internet, and an RFIDtool tracker, to name a few.Ford is tapping its global portfolio
of products to meet the unique needsof American small-business ownerswith the 2010 Transit Connect, a spa-cious new fuel-efficient alternative tolarger commercial vehicles that’sideal for navigating U.S. cities.Ford Transit Connect is built on a
dedicated front-wheel drive com-mercial vehicle platform to meet andexceed the needs of small-businessowners and entrepreneurs. To pre-pare Transit Connect for UnitedStates duty, the powertrain was up-graded to include a proven Duratec2.0-liter dual-overhead cam (DOHC)I-4 engine — giving 22 city, 25 high-way miles per gallon — and a four-speed automatic overdrive transaxle.As part of Ford’s aggressive new
electric vehicle plan to bring purebattery-powered vehicles, hybridsand plug-in hybrids to market, a bat-tery electric-powered Transit Con-nect will be offered later in 2010.The Transit Connect battery electricvehicle will be the initial offering inFord’s recently announced electrifi-cation initiatives.Ford Transit Connect can be
adapted to individual business needswith the inclusion of Ford Work So-lutions™. The “solutions” behindthis system allow customers to:• Run a business from inside the
Transit Connect — right from the jobsite. An in-dash computer providesInternet access, productivity softwareand optional printing capabilities;• Track tools. Tool Link™ gives
the ability to organize, scan andtrack tools, inventory and othercargo items; and• Track the fleet. Crew Chief™ is
a tailored telematics service to mon-itor and manage small or large fleets.
IAPMO, GreenPlumbers USA collaborate Industry news
PECULIAR, MO.— Sioux Chief Mfg Co.,Inc., hosted nearly 100 plumbing stu-dents and their teachers to their fa-cilities south of Kansas City, Mo. TheSkillsUSA participants were able toexperience first hand, the manufac-
Sioux Chief hosts emerging plumbersturing capabilities and innovativeprocesses that produce many of thetop-quality products they install.
The 45th annual National Leader-ship and Skills Conference (NLSC) wasagain held in downtown Kansas City,
from June 21st through June 26th.SkillsUSA is a national organizationserving teachers and students fromhigh school and college, who arepreparing for careers in technical,skilled and service occupations, in-cluding plumbing occupations.
More than 15,000 people — in-cluding students, teachers and busi-ness partners — participated in theweek-long event. More than 5,000outstanding career and technical ed-ucation students competed hands-onin 91 different trade, technical andleadership fields. Sioux Chief congrat-ulates all of the National Conferenceattendees as well as the champions foreach field.
Ford’s Transit Connectrolls through Chicago
Comfortable. Effi cient. Intelligent Heating.
5 Reasons Why
Bosch Thermotechnology Corp. 50 Wentworth Ave., Londonderry, NH 03053 1-800-Buderus • www.buderus.net • www.BoschTaxCredit.com
Your Customers Will Love a 125BE
Unparalleled Energy Effi ciency
Complete System featuring Logamatic Control
Environmentally Friendly Low NOx Technology
Shock Resistent Buderus GL-180M Flexible Cast Iron
Boiler Limited Lifetime Warranty / Burner 5 year Parts Warranty
The Buderus 125BE oil boiler systems are based on the high quality and superior reliability of the Buderus G115. Available in a conventional and condesing models the 125BE boilers feature the innovative BE burner. This LowNOx burner burns cleaner, resulting in ultra-high effi ciencies and less impact on the environment. All 125BE models include the Buderus Logamatic control and Tigerloop fi lter system. The AFUEs are 89%+ for the G125BE and 91%+ for the condensing GB125BE. The 125BE not only looks good, but offers higher effi ciencies and lower pollution output, making it the best choice for an effi cient and ecological oil boiler.
GB125BE Models are Eligible for the U.S.Federal Tax Credit
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8 Phc News — JULY 2009
BRAMPTON, ONTARIO — RheemCanada recently consolidated thephysical operations of its three busi-ness units — Heating and Cooling,Water Heating, and Swimming PoolHeaters and Boilers marketed underthe Rheem, Ruud, Raypak andWeatherKing labels — into a singleheadquarters and distribution centerin Brampton, Ontario, a Torontosuburb. The relocation to the new
220,000-square-foot, two-story facil-ity in the Churchill Business Park isdesigned to drive higher levels ofcustomer service as well as opera-tional efficiency.With over 60 employees, Rheem
Canada is now responsible for alloperations and distribution underthe leadership of Dave McPherson,general manager. In addition, therestructuring will set the stage for
an enlargement of theheating, ventilationand air conditioningunit, according toRheem Canada marketmanager PaulGharghoury. “The HVACexpansion opportunityenables Rheem Canadato hire new employeesand help stimulate thelocal job market,” hecommented.
Rheem Canada consolidates all facilities
Industry news
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MCPHERSON, KAN. — For a limitedtime only, Viega is offering contrac-tors across the U.S. and Canada apromotion on Climate Panel orders.Climate Panels are a cost-effective
Viega announces ClimatePanel® promotion
radiant heating solution, designed togo under any type of floor covering –hardwood, carpet, tile or vinyl. Inthis promotion, when a 1,000square-foot (or larger) Climate Panel
order is placed the contractorwill receive a free bag of Viega’snew 5/16" low-profile repairpress couplings. With every eli-gible order, contractors can alsoreceive a 35% discount on 5/16"Pextron® tubing. This limitedtime promotion runs 6/1/2009until 9/31/2009 or until the sup-ply of Viega Pextron tubing isno longer available. For addi-tional information, visit yourlocal wholesale location or con-tact Viega directly at 1-800-976-9819.
®
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In March ofthis year, Iset out on an
adventure of a lifetime — The Hack-man World Tour. The ultimate goalof the tour is to show the world the
extreme performance of newLENOX T2 Blade Technology recipand hacksaw blades, but it has alsoallowed me the chance to see theworld and meet a lot of great people. The tour kicked off at the LENOX
plant in East Longmeadow, Mass.where I sliced a police cruiser in halfin just over two minutes. This wasmy first cruiser and because policecars have a much stronger framethan typical cars, I thought it mighttake me longer, but it actually wentvery quickly. From there, I headed to Fradley,
England to cut a double-decker busin half. This was quite a challenge!The bus we cut was a beauty; retiredfrom years of service in film produc-tions. Back in 1999, I cut a single busin half at the Super Bowl, but thedouble-decker bus was a whole newbeast. It took just 15 minutes and 48seconds to cut the London bus intwo. The bus at the Superbowlended up taking much longer at 1hour and 25 minutes and unfortu-nately, I have no one else to blamebut myself for this. I was the one thatdecided it would be a good idea tocut it lengthwise! And back then, Ididn’t have cutting the advantages ofthe T2 blade technology. After the UK, I made stops in Ger-
many; New Orleans; Vancouver, BC;Minnesota and Japan. My next bigiconic cut was in Manila, Philippineswhere I was scheduled to cut a Jeep-ney — one of the most popularmeans of transportation in thePhilippines. This event was like noother that I’ve experienced in the 28years that I’ve been cutting. The fansthere made me feel like a rock star!The huge crowd that gathered at theMall of Asia went crazy when I cutmy way through the stage curtain tomake my entrance. The event wasnothing short of as Broadway showwith pre-cut live entertainment in-cluding musicians, dancers and cut-ting contests to warm up the crowd.With their encouragement, I wasable to make it through the Jeepneyin 18 minutes and 3 seconds.Yet to come, a Zamboni in Canada
and many more stops throughoutthe U.S., South America and Europe.Thanks to modern technology, youcan now follow me along with way.Become a LENOX Tools Facebookfriend www.lenoxtools.com/facebook or a follower on Twitterwww.twitter.com/lenoxtools to getupdates on the tour. You can alsocheck all of the cuts I have donethroughout my 28-year cutting ca-reer at www.cutsomething.com orwww.youtube.com/lenoxtools.I can honestly say I have the best
job on earth!Circle 9 on Reader Reply Card
10 Phc News — JUNE 2009The
Pulse
tool tips
with Hackman Hackman World Tour
They wouldn’t make the toilet traps straighter...
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Current prices
U.S. average 264.2
East Coast 263.3
New England 266.5
Central Atlantic 266.8
Lower Atlantic 259.8
Midwest 257.2
Gulf Coast 251.6
Rocky Mountain 260.2
West Coast 290.9
California 298.4
Fuels
Metals
Copper $2.22/lb. Aluminum $0.72/lb.
fifi
fifi
fifi
fifi
fifi
Gasoline diesel
Area ¢/gal. Change
U.S. average 260.8
East Coast 262.9
New England 266.6
Central Atlantic 272.6
Lower Atlantic 258.4
Midwest 257.8
Gulf Coast 256.9
Rocky Mountain 263.1
West Coast 271.2
California 278.5
fifi
fifi
fifi
fifi
fifi
Area ¢/gal. Change
fi
fi
Prices valid as of 7/6/09. Fuel information courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energyhttp://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp. Arrows indicate change from previous issue.* Copper prices according to NYMEX.com. ** Aluminum prices according to metalprices.com.
What we’re hearing
LOVELAND, COLO. — On June 15,2009, Teal International Corporationlaunched www.HEATlibrary.com, awebsite designed to share trainingand educational materials across cor-porate and association lines through-out the heating, ventilation, airconditioning, refrigeration andplumbing trades. The “HEAT” inheatlibrary.com is an acronym forHVACR&plumbing Education andTraining. “Library” refers to an ex-tensive database that will grow as ed-ucators, associations and institutionscontribute materials.“The HEAT Library is a culmina-
tion of over three years of develop-ment and consulting with HVACR andplumbing industry educationproviders, ”said Lawrence Drake,Teal International Corporation
president and past executive direc-tor of the Radiant Panel Associa-tion. “For the 20 years I have beeninvolved with trade associations,there has always been a struggle tofind ways to cooperate and coordi-nate training between organiza-tions. It seemed everyone thoughtit was a good idea, but the conceptwas seldom implemented. Now,with the power of the Internet andthe digitizing of everything fromtext books to webinars, the HEAT Li-brary provides a central repositoryfor educational programs and mate-rials from all segments of the heat-ing and plumbing industry.”With its advisory board made up
of several top executives in HVACRand plumbing associations, tradepublications and the professional ed-
Website launched for industry-wide training
Inside the trade
ucator arena, the HEAT Library hasits finger on the needs of the indus-try training world. Teal InternationalCorporation says input of the advi-sory board and online forums willhelp keep the HEAT Library tuned tothe needs of the industry. Educators and education
providers can become members ofthe HEAT Library for very little cost.As a member, they can upload anunlimited number of items into thedatabase. These items include al-most anything that can be put in dig-ital form such as word documents,spread sheets, slide presentations,videos, e-books and so on. Even livewebinars can be listed in the librarywith time and dates.The member can restrict who will
have access to their documents,such as trade associations, educa-tional institutions, manufacturers,wholesalers or even specify otherHEAT Library members by name.Members can also set a wholesaleand retail price for each item, and
provide detailed descriptions withpromotional materials.Members may browse the library
and choose items to offer throughtheir own network. They simply se-lect the item, print out the access in-formation, and provide it to theircustomers. Their customers accessthe items through a special, cus-tomized portal page.The HEAT Library also contains
areas accessible to any visitor. Theonline retail store has many of theeducation and training items avail-able for immediate download byanyone. Other features of the HEATLibrary include a set of calendarsthat list local and national trainingevents across North America, openforums where anyone can post a dis-cussion on events, materials or in-dustry education in general. The sitealso hosts full-featured webinarrooms that can be rented by themonth.“Our first big challenge is to
stock the shelves, so to speak” saidDrake. “Any organization, businessor individual having educationalmaterials to sell and/or share canbecome a member and uploaditems to the library.” The HEAT Li-brary is offering a 90-day free trialto new members in order to buildcontent in the library.
Phc News — JULY 2009 11The
Pulse
12 Phc News — JULY 2009
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In New York,you’re either a Yankees’ or a Mets’fan; there is no middle ground. Andwhile the choice of a team can be di-visive, there is one thing the new sta-diums have in common — CharlottePipe and Foundry’s cast iron pipeand fittings.Cast iron has a long history in New
York City. It is a strong, resilientproduct, having been in use, and, insome cases, still is in use for morethan 100 years. It has many out-standing characteristics, includingits unique resistance and soundabatement qualities. Also, it is madefrom 100% recycled content.In addition to the plumbing, there
are many great things about these sta-diums. For instance, the new YankeeStadium, which took a grander ap-proach to design, houses a museum
and a multitude of luxury suites, somewith tickets as high as $2,500. TheMets’ new park, Citi Field, took amore traditional approach, offering anod to the old Brooklyn Dodgers andNew York Giants stadiums. Part of thisnod is the entrance, a rotunda in-spired by Ebbets Field in Brooklynthat honors Jackie Robinson. Charlotte Pipe and Foundry is
the only manufacturer that offersa system of ABS, PVC, CPVC, castiron, FlowGuard Gold®, andChemDrain® pipe and fittings forresidential and commercialplumbing systems and industrialapplications. The nation’s leadingmaker of cast iron and plastic pipeand fittings, Charlotte Pipe andFoundry offers the industry’sbroadest product offering of stan-dard and specialty DWV products.
Charlotte Pipe and Foundry isheadquartered in Charlotte, and hasseven plant locations across theUnited States. Combining modern
technology with a century of crafts-manship and experience, CharlottePipe and Foundry has a proud legacyof commitment to the industry andits customers. The company isguided by the philosophy of itsfounder — produce the best productpossible and provide the best servicefor the customer.
Charlotte Pipe’s cast iron chosen for newYankees’ and Mets’ stadiums
Industry news
Built to be the Best™
www.Laars.com | 800.900.9276©2009, LAARS Heating Systems. All rights reserved.
NEOTHERM FEATURES• Natural or propane gas, many
factory-mounted options• 10 Boiler sizes from 80,000
to 850,000 BTU/h• 5 Water heater sizes from
150,000 to 500,000 BTU/h• Suitable for large residential and
small commercial applications• All connections are on top of unit• Stainless steel heat exchanger• Rated for alcove and closet installations
• Large user interface and display• Qualifies for energy rebates
• 12-year limited warranty (boiler)
• 5-year limited warranty (water heater)
NeoTherm is a direct vent, sealed combustion,
condensing product boasting 95% efficiency that
modulates with a 5 to 1 turndown. Zero clearance
to combustibles tolerance, and the convenient top
connections (horizontal or vertical direct vent) make
NeoTherm perfect for tight installations.
Featuring an ASME stainless steel heat exchanger,
and low NOx emissions, NeoTherm's easy to use,
and easy on the environment. Built standard with the
new LAARS Integrated Control SystemSM means the
ignition control, temperature control and high limit
are contained in one user-friendly device.
The modulating PID control has outdoor reset, indirect
water heater priority (boilers only) and frost protection.
It works with building automation
systems and with other controls to
become part of a multiple unit
sequencing control.
When you put it all together,
NeoTherm is everything a
modern product should be…
easy-to-use, easy on the
environment, powerful
and compact.
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Construction underway at the new Yankee Stadium.
AMBLER, PA. — For the third year in arow Bradford White Water Heatershas been named the tank type waterheater most purchased and recom-mended by contractors, according toan independent industry study con-ducted by Clear Seas Research. Theannual report provides an in-depthanalysis of the water heater industryincluding trends in product, installa-tion, replacement and servicing,brand selection factors, brands mostoften purchased, product informationresources, and more. Bradford Whitewas also the brand most chosen andrecommended in the 2006 and 2007
Clear Seas Research Studies.“To be named the water heater of
choice in an independent studythree years in a row is a testament ofour dedication to professionals andthe plumbing and heating trade. Wemake the highest quality and mostreliable water heaters right here inthe U.S., and we sell them only toprofessional contractors throughwholesale distribution. It gives theentire industry a leg up in an era ofoversees manufacturing and big vol-ume retail,” said Bradford White’sNick Giuffre, president and chief op-erating officer.
NEWPORT NEWS, VA.— Ferguson, thecountry’s largest wholesale distribu-tor of plumbing supplies, hasteamed with Habitat for Humanityto build 20 homes for those im-pacted by the 2008 floods. The con-struction is part of the annualHabitat for Humanity AmeriCorpsBuild-a-Thon, June 14-20.Ferguson will provide toilets as well
as lighting fixtures for the familyrooms, kitchens and bathrooms of thehomes. Ferguson is a national partnerwith Habitat for Humanity and pro-vides two PROFLO toilets for Habitathouses built throughout the country.“Ferguson is honored to help our
friends and neighbors rebuild our
community,” said Jess Gonzalez,general manager for Ferguson.“Everyone in this community wasimpacted by the devastation of thefloods last year. By working togetherand each doing a little, we can helpprovide new homes and a fresh startfor our hard-working citizens.”The 2009 Build-a-Thon celebrates
14 years of AmeriCorps membershelping Habitat for Humanity affili-ates and partner organizations buildaffordable houses and eliminate sub-standard housing. To learn moreabout the build please visitwww.cvhabitat.org. To find the Fer-guson location nearest you, visitwww.ferguson.com.
Water heater study names top brand
Phc News — JULY 2009 13
So we made our cable more flexible.
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Industry news
Ferguson teams with Habitat for Humanity
WAUKESHA, WIS. — Last summer, theMetropolitan Builders Association, anon-for-profit trade association inWisconsin, contracted with Herr En-vironmental, Inc. of Delafield, Wis-consin, to install an innovativerainwater system in the Association’sTrend Home in Waukesha. The envi-ronmentally mindful Trend Home isa specially designed house that in-corporates sustainable technologiesthat are assumed to be common inthe year 2020.The Trend Home’s rainwater sys-
tem is designed to capture rainwaterfrom the roof and provide water forthe lawn sprinkling system. The roofhas a potential to generate morethan 30,000 gallons of water duringany year of average rainfall. The Trend Home features a num-
ber of “Green” rainwater productsinstalled by Herr Environmental.The products include a GouldsPumps Model 1SC submersiblewater pump that will play a criticalrole in the home’s rainwater system.Designed to capture rainwater fromthe roof and provide water for thelawn sprinkling system, the TrendHome’s roof has the potential to gen-erate over 30,000 gallons of waterduring any year of average rainfall. In addition to the Goulds Model
1SC pump, the Trend Home’s Rain-water system also uses an efficientGoulds variable speed drive pumpcontroller, and a Goulds HydroProV6P pressure tank. “Our companyhas used Goulds Pumps exclusivelyfor many years,” said Todd Stair,vice president of Herr Environmen-tal, Inc. “Now with the new rainwa-ter systems, the line of Gouldsproducts we are using is expanding.” Following six weeks of public
tours, the Trend Home is currentlyfor sale. Once sold, $200,000 will bedonated to LaCasa de Esperenza, anorganization that will train low-in-come workers in the construction in-
Pumps power sustainable rainwater tankdustry. The remainder of the moneywill go to the Wisconsin Builders As-sociation Foundation’s scholarshipfund to attract high quality studentsto a career in the trades. The Trend Home features perme-
able pavement and other water sci-ence technologies that will preservewater resources. The home was con-
structed utilizing structured insulatedpanels, a tempered passive solar ori-entation, solar electrical generation,solar hot water heating, Energy Star®appliances, computer operated me-chanicals, special windows and otherbuilding components. At the heart of the rainwater sys-
tem is the durable Goulds PumpsModel 1SC submersible water pumpwhich features: • Corrosion resistant case made of
non-toxic, non-leaching materials; • Impeller made of FDA-compliant,
glass-filled Noryl ®, which is corro-sion and abrasion resistant; • Mechanical seal with silicon/car-
bide sealing faces and stainless steelmetal components running in a pro-tected oil chamber; • Stainless steel pump shaft and
motor shell; and • 11/4" NPT vertical discharge con-
nection and detachable suctionstrainer for easy clean out.
