Hire a veteran and get a tax credit
An amendment to a U.S. Senate bill to repeal the federal 3% withholding mandate would give tax credits to companies that hire veterans. The Senate unanimously approved legislation Nov. 10; it must now go back to the House, which is expected to approve it. And President Barack Obama indicated he will sign the amended bill.

For each veteran hired who has been unemployed for at least six months, companies will receive a $5,600 tax credit. A smaller credit will be given for veterans unemployed for less than six months. Companies also would be offered a $9,600 tax credit for hiring out-of-work veterans with service-related disabilities.

The International Franchising Association recently launched its Operation Enduring Opportunity, which includes the commitment of more than 825,000 franchise establishments to hire and recruit 75,000 veterans and 5,000 wounded warriors by 2014.

Unemployment among veterans is almost 12%, while the overall U.S. rate is 9%. However, unemployment among the youngest veterans - 18 to 24 - is at 30%.
 
Do you have room in your organization to hire a veteran? - Kelly Faloon

Slim profile radiant heating panel:  Warmboard introduces Warmboard-R, a new 13/16"-thick structural radiant heating panel that provides the same heating performance as the company's 1 1/8"-thick radiant subfloor panel. The slimmer profile, combined with an easier-to-handle panel size, is ideal for retrofits. Warmboard-R also can be used as a ceiling panel for radiant heating or cooling. www.warmboard.com.

Mechanical Room In A Box: HeatLink Group announces the addition of several new panels in its Mechanical Room in a Box series. By placing the most common components of a radiant hydronic installation (mainly wiring, pumps and mixing valves) on a plug-in panel with an appliance-like cover, panels have simplified the installation process and added a level of standardization. The TMP series is now available with 4-zone capability, the HEP series has a more compact heat exchanger version for smaller applications, and the CDP series has been expanded to include outdoor reset and a higher output for the RFH circuit. www.heatlinkgroup.com.

Space-saving indoor split : Designed for installations where space is an issue, the GeoStar Aston Series Indoor Split provides the efficiency of geothermal and the versatility of a split system. When added to an existing fossil fuel system, the geothermal unit provides super-efficient heating and cooling with backup. www.geostar-geo.com.

Making an art of work
Taco managers invited a capacity crowd of 160 tradespeople and professionals to view "The Tradesmen, Making an Art of Work." Filmmaker Richard Yeagley produced the 53-minute glimpse into the hopes, dreams, struggles, pride and humanity of plumbers, carpenters, stonemasons and painters.

After viewing the film, a panel of experts - Yeagley, contractor Dan Foley, hydronics author Dan Holohan and Taco owner and President John White Jr. - discussed with the audience ideas on how to rebuild the country's eroding blue-collar workforce.

Green heating: PM Live at AHR
Plumbing & Mechanical's PM Live Symposium, held on Jan. 23, 2012, at the AHR Expo, will focus on green heating systems and how hydronics are a good fit for low-energy houses. The event features industry experts and PM columnists Dan Holohan and John Siegenthaler.
 
The 'Match.com' for stalled construction projects
The American Institute of Architects recently launched an online database - www.aia.org/stalledprojects - that matches developers and architects with investors interested in lending to projects that have been stalled primarily due to lack of financing. Since going live on Oct. 31, the site has attracted projects seeking a total of almost $230 million in financing. One-in-five stalled projects directly result from financing problems, despite record-low interest rates.

ACCA Radiant Council develops peer groups, online training
The ACCA Radiant & Hydronics Council will begin accepting new contractor members online at ACCA's website, www.acca.org, shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday. Among the new initiatives for the RHC are the formation of peer groups specifically for hydronics and radiant contractors, and the development of specialized online training modules.

Harley-Davidson steps up for Military Appreciation Month
November is Military Appreciation Month, and Harley-Davidson Motor Co. has partnered with the USO to show its support and gratitude for the men and women in the military. The company will welcome donations at its nearly 650 dealerships throughout the country on behalf of the USO Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. The money will be used to assemble care packages for troops overseas.
 
Tax credits expiring for energy-efficient home upgrades
Dec. 31, 2011, is the date when many tax credits for home energy-efficiency updates will expire, including high-efficiency boilers and water heaters. Now is the time to start marketing to customers about your energy-efficiency services and make them aware of the deadline. Customers interested in renewable energy systems such as solar and geothermal have until 2016 to make these upgrades.

Stephen King to help Maine residents keep warm
Horror author Stephen King is stepping up to help struggling Maine residents buy heating oil.

New thermostat developed by former Apple engineers
The Nest Learning Thermostat isn't plastic, but a circular, brushed stainless-steel device, with a rotating outer control ring, reports MercuryNews.com. The developers hope it will be "so irresistibly cool that consumers will actually flock to save energy."

Least energy-efficient states revealed
The American Council For an Energy-Efficient Economy recently released its lists of the most energy-efficient states and the states that need the most work. Click the link above to see where your state ranks.