ST. LOUIS — In response to signifi-cant growth in the Illinois market,Murphy Company has opened a newoffice in Fairview Heights, Ill. TomHegger, vice president of the QuickResponse Group, currently heads upthe new office.“As an Illinois native, I’ve been ex-
cited to see the growth in the regionover the past few years,” said Hegger.“Murphy has made a commitment tobecome part of this community byestablishing an office rather thanworking in Illinois as a Missouri con-tractor. We look forward to being partof continued growth in Illinois.”Hegger said the office currently fo-
cuses on smaller to medium-sizedprojects but has capabilities to han-
Murphy Company opens Illinois officedle larger projects and can offer thefull spectrum of Murphy services.Murphy’s recent Illinois work in-cludes projects for Alton MemorialHospital, Ameren, Ameritech,Collinsville and East Alton-WoodRiver High Schools, Cerro Copper,Gateway Regional Hospital, KUNA,Greenville and St. Elizabeth Hospi-tals, St. Clair County, SBC, Scott AirForce Base, Solutia and U.S. Steel. Murphy also has hired two Illinois
natives — Thomas C. Westerheideand Jeff Blandford — as projectmanagers. Murphy Company delivers me-
chanical solutions to the industrial,commercial, institutional and heavyindustrial markets.
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14 Phc News — JULY 2009
It is estimated that 30% of thewater used in a home is used bytoilets. Homes built in the
1950s and 1960s often had toiletsusing seven gallons or more ofwater per flush. By the 1980s, tech-nology had improved to use 3.5 gal-lons per flush. In 1995, a 1.6 gallonor less toilet was mandated in allstates in the United States. Toilettechnology has advanced consider-ably in the last 20 years, and nowthe average household can savethousands of gallons of water in justone year. Located in Dania Beach, Florida,
College Gardens Apartments is acomplex with more than 60 afford-able housing units. During late 2008,
Caroma toilets were installed inthree buildings, including 24 threebedroom, two bathroom units tohelp conserve water in the region.Sydney 270 Easy Height Elongatedand 305 model Round Front Plushigh efficiency dual flush toilets werechosen. Caroma toilets were selected for
College Gardens Apartments forthree reasons: water conservationto protect the environment, to re-duce water bills, and lower mainte-nance costs. Prior to the Caromainstallation, the apartments had amix of 3.5 gallon per flush toilets,2.5 gallon per flush, and 1.6 gallonper flush toilets.The Sydney toilet range is a two
button dual flush: one button using1.6 gallons per flush for solid wasteand one button using 0.8 gallons perflush for liquid and paper waste. Theaverage flush volume is only 0.96gallons per flush, saving 40% morewater compared to the federal man-date of 1.6 gallons, 62% more waterthan a 2.5 gallon toilet, and morethan 72% water savings compared toa 3.5 gallon toilet.The water savings in College Gar-
dens Apartments have been impres-sive. Sixteen units had toiletsinstalled during October and No-vember 2008, and the remaining 8were completed in December. Thegraph above displays the water usageand costs from mid-April 2008 tomid-April 2009 for the 24 units. During the first six month period
recorded, the average water usagewas 272,167 gallons at a cost of$2,452 per month. The following sixmonth period during and after theCaroma installation was completed,there was a 45% reduction in waterusage. The average water used was150,667 gallons, averaging $1,704
per month. This equates to an aver-age of 121,500 gallons in water sav-ings per month (more than 1.46million gallons per year) and nearly$9000 in yearly cost savings!In addition to water and cost sav-
ings, Caroma toilets also reducemaintenance expenses. The twopiece Sydney toilets have a largetrapway, nearly double the industryaverage, virtually eliminating block-ages. In the six months the toiletshave been installed at College Gar-dens Apartments, there have beenno calls to maintenance due to over-flows or clogging. Because the toiletsuse washdown technology, waste ispushed from the bowl, creatinggreater drainline carry, minimizingthe chance of blockages furtherdown the pipe.Tenants have also benefited from
the Caroma toilets. The stylish toi-lets have clean lines, so cleaning isvery easy. Because the toilets are vir-tually clog-free, they do not need anunsightly plunger nearby. The bestpart: they are helping to substan-tially reduce the amount of indoorwater usage with every push of theSydney dual flush toilet button. For more information, visit Caroma
online at www.caromausa.com. �
HETs save substantial water and moneyFIeld report
In addition to water and cost savings, Caroma toilets also reduce maintenance expenses.
Toilet technology has advanced considerably in the last 20 years, and now the average household can save thousands of gallons
of water in just one year.
UTICA, N.Y. — Members of the Radi-ant Panel Association and REXperi-ence show attendees toured ECRInternational’s Assembly facility aspart of the RPA REXperience 2009.Tour participants were served break-fast and heard Mike Paparone, ECR’s
CEO, talk a little about ECR’s historyand more about its new vision. ECRis becoming the recognized leader ofheating and air conditioning prod-ucts and services that have the mostpositive impact on its environment,its society and its customers.ECR’s trade show booth was set
up with a showcase of their vastproduct line. Many ECR employeeswere on hand to meet RPA members
and discuss any of the many prod-ucts. Eric Dorozynski, plant man-ager, lead the group on a tourthrough the facility.The tour finished with a presen-
tation on freewatt®, ECR’s microcombined heat and power system.
freewatt is an energy-efficient resi-dential heating system that pro-duces heat and electricity forhomes, while lowering society’s fueland energy consumption and pro-tecting the environment. A freewattsystem has the potential to gener-ate half of a typical home’s annualelectrical needs, saving homeown-ers hundreds of dollars on electricbills.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The AmericanStandard five-foot Walk-in Bathtubwon a 2009 ADEX Platinum Award,recognizing excellence in productdesign. The ADEX awards are sponsored by
Design Journal, a trade magazinefor interior designers, architects andfacility managers. ADEX stands forAwards for Design Excellence and isthe largest product design awardsprogram for furniture, fixtures andfinishes marketed to the designtrade. Available in durable high-gloss
acrylic, all American Standard Walk-In Baths feature a patented low-entry walk-in door for easy accessand a contoured chair-height seat
with deep soaking dimensions for aluxurious, worry-free soak. Built-ingrab bars and textured tub floors
contribute to stability, while the op-tional Quick Drain™ removes waterup to eight times faster than normaldrains to further enhance bathercomfort.For more information, visit
www.americanstandard.com.
ECR International hosts plant tour
Phc News — JULY 2009 15
DIAGNOSTICS PRESSING PIPE & TUBE TOOLS DRAIN MAINTENANCE POWER TOOLS
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Modular 8.6 lb. Portable Digital FlexibleSystem Design Recording 30' Cable
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Industry news
REXperience show attendees toured ECR International’s Assembly facility as partof the RPA rexperience 2009.
Alan R. Oatey, Chairman Emeritus of Oatey, diesCLEVELAND — Mr. Alan R. Oatey,Chairman Emeritus of Oatey hasdied. He was passionate about hisfamily, his friends and the OateyCompany. He served in the Navy inWWII, and then completed his col-lege degree at Ohio State University,graduating in 1947. He married hisLakewood High School sweetheart,Carol, several weeks later. Theywere married for 61 years until herdeath last July. They have four chil-dren, 11 grandchildren, and twogreat grandchildren. Oatey worked his entire life at the
Oatey Company, a business foundedby his father, L. R. Oatey. He pro-vided the leadership and direction for
Oatey to grow from a single plantwith a few employees into an interna-tional company with many facilities.Although he retired in 1987, he re-mained on the Board for many yearsto mentor his successors and guidethe performance of the business. Oatey was active as a volunteer
for numerous charitable organiza-tions, and was proud to financiallysupport many causes. He wasvoted “Distinguished Citizen of theYear” by the Cleveland YMCA, andwas inducted into the LakewoodHigh School Hall of Fame. Oateyleaves a legacy of love and devotionto his family, his friends and to hiscommunity.
Walk-in bath wins ADEX Award
NAOHSM names ‘Technician of the Year’HERSHEY, PA. — Steve Vachon’s cre-dentials put him in winning positionas NAOHSM’s first “Technician of theYear.” Vachon is a lead technicianfor Lamprey Brothers, North Hamp-ton, N.H. He is also the president ofthe Greater Seacoast Chapter ofNAOHSM.Vachon, along with his wife Jen-
nifer, was invited to be guests at theannual NAOHSM convention and tradeshow. In addition to a stay at theHershey Lodge, Steve was presentedwith a $1000.00 gift card fromNAOHSM and test equipment compli-ments of Testo. Steve along with theother finalists received a NAOHSMjacket.Steve’s letter of recommendation
from the director of field operations,Andrea Myers, stated, “Steve en-tered the field 14 years ago and hasbeen a dedicated employee of Lam-prey Brothers for 14 years. He hasbeen very proactive in mastering hisfield and attends extra training ses-
sions whenever they are available.As a result, he is quite proficient introubleshooting and repairing oilfired equipment, and is able to re-solve difficult heating and cooling is-sues and intermittent/recurringproblems that many techniciansstruggle with.” She further added,“Because of his devotion to his ca-reer and his company, Steve hasrisen through the ranks and is nowone of our two senior technicians.” Vachon is also accomplished out-
side of work; he is active in the NavyReserves and in 2008 promoted toChief Petty Officer. First runner-up, Wayne Lawrence,
who works for Petro and member ofthe Nassau-Suffolk Chapter, was onhand at the Awards Banquet and hetoo was recognized and awarded ajacket.Judges this year included Dan
Holohan, Skip Lincoln of the Mid-At-lantic Chapter and David Bessette,past NAOHSM president.
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16 Phc News — JULY 2009The Wall
Dan Holohan’s Web site, HeatingHelp.com, features a message boardcalled “The Wall” where hydronic heating professionals post ques-tions and offer answers of all kinds regarding hydronic heating
systems. Dan has kindly allowed Phc News to reprint some of the more in-teresting postings here each month. This section will surely whet your cu-riosity, so log on to the web site and click on “The Wall” for a treasure troveof useful and just plain interesting information.
Q: I was at a customer’s house todayto look at a basement finish job and Inoticed that the two furnaces in thebasement did not have their combus-tion air intakes piped to the outside.How common is this practice? ShouldI recommend that they have the out-side air piping installed?
— RL Refalo A: I have two Knight boilers that suckfrom the boiler room, but the room hasshutters and a huge air intake grille.Contact manufacturer and get theiropinion. It is not always required, anddepends on the mechanical room’sneeds. If you put your hand over the in-take, you will see they pull a lot of air.
— Tim
A:Does the house have a piped air in-take into the room from outside thatfeeds the furnace air intakes thatsuck from the room? Or is the houserelatively old and leaky and uses in-side air?It could probably save them a little
bit of $$$ on their gas bill to have thempiped to outside — when you factor thenegative pressure they create if thereis no air intake piped into the room.The other thing worth noting: If
there is some kind of make-up airpiped into the room that the boilersdraw their air intake room from, itmight not be a bad idea to put somekind of cold air stop. I’m trying to re-member what they are called, an arc-
tic bucket or something like that. Ba-sically, when the air intakes aren’tsucking from the room, the cold airwill not be allowed to enter the roomvia convection from the duct, as itrelies on the stratification of cold andhot air to keep air from infiltratingthe room when the furnaces aren’trunning.
— Scott K.
Q: I’m looking for a zone valve that haskind of a “floating action.” That is, itonly draws power to actually open orclose, but once it finishes moving, itstops drawing power. So if a thermo-stat told it to open, it would open, thenbreak the circuit — and somehow itcould tell when the demand disap-peared — and could close again.Looking to shave another six to eight
watts off of a heating system. I’m downto about eight max on a pump and typ-ical max of 45 or so for the boiler onlow to medium fire. If we can use thetransformer already in the boiler to
power the actuators, or line voltagewithout a transformer, even better.If I could keep this whole thing to
under 60 watts at all times, I’d behappy; though I am considering usingline voltage thermostats to kill powerto the boiler when there are no de-mands, as well. Checking on that withthe manufacturer.
— NRT.Rob A: The White Rodgers 3-wire valvedoes what you want and so does theTaco EBV. I’m not sure, but the Tacomight be the Low Power Leader!
— LarryA: The low power leader would benon-electric zoning w/smart pumpsuch as Wilo Eco or Grundfos Alphaw/mod con. We are trying to have con-tractors go this route as much as pos-sible in new construction and whereit’s feasible in retrofit applications.Oventrop or Danfoss offer valves andsensor heads w/the remote capillaries(have to be within roughly 25 ft. ofvalve body).
NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. — Ames Fire& Waterworks announced the releaseof its new revamped Web sitewww.amesfirewater.com The site’snew design makes finding informa-tion easy and fast. New detailed prod-uct pages include photos,descriptions, literature, approval in-formation and warranty information.A new approval finder application letsusers search Ames products by valvetype and approval agency. Ames hasalso updated its site to include infor-mation on California and Vermontlead-free compliance. Lastly, Amesalso is making available a mobile ver-sion of its Web site, available atm.amesfirewater.com.Ames Fire & Waterworks, A Watts
Water Technologies Company, isbased in Sacramento, Calif. Ames isfocused upon and dedicated to thebackflow prevention industry. Themanagement team has more than 75years of combined backflow industryexperience.
Ames Fire & Water-works revamps site
Electronic ProductsFrom the unparalleled HyTronic™, to the
affordable E-Tronic™, Chicago Faucets
has set a new reliability standard for
electronic faucets. Chicago Faucets’
complete electronic faucet line is featured
in a new brochure that shows how
intelligent design, durability and reliable
performance are indeed possible with
an electronic sensor-operated faucet.
Chicago Faucets Electronic Products…
advanced technology you can count on.
Conservation & Sustainability Chicago Faucets commitment to water conservation and sustainability
is highlighted. The brochure focuses on Chicago Faucets’ extensive
product offering of components and fixtures designed to assist
in maximizing water conservation. Selecting low-consumption,
energy saving Chicago Faucet products as new or replacement
fittings can help earn green building rating points toward a facility’s
LEED certification.
Chicago Faucets &The Buy American ActThe American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act recently signed into law includes a
Buy American provision favoring domestic
sources. Selecting products that meet
the requirements of this Act can help
support jobs across the USA and assist
in our economic recovery. Over 95% of
Chicago Faucets products, more than
1,700 items, meet these requirements.
Chicago Faucets... unwavering commitment
to quality, backed by know-how and
determination that is uniquely American.
ECAST™ Products from Chicago FaucetsECAST, from Chicago Faucets, is the line of durable, high-quality brass
faucets that are designed and manufactured with less than one quarter
of one percent (0.25%) total lead content by weighted average. These
products are intended for installation where state laws and local codes
mandate lead content levels or where lead content is a concern.
Visit ecast.chicagofaucets.com for more information.
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18 Phc News — JULY 2009
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — American Stan-dard Brands (ASB) has announced
additions to itsmarketing andsales teams as itcontinues efforts togrow market sharefor its range oficonic plumbingbrands that in-cludes AmericanS t a n d a r d ® ,Crane®, Eljer®,
Porcher®, Jado® and Fiat®. Chris Capone has been appointed
vice president —wholesale sales andis responsible forexpanding both theresidential andcommercial growthof the ASB compa-nies via the whole-sale distributionchannel.
Tom Santer has been named vicepresident — distribution strategyand is charged with expandingboth the residential and commer-cial growth of the ASB companiesvia the wholesale distributionchannel. Scott Meyer has been named gen-
eral manager — faucet division, withresponsibility for American Stan-dard’s residential product lines. Jeannette Long has been ap-
pointed general manager — e-com-merce, leading a new sales channelfor ASB. Mark Hamilton is the new general
manager for luxury and showrooms,responsible for sales of the Jado,Porcher and American Standard lux-ury products. Also joining the ASB team is Gerry
Messina as director of customer de-velopment — retail faucets. In thisrole he will manage the marketingefforts between product manage-
ment and field sales for the retailbusiness. Carter J. Thomas has been
named director, industrial design— luxury business. He will overseethe creation of innovative kitchenand bath styles for the Jado,Porcher and American Standardluxury brands.
SPARKS, NEV. —Haws announcedthat Margo Meehas been ap-pointed to the po-sition of productmanager. Margohas been a dedi-cated Haws em-ployee for morethan 12 years,
starting in the Berkeley, Calif. officebefore transferring to the Sparks,Nev. facility in 1998.
American Standard Brands announces appointments
IndusTry Movers
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Capone
Santer
Haws Corp. names product manager
Mee
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.— Viking Group,a leader in fire protection and lifesafety solutions, announced that itschairman, Tom Groos, has beenelected to the board of directors forthe National Fire Protection Associ-ation (NFPA). Groos, one of four newboard members appointed at the As-sociation’s annual conference andexhibition, will serve a three-yearterm which officially began at theclose of the conference’s openinggeneral session.
Viking Group Chairman elected to NFPA Board
SPRINGFIELD, MO.—John Kolson re-cently joined WattsRadiant as vicepresident and gen-eral manager, suc-ceeding MikeChiles who leavesthe position.
Watts Radiant names VP & GM
Kolson
OAKLAND, CALIF. — The McWanePlumbing Group has reassigned TomLeonard to the Bibby Company inQuebec, Canada. Leonard will be re-turning to the company that he hadsuccessfully managed for 11 years.Leonard has excellent productionskills and is very knowledgeable inthe marketing of cast iron soil pipein North America.Bill Bliss has been named interim
Tyler national sales manager.Patrick Starkey will provide Tylercustomers with additional support asassociate national sales manager.Tyler is also served well by three re-gional sales managers: East Coast,Thad Hicks; South Central/SouthWest, Sterling Bowman; North Cen-tral/North West, Brian Gardner, whowill take an active role in filling theneeds of their distributors.
MELROSE PARK, ILL. — Wilo announcedthat it has unified its two U.S. compa-nies, Wilo USA LLC and Wilo EMUUSA LLC, into a single organizationthat will do business under the nameWilo USA LLC. Effective June 1,Thomasville, Georgia-based WiloEMU USA LLC and Melrose Park, Illi-nois-based Wilo USA LLC are united
throughout all phases of operation,from sales through manufacturing.The unification of the two compa-
nies enhances customer service by al-lowing customers to access moreeasily the full product line — from theHVAC-related circulator pumps andwater supply pumps to submersiblesewage pumps and submersible mix-
ers — through a single Wilo contact.Mike Easterley, president and CEO
of the new Wilo USA, said, “We aremaximizing the capabilities of all ofour resources in the U.S. for the ben-efit of our customers. This reorgani-zation will facilitate our dramaticgrowth in the U.S. and accelerate theexchange of timely information.”
U.S. Wilo companies unify into one organizational structure
Phc News — JULY 2009 19IndusTry neWs
McWane Plumbing Groupmakes management changes
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Continuing to in-vest in and grow the company, na-
tional HVAC andplumbing serviceprovider ARS/Res-cue Rooter hasadded two homeservice industryveterans to its sen-ior leadershipteam. Paul An-
deregg has joinedA R S / R e s c u eRooter as seniorvice president ofsales marketing,and John Hayes assenior vice presi-dent of corporatedevelopment.
ARS/Rescue Rooter adds industry veterans
Anderegg
Hayes
EASTON, PA. — Victaulic announcedthat Dr. Richard A. Bucher hasjoined Victaulic as vice president ofproduct development in its Engi-neering department. In this position,he will provide leadership to Vic-taulic product development efforts,as well as strategic planning regard-ing the development of new productsand the investigation of new tech-nologies and business opportunitiesfor Victaulic.
Victaulic announces VP ofproduct development
NSF appoints VP of marketingANN ARBOR, MICH. — NSF Interna-tional announced the appointmentof Elizabeth A. Jones as its new vicepresident of marketing.
Ahappy 10th birthday to PhcNews! I remember when thisfine magazine was born. I was
writing for another magazine backthen, and having, for the most part, aone-way conversation with the sub-scribers. Sure, I’d get a letter now andthen, but mostly it was just me in adark room, writing to an imaginarycontractor friend I had conjured frombits and pieces of the many contrac-tors I had met through my travelswhile doing seminars. And then the In-ternet happened.Suddenly, I was having daily, real-
time conversations with real contrac-tors from all over the world, and ithappened on a bulletin board, where Ididn’t know how old or young anyonewas. People rose and fell based solelyon how they treated others. It was thebeginning of my true education.Along the way, I learned that there
are lots of ways to get a job done, de-pending on where you live and work.And I learned that people are willing toshare what they know, if you treat themwith respect. So many friendshipssprang out of our site, and most of thesepeople eventually met in real life, which
made those friendships grow evendeeper. Without the Internet, most ofthose friendships probably never wouldhave happened. And all of that knowl-edge shared would probably havestayed where it was. Our business has been a Web site for
more than a decade now, and if you’rethinking about getting your companyonto the Internet, here are somethings for you to consider. First, have a direction. A lot of con-
tractors have Web sites built becausethey think that they have to have one.Some contractors try to build theirown, and I always wonder if that’s thebest use of their time. Many contrac-tors aren’t even sure why they’rebuilding a site; they just do it, and tome, that’s like starting a boiler jobwithout knowing what house the boilerwill serve.I think that if you’re in this busi-
ness, and if you want potential cus-tomers to take you seriouslynowadays, you need a Web site, butwhat do you want yours to do for you?You have to think that through beforeyou begin. Is your site to be just an on-line company brochure? Or will it bea way to build a community withinyour marketing area? How can youget people to come back to your sitemore than once? How can you con-tinue to pitch them on what you haveto offer? Those are key questions toask before you start, and you’ll findthe answers to those questions by ask-ing these three questions: First, ask yourself what business
you’re in. I know that sounds silly, but
think it through. Are you in the heatingbusiness, or are you in the business ofkeeping babies safe and warm? The an-swer you chose will send you in one di-rection or another. Think long and hardabout the business you’re really in.Think in terms of benefits, rather thanfeatures. What’s in it for the customer?Which brings us to the next ques-
tion: Who are your customers? Arethey the same as last year’s cus-tomers? How about next years cus-tomers? How will the currenteconomy affect the sort of customersyou serve? What business are you in?Who do you serve?Next, what are your customer’s prob-
lems? What do you have to offer thatwill solve those problems once and forall? By thinking in terms of your cus-tomer’s self-interest, you’ll build a Website that will avoid the biggest mistakemost contractors make when buildinga site – bragging about how great theyare. People don’t care how great youare. Show me a contractor that claimsto be an idiot. They’re all great. Justlook at their sites. Don’t talk about yourself, talk about
what you can do for the customer.Focus 100% on that person. That’s whatwill bring in the business.Ask those three questions at least
once a year, and be willing to changeyour Web site if any of the answerschange.You have to be willing to invest. How
many times have you rolled your eyesand looked down on the low-bidderwhen it comes to the heating busi-ness? That bum who doesn’t have theright tools, or the proper insurance, oreven a decent truck. That stinker whotracks in mud and is doing his on-the-job learning on every job. You can’tstand that guy, right? So why look for that guy when it
comes to building a Web site? Whybuy on price alone? Or try to do ityourself. Is Web design your specialty?If you want a site that works and
makes you look as good as you are, youhave to invest the time, money, and pa-tience to make it happen. You have tobe involved in the process. You can’tjust have a quick conversation withyour Web designer and then hope forthe best, not unless you want a cookie-cutter site that looks like every othercontractor’s site. You want to standout? Spend a buck and get the rightpeople working for you. Do it on thecheap and that’s how you’ll look to po-tential customers. You have to gather content. People
come to the Internet for information,and they use search engines to findwhat they want. The more contentyou have on your site, the more you’llattract search engines. Our site, Heat-ingHelp.com, has an enormousamount of content, and it’s takenyears to gather it, but when thesearch engines look at us, they seewords such as “heating” used overand over again within the context ofarticles. Search engines can tell thedifference between the legitimate and
non-legitimate use of key words. Forinstance, if you had a site with theword “heating” typed 5,000 times ina row, Google would never again lookat you. Type “heating” into Googleand watch how HeatingHelp.com usu-ally comes up within the top fivegeneric results, and often as numberone. That’s why we have a huge audi-ence. Content gets you there.Who are your customers? What are
their problems? That should deter-mine your site’s content. But then there are the contractors
who are afraid that their customers willget too smart. I think these contractorsare walking around with bags over theirheads. They pretend that the Internetdoesn’t exist and they’re trying to putthe genie back into the bottle. That’simpossible.If you don’t have content, other sites
will have content, and that’s where thepeople will go. Smart customers recog-nize the value of a good contractor. You have to build a community. This
is the key to getting people back to yoursite again and again. Ask for feedback.Give your current customers a placewhere they can post comments aboutyour services. And if you’re afraid ofwhat they might write about you onyour site, you should first address whythey would say bad things about you. Doyou do work that’s worthy of praise? Ifnot, I suggest you fix that first beforeyou build a Web site. If you do goodwork, you have nothing to fear fromyour customers. Give them a place topraise you. Consider setting up a bulletin board
where customers can ask you ques-tions and you can answer them online.Before long, you’ll have a great FAQsection on your site (that’s content)and everyone in your marketing areawill consider you an expert. But wait! Suppose someone out of
your marketing area asks a question?You’re worried that you’ll be wastingyour time answering him or her, right?Have you considered that by answer-ing people from all over, you’ll soon beconsidered a national (international?)expert? Think about it. What makesthose heating guys on the TV so spe-cial? Are they shaper than you are? Ordo they just have a bigger audience?Think about it. You have to listen. This is the great
thing about building a community onyour site. Your customers and yourpotential customers will tell youthings that you need to hear. What arethey saying about their problems? Doyou have solutions for them? If not,why not? What changes do they sug-gest you make to your site? Are youwilling to ask them? Are you willing tolisten? What are they looking for interms of coupons or specials? Ask andlisten. The more you listen, the betterable you’ll be to answer those keyquestions: What business am I in? Who are my
customers? What are their problems? That’s the compass for your Web site.
It will take you in the right direction. �
Web plus 1020 Phc News — JULY 2009heaTIng help
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Circle 18 on Reader Reply Card
You may remember thatBritish band that rockedWoodstock, with hits like “I’m
Going Home.” I will borrow that titlefor this anniversary issue. And sharemy thoughts on 10 years after in re-gard to products we use. Hydronics,mainly, but not to forget solar andtools related to these products. Andnow I can’t get that song out of myhead!When is a product ready for mar-
ket? Certainly, we, as the installers
and contractors, are always lookingdown the road for new and improvedversions of equipment, methods andtools. Of course the consumer, fromwhere our paychecks hail, have aninterest in better, faster, quieter andlonger lasting products, too.
The automobile industry, until re-cently, has catered well to thesewhims. They dish out more powerand conveniences every year. So, toohas our industry embraced the con-cept of it’s never “done.” There is al-ways room for improvement in aproduct. Have you seen some of thewild framing hammers on theshelves these days? Talk about re-defining a fairly simple and basicproduct!Perhaps the most requested im-
provements these days deal with ef-ficiency. The desire to install aproduct that can do the job better,while consuming less energy in theprocess, challenges the installers.Boilers, or heat sources, come tomind. The hydronic side of our in-dustry has heeded the call for aboiler geared directly to the lowtemperature radiant segment of the
market. And in the truest sense ofevolution our pleas were answered.But what we got was not only jobspecific, but also much more fuelefficient.Savvy boiler manufacturers, famil-
iar with the Euro ISH show, went
shopping overseas for the parts andpieces to higher efficiency boilers.Product specific to hydronics seemsto be a few years advanced overthere. The size of their market drivesthis, along with much higher fuelcosts, I suspect. The evolution to anAmericanized version needs to beconsidered. As we have learned, orare still learning, it takes more thana voltage and thread change for thisto happen. You see, somehow thingschange as those products bob theirway across the seas to our shores.Perhaps the biggest challenge has
been deciding on which materialsperform and last the longest. Forsome reason water, and fluid condi-tions in North America, seem tosometimes butt heads with the HXmaterials, for example. Whatever weput inside the pipes, tubes and boilervessels can offer up some less than
desirable surprises 10 years after.Also, the methods we use to cleanand fill play a part in the lifecycle ofa heat exchanger. Could our fuels,ever-changing and always “improv-ing,” have a part to play in firesidefailures? Can LP, oil and natural gasreally be that different and unpre-dictable from shore to shore? It sureseems like that may be the case.So how does a manufacturer plan
and build with these unknowns? Re-search and development seems to bethe department where much of thisresponsibility falls. I have switchedfrom the contracting to manufactur-ing side of our industry. In this newjob, I have been able to visit a num-ber of factories and their R&D labs.I will say that the companies I
have visited are very serious aboutthis part of the process. Some test-ing seems fairly straightforward —testing to failure of a pressure com-ponent, for example. The valve, ves-sel or component is put in achamber and pressurized until itfails, breaks or leaks. Cycle testingis understandable. But cycling a
switch under lab conditions doesvary — sometimes considerably —from real-life conditions. (Throw indirt, dust, vibration, job site instal-lation abuse, for instance.)Accelerated testing becomes even
foggier to me. I have yet to see a re-liable test to expose a product toreal-life conditions for a 10-year lifeexpectancy done in a lab in a 12-month or less period. I’m here to sayour industry does not lack in thenumber of agencies that requirelarge sums of money to list and ap-prove a product. Still, at the end ofthe day, 10 years after, it usuallycomes down on the shoulders of thecontractor or installer to “fix it.” Yes, the contractors have a respon-
sibility to learn the product, read themanuals and offer in-the-field cri-tique. The best of the manufacturerswill stand behind their product andtrained installers, as well they should.A good manufacturer will ask for, andutilize, contractor input. I doubtmany manufacturers are in businessfor the quick buck. I doubt hydronicswould be the category they chose ifthat was their intent, considering themarket size.I know some contractors that will
not sell or install a “new” productuntil it has a five-year, or more,track record. But we can’t all waitfive years. The early adopters reapthe benefits and shoulder the grow-ing pains.So we continue to learn, test, im-
prove and engineer. Will we everreach the goal of products that func-tion as designed, trouble-free for 10years after. Or should we? Yourthoughts?And on the occasion of Phc News’
10-year anniversary, here’s to 10,20, and many more! �
Ten years after
22 Phc News — JULY 2009alTernaTIve energy
Circle 19 on Reader Reply Card
BY Bob “hot rod” Rohr,contributing writer
I know some contractors that will not sell or install a “new” product until it has a five-year, or more, track record. But we can’t all wait five years. The early adopters reap the benefits
and shoulder the growing pains.
I have yet to see a reliabletest to expose a productto real-life conditions
for a 10-year life expectancydone in a lab in a
12-month or less period.
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24 Phc News — JULY 2009Radiant insideR
A trip back in history
BY PAUL ROHRS,contributing writer
Rod Serling in his best TwilightZone voice: You’re travelingto another dimension, a di-
mension not only of sight and sound,but of mind. A journey into a won-drous land whose boundaries arethat of imagination. Your next stop,the “Twilight Zone.” Recently, I was asked to write
about the 10-year anniversary of PhcNews. In 1999, Phc News’ inauguraladdition was distributed, so let’s talkhydronics from 10 years ago. Butfirst, here’s some more informationthat will help you look back in timeand see what was going on.According to the Energy Informa-
tion Administration, the averageprice of gas in July of 1999 was$1.19 per gallon. The Blair WitchProject was scaring people in movie
theatres and there was a veryprominent three-letter alphanu-meric character on everyone’smind: Y2K. What was going to hap-pen? Were we going to experience aglobal shutdown of computers andperipheral equipment? Were stop-lights going to stop working andcause gridlock? Or would the watersupply shut down and basic needsnot be met for people nation andworldwide? We all held our breathsas the ball fell.Does all of that seem like it was 10
years ago? In 1999, hydronic designand sales were really starting to boomin the Midwest. As a wholesaler andradiant designer, things were goingfairly well. I had bought a new soft-ware program called Visio so that Icould view and alter Tekmar drawingsthat seemed to emulate an interestingindustry standard of mixing calledvariable-speed injection-mixing.
Before the advent and market sat-uration of mod-con boilers, hydronicsystems typically had atmosphericboilers that were subjected to hightemperature boiler water that couldthen be mixed down to system re-quirements and even lower tempswhen not at design conditions. Radi-ant floor heating with high mass con-crete slabs could have systemtemperature requirements in themid- to lower 90°F ranges, and thatis at design conditions. So, how tosafely protect boilers that required138°F boiler inlet water and producelower system temps? Enter VSIM. Itcan provide minimum boiler inlettemperatures, full outdoor reset forthe type of heat emitters you have inthe system, and can meet the de-mands of residential, commercial,and snow melting systems.Let’s look at the basic system set
up of a variable speed injection loopand how we can use it to meet mul-tiple zones of a single temperaturesystem. If you’ve learned anythingabout me it’s that I like to use colorto show differences in my drawings.
In Figure 1, wesee the primaryboiler loop inthe greensquare (alsomarked “A”)showing an at-m o s p h e r i cboiler that isdesigned toprovide 180°F
fluid. The P1 circulator is pumpingaway from the air-separator and ex-pansion tank and pumping rightback into the boiler inlet with awye-strainer. To the far right of theboiler loop is a secondary loop witha blue background marked “B.”This is our load side that shows theP2 circulators providing heat to ourpanel radiators with thermostaticradiator valves (TRVs). Now the P2circ is pushing our 130°F resettemp water thru the panel radiatorsgiving up their heat and comingback at 110°F to be reheated andsent back out again. How much180°F boiler water do we need to in-ject from section A into section B,to get it back up to the necessary130°F water? Based on our mathand design conditions, we need 2.85GPM. Our variable-speed injection-mixing loop that connects the pri-mary boiler loop and secondaryloop of panel radiators is in the or-
ange rectangle. The P3 circulatorthat connects our primary boilerloop (A) to our secondary loop (B),needs to spin fast enough to provide2.85 GPM of 180ºF water back intothe loop to bring it up to 130°F. I amsetting a 100,000 Btu/H load at de-sign conditions.How fast does the variable-speed
injection-mixing circulator have tospin to meet the load at design con-ditions? Ps = Primary Supply (temp)Sr = Secondary Return (temp)
GPM = LoadPs – Sr 5 500
GPM = 100,000180-110 5 500
GPM = 100,00035,000
= 2.85 GPM @ design conditions.That’s right, the maximum speed inwhich the P3 circulator will need is2.85 GPM.With a proper deployment of a
VSIM control, an outdoor sensor willsend a signal to the controller sothat it knows what the outdoor tempis. Additional sensors are placed onsupply and return piping to monitorwhat the minimum and maximumsystem temperatures are. Minimumand maximum outdoor air tempsare also programmed in. The resetcurve is the net result of this pro-gramming and automatically adjuststhe target temperature for the heatemitters; in this illustration it is thepanel rads. A weather-responsivesystem is really appropriate for loadmatching in any condition, for anyheat-emitter and boiler type. Thefeature I encourage you to explorefurther is that of boiler protection.With atmospheric boilers, we needa minimum of 138°F boiler returnwater to prevent sustained flue gascondensation. With VSIM, the boilerloop will now have 138°F water en-tering the boiler before the P3 circwill start injecting hot water into oursecondary loop side. That is pureboiler protection that you can bankon if you choose atmospheric boil-ers or mod-con boilers are not in thebudget. When this system is not atdesign conditions and there isn’t a100,000 Btu/H load present, the tar-get-reset temp is lowered and the P3circulator does not need to spin thefull 2.85 GPM. Enter the variable por-tion of variable-speed. In anything
other than design conditions, it islikely that the P3 circulator will spinat an even slower speed, still inject-ing only what it needs to reach thetarget temp. At 40°F, say we onlyneed 110°F water to the panel rads,and at a 20°F �T, that equals a 90°Freturn water. Use the formula listedabove to calculate the GPM that theP3 circ will need. Email me your an-swers: [email protected] are several recommenda-
tions you should consider when siz-ing and deploying this VSIM
circulator. First, do not use a circu-lator with an integral flow check. Itcan cause surging and not provide asmooth secondary loop reset temp.Secondly, it is advisable to pipe athermal trap on your injection pip-ing if you have multiple VSIM loopsfeeding different temperaturezones. Thirdly, consider using a ballvalve for isolation or a globe valvefor isolation and flow setting on thereturn leg. If you need to isolate theboiler loop from the secondary loop,this is an easy way to keep themseparate. Finally, if you are a visualperson and need proof that the P3circulator is doing its job, you canopt for a visual flow indicator. Thisitem has a spring and plunger com-bination that shows you the actualflow rate of the P3 circulator. Wheninitially setting up a system, it isvery easy after the purge and fillprocess, to hard wire the P3 circu-lator with the correct voltage andthen set the flow with the adjust-ments provided. After the maxi-mum flow is established, wire it into your VSIM controller.VSIM is a tried-and-true mixing
method that can always provide afull-reset temp to any type of heat-emitter regardless of the type of heatsource. Even though it was state-of-the-art ten years ago this method ofmixing in systems are now verycommon to see out in the field and Iwill say that VSIM still has an impor-tant place in modern systems stillbeing designed. Why travel into the “twilight
zone” when you can create yourown zone of variable-speed injec-tion-mixing and know that you canuse your imagination to define newboundaries in hydronic heating.Take that Rod Serling. �
Paul Rohrs welcomes your com-ments. Contact Paul at [email protected].
Figure 1.
Circle 21 on Reader Reply Card
26 Phc News — JULY 2009BaRe Bones Biz
I have seen the future
BY ELLEN ROHR,contributing writer
Congratulations, Phc News!Look how grown up you are.Ten years fly by.
One look at your kid proves it.How did our son Max get to be 23years old? Seems like fifteen min-utes ago he was just starting highschool. I remember when he was 13,a brand new teenager, thinking thatthis was a critical time to pay atten-tion. It was important to understandhim and keep the communicationflowing. So, we chose not to pick thebattle of purple hair. We did go onfun vacations together. We chose totalk about drinking and driving. And thank goodness for cell
phones. By the time Max starteddriving, cell phones were easilyavailable and affordable. (Ten yearsearlier, they were the size of a brick,and required a home equity loan.)Some of our best conversations havebeen over the phone. And it suremade it easier to sleep, knowing wecould stay in touch while he was outand about and growing up so fast.
And the point is…I’ve been thinking about that —
how the way we communicate haschanged over the last 10 years. Inthe PHC world, the communicationstechnology has gotten pretty cool.Ten years ago, faxing was hip. Yes,we could email, but we didn’t really.Computers, used to be 10 timesslower and 10 times more expensive.(That’s a change to embrace.) Andthe point of all this technology is tocommunicate. In a PHC shop, a few of the commu-
nication loops go like this:The owner develops a marketing
message.Marketing reaches customers.Customers contact the office.The CSR communicates with the
customers …and the dispatcher…who communicates with the
plumber…who communicates with the
customer…who sometimes sends a service
survey to the owner.
Currently, you may use a series ofsystems to accomplish all this:Quickbooks, a dispatch program,snail mail, email, phones, fax, handgestures, shouting, a pencil and Post-its. Ten years ago, you might havebeen using just shouting at the com-puter that crashed, often. Let’s take a closer look at how mar-
keting has changed over the last 10years. The ONLY time I pick up aphone book is when I am in a hotelroom checking out the localplumber’s ads. I haven’t used a phonebook to find anything in the last 10years. I go online. I google. In 10years, phone books won’t exist. What didn’t exist 10 years ago,
and is turning the world inside out,is Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg,Delicious, YouTube and blogging andtexting. If these words are new toyou, get to google and start typing.Max and his friends keep up to dateon Facebook. Max’s cousin, Kelly —six years younger — is a texter. Lastmonth, she sent and received over5,000 texts. Not one of those texts
included a whole word or more than10 letters. She is communicating ina whole new way. Even Max and hisfriends don’t text like kids just a fewyears younger. If you want to com-municate with Kelly, you are wellserved to text her. If you are going to communicate
with your customers, you have touse the tools they are using. I don’tthink Kelly or Max has ever pickedup a phone book to find a phonenumber. So the communicationloops in marketing need to includeemail, text and all kinds of socialnetworking sites.
I have seen the futureI recently saw a demo of an ac-
counting and information system. Itworks like this:The owner develops a marketing
message and posts it on his website.He blogs about the greening ofplumbing and gets about 100,000hits when Huffington Post links to it.The owner also puts a YouTube clip
of a particularly fascinating solar in-stallation (involving unplanned birdpoop) and the clip is viewed by aboutas many people who viewed SusanBoyle. This results in 8,345 peopleopting in on the company website. Marketing reaches customers via
email, Facebook and Twitter. Theblast includes a clever audio couponfor a free solar shower. Customers contact the office via
one of those electronic connections,or by calling the office. The CSR visits with the customer
and gathers all contact informationand problem details. She enters thisinto an online version of QuickBooksand posts the pending call on a web-site based dispatch board. The dispatcher emails the plumber
all the contact information. He alsoemails the customer the arrival timeand a picture of the plumber. The plumber finds the customer
with a global positioning system(GPS). When he wraps up the servicecall, he swipes the customer’s creditcard. The dispatch is converted to an
invoice and the payment is depositedinto the company checking account. The bookkeeper downloads all the
checking and credit card accountinfo into QuickBooks. The customer completes an email
survey and submits it to the com-pany site…and to Angie’s List. Shealso posts it on her blog. And every bit of this can be done
with iPhones. Or a smart phone likea Treo or a Blackberry, with a fewmore technical hiccups. Could we even imagine that 10
years ago?
You need a kidThe key to handling this technol-
ogy? You need a kid. Ask your ownkid or grandkid if he or she, or afriend, is interested in becoming yourtechnology officer. A high school orcollege student is a good candidate.The requirements: a love of comput-ers and a willingness to learn. A stu-dent may be looking at job optionsthat include minimum wage at Mc-
Donald’s or Blockbuster. You couldoffer $10 or $12 an hour and a prom-ise to help him learn the ropes. Ispend thousands of dollars on com-puter and internet professionals. Iworked with reputable companieswho sent a different tech everyweek, so we would start the learningcurve all over again. I have beenpromised the moon, paid for it…andbeen disappointed when the com-puter was glitching and the websitewas down. Again. Then, I found Jon, a student friend
of one of Max’s friends. Jon was hon-est when we discussed the position.He told me, “I like computers and Iknow some basic troubleshooting. Ireally like design and I am taking awebsite design class. I don’t knowanything about networks.” “OK. Here’s a deal,” I offered. “I
will start you at $10 an hour andyou can learn on my time. Just beclear with me about what you knowand don’t know and we’ll figure itout together.” What a great deal this has turned
out to be for both of us. His job issuper flexible and he works fromhome most of the time. He onlycomes to the office if he needs towork on the hardware. He averagesabout five hours a week. Jon is nowa college graduate with a degree inbusiness administration and has agrowing business finding and flippinghouses. He also does website designand management for a few otherclients. The tools change. What’s impor-
tant is that we communicate witheach other. With communication,we gain understanding. Since the be-ginning of time, untouched by thelast ten years, there is a basic humanneed to connect with one another.
The more things changeEvery month, Phc News publisher
Tom Brown hand writes a thoughtfulnote on my check. It’s old schooltechnology and a timeless gesture offriendship and appreciation. It’s myfavorite part about working for PhcNews. Thanks, Tom. The more things change, the more
things stay the same. �
Need help? Reach Ellen at417.753.1111 or [email protected] You also can join inon the FREE “We love solving prob-lems” Teleseminars at www.barebonesbiz.com.
If you are going to communicate with your customers, you have to use the tools they are using. So the communication
loops in marketing need to include email, text and all kinds of social networking sites.
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28 Phc News — JULY 2009solaR solutions
10 Years of solar hydronic evolutionSolar heating then and now
BY BRISTOL STICKNEYcontributing writer
Solar hydronic heating systemshave been around for severaldecades in their present form
and many different approaches havebeen tried with varying success. It isalways useful to learn from the past,so that we are not always “reinventingthe wheel” as solar heating systemsare being installed in ever increasingnumbers.I have seen some successful inno-
vations and trends over the last 10years that are worthy of notice; some
are innovations that I have tried orproven for myself, some are due toadvances in new components andsome are driven by what the clientsare asking for.Ten years ago, many of our clients
were motivated by their concern about“Y2K,” and their desire to becomemore self-reliant. Today people areconcerned about the environment andthe unstable cost of conventional en-ergy, which can fluctuate wildly fromyear to year. Let’s take a look at theways that common solar hydronic in-stallations have evolved over the past10 years with a review of commonpractices “Then” and “Now.”
Collector mountingCollector Tilt Then: Solar hydronic
collectors were virtually always con-nected directly to water tank heat stor-age systems, and commonly still are tothis day. Since water heaters work wellyear round with the tilt ranging fromlatitude to latitude plus 15 degreesfrom horizontal, this was the tilt mostcommonly assumed. This tilt is fine forwaters heaters under constant heatingload all year round.
Collector Tilt Now: Solar heatingsystems known as Combi systemshave been increasingly popular be-cause the same collectors can be usedfor multiple heating loads. The Combisystems in our region are now de-signed with minimal water storage andmaximum direct solar heating using
other types of heat storage such as ra-diant mass floors, pools, spa tubs, icemelt and anything else that needs heatat any time of the year. The tilt of themulti-purpose collectors is designeddifferently to provide the right amountof heat to these various loads, duringthe seasons when the heat is needed.A warm mass floor using solar directheat requires a more vertical tilt, whilea heated pool used only in summer re-quires a more horizontal tilt. The finaltilt chosen depends on the size of thecollectors and the seasonal mixture ofheating loads.
Higher Profiles Then: The majorityof flat plate solar collectors manufac-tured in the past promoted high profilemounting. In other words, mountingthem the “tall” way (or in “portrait”orientation). In most cases, the easiest,most economical way to install the col-lectors and the piping was to mount
the collectors side by side with thelong dimension standing up tall. If youwanted to mount them the “Low” wayor “landscape” orientation, you had toadd external copper headers extra el-bows and sometimes extra pipe sup-ports to keep the collector tube platefrom sliding down hill inside the col-lector.
Lower Profiles Now: Some collectormanufacturers now make low-mountcollectors that are designed with inter-nal headers that plug together side byside just like the tall versions do. Thesecollectors are much easier to hide ona flat roof or a ground mount. Theycan be screened by low parapets, orlow landscape elements much easierthan tall collectors. Because of this, ar-chitects and homeowners alike tend toprefer them, especially when dealingwith uncooperative neighbors or his-torical zoning districts with strict ar-chitectural restrictions. For aestheticreasons, people seem to prefer flushmounting on walls and pitched roofsand low profiles if the collectors cannot be flush.
Water tank heat storageSolar Domestic Hot Water Tanks
Then: Glass-lined insulated preheattanks with external “add-on” heat ex-changer, circulator and piping werecommon. Stone- lined and stainlesssteel were less often used but readilyavailable. In-tank heat exchangerswere less common although available
mostly as boiler side-arm tanks. In-tank heat exchanger with internalbackup heat was harder to find butalso available.
Solar Domestic Hot Water TanksNow: An external heat exchangeruses more electrical pumping power,involves more heat loss, and is morelikely to foul or clog with mineralswhen used on open potable water sys-tems. I have found that internal heatexchanger tanks are more reliable, re-sult in a higher solar thermal effi-ciency and require less maintenance.For these reasons more solar DHW in-stallations make use of internal heatexchangers in water tanks these days.Also, there are more stainless steeltanks with internal heat exchanger tochoose from (e.g. Amtrol, TriangleTube, Oventrop). Because of the longlife, higher thermal efficiency andlower maintenance costs, a higher ini-tial cost for this equipment can bejustified.
Atmospheric Heat Storage TanksThen and Now: When storing largeamounts of solar heat in a large watertank, the use of unpressurized insu-lated water containers has been awidespread common practice. Un-pressurized containers are less expen-sive than tanks that can bepressurized. They are open to the at-mosphere and so tend to loose waterby evaporation. Since hydronic boilerfluid and potable hot water are bothpressurized, they require heat ex-changers, circulators and controls toextract the heat from the unpressur-ized water tank. So, the use of a lowcost tank results in increased mainte-nance, increased electrical consump-tion and decreased thermal efficiency.For these reasons, I have been usingpressurized tanks almost exclusivelyin recent years.
Radiant heated floorsSolar heat storage in Warm Mass
Floors Then and Now: Radiant heatedmass (concrete) floors always havebeen used as an effective and comfort-able distribution method for hydronicsolar heat, even in some of the earliestinstallations. But, about 10 years agowe started thinking of them as “ther-mal mass” that can be used as solarheat storage. This idea was alreadyfully implemented in well-designedpassive solar houses of that era, de-signed to use interior mass walls andsunlit masonry floors to store solarheat gain through large south facingwindows. The passive solar heating effect can
be duplicated using active solar hy-dronic collectors feeding heat into themass floors directly. When it is con-trolled right, the floors warm up byday and discharge heat by night allwithin the comfort-temperature range
thereby delaying or preventing thebackup boiler from firing. When thisheat storage is taken into account, in-sulated and controlled properly, theneed for additional large water storagetanks can be eliminated.This idea can also be carried over
into concrete swimming pools andspa tubs. When radiant heat tubing isembedded in the floors and walls of aconcrete pool, solar heat can be deliv-ered in a controlled way, independentof the pool filter pump system. I in-stalled my first solar heated swim-ming pool floor and hot tub floorsystems just over ten years ago. Sincethen I have done a number of themboth indoors and outdoors, and theyhave worked out quite well. Again, thetemperature control, especially in thesmaller hot tubs can be very impor-tant to the owner’s satisfaction.
Overheat preventionThen: In the past, overheat protec-
tion for glycol-filled solar hydronicheat collector systems typically con-sisted of an oversized expansion tank,a high limit temperature switch andpressure relief valves. The solar collec-tor coolant pump was shut off whenthings got too hot, and the expansiontank and relief valve were expected totake care of the resulting high temper-ature stagnation. I have always been inthe habit of using photovoltaic pow-ered solar circulators to prevent loss ofcoolant during daytime power failuresand have always used ample expan-sion tanks, too.
Now: I like to keep the solarcoolant pump running any time it issunny. Systems that are not allowedto stagnate tend to last longer and re-quire fewer repairs. There are morecontrol options available these daysthat allow this to happen. More atten-tion is being paid to prevent failuresdue to overheating. Heat dissipationsystems, night sky radiant coolingsystems and photovoltaic circulatorpumps are all part of the mix. Latelywe have also been using night sky ra-diant cooling for comfort-cooling ofhydronic mass floors by running thesolar floor heating system at night insummer.
Piping and componentsComponents Then: Most large solar
heating systems were assembled pieceby piece and piping could become aconfusing puzzle for the installationcrew, working from a one-of-a-kind“spaghetti diagram” of piping andwiring. We began using a standard pri-mary/secondary piping design in an at-tempt to make the mechanical roomassembly more modular and repeatable.The modular piping system allowed
(Turn to Solar:... page 52.)
Today people are concerned about the environment and the unstable cost of conventional energy, which can fluctuate wildly from year to year.
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30 Phc News — JULY 2009PlumBing Business
Do you still charge by the hour?
BY RICHARD P. DiTOMA, L.M.P.,contributing writer
“How much do you chargeper hour?” was the titleof my first editorial for
Phc News. That was nine years ago.And, the spring/summer of 2009marks the beginning of Phc News’tenth year. I am proud to be one of itscontributing editors.John Mesenbrink, chief editor, asked
me how I thought things had changedover the last decade. With that in mind,I looked up that first article, which wasaimed at contractors who charged fortheir services based on a time & mate-rial pricing method.When I wrote the article, I wanted to
show time & material contractors thatthey had another choice to implementregarding their selling prices. Thatchoice could alleviate arguments oversurprise bills after a service was per-formed, while allowing good contrac-tors to become more profitable in thedelivery of excellence to their clientele.That alternative was, and is, the con-tract pricing method. This method iscommonly, and in my opinion erro-neously, referred to as flat rate pricing. The term “flat rate,” with regard to
the prices contractors charge, is, at leastif not more than, a quarter of a centuryold. The reason I claim that the words“flat rate” are wrong is simple to under-stand. The word “rate” gives the misper-ception that some amount of money(the rate) will be applied to some otherfactor. In the contracting business thatother factor is the “time” spent perform-ing the service. Therein is the problem— the choice of words regarding a pric-ing method whose strength is the factthat the consumer is quoted the pricebefore the service begins. A contract price does not change for
the consumer if the contractor spendsmore or less time than he/she esti-mated to perform the agreed service.The quoted price remains constant.For this reason, it is imperative thatcontractors know the average true costthey will incur to perform a task beforequoting a price for that service. For years, contractors have argued
over the pros and cons of time & mate-rial pricing versus contract pricing. Nineyears ago, the majority of contractorsstill used the time & material pricing
method for most of the services per-formed for their clientele. Yet, since thebeginning of our noble industry, all con-tractors have probably quoted prices forcertain tasks before commencing thosetasks. In today’s industry, most contrac-tors quote a price for water heater re-placements; boiler & furnacereplacements; A/C condenser replace-ments, etc., before doing the job. Thatmeans that even the die-hard time &material contractors are not 100% be-hind time & material pricing. Contractors who have come to see
the light and logic of quoting prices totheir clientele before commencing serv-ice jump on the contract pricing (“flatrate”) express. They realize that goodcontractors who deliver excellence toconsumers deserve proper compensa-tion for the delivery of that excellenceand the risks they incur in the delivery.They also realize that their reward wasnot attainable charging by the hour be-cause consumers would just call everycontractor in the book and ask “Howmuch do you charge per hour?” Then,they would select the lowest hourlyrate. That means that good T & M con-tractors would have to keep their ratesclose to the rates of bad T & M contrac-tors. That hardly seems fair since thegood ones could probably do a betterjob in less time than a bad contractorcould do a mediocre job. Many consumers think with their
wallets rather than their brains. Theybelieve that since all people are cre-ated equal, all contractors are thesame; ergo, the cheapest one is as goodas the most expensive one. Obviously,any consumer with a modicum of in-telligence should recognize the factthat all contractors are not createdequal. That’s why products and serv-ices are often referred to as “good,”“better,” “best.” Thus, the rate perhour shouldn’t be as important to theconsumer as the ability and intent ofthe contractor to deliver excellence.Whenever speaking to consumers onthis issue, I inform them that contrac-tors should be chosen the same waythey would choose their doctors andtheir lawyers. If they select either ofthose professions based on cost ratherthan excellence they may come tomeet their maker before their time, or,wind up with a reservation at the graybar hotel.Today, many more contractors exclu-
sively use the contract pricing methodthan they did years ago. That alone an-swers John’s inquiry about change inthe industry. The reason these contrac-tors choose the contract pricing method
over the time & material method is sim-ple. Let’s compare the main issues ofboth pricing methods.
Issue 1: The time and materials used
With Time & Material PricingMethod1. a) Consumers are constantly
looking over your tech’s shoulderadding to your tech’s stress. This givesthe consumer the ability to argue overthe time used to calculate the bill. Theconsumer may want the time loweredto compensate for your tech blowinghis/her nose or scratching his/herhead. This is bad for employee morale.b) At the end of the job, the consumer
might question the time and/or materialused to compute the bill. c) If tech is having an bad day, the
consumer pays for inefficiency. This isbad for customer retention.d) Contractors may not give the
consumer the option of replacingrather than repairing.
With Contract Pricing Method1. There is no legitimate reason to
question the time & material used toperform the task after the job is done.The consumer is given the price of re-pairs and replacements before author-izing the work to be done. Then, theconsumer decides whether to proceedwith repair or replacement. The pricedoesn’t change after the work is done.
Issue 2: The rate charges per hour
With Time & Material PricingMethod2. a) Contractor must quote rate
over phone before going to the job site.b) This causes contractors to quote
low rates, often below their cost, inorder to compete with other T & Mcontractors who aren’t smart enoughto know their true cost, or aren’t asproficient as a good contractor.c) Proficient techs that do the work
faster spend less time than inefficienttechs. Therefore, since the rate is keptclose to those contractors who are notas good, proficient techs bring in lessmoney for better workmanship thaninefficient techs that are not as good.d) Less than proficient techs make
for more costly callbacks and less sat-isfied clients.
With Contract Pricing Method2. a) No need to quote rate over
phone. Each task is individual unto it-self and should be seen before a priceis quoted.b) Contractor is not compelled to
quote low hourly rate which is proba-
bly below his/her true cost.c) Contractor has the opportunity to
quote a selling price, which will allowhim/her to recover all costs for the taskand make a profit.d) Proficient contractors who de-
liver excellence can earn the rewardthey deserve.
Issue 3: The surprise billand materials used
With Time & Material PricingMethod3. a) Since the consumer doesn’t
know the price before authorizing thework to be done, and the price is oftenhigher than the consumer thought itwould be, arguments that take upmore valuable time and animosity reartheir ugly heads.b) Contractor may be forced to
lower bill in order to get paid somemoney. c) Since the rate was probably below
contractor’s cost, more money is lost.d) Consumer has a bad feeling about
the contractor.With Contract Pricing Method3. There is no surprise bill. There-
fore, there is no legitimate problemabout the price. The consumer re-ceived upon which the consumeragreed.Contractors who still do not believe
in the merits of contract pricing overtime and material pricing should askthemselves the following question:“Would I buy food, clothing, housing,car, etc., based on the time and materialused to make the item without knowingthe price I would have to pay beforemaking the purchase?”I’ll bet dollars to donuts that you
would not want to pay for any of thoseitems on the time & material basiswhen a method that gives you, as a con-sumer, the price before you decide tomake your purchase exists. Using a time & material pricing
method is archaic. You don’t put yourtools in a covered wagon pulled byhorse. Years ago that’s how things weredone. But, now we have motorized ve-hicles. Changing from time and mate-rial is as easy as using a truck over ahorse and wagon. And, it makes moresense (cents). Contract pricing makesfor more satisfied clients. It also givescontractors the opportunity to bemore profitable while reducing stressand frustration.For those contractors who use the
contract pricing method, keep preach-ing the benefits of contract pricing toyour colleagues and clientele. There are
(Turn to Pricing, page 53.)
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32 Phc News — JULY 2009Kitchen & Bath
K/BIS post-show report
BY PETER SCHOR,contributing writer
There were many new and hotproducts that were shown atK/BIS 2009. Yes, I had to work
harder, longer and smarter duringthese challenging economic times tofind the gold! I want to apologize in ad-vance and acknowledge the manygreat and visible bath and kitchenmanufacturers are not included thisarticle, but I still want to acknowledgetheir contribution to developing inno-vative new products.
The Best of K/BIS 2009 — KBB Competition Awards
The 11 judges who were selectedwere kitchen and bath designerslinked to the NKBA, KBB magazine,who co-sponsors the awards, alongwith Nielsen Business Media whoowns the show. There was not onebathroom/plumbing showroom or dis-tributor product guru expert to helpmake the evaluation. It is also ashame for the good of the bath andkitchen industry that these awardswere not published in many maga-zines except KBB Magazine, who givesout the awards. There were 93 appli-cants for the awards. The winnerswere as follows:
Best of Competition AwardsBath category: Quick Drain USA
www.quickdrainusa.com. Kitchen category: Affluence Seam-
less Sink. www.seamlesssinks.com. Bath Category AwardsGold Award: Seura for One TV Mir-
ror www.seura.com. Gold Award; Quick Drain for Chan-
nel Drain system. www.quickdrainusa.com.
Silver Award: Emetek — StainlessSteel Collections Bright Handle prod-uct. www.emetekproducts.com.
Silver Award: El Dorado Stone forGemstone Walls. www.eldoradostone.com.
People’s Choice AwardsFleurco for Kinetik Slice Glass
Shower Door Panel. www.fleurco.com. Kitchen Category: Elica for Star.
www.elica.com.
Must new toys for showrooms!At K/BIS, I found many things at that
most industry people miss or don’t seethe vision. This first product in the rawwas in the second hall all the way inwestern Siberia, second to last aisle. Itis one of my best picks. The Kingston(www.kingstonproducts.com) BodyDryer, which offers a unique drying ex-
perience that is energy efficient and en-vironmentally friendly (green). Thisproduct will eliminate or minimize theneed for towels, resulting in lower en-ergy and water consumption costs. Canyou imagine the savings in hotel rooms— energy, water, etc. if it took only 25-30 seconds or so to dry the body with asoft-blowing Caribbean wind?
Best new bath product and category for showrooms
My second-best pick was not shownat K/BIS 2009, as many manufacturersdid not attend. The new category isthe Back-lit Bathroom Lighting Sys-tem by Electric Mirror (www.electric
mirror.com). Electric Mirror has beenselling their exclusive, innovative andextraordinary Back Lit Lighting Sys-tem in the 5-star hotel bath industry(nationally and globally) for 12 years.Furthermore, they are “the brand” forbest technology for LCD-mirrored TVs,both dry and wet applications.
Bathing experienceDiamond Spas (www.dia
mondspas.com) has a complete lineof stainless steel, copper and patinacopper bathtubs, countertop lavato-ries, pedestal lavatories, showersbases and walls and outdoor spas.Jason International (www.jasoninternational.com) offers everythingyou wanted in a bathtub and more.Whirlpool AirMasseur, air-whirlpool,chromatherapy, aromatherapy, soundimmersion speaker system, auto-matic ozone sanitation system, digitalLCD controls, impeccably well engi-neered (quiet), “reduce, reuse and re-cycle (green)” in every area ofoperations, and comes in a variety ofcolors. They are also the “OriginalJacuzzi Family” since 1982.
Showering and steam bathing There is no doubt that Kohler, Jaclo,
Hansgrohe and Smart Showers leadthe industry in shower power andtechnology. Showering has just gottena lot better with Mr. Steam’s(www.mrsteam.com) spa package,
which includes Steamtherapy™, Aro-maSteam™, ChromaSteam™ and in-shower Musictherapy™ speakers. TheMr. Steam ChromaSteam system inte-grates light with a steam selection ofcolors ranging from blue to red. Com-plete with electronic chromalogic forsingle or rotating color selection, itfeatures multiple vapor-sealed, lowvoltage, high performance LED lightmodules. Mr. Steam’s innovative Aro-maSteam system releases aromather-apy essences electronically into thesteamroom. It also offer moisture-re-sistant Musictherapy.
ToiletsKohler (www.kohler.com) launched
the Fountainhead toilet equipped withindustry-leading functionality, from aheat-adjustable seat to an integratedLED light. It is about time that we hada LED light and heat adjustable seat!The tankless design of the Fountain-head toilet is achieved by utilizingKohler’s exclusive Power Lite™ tech-nology, a quiet electric pump fully en-closed within the toilet bowl thatprovides a strong, powerful flush utiliz-ing just 1.28 gallons per flush.
Biolet (www.biolet.com) had an in-novative waterless toilet that combinesnature’s sustainability with the conven-ience of technology. These products areexcellent choices for cottages, base-ments, barns, pool house or any placewhere larger volumes are not needed —35 years of Swedish engineering.
One of my favorites was Brondell’s(www.brondell.com) latest innovationcalled the “Perfect Flush,” which pro-vides eco-conscious homeowners withthe opportunity to decrease waterusage each time they visit the throne.It is a retrofit to any existing toilet!With half-flush or full-flush functional-ity, it saves 50% water usage by simplypressing the button that correspondswith the type of bathroom visit.
Caroma’s (www.caromausa.com)H2Zero waterless urinal for environ-ments concerned with extreme watersavings is a hot product.
Broan (www.broan.com) came outwith a SmartSense ventilation systemso homeowners have an automatic, af-fordable, energy-efficient solution toimprove the home’s indoor air quality(IAQ) and increase energy savings.
Toastie Tush (www.toastietush.com)had an innovative toilet seat warmerthat is simple to install, safe (UL and CSA
listed), has an energy saving thermo-stat, multiple comfort settings, is wet-safe, easy-to-clean, and is a fraction ofthe cost of any heated toilet seats onthe market.
Sinks and lavatoriesThe Rivers Collection (www.the
stockmarket.com/Riversbrochure.pdf)of stone lavatories, vessels, pedestallavatories, vanity systems, bathtubs,
kitchen and bar sinks are available ina variety of colors. The collection hasa wide variety of wrought-iron vesselstands.
Faucets and accessoriesOne company that made the
“biggest splash” exhibiting was Cas-cade Faucets (www.cascade
faucets.com). Cascade’s LaTorreBrand — since 1960 — is Italian de-signed, engineered and manufacturedto all North America standards andcode approvals. All single controlfaucetry has the “Eco Cartridge,”which holds in position when you liftthe lever to the middle position, al-lowing users to save 20% - 40% of thewater flow/consumption. CascadeFaucets has been manufacturing anddistributing through our industrychannels in Canada since 1999. Tothe best of my knowledge, they werethe only “Eco Cartridge” at K/BIS, al-though it was with many manufactur-ers at ISH, Germany.
Mr. Steam’s (www.mrsteam.com)towel warmers, comprised of fourwall-mounted models, feature all-welded steel construction and ad-vanced heat technology. Each modelis complete with a stainless steel heat-ing element, UL listed temperaturecontrol and high limit control for pre-cise heating and exemplary productperformance. This collection is avail-able in four designer finishes: pol-ished chrome, satin nickel, oil rubbedbronze and white.
Great Grabz (www.greatgrabz.com)has award-winning designs of wave dec-orative ADA-compliant safety grab barswith exceptional mounting kits.
Water treatmentMajor Avignon of Water, Inc. is a
legendary industry distributor watertreatment expert who distributedEverpure for 30 years. Avignon cre-ated the Body Glove (www.waterinc.com) line of filtration, which ismanufactured by 3M. The BodyGlove filter system offers 50% moreflow and 1.2-micron water filtrationthrough a patent-engineered carbon-block technology. �
Peter Schor can be reached [email protected].
Electric Mirror
Jason International
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Phc News — JULY 2009 35On the PVF Pulse
PVF sector continues to maintain relative stability
BY MORRIS R. BESCHLOSS,PVF & economic analyst emeritus
(Turn to Maintaining... page 54.)
Although the pipe-valve-fittings sector continues tomaintain relative stability,
this set of circumstances is prima-rily due to continued strength inpower generation, maintenance ofoil refineries, transmission line ac-tivities, and limited commercialand industrial construction, suchas health and retirement facilitiesand continuation of ongoing proj-ects necessary to pump oil inAlaska’s North Slope, as well as theGulf of Mexico.
Even with the severe cutbacks indrilling rigs, which are now at themid-1990s level, one-half of thoseworking a bare two years ago, fur-ther reductions may be in the off-ing, as crude oil demand lags.
Refineries, which had been op-erating at a level of a high ninetiespercentage rate only a little over ayear ago, have now cut their out-put to a bare 80%, even with thedriving season having started effec-tively after Memorial Day. How-ever, these installations have usedthe additional downtime to bringtheir highly modernized installa-tions up to snuff. This has been aboon for PVF manufacturers, dis-tributors, and maintenance spe-cialists, who have continued tomanufacture and install the com-ponents necessary in fulfilling suchmaintenance requirements.
I continue to express little confi-dence in so-called renewable ener-gies such as ethanol, wind and solar,and yet to be developed renewableenergy ideas to supplant fossil fuels(the bane of the environmentalists).Outstanding experts will tell youthat oil, natural gas and nuclearpower will be the overwhelming el-ement that will generate electricpower utilities and move our carsand trucks for many years to come.
Unfortunately, America’s cur-rent Administration does not buythis reality and has all but killedthe possibility of offshore drillingor developing billions of oil barrelsencased in the shale available inprofusion within Rocky Mountainsediment.
Coal has been effectively demo-nized by the triumphant environ-mentalists within the ObamaAdministration. This has forced abuoyant coal industry to shiptheir production to China andIndia, who thumb their noses atenvironmental restrictions whilethey push their burgeoning indus-tries to the limit by fouling the airindiscriminately.
China has even stated officiallythat it is the responsibility of the“rich” developed nations to pro-tect the environment. These devel-oping nations would be happy tolet the U.S. and the old “rich” na-tions of Europe and Japan commit‘industrial suicide’ in signing theupcoming “Stockholm Protocols,”while they continue to capture anincreasing segment of the worldmarkets without environmentalinhibition.
A telling indication of future oilprices made itself felt on June 9, asthe price per barrel of oil crossed$70 for the first time in more thansix months. Although this was atthe beginning of the driving sea-son, U.S. gasoline demand has notyet picked up perceptibly. Themajor push seems to have comefrom China, the dollar’s weakness,and the anticipation of inflation in-fluences later in the year.
Gold, oil square off in battle of inflation hedges
With optimism of a global eco-nomic recovery growing moreforcefully by the day, concern offuture inflation is heading to thetop of the list of worries by infla-tion-wary investors.
Whereas deflation is very mucha current reality, the fear of roaringinflation coming down the pike hasbeen kindled by the Obama Ad-ministration’s amassing trillions ofdollars in debt for universal health-care, renewable energy experi-ments, environmental andclimatological commitments, aswell as ongoing bailouts.
With a drumbeat of daily adver-tisements appearing on radio andTV, the fascination with gold is be-coming the hedge of choice by in-creasing believers, sensing that theglittering metal is the only protec-tion against certain hyper-inflationwithin the foreseeable future.
The problem is that gold is notdriven by normal economic sup-ply/demand, but by national treas-uries and international banks whocontrol prices by accumulatinglarge hoards when the prices seempropitious, and releasing on themarkets when a major profit is inthe offing.
A wiser choice by those right-fully stressed by the inevitability offuture inflation would be oil.Grossly undervalued, even afterthe current runup, because of theunprecedented crash last summer,the “black gold” is due to increase
much more emphatically as theworld economy recovers in 2010and 2011.
China has already made itschoice by nailing down every oil-producing capability worldwidethat Beijing can buy at today’s dis-tressed prices. Although supply ap-pears more than adequate becauseof demand destruction, supply dis-integration is growing much fasteras drilling rigs are shut down, oldoilfields are taking on water, andnew reserves are not being devel-oped because of the costs notbeing covered by today’s prices.
Even more important is the factthat oil is universally dollar-de-nominated. As inflation drives thegreenback increasingly lower, theprice of a barrel of oil becomesmore expensive when measured indollar terms. Most global oil ex-perts now expect crude oil to meetand even exceed last year’s $147 abarrel peak, within three years.Despite smaller cars and renew-able energy development, worldusage of oil, which will reach 83million barrels this year, is ex-pected to easily top 100 barrels aday by 2020.
With China and India alone pro-viding hundreds of millions of newcombustion engine aficionados bythat time, the recent bargain gaso-line prices will soon become a dis-tant memory.
Second half consumer spending due to be flat
Although consumer confidencepoints to improved economic con-ditions in the second half, don'texpect much help from the con-sumer sector. Despite the initialspending from the $800 billionstimulus package, income tax re-bates and a 5.8% cost-of-livingboost in January for Social Secu-rity, plus a special one-time pay-ment to Social Security recipients,the first half consumer activity re-mained essentially flat.
Part of this was due to a 5.7%gain in savings, a 14-year high.This, in effect, absorbed almost allthe money that flowed into con-sumer pockets. But worse may yetcome in the third and fourth quar-ters, with the following factorsbeing faced by the U.S. public.
1) Despite a slowdown in Mayemployment losses, these are dueto resume their downward trendthis summer as the domestic sectorcontinues its hapless slump. A dou-ble-digit unemployment rate is
practically assured before the bot-tom is reached by year’s end. Keyto this pessimism is domestic auto-motive disintegration, includingcomponent manufacturers anddealers.
2) A major slowdown in govern-ment-led stimulus and other fed-eral gimmicks to reduce taxes andexpand after-tax income. Withoutgovernment bailouts and other ar-tificial stimuli, unleveraged con-sumption will continue to wallow.
3) Rising interest and mortgagerates, inhibiting a housing buildingand buying comeback, and block-ing the reduction of foreclosuresmay impose serious new costs ona reviving construction industry.
An increasing savings ratespurred by familial insecurity issure to be maintained. Almostcertainly, gasoline prices nearing$3 a gallon by the fourth quarterwill eliminate the benefits of the$1.90 per gallon prevalent in thedepths of the recession earlier inthe year.
When one squares this circle, itbecomes obvious that there will beprecious little cumulative spendingmoney left in Americans’ pockets todrive the once massive consumersector forward.
Is stimulus plan’s buy Americanclause counterproductive?
With the domestic manufacturingsector increasingly imperiled, anyaid to the stabilization of America’sindustrial sector would normally bewelcomed.
However, the “Buy American”provision may not be all that it’scracked up to be. First of all, the im-petus behind this $800 billion stim-ulus package amendment, pushedthrough by Congress with lightningspeed, was the labor unions, flexingtheir newfound muscle, sitting inthe Obama Administration’s innercircle. There are three major fac-tors that make this obvious sticklercounterproductive.
First, what is not known by most
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38 Phc News — JULY 2009PumP innOVatiOns
Today’s precisely modulatedand maintained indoor com-fort is a lot more than just a
collection of linked equipment partsgenerating and distributing heatingor cooling within a building. Today’sHVAC systems are sophisticated sys-tems where the sum is greater thanthe parts. This is particularly true ofpumping systems for radiant heatingand cooling systems. Recent innova-tions to pumping systems have suc-cessfully addressed the need for ahydronic system to supply differentwater temperatures to different partsof an HVAC system, particularly thosein a radiant system.
Traditional hydronic systems gen-erate high temperature from theboiler and low temperature waterfrom the chiller and employ mixingvalves to either mix down or mix upwater temperatures at the terminal
units at the other end of the system.Newer, more efficient radiant heat-ing and now cooling systems for res-idences and light commercialapplications use water at different
temperatures than those generatedby the boiler or chiller. For example,a radiant heating system will typi-cally use water between 100º to 120ºF at the radiant panel even thoughthe boiler water temperature is gen-erated between 160º to 180º F. In asimilar fashion, radiant cooling sys-tems typically provide water to radi-ant ceiling and wall panels (chilledbeams in commercial buildings) in atemperature range between 55º to60º F while the chiller supplieschilled water at 40º to 45º F.
How then do you best achieve, inan energy efficient manner, this tem-perature differential between thegeneration source and the terminalunits? Traditional hydronic systemshave used mixing valves to mixdown high boiler water temperaturessupplying radiant floor or wall pan-els. In radiant cooling applications,
mixing valves mix up the lowerwater temperature supplied by thechiller to the radiant ceiling panels.But mixing valves consume energy.Can circulators more efficiently per-form the mixing function instead?
The answer is, yes. Today’s circu-lators are more reliable than controlvalves and consume less energy. Withthe introduction of smaller, more re-liable wet rotor circulator technologythis mixing function can indeed beperformed by circulators more effi-ciently than mixing valves using lesspump energy. Replacing energy con-suming control and balancing valveswith small, low kW circulators resultsin lower pump head and less powerneeded to move system water. Thepumps help deliver the water whereit needs to go instead of forcing thewater where it doesn’t want to go.
Taco, for example, now offers inno-vative radiant injection pumpingpackages for radiant and other appli-
cations. The Taco Radiant MixingBlock (RMB) is a complete injectionmixing system that combines a vari-able speed injection mixing circula-tor, constant speed zone circulatorand air elimination all in one unit. Onthe cooling side, the brand new TacoLoFlo Injection Mixing Block com-bines a constant speed zone circula-tor with a variable speed injectioncirculator — again all in one unit.
Using variable speed/variable vol-ume injection pumping to mix watertemperatures up or down instead ofusing mixing valves with constantvolume pumps is more efficient, evenif the constant volume pump is moreefficient than the variable volumepump. The variable volume pump re-sponds to the load whereas the con-stant volume pump does not. �
Information supplied by Taco, Inc. (More Pump innovation, page 40.)
Innovative injection pumping systems: Using circulators instead of mixing valves to modulate temperature
European pump manufacturers stillfavor using control valves on their mix-ing blocks, as shown here.
Taco’s Radiant Mixing Block
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40 Phc News — JULY 2009
BY LARRY KONOPACZ
Sixty years ago, hydronic heat-ing circuits in residential andcommercial buildings often
used constant flow pumping tomove water from the boiler to theradiation and back. Although con-stant flow pumping was a simplesystem, it sometimes did not pro-duce uniform heating within thebuilding, nor did it provide opportu-nities for savings in material costsand energy.
That was the way it was before GilCarlson came on the scene andbegan four decades of influencingthe ways in which hydronic systemsoperate. After earning an engineer-ing degree from Purdue University,Gil started to work at Bell & Gossett.Never satisfied with conventional
answers to problems, by 1950 hewas taking a fresh look at heatingsystems that weren’t operating tothe higher standards that he had setfor himself, and in the process he de-vised a concept that within a shorttime would become a common prac-tice in the industry.
Primary-secondary pumping wasGil’s way of solving a difficult prob-lem that he encountered in a partic-ular heating system. Then, over theyears he applied the principle tomore and more applications untilthey filled a complete textbook.That textbook is still used in hy-dronic heating training classesaround the world.
To understand the benefits of pri-mary-secondary pumping, we need tostart by reviewing the operation of theconstant flow pumping design.
Constant flow pumpingFor years, constant flow pumping
was the simple and accepted methodfor moving water from the boiler to ra-diation. As seen in Figure 1, in thissystem a single, large circulator pumpmoves water through a hundred ormore feet of pipe and possibly dozensof pieces of radiation. The result: un-even heat from one end of the loop to
the other and wasted energy. Addingindependent zones from the boilerwas an attempt to solve the problem,but those zones only added to thecomplexity and cost of the system.
Primary-secondary pumpingEnter Gil Carlson’s primary-sec-
ondary pumping idea. The use of pri-mary-secondary pumping eliminated
the zone controlproblems created bythe interaction of sys-tem components andmultiple pumps. Plus,primary-secondarypumping offered abonus. Since it is asystem featuring flow-independent — or“decoupled” — piping
(Turn to Primary- ... page 42.)
Primary-secondary pumping — A 1940s innovation that’s still making hydronic systems more efficient
PumP InnovatIons
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Figure 1 — Constant flow heating system.
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42 Phc News — JULY 2009PumP InnovatIons
loops, the pumps, pipes and other fit-tings can be reduced in size — andtherefore cost — especially in new orretrofit radiant panel systems.
In a typical primary-secondarysystem (Figure 2), the common pip-ing is designed for very low pressuredrop by installing two tees close to-gether at points “A” and “B”, andsizing the pipe between them forvery low pressure drop. Design ta-bles or a SystemSyzer (a calculatorwheel, also designed by Gil Carlson)will help the designer or installer
choose the right pipe size for thedesign flow.
Low pressure drop in the com-mon pipe means that flow in the pri-mary circuit cannot cause flow inthe secondary zone, making flow ineach loop independent. A circulator
pump in the sec-ondary loop willcause flow in thatloop, divertingwater from theprimary to thesecondary at onetee and returningit at the other. Ifthe secondarypump is off, low
pressure drop in the common pipewill allow primary water to bypassthe secondary. When the controlsystem turns on the secondarypump, water will automatically bediverted into the secondary loop toprovide heat. This results in a verysimple “on/off” method for control-ling temperature in the secondaryloop. The check valve symbol in Fig-
ure 2 represents a Bell & GossettFlo-Control™ valve used to preventgravity circulation of lighter, warmerwater from the primary loop intothe secondary loop when the sec-ondary pump is off. Flo-Controlvalves are used with secondarypumps that operate on or off. Flo-Control valves should not be used insecondary systems that use a con-stantly operating pump and valvesthat vary the flow because theywould close at low demand flowrates. In systems that don’t use aFlo-Control valve to prevent un-
wanted gravity circulation, thermaltraps - formed by keeping the hot
loop at least one foot higher thanthe connection to the cold loop -can be used.
Two-pipe systems Figure 3 depicts a two-pipe pri-
mary-secondary system in whicheach secondary zone can get thesame primary supply water temper-ature. The common pipe is part of a“zone bypass” or “cross-over bridge”between the primary supply and re-turn. A balance valve in the zone by-pass sets the primary flow in thebypass, but the balance valve cannot
be installed inthe commonpipe becausethat would in-crease the pres-sure drop in thecommon. Ifthat happens,flow in the pri-
mary loop will al-ways generate flow
in the secondary, and the two loopswould no longer be independent.
Although Gil Carlson is no longerwith us, his great ideas continue togrow.
Many people in the hydronics in-dustry recognize the him as an inno-vator and problem solver. As director
of Technical Services at Bell & Gos-sett, he developed many of the toolsand products that are used every dayin the design and installation of hy-dronic heating systems. A holder ofnumerous patents, his innovationsinclude the Circuit Setter® balancevalve, the Red Ring Monoflo® fitting,the Triple Duty® valve, and the Sys-temSyzer® calculator. And ofcourse, one of his most lasting con-tributions to the hydronics industryis the concept of primary-secondarypumping. �
Larry Konopacz is manager,Training & Education, ITT, MortonGrove, Illinois. He may be reachedat 847-983-5841.
Primary-secondary(Continued from page 40.)
Figure 3 — Two-pipe primary-secondary system.
Figure 2 — Primary-secondary pumping system.
Gil Carlson, 1922-1994
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InnovatIons
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Innovative pump design spawns the ALPHAThe new ALPHA from Grundfos
Pumps has been introduced— a 115-volt circulator for
hydronic heating applications in res-idential and light-commercial appli-cations, and is now on the NorthAmerican market.
“As is our custom with a new prod-uct, we did our due diligence with theALPHA in the United States, takingtwo full heating seasons to be certainit would perform as well here as ithas in Europe. Our objective is toverify the ALPHA as a stable pumpingplatform for the North Americanmarket for many years to come. Eu-rope’s hydronic systems are differentthat ours. As a result, pumping re-quirements are different, too. Ourlarger systems require larger flowrates, so we had to do our homework,making critical adjustments to thehydraulic design of the ALPHA,” saidBob Reinmund, senior product spe-cialist, Grundfos Pumps.
The ALPHA’s permanent magnetmotor design that will avoid motorslippage problems common to induc-tion-type motors, while delivering astarting torque four times higherthan a standard induction motor.
The AUTOADAPT™ function auto-matically modulates circulator per-formance to match ever-changingsystem demand, cutting power con-sumption by a minimum of 50%, ascompared with other circulators inits class.
And, the circulator’s design makesthe ALPHA the most compact circula-tor offered by Grundfos. Rather thanbeing bolted on, its sophisticatedelectronics are fully integratedwithin the motor, simplifying instal-lation in tight spaces.
“If the installer is not familiar withpiping layout, he may decide thebest way to avoid a callback is sim-ply to oversize the pumps. ALPHA
creates a colossal opportunity to ad-dress this oversizing tendency. Thecirculator will automatically find thelowest possible operating-efficiencypoint to meet changing system de-mand. Then it will continuously ad-just that setting to achieve optimalcomfort at minimal power consump-tion — all without direct human in-tervention. The pump can operatewith an input as low as five watts, ascompared with a minimum of 80watts for a conventional circulator ofcomparable size,” said Reinmund.
“The previous circulator con-
sumed between 55 and 70 watts dur-ing periods of peak usage. Using theAUTOADAPT feature, the ALPHA went aslow as 7 watts and as high as 22. Itinstalled easily, and we never had aproblem with it,” said PhillipHughes, principal, Hughes Plumbing& Heating, Inc., Harrod, Ohio.
Its easy-to-read LED (light-emittingdiode) display offers a range ofunique, user-friendly features:
• Large, real-time display alter-nates readings between energy con-sumption (Watts) and estimated flowindications (gallons per minute).
• One-touch, button-type inter-face permits the user to togglequickly and easily among seven dif-
ferent hydraulic operating modes:three fixed speeds, three levels ofconstant pressure, and one auto-matic setting — the AUTOADAPT.
• Plug-and-play convenience:Six-foot-long ALPHA plug connectsthe circulator to a wall outlet, withno wiring required, eliminating theneed to open a terminal box to makeelectrical connections.
• Installer-friendly pipe connec-tions: Standard two-bolt flange witha built-in nut-capture feature holdsthe bolt steady during tightening, sothe installer has a free hand to holdthe circulator in place.
“As the valves in the differentsections open or close with rising orfalling demand, my ALPHA automat-ically ramps up or down to meet theload without any adjustments onmy part. It’s pretty much a set-it-and-forget-it proposition. The circu-lator has worked so well for me, I’mlooking forward to specifying it inmy various company projects, aswell,” said Paul Seward, Principal,Seward Mechanical Systems,Louisville, Colo. �
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44 Phc News — JULY 2009PumP InnovatIons
Because energy is a valuablecommodity, WILO devel-oped the world’s first line of
Smart Pump, high efficiency circu-lators, ECO and Stratos, which are instock and available to drastically re-
duce energy con-sumption. This line ofleading-edge circula-tors incorporates ECM
(Electronic Commu-tated Motor) technol-ogy featuringrevolutionary im-provements whencompared with con-ventional asynchro-nous motors. Theadvantages of gland-less pump technologyhave been combinedwith an unbeatable ef-ficiency, with energycosts savings of up to80%. These advanced,UL-approved circula-
tors are ready to ship, with backupsupport and U.S. application testi-monies immediately available.
High-efficiency circulatorsThe WILO ECO is the award-win-
ning standard for high-efficiency res-idential circulators. Automaticallyadjusting to system demands, pres-sure by-pass valves, balancing, over-pumping and noisy zones are a thingof the past. Like the commercialStratos, the ECO offers up to 80% en-ergy savings compared to an uncon-trolled circulator, consuming only5.8 to 59 watts. Replacing over 50competitor models, there is only onepump you need.
The WILO Stratos was intro-duced to the European market asthe world's first high-efficiency cir-culator in 2001. This efficient, func-tional and flexible pump for
heating, cooling, and air condition-ing reduces annual power consump-tion by up to 80%. ECM technologyessentially comprises a synchro-nous motor with a permanent mag-net rotor. The unique slotted tubemade of synthetic composite car-bon-fiber avoids eddy-currentlosses, thus considerably increasingoverall efficiency.
Easy installationThe reliable and quiet operation of
the WILO Stratos circulator makesit ideal for use in large residentialbuildings, apartment blocks, housingdevelopments, commercial real-es-tate complexes, hospitals, schools,and industrial and institutionalbuildings. The Stratos offers quickand reliable installation.
No condensateConventional, electronically con-
trolled wet-running circulators areonly suitable for heating. However,there is increasing market demandfor circulators as part of coolingwater systems for air conditioningand industrial refrigeration. TheWILO Stratos is the first electroni-cally controlled wet-rotor circulatorto meet all these requirements. Con-ventional models pose the followingproblem: During operation withcooling water, condensate forms in-side the electronic module, possiblyresulting in pump failure. In con-trast, the WILO Stratos is designedto avoid a formation of condensatein sensitive areas. This has resultedin the first high-efficiency circulatorsuitable for heating, air conditioning,and refrigeration.
Simple operationThe elegantly simple red button
makes the WILO Stratos easy andcomfortable to operate. All essentialfunctions of the Stratos can be con-trolled by means of this one button.The WILO Stratos circulator’s front-mounted display shows all impor-tant operational data for techniciansto read whenever necessary.
Professional building management
The WILO Stratos offers the rightfunctionality for every requirement.In addition to issuing standard col-lective error messages, the Stratoscan be optionally connected to localoperating networks (LON). AdditionalIF (interface) modules with inte-grated dual-pump management aswell as 0-10V DC capabilities can beretrofitted. With these additions, theWILO Stratos fulfills all require-ments for professional building man-agement. �
High efficiency Smart Pump technology readyto reduce energy consumption up to 80%
Copyright © Liberty Pumps, Inc. 2008 All rights reserved.
8 0 0 - 5 4 3 - 2 5 5 0www. l ibertypumps .com One of Americas fastest growing,
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46 Phc News — JULY 2009Geo to RadIant
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The Bridges housing development near Lin-coln, Neb., is quickly becoming one of the“greenest” neighborhoods in America. It’s
not a marketing ploy by Miracle Grow. Rather, thestate’s first all-geothermal development is a study in
back-to-the-future energy reduction. But it didn’tstart out that way.
“I just like to create stuff that looks good,” saidGary Pickering, Bridges developer and presidentof Lincoln-based Pickering Creative Group, a mar-keting firm. “My initial vision was purely aes-thetic. I wanted to make a gorgeous environmentwith lots of water that would include a variety ofunique bridges, all set like gems within the green
living space. It wasn’t about energy efficiency.”Pickering’s all-things-green approach evolved
many months before the first of 70 planned homeswas constructed at the 181-acre space. The devel-
opment’s landscaping is well under way as big ma-chines sculpt the property, adding small lakes,roads, miles of paved walkway and entry pointsfor a multitude of bridges.
“Each bridge is distinctly different,” said Pick-ering. “At the development’s entry point is an 80-foot-long covered bridge built with heavy timberswith a floor surface that deliberately rumbles
under the weight of a car. Other bridges are madeof cedar, stone and bowed metal.” One bridge willhave an ornate cupola in its center.
The green landscape/green energy approachstems from a conversation Pickering had withMike Rezac, president of Rezac ConstructionInc., a partner in the Bridges project, when theyfirst reviewed the plan for so many bodies ofwater. A decade ago — before green-build wascool — Rezac focused his firm on sustainablehome construction.
“I’ve had experience with geothermal before,”said Pickering. “So, when Mike and I looked at thelandscape plan, he brought up the idea of tapping
the abundance of BTUs in the water.” The lakes at Bridges, some of which measure
500 feet long and 70 feet wide, are about 12 feetdeep. “They’re deep enough for a bunch of stain-less steel, 4-by-6-foot, or 4-by-8-foot “Slim Jim”heat exchangers, one dedicated to each of the 58homes planned for the development on propertybordering any of the seven lakes,” said Doug
Kreifels, president ofAction Plumbing &Heating, tapped byRezac to do the me-chanical work.
Rezac, who buildseight to 12 homes ayear, built the firstthree homes in the
Nebraska’s first ‘geo’neighborhood a bridge to the future
Doug Kreifels, president of Action Plumbing & Heating, readies a “Slim Jim” stainless steel heat exchanger forinstallation at the bottom of a 12-foot-deep lake that is a distinctive feature of a housing development. TheSlim Jims help push the homes’ geothermal systems’ efficiency to 30 EER.
Geothermal energy from decorative lakes in the de-velopment, and photovoltaic panels place these newhomes on the cutting edge of energy efficiency.
“The surprise came when we discoveredthat exchange levels exceeded those of
ground loops. We’ve achieved a 20-degreedifferential, well above design standards.”
Phc News — JULY 2009 47Geo to RadIant
FROM THE DESK OF...
John Hazen White, Jr.
Solar Energy isHere to Stay.
JOHN HAZEN WHITE, JR.President & CEO, Taco Inc.
There’s a lot of talk these days about the need to de-velop alternative energy technologies – wind, wave and solar – both to counter the increasing ill effects of carbon burning and also to create jobs in a new industry. At Taco, we re-member this kind of talk back in the 1970s in the aftermath of the OPEC Oil Shock, when interest in developing solar energy became a brief national priority. We saw a market opportunity back then for our residential circulators. But with the return of lower oil prices, investment and tax credits for rooftop solar energy dried up and the market went dead.
This time around, however, it’s different. We are just at the beginning a paradigm shift to clean en-ergy, and we’ve learned by now that fluctuating oil prices are a fact we must live with. We’ve seen prices for carbon-based fuels go high enough to know that depending on them is detrimental to our economy and our national security. Clean alterna-tive technology, for its part, has developed signifi-cantly in recent years, and has at last become prac-tical, in addition to necessary.
In response to this shift to clean energy, Taco has introduced a range of energy efficient “Green” products, including two new products specifically designed for the solar thermal market: a Variable Speed Solar Control Circulator and a Solar X-Pump Block.
The Variable Speed Solar Control Circulator continuously optimizes water flow through a solar collector to achieve maximum energy gain; it ac-complishes this by maintaining the proper Delta � through the solar collector over an extended period of time. The Solar X-Pump Block, an extension of our all-in-one X-Pump Block, is a breakthrough in the design, control and installation of solar thermal systems, as it combines a variable speed solar dif-ferential control, collector circulator, storage tank circulator and a heat exchanger in a single unit.
These products are part of a mix of new energy saving and versatile products that include recir-culation and plumb n’ plug products for domestic hot water, smart controls and valves, and our new home automation line of controls. All are charac-terized by ease of installation and dependable oper-ation. Most significantly, they have been designed to function as a system. Developing and offering to the HVAC marketplace energy efficient systems is our overriding product development goal at Taco.
Learn more about Taco Solar products at www.taco-hvac.com/solar.html
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Bridges development. Each home is a Nebraskastate-certified “green build” home (see www.nebraskagreenbuilders .com), recognizing delib-erate steps Rezac has taken to manage a home’sdesign, construction, energy use, water efficiencyand lot development.
Lake loopsAccording to Kreifels, the lakes are the key
source of energy savings. During the develop-ment’s very early stage, geothermal pipes werehorizontally bored from each of the initial lake-bordering home sites to the water’s edge.
“We went down about six feet and, from thatpoint, pointed the drill toward the lake,” saidKreifels. After inserting the geothermal tubing un-derground, the last 10 feet of borehole wasgrouted, sealing it to eliminate the risk of waterpenetration from the pond.
“This way, most of the underground work andtubing to and from the home is ready to go. Whena buyer presents a home plan, determination canthen be made about the size of the lake-loop heatexchanger: the larger the home, the larger the‘Slim Jim,’” added Kreifels.
Up to 30 EER“With the tubing already in place to complete
the system, and buried, there’s little exteriorwork involved,” said Rezac. The 12 homes notbordering a lake will tap the earth’s thermal en-ergy through more traditional geo-exchange –with closed loop pipes inserted into deeply-drilled boreholes.
All homes will include either a Carrier GT-PXgeothermal unit or a ClimateMaster Tranquility27 system. Some homes are served by a four-,five- or six-ton heating and cooling systems; oth-ers may require two units to meet a total ofseven tons. According to Steve Wilkey, geother-mal division manager for Comfort Products Dis-tributing, involved in the project as themanufacturer’s rep for Carrier and ClimateMas-ter, all are two-stage systems with variable-speedblowers for maximum heating and cooling com-fort and efficiency. Factory-installed hot watergenerators will provide about 50% of the heat forall domestic water needs.
“The Nebraska State Department of Energyasked me to go a step further with one of thehomes, hoping that we’d be willing to take it to anet-zero energy level,” added Rezac.
And so they did. The third home in the devel-
opment has achieved total energy independence.One of the surprising things Rezac discovered inmonitoring energy performance so closely for theDoE home is that, coupled with the underwaterheat exchangers, they pushed the efficiency ofthe geothermal systems from an expected effi-ciency of 27 EER to 30 EER because of the superbthermal transfer they achieved with the lakewater plates.
Rezac explained that they researched the effec-tiveness of wind and photovoltaic (PV) energy pro-duction for the net-zero home. “But we wantedthe home to be mainstream and to side-step allthe code restrictions on wind turbines, so we wentwith PV and also incorporated other active andpassive solar design facets — such as a longer roofoverhang, and optimal orientation of the home forwinter solar gain.
According to Rezac, each geothermal system —which requires no combustion process — avoidsthe release of about one ton of greenhouse gaseach year.
The Norris Public Power District based in Beat-rice, Neb. estimates, depending on the size of thehome, that residents will save between $500 and$1,500 per year on their utility bills. “We’re part-nering with local utilities, Carrier and Cli-mateMaster on this project,” continued Rezac.“They’ve helped immensely, working closely withus in designing the systems.”
“There’s really no limit to what we can do, or atleast attempt to accomplish, with the combinationof geothermal energy at this development,” saidWilkey. “There’s been a sense of exploration anddiscovery from the beginning. Ultimately, thehomeowners will reap the benefit, and beyond thisdevelopment we hope we’re making some contri-bution to a larger, broader good for the buildingindustry and the environment.”
Heat exchanger fisheriesUtility experts have closely monitored exchange
temperatures at the submerged heat exchangers,both in the heating and cooling modes. “The sur-prise came when we discovered that exchange lev-els exceeded those of ground loops. We’veachieved a 20-degree differential, well above de-sign standards.”
Rezac went on to explain that one surface acreof water with an average depth of 10 feet couldserve 20 tons (240,000 BTUs) of heating and cool-ing without significantly influencing ambient tem-peratures in the body of water.
“The lakes have an average temperature of 60degrees in the heat of summer,” added Rezac.Monitoring lake temperatures before and after in-sertion of the lake plate heat exchangers has beenespecially important because each of the lakes isa unique and carefully-controlled ecosystem.“Each body of water is home to one specific fish,”said Rezac. Species include yellow perch, small orlargemouth bass, and catfish. Each lake is tendedcarefully by an expert dedicated to the task.”
“No doubt, we’ll be building homes at the de-velopment for several years,” concluded Picker-ing. “We’re taking it at a realistic pace with timeto enjoy accomplishment at each new stage. It’snot every day that you can be involved in some-thing like this.” �
Floating a Slim Jim to the center of a lake, ready tosink it to its home on the bottom.
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48 Phc News — JULY 2009
Industry
news
Industry loses agreat friendEVERY ONCE and awhile you come across a per-son that makes a lasting impression on your life.For me, one of those individuals was FrankieJaen, Viega product manager for INFIVA, an in-dustrial distributor of products for total flowmanagement located in Puerto Rico. Shockinglyand tragically, Frankie passed away a couple ofweeks ago. He was 39 years old. I met him on an overseas trip to Germany a
few months back. We traveled in a group for six
days. And it was because of him that I will neverforget my time in Germany. He had the most in-fectious smile, he was easy to talk to and he cre-ated his own adventures everywhere he went.A lot of people knew Frankie and everyonetalked highly of the man.Employer and close friend, Jose Merino, said,
“Frankie lived for his daughter, Viega/INFIVA andgolf. He had an infectious smile that could lightup a room and we would like to remember himlike that — full of life and joy. Frankie Viega: that’show everyone knew him since we incorporatedINFIVA as being the main cog for Viega’s successin Puerto Rico. He sorely will be missed, and hewill be remembered as a fine and loyal friend, sur-rogate son and hard-working associate.”Frankie will be missed. God bless your soul
and may you rest in peace.
Frankie Jaen
FORT WAYNE, IND. — U.S. Energy SecretarySteven Chu toured the world headquarters ofWaterFurnace International, Inc., a manufac-turer of residential, commercial, industrial andinstitutional geothermal and water source heatpumps, during a visit to Fort Wayne, Ind. Hisvisit to Fort Wayne also included the announce-ment of a $50 million program that will encour-age the installation of geothermal heating andcooling systems like the ones manufactured byWaterFurnace.
U.S. Secretary of Energy toursWaterFurnace International
By John Mesenbrink
Tempra Series tankless, on-demand electric water heatersThe next generation Tempra®
and new Tempra® Plus modelsare now available. Enhance-ments include: output to 140°,upgraded heavy-duty electron-ics, single flow sensor, easy ac-cess hinged cover and a largerinlet filter screen. Tempra®
Plus models have a digital dis-play for °F or °C readout andAdvanced Flow Control™ toautomatically adjust flow rateto maintain set point temper-ature. Further, the Tempra®
series is now an ideal backup for solar thermal systems. Industry-leading3-year warranty extended on all tankless, on-demand, electric waterheaters. Stiebel Eltron.
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Point of use TMVPoint of use valve — a lead-free 3/8"compression ther-mostatic mixingvalve (TMV) — hasbeen added to itsgrowing Navi-gator®
l i n e .T h eonly lead-free3/8" compressionTMV on the mar-ket, this point ofuse TMV containsless than 0.25% lead content andmeets lead-free requirements as de-fined by CA AB 1953, making thevalves even safer for commercial ap-plications and better for the environ-ment. Bradley Corp.
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Phc News — JULY 2009 49Product news
� Phc News product of the month �
Medium temp water-source heat pumpTranquility medium temperature,R-410A water-to-water units are
now available in sizes ranging from3 tons (36,000 BTUs) to 28 tons(336,000 BTUs). The TMW water-to-water series offers high efficiencyand high capacity with quiet opera-tion. TMW series can be used for ra-diant floor heating, snow/ice melt,chilled water for fan coils, industrialprocess control, potable hot watergeneration (with field-supplied sec-ondary heat exchanger or with fac-tory-installed double wall load heatexchanger, hot/chilled water formake-up air, and many other typesof HVAC and commercial application.ClimateMaster.
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Wicker Park SuiteDesigned with water conservation inmind, the sophisticated Wicker
Park™ bathroom suite provides theultimate in contemporary designand product performance. The suiteis complete with high efficiency toi-lets, low flow bathroom faucets,pedestals, and self-rimming or un-dercounter lavatories. Gerber.
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Variable speed circulatorThe “00” solar thermal VariableSpeed Solar Control Circulator con-tinuously optimizes water flowthrough the solar collector for max-imum energy gain. Combines thefeatures of external speed and solarcontrols with the convenience of thedependable “00” cartridge circula-tor. Wiring for power and sensors isdirect to the circulator; an LED statuspanel makes it easy to check func-tionality. Dip-switch-based user con-figurable settings allow a fast set-up,regardless of application. Taco.
Circle 101 on Reader Reply Card Hot water storage tanksPipe the high efficiency heat sourceto a well-insulatedall stainless stor-age tank. Tankshave four 1" topconnections foreasy installation— two for coldand hot, and twofor heat source inand out; hydraulically isolated fromcold and hot water draws. Heatsource in and out are hydraulicallyisolated from cold and hot waterdraws. The units are easy to installand are available in 30, 40, 50, 60,80, and 115 gallons. Heat-Flo, Inc.
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AquaPEX® reclaimed water tubingOffers all the benefits of Uponor PEX:(a crosslinked polyethylene) — flex-
iblility, durability, corrosion-resis-tance, 20-year proven history inplumbing, 25-year limited warranty— with a layer of purple coloring todesignate the tubing for greywatersystems that supply non-potable, re-claimed water to laundry, toilets andirrigation systems. Uponor.
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Surface water management products The durable StormDrain water manage-ment systems is a long lasting, perma-nent solution to collecting anddispersing standing surface water. Forresidential and commercial surfacewater drainage applications, thesewater management systems offer chan-nel drains, distribution boxes, drain basins, drain grates, atrium grates, pop-up emitters, valve and meter boxes. Quick and easy to install, cost effective,durable and aesthetically pleasing. Fernco Inc.
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Emergency tempering valvesNew line of ASSE 1071-listed emer-gency tempering valves deliver tepidwater to eye and face washes,drench showers and combinationunits in compliance with ANSI
Z358.1-2004. Built on the Hydro-Guard XP platform and featuresgreater cold-water bypass flows,more precise temperature control,higher top-end capacities and a new2" model for multi-fixture applica-tions (119 gpm at 30 psi differential).Powers, a Division of Watts WaterTechnologies, Inc.
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Category IV PVC VentingThe XTherm™ condensing boilerhas vaulted the optional selection ofstainless steel, CPVC, or PVC ventingto the 2000 MBTU level, even for the98% efficiency rated boilers. The PVCadaptor is factory installed insidethe boiler jacket. Where local codesallow, PVC venting can offer tremen-dous installation cost reduction. CSAapproval for PVC venting has beengranted for all XTherm™ models,including the 2000 (8” vent). Forsingle and multiple boiler systems,this can reduce installation cost 30-50% while retaining all the energysaving benefits of condensing boil-ers. Raypak.
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Stainless steel cutterThe Model 65S Stainless Steel Quick-Acting tubing cutter makes quicker
cuts to stainless steel and othermetallic tubes. Its larger, ergonomicX-CEL® knob allows more force to beapplied to the cut. With a sparewheel stored in the knob, the X-CELwheel pin allows quick wheelchanges without tools. RIDGID.
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Color mini camera systemNew EC-5 mini color camera drainline inspection system offers a 5"
color LCD monitor; a color camera(also available with a new self-level-ing color camera); 100 ft. of durablepush cable and a 512 HZ In-Linetransmitter, all conveniently housedin a lightweight, portable reel. In-spects 2"-8" drain lines and weighsonly 25 lbs. for easy transport. Jacksare provided on the unit for an ex-ternal recording device. Electric EelMfg. Co., Inc.
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Handheld pressing toolThe M20+ and the P20+ profes-sional-grade pressing machines are
bringing in-c r e a s e dproductiv-
ity, time sav-ings and ease of
job execution to theskilled plumber and
pipe tradesman. VIRAXM20+ is a compact pistol
grip pressing machine the size of acordless drill. Stanley VIRAX.
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Compact recip sawThe compact, lightweight HACK-ZALL™ saw provides powerful, versa-tile cutting in tight spaces fortradesman to tackle plumbing, elec-trical, remodeling and HVAC applica-tions. Featuring a 12V lithium-ionbattery, the saw cuts over 80 piecesof 11/2" PVC on a single charge. De-livers a 1/2" stroke and 3,000 rpmsfor a smooth yet aggressive cut. Uti-lizes a keyless QUIK-LOK™ bladeclamp for quick, easy blade changes.Milwaukee Tools.
Circle 110 on Reader Reply Card Circular saw bladesFinding the right circular saw bladefor the job is easy with a new circu-lar saw blade portfolio. Includes
blades for framing, finishing, wet orpressure-treated lumber, and generalpurpose applications. Blades featureultra-thin kerf technology forsmooth cuts, fast performance andreduced operator fatigue. Highstrength steel and laser-fused car-bide teeth provide long life, and the5/8" arbor with a diamond knockoutallow the blades to work with mostprofessional circular saws. Hilti.
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Reed catalog availableManufacturer has been making toolsfor professionals for 113+ years. Full-
line catalog has six pages of new toolsand eight pages of Best Ever! tools,and showcases tried-and-true toolsplus new combo roll groovers, uni-versal pipe cutters for steel pipe,large diameter ratchet wrenches,smooth jaw wrenches and pliers,power tapping and drilling machines,and PEX tools. Reed Manufacturing.
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CoBolt 8" compact bolt cuttersThe new 8" CoBolt bolt cutters withangled head and newly designedjoint construction now allow almostflush cutting. Cuts almost any hardmaterial up to 1/4" with ease. Thehandles run at an angle to the cut-ting blades for cutting with amplehand room. Available with very slimsingle component handles and er-gonomic dual component handlesfor additional comfort. Offered inboth straight and angled versions.KNIPEX.
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Snap-back arborsVersatile design features drive-offpins to allow easy attachment anddetachment from the saw with noneed for adaptors. The drive-off pinsalso prevent the arbor from tighten-ing on the saw during use, whichprevents threads from stripping. Theunique design allows hole saws to beswitched out much quicker thanmost other arbors on the market.The sleeve doesn’t need to be heldback to engage/disengage the arborand requires no secondary tighten-ing; eliminating the need for yet an-other tool on the job. LENOX.
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50 Phc News — JULY 2009tool crIb
Power-Vee™ automaticfeed drain cleaner
Drain cleaner has a simplifiedfeeding system that’s lighterand is easier to operate. ThePower-Vee is like having anextra hand in tight and awk-ward places. Just squeeze thelever and the cable feeds at arate of up to 16 feet perminute. The Power-Vee easilyunclogs sink, shower, toilet,and laundry drains rangingfrom 11/4" to 3" diameter andat a distance of up to 50 ft.The automatic feed canquickly adjust to take anycable from 1/4" to 3/8" withoutrequiring the use of tools oradditional parts. The optionalHandy-Stand™ turns thePower- Vee into a practicalcountertop or floor machine. The ergonomically balanced Handy-Stand™enhances the drain cleaner's versatility, safety and stability. General PipeCleaners, a division of General Wire Spring.
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� Phc News tool of the month �
Presented by
© 2
008
The
Stan
ley
Wor
ks
The Stanley® VIRAX® P20+ cordless pressing tool has 360 ̊head rotation and a narrow profile to get into tight spots. It also features a four-second cycle time, jaw stabilization technology, a seriously attractive retail price and an ironclad, full lifetime warranty. Take one for a spin. Call +1 800-827-7558 or visit www.stanleyvirax.com for a free on-site demo and complete war-ranty details.
THE P20+ CORDLESS PRESSING TOOL FOR
1” TO 4” TUBINGSERIOUS PLUMBING TOOLS™
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®
John Guest USA, Inc.1.800.94 JG USA
[email protected] · www.johnguest.com
Speedfit ®
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Innovative Products by the World LeadingManufacturer of Quality Push-In Fittings
To learn more, contact your local McDonnell & Miller Representative or visit www.mcdonnellmiller.com
GuardDog is a registered trademark of ITT. Copyright ® 2008 ITT Corporation.
Patented Self-Cleaning Probe
Minimizes scale build-up and extends recommended cleaning interval to 5 years.
NEW Brass Threads
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Plug & PlayInstallation
Universal wiring harness fits any gas boiler. “Plug & Play” harnesses available for most residential boilers.
The NEW McDonnell & Miller GuardDog® RB-24E Low Water Cut-Off.
Good Dog.
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52 Phc News — JULY 2009
solar
solutIons
Solar: then & nowfor the controls to be more easily duplicated aswell.Modular Now: Our modular primary loop sys-
tems are slowly being transformed by the ever in-creasing availability of multi-functioncomponents. Circulators with built in checkvalves, flanges with built in ball valves, chargeports with three valves in one unit. These com-ponents are more compact, and not only savespace but save labor during installation. There isa much bigger choice of these components avail-able than ever before and there is even a photo-voltaic circulator now that includes a checkvalve, air vent, valve and unions built into thepump body. The next generation of modules hasrecently arrived from Europe, where modularpump stations and prefabricated pump manifoldsand flow separators are used instead of small pri-mary loops. We have been trying this equipmentin solar heating installations and intend to keepusing it, mostly because of the ease of assemblywith this “snap together” approach.
CollectorsThen and Now: Solar heat collector technology
has not changed much in the last 10 years. Flatplate absorber surfaces were and still are mostlycoated with selective black surfaces, and coveredwith a single layer of tempered glass that is lowiron and high transmission. The frames and in-sulation are designed to withstand severeweather and “oven” temperatures without fail-ure. Collectors are tested and rated by the SRCC,and when you look at the ratings today, there aremany sizes and brands to work with, and collec-tors with similar construction tend to performsimilar to one another. There are many morecompanies listed now that offer vacuum tube col-lectors and they may be worth considering incolder, cloudier climates where high tempera-tures are needed. But, flat plate panels tend costless and perform well through out most of thecountry for common water heating jobs. Collec-tor manufacturers now offer more accessorieslike mounting clamps, union connections andother prefab hardware that can make an instal-lation go quicker.
Regional results may varyThis article presents a brief snapshot of solar
heating developments in my region. If your situa-tion is much different than ours, you may be see-ing different innovations with different kinds ofequipment. It is always a good idea to talk to localsolar suppliers and solar installers for a realitycheck before investing heavily in one technologyover another. �
Bristol Stickney, partner and technical direc-tor at Cedar Mountain Solar Systems in SantaFe, N.M., has been designing, manufacturing,engineering, repairing and installing solar hy-dronic heating systems for more than 30 years.He holds a Bachelor of Science in MechanicalEngineering and is a licensed Mechanical Con-tractor in New Mexico.
(Continued from page 28.)
Phc News — JULY 2009 53
PlumbIng
busIness
Pricingmany more of you than there were years ago. Forthose who want to continue to deny reality whileusing a horse and wagon method, think about thecosts you incur stabling, grooming and feeding thathorse. Contemplate the lost time you spend drivingyour much slower wagon while the contractor usinga truck flies by and does more calls because he/shegets to those calls faster. Think about the profitablebenefits of contract pricing as you try to justify yourhorse and wagon method.For those of you who are not happy with the re-
sults you are getting from your monetary and sweatequity investments in your business, and who wantto change, give me a call at 845-639-5050. In as little30 to 60 days, depending on your learning pace, Ican lead you into the 21st century confidentially,quickly, painlessly, profitably and completely withyour own price guides. And, we can do it over thephone with a few conversations.In order to show John change in the industry after
10 years of this exceptional publication, I would liketo anonymously chronicle the progress of some con-tractors from the beginning of their change from T& M pricing to Contract Pricing in the upcoming is-sues. Obviously, each contractor would have to beusing the contractor pricing method properly. If thecontactors didn’t implement the method correctlythe comparison would be flawed.It wouldn’t take much time and just a few phone
calls. It could improve the industry as a whole forcontractors and consumers as well as your ownbusiness. By comparing the dollars you bring inwith contract pricing in the upcoming monthswith the revenue you brought in using the time &material pricing method the previous year for thesame time period readers could see the results.Then, they could make up their own minds basedon facts rather than ignorance and fear. In additionto those dollar amounts, it would be helpful toknow whether the amount of work done for eachtime period was the same, more or less.This is also open to contractors I have already
helped. You know the benefit you’ve received fromthe change. Help others help themselves.Please consider this project. Remember, partic-
ipants who contribute this information would re-main anonymous unless any individual wanted tobe known. Your involvement would be invaluableto the industry. You could help to make the indus-try better for consumers, contractors, creditors,employees and your families. �
(Continued from page 30.)
We are the Brands of Watts Water Technologies. We are the Plumbing Professionals, Engineers and Do-It-Yourselfers.
Across the Country our Industry is changing and we have the products and resources to guide you through the evolution of LeadFree Plumbing.
For our Families. For our Communities. For our Future. We Are LeadFree.
Visit WeAreLeadFree.net
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Bradford White Solar Water Heating Solutions!This year Bradford White is introducing 20 new water heaters for solar applications.
Along with the 9 models the company introduced in 2008, the company now offers atotal of 32 models…one of the most extensive solar water heating lines in the industry.
For more information aboutBradford White’s
Solar Water Heating Solutions, visit
www.bradfordwhite.com
Bradford White Solar Water Heating Solutions!
SOLAR SAVER MODELS• Appropriate for open system applications where water from a solar
collector is pumped into the tank• Directly heats the potable water (no internal heat exchanger coil)• Alternate collector supply and return connections provided for
installation flexibility
ECOSTOR™ SC SOLAR INDIRECT SYSTEMSINGLE-WALL SINGLE COIL ELECTRIC BACKUP MODELS• Features an internal single-wall heat exchanger that allows heated water
from a solar collector to flow through the coil• A dual or single backup heating element provides heat only when solar
energy does not satisfy demand• Dual element models allow the entire tank to hold hot water during
periods when solar heating is not available
ECOSTOR™ DC SOLAR INDIRECT SYSTEMDUAL COIL HEAT EXCHANGER BACKUP MODELS• Dual heat exchanger design provides superior installation flexibility• Allows combination heat source systems to operate independently or
simultaneously• Top heat exchanger coil is single-wall & lower heat exchanger coil is
double-wall• Typical applications: solar, boiler, wood burner, geothermal or space
heating
ECOSTOR2™ SC SOLAR INDIRECT SYSTEMDOUBLE-WALL SINGLE COIL ELECTRIC BACKUP MODELS• Features an internal double-wall heat exchanger• Design provides additional protection required in certain municipalities
and applications• Ensures separation of the surrounding water from the solar heating fluid
ECOSTOR2™ SC SOLAR INDIRECT SYSTEMDOUBLE-WALL SINGLE COIL GAS BACKUP MODELS• Design utilizes a gas burner as backup when periods of supplied solar
energy does not meet the required hot water demand• Electronic temperature sensor located in upper portion of the tank in
order to promote greater solar collector efficiency• Double wall heat exchanger located in lower portion of the tank to
optimize solar heating performance• Provides additional protection between surrounding water and solar
heating fluid• Atmospheric venting provides an easy replacement for existing standard
water heatersECOSTOR2™ SC SOLAR INDIRECT SYSTEMDOUBLE-WALL SINGLE COIL TTW GAS BACKUP MODELS• Utilize some of the same design features as the atmospheric vent models• Incorporates a powerful, quiet blower motor for additional venting
flexibility
ECOSTOR2™ SC SOLAR INDIRECT SYSTEMDOUBLE-WALL SINGLE COIL ECO-DEFENDER GAS BACKUP MODELS• Incorporates Bradford White’s Eco-Defender Safety System® Ultra Low
NOx burner as a power backup when solar energy is not enough tosatisfy demand
• State-of-the-art radiant burner that significantly reduces NOx emissions• Advanced control system that increases efficiency• Safe, efficient and ecologically friendly
©2009, Bradford White Corporation. All rights reserved.
©2009 The Metraflex Co.
The Cablesphere® connector
has control rods
already permanently
attached.
There’s nothing to
assemble.
Nothing to forget.
And the cable control units
are already sized to prevent
the joint from expanding
past its limit. There are no
adjustments to make.
For a free design guide go
to www.metraflex.com;
or call
1-800-621-4347.
Insurance policy
Get your BIM CADdrawings online
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54 Phc News — JULY 2009
PVF
Pulse
Maintaining stabilityobservers is that labor gets the benefit of theDavis-Bacon Act, passed during the 1930sRoosevelt years, forcing employers workingon government-supported projects to pay thehighest prevailing wage offered by organizedlabor in a particular area, whether such workis unionized or not.Second, foreign and domestic companies
employing thousands of workers in the U.S.,but not able to guaranty source of origin of allcomponent parts as domestically made, aredisqualified from bidding on any stimulus-in-volved projects.Third, the most dangerous component of
this ill-conceived provision is that it hasstirred up a hornet’s nest among our trad-ing partners. This could conceivably leadto loss of jobs among our domestic work-force, and lost revenues for America’s com-panies who have benefited dramaticallyfrom the upshot of America’s No. 2 globalexport sector.Representatives of a dozen American trad-
ing partners are already consulting with eachother as to how to respond to what is beingcalled the "United States’ protectionist drive."Our No. 1 trading partner, Canada, which hasbeen barred from bidding for stimulus-ori-ented American business, is threatening toback a Dominion-wide response, retaliatingin kind.An analysis communicated by the Peter-
son Institute for International Economics,Washington, D.C., estimated that “BuyAmerican” provisions could save 9,000American jobs vs. 650,000 jobs directly in-volved in the foreign government procure-ment of American exports.Taken in the context of what’s good for
America, “Buy American” in the stimulus billcould well turn out to be “un-American” dueto all its ramifications.
Global manufacturing is breaking out all over
One of the most demoralizing aspects ofthe current global recession has been the si-multaneous disintegration of manufacturingin the world’s leading industrial centers.This has not only undermined the
economies of major developed nations, buthas stopped the emerging, most agrarian na-tions from developing their economic soci-eties, as imports from the U.S. and otherindustrialized nations shrank precipitously.The worldwide deep recession has also
brought international trade to multi-yearlows, which has had the side effect of encour-aging a new round of protectionism.But latest statistics from around the world
seem to indicate a significant rebound is in
(Continued from page 35.)
Phc News — JULY 2009 55
the making. In the United Kingdom, the pur-chasing managers’ index hit its highest levelin a year. In the Eurozone, the manufacturingrecession seemed to be easing, with indicesfor Germany, Italy and Spain rising by arecord amount. China’s manufacturing sectorin May grew for a third month in a row, indi-cating that the Asian giant’s industry is gath-ering new momentum.Even the U.S. manufacturing numbers are
“less worse” than they have been since thesummer of 2008.India and Australia also seem to be well
on their way to industrial recovery, with in-dexes hitting multi-month manufacturinghighs.A major reason for this unexpected turn of
events is that the U.S., as well as most of theindustrialized world have cut their invento-ries to the bone, while production has beencut back severely. Increasing inventorydraws, as demand has started coming back,have created shortages that can only be alle-viated by an acceleration of factory activity.Whether this comeback will prove to be spas-modic, rather than long-term, still remains tobe seen.
U.S. savings rate spikes to 12-year high levels
The U.S. savings rate, which had droppedbelow zero as consumption spiked to its high-est level ever in 2007, has reversed course,reaching 5.7% most recently.Although the American savings rate has not
taken into account 401ks, IRAs, or other fed-erally-sanctioned savings plans, the spate ofleveraged U.S. consumption had reachedbubble proportions, creating the scenariothat had led to an unprecedented financialcrisis, bringing the U.S. to the verge of a liq-uidity meltdown last summer.Although the current fear-inspired rush to
savings safety has severely curbed consumerappetites, it has also solidified an eventualeconomic recovery.With consumer borrowing, such as home
equity and credit card loans increasinglyharder to come by, providers of consumerproducts, both imports and domestically pro-duced, have seen severely reduced demand,impinging drastically on their revenues.Although increasing unemployment has
only aggravated consumer buying momen-tum, a more prudent consumer approach willeventually lead to a balanced equilibrium be-tween demand and supply.This could permanently impact such
major manufacturing sectors as housing andautomotive once the American economyemerges from its grinding recession some-time in 2010. �
Morris Beschloss, a 49-year veteran of thepipe, valves and fittings industry, serves asPVF and economic analyst for Phc News andThe Wholesaler.
6.5625" x 6.5625" 4C Ad • Plumbing & Hydronic Contractor News
The ECR International family of brands provides unsurpassed quality, innovative products and exceptional service to the HVAC market.
• Ductless Mini-Split Air-Conditioning Systems
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• Gas and Oil-Fired Furnaces
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• Micro Combined Heat and Power
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• VPAC’s and VPHP’s
One Great Company. Ten Great Brands.
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56 Phc News — JULY 2009
would receive your magazine throughthe regular mail.
Maintaining a specific philosophySince the advent of our own move
into the digital era, we’ve always main-tained the philosophy that our printedmagazines will use technology todeepen our relationship with our ex-isting readers and to introduce our-selves to new readers. There is no “onesize fits all” formula for creating ameaningful magazine-branded experi-ence using digital delivery as a solemethod of distribution. Because ourprinted magazines are trusted, recog-nizable and targeted communities ofinterest they have the ability to con-nect with people across a wide rangeof delivery systems. So, rather thantransferring all of our content verbatimto the Internet we feel that our Websites are better served by providing up-dated content between publishing cy-cles, to provide a place for our industry
members to interact together, and tohighlight industry news and topicsfrom the printed magazines.
Naturally, we believe strongly in thefuture of the paper-based magazine.It’s been with us for more than 260years. Paper-based magazines are atimely and timeless medium. Andwhile we’re certainly moving to an erawhere there are exciting digital plat-forms, magazine content, the power ofmagazine brands and the communitiesof magazine readers will always be partof this evolving media transformation,as well. So beware of publishers whoplace all of their proverbial eggs in onebasket by claiming that an exclusivemove to an online-only format is thenext wave of the future or allowingthem to be cutting edge. We here atTMB Publishing will continue to sup-port our printed products as we’ve al-ways done in the past by maintaininghigh quality standards for our editorialcontent and providing advertisers witha complete marketing package thatserves both their traditional and onlineneeds. �
Brown(Conintued from page 58.)
OpiniOn P
Read Ellen’s MMeeggaa--MMaakkeeoovveerrss
blog online atwww.pphhccnneewwss..ccoomm
ttooddaayy!!
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advertisement in Phc News! See page 4 for your nearest advertisingsales representative and start reaching YOUR target audience!
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Phc News — JULY 2009 57Classified ads
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MANUFACTURERS & SUPPLIERS
On March 17, theHearst Corpora-tion printed the
final copy of its SeattlePost-Intelligencer newspaper and confirmed plans toturn into an online-only newspaper, making it thelargest U.S. daily newspaper to shift to an entirely dig-ital news product. Preceding that was the ChristianScience Monitor’s announcement last year that it wasscrapping its daily print issue to focus on running itsWeb site. And, in the PHCP industry, recent news hassurfaced regarding several other magazines that arealso going (or have already gone) the digital route.
Naturally, some people see this as the future ofmagazines and newspapers; however, while the “printis dead” meme has been hashed out countless timesin the media world since the advent of the WorldWide Web, few experts are willing to predict thatprint magazines will become dinosaurs anytime soon.In fact, the publishing industry is one that constantlyreinvents itself to serve the evolving needs of its read-ers and advertisers, and we at TMB Publishing are nodifferent. And while no one in the business will arguethat ad dollars are moving online, it’s extremely im-portant to note that a lot of those dollars are stillfalling into the magazine industry bucket.
Of course, none of that really means anything ifpublishers operate on a faulty business platform —specifically one that seriously hinders efforts towardselling physical ad space in their printed magazines,which forces them to go digital on a permanentbasis. Unfortunately, this is already happening inthe PHCP industry, where one publisher has an-nounced digital issues being offered in place of sev-
eral printed issues throughout the year, and anotherpublisher completely replacing its print magazineswith digital offerings. In both of these cases, themove to digital is strictly advertising-based, meaningit’s because of a lack of advertising and not one forthe sake of being cutting edge or from a position ofstrength in the marketplace.
The power of the printed wordThe advantages of printed media are many. For the
advertiser, a printed magazine ensures them that theircorporate message will be delivered to a select and de-finitive audience on a timely basis. Additionally, itmeans that their carefully crafted ad will be find aprominent fixture alongside quality editorial, ratherthan becoming lost within a sea of rotating banner ads,media rich videos and other online offerings all com-peting within the same digital space for visitor atten-tion. Also, print ads provide for more accurate anddetailed metrics, such as audited and qualified circu-lation, reader demographics, geographical breakoutsand more — all plausible measurements of whetheran ad in one magazine will have more impact than inanother.
Speaking in terms of our readers, they read PhcNews, The Wholesaler and Plumbing Engineer inprint every month. They like the format of a printedmagazine. They like the feel of it, the touch of thepaper, slipping page after page through their fingers.They even like the surprise of finding a story in a sec-tion they wouldn't have sought out in an onlinesearch or browsing session. How do we know this? Arecent survey conducted by The Wholesaler, revealedthat 85% of wholesalers, contractors and engineersstill view trade publications as a top viable choice forindustry topics, news and product information.
Additionally, our magazines have one great
strength that digital publications will never be able tomatch: They’ve not been commoditized. There aremany online outlets that are reporting the samethings. Magazines, such as those printed by TMB Pub-lishing, have a specific voice that reaches a specifictargeted audience, and in this era voice is values; ourmagazines create content with unique value, and be-cause of that we don’t plan on going completely dig-ital any time soon.
Digital media has its place, tooWhen used correctly, Web sites — such as those
for Phc News, Plumbing Engineer and The Whole-saler— can contain wonderful content-rich offeringsthat exist to serve as powerful brand extensions ofour printed core products. When used to augment thereader’s printed experience, digital copies of maga-zines can be made searchable and interactive via ahyperlinked Table of Contents that takes the readerdirectly to the articles, features and sections of mostinterest to them. Keyword searches help them find atopic or name in seconds while also providing quicklinks to advertisers’ sites and additional editorial con-tent on the Web. Also, it gives the reader the abilityto read our magazines anytime, anywhere — evenwhen they’re offline, and automatic delivery of everyissue directly to your computer is provided via theInternet as soon as it is published, often before you
BY TOM BROWN,president
Don’t count magazines out
next issue...
• Water Heating
• Industrial PVF
• Efficient Hydronic Systems
58 Phc News — JULY 2009in Our OpiniOn
Phc News (USPS number 022-074) is published 12 times yearly by TMB Publishing Inc., 1838 Techny Ct. Northbrook, IL 60062; tel. 847/564-1127; fax 847/564-1264. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, electronic recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of TMB Publishing Inc.Phc News is delivered free of charge to qualified subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. Others: U.S., U.S. Poss. and Canada, $100/yr.; two-year annual subscription rate U.S. and Canada, $155; othercountries, $200/yr. or $300 for two year (U.S. funds) plus $20 surface postage. Single copies, $15.Application to mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is pending at Northbrook, IL and additional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Plumbing & Hydronic Contractor News, Creative Data Services, 519 E. Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. [email protected] mail agreement No. 41499518: Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6
1-800 Plumber.......................9, 48www.1800plumber.com
Bare Bones Biz...........................56www.barebonesbiz.com
Bavco..........................................16www.bavco.com
Bell & Gossett ........................2, 52www.bellgossett.com
Bradford White ......................5, 54www.bradfordwhite.com
Buderus..................................7, 48www.buderus.net
Burnham....................................60www.burnham.com
Chicago Faucets ........................17www.chicagofaucets.com
Crete-Heat .................................22www.crete-heat.com
Dunkirk................................21, 55www.dunkirk.com
John Guest.................................23www.johnguest.com
General Pipe Cleaners, a div.of General Wire Spring ....31, 53www.drainbrain.com
Halsey Taylor .............................33www.halseytaylor.com
Heat-Flo .....................................18www.heat-flo.com
Heatinghelp.com........................19www.Heatinghelp.com
Hubbard/HOLDRITE® .........41, 44www.holdrite.com
LAARS........................................12www.laars.com
Liberty Pumps ...........................45www.libertypumps.com
Metraflex..............................34, 54www.metraflex.com
Murray Corporation ..................10www.murraycorp.com
Navien America .........................27www.navienamerica.com
New Age Casting........................38www.newagecasting.com
The Noble Company..................14www.noblecompany.com
Precision Plumbing Products ......6www.pppinc.net
Radiant Panel Association.........46www.radiantpanelassociation.org
RIDGID..........................11, 13, 15www.ridgid.com
Smith Mfg. Co., Jay R. .................3www.jrsmith.com
Stanley Virax .............................51www.stanleyvirax.com
Stiebel Eltron.............................40www.stiebel-eltron-usa.com
Taco......................................25, 47www.taco-hvac.com
Ultra-Fin.......................................8www.ultra-fin.com
Versablock .................................42www.versablock.com
Watco .........................................43www.watcomfg.com
Watts ..........................................29www.watts.com
Webstone .....................................4www.webstonevalves.com
Weldbend..............................36-37www.weldbend.com
Wohler........................................59www.wohlerusa.com
Woodford....................................39www.woodfordmfg.com
advertisers’ index
(Please turn forward to Brown, page 56.)
See for yourself.
The Measure of Technology
Wohler VIS SeriesThe Revolution in Visual Inspection Technology
Measure distancewww.wohlerusa.com
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