BeautifulHeat.com launches
Beautiful Heat, a campaign to market the benefits of hydronic heating in Canada, recently launched its new website, www.beautifulheat.com. The site includes sections for homeowners and professionals, highlighting the environmental, economic and architectural advantages to hydronic and radiant heating. An FAQ section also addresses radiant cooling.
 
The campaign is supported by hydronic heating manufacturers such as Armstrong Pumps, Bell & Gossett, Grundfos, Laars, Raypak, Taco, tekmar, Uponor, Watts Water Technologies and Weil-McLain.

Digital 2011 Radiant Flooring Guide Now Available

Are you at a client's home and forgot to bring a copy of the 2011 Radiant Flooring Guide? Or are you at a convention and need some quick information about using cork flooring over a radiant heating system?

Open your Internet browser, key in this address - http://tinyurl.com/2011-rfg-digital  - and browse through the pages at your convenience. The Table of Contents contains links to take you directly to the article you want to read. Or you can browse through page by page as you would with the printed version.

Ads are linked to advertisers' web sites to provide more information on products or services readers are interested in.

The 2011 Radiant Flooring Guide is an indispensable tool for architects, heating contractors, mechanical contractors, floor covering retailers and installers, builders, wholesalers, radiant system specifiers and homeowners. It provides all the information for making proper choices on flooring over radiant heating systems, including an updated directory of radiant floor product manufacturers.

To purchase printed copies of the 2011 Radiant Flooring Guide for $15, visit www.AECstore.com.

The search for a rep just got a lot easier.

The Rep Locator, brought to you by the publishers of Supply House Times, PM Engineer and Plumbing & Mechanical Magazines in partnership with AIM/R, provides a comprehensive database of manufacturers' reps in the plumbing market.

Year-Round Reference

• Published in print in the June issues of Supply House Times, PM Engineer and Plumbing & Mechanical
• Fully searchable online at www.locatearep.com year-round 
• Key information all in one source, complete contact info, lines represented, states and territories served and much more.
• Online extras like company brochures and line cards, live web and email links, Google-based keyword search, and more, right at the fingertips of manufacturers, plumbing contractors, engineers and wholesalers to locate products and representatives.

Reps who wish to stand out from the crowd may purchase print ads, listing enhancements and online upgrades. Pricing and packages are available for every budget. AIM/R members receive special discounts and exclusive options.

If you have listed your rep firm in AIM/R's printed Locator in the past, your account is already set up. For new listings, changes or inquiries contact Breanne Rozek at rozekb@bnpmedia.com, or 248/244-6259.

©2011, J. Siegenthaler - all rights reserved

Click here to download a pdf version.

Cold Showers and Rusty Vents


The Glitch

The hydronic system shown below was intended to provide heat to a radiant floor slab and an indirect water heater. Either load can independently call for heat as needed based on thermostat settings. The owner sets the space heating thermostat back 5 degrees F at bedtime, and then resets it to normal comfort temperature when he rises at 6 a.m.

His complaint is that the water temperature gets progressively cooler during his morning shower, even though he insists the boiler is firing nonstop during this time. He's also wondering why there are rust spots forming on the boiler's galvanized vent pipe, even though it's only a few months old.

Can you spot some design details that are likely causing these problems?





The Fix

The cause of the cold shower is the combination of a high-mass distribution system recovering from setback and a nonprioritized indirect water heater. It's very possible that during this time, the distribution system is absorbing heat faster than the boiler can produce heat - even under continuous operation.
 
Heat stored in the indirect water heater during the previous night might even be leaving the tank under this condition since the tank and distribution system are both operating.

The solution is to make the indirect water heater a priority load. Most modern zone controllers make this as simple as a switch setting. When the indirect water heater is operating, the circulator(s) supplying space heating are temporarily turned off. Thus, all heat output from the boiler is directed to the water heater and the system is cranking out DHW at its maximum possible rate.




The rusty vent pipe is likely caused by sustained flue gas condensation in the boiler. The original system has no means to monitor boiler inlet temperature, and thus it cannot be controlled. When the low-temperature floor-heating system is operating, the boiler water temperature is being depressed well below the dewpoint of the exhaust gases because the system is seeking thermal equilibrium between rate of heat production and rate of heat release.
 
The water temperature drops until this balance is achieved. Thermodynamics could care less whether the boiler is operating in condensing or noncondensing mode.

The solution, assuming the installer wants to work with thermostatic mixing valves, is to install another such valve and circulator as shown in the fix drawing. The second valve provides a second mixing point to boost boiler inlet temperature above 130 degrees F. The second circulator is essential in allowing this mixing operation. The distribution system is interfaced to the temperature-protected boiler loop using closely spaced tees to provide hydraulic separation.
 
True, it's a bit more expensive, but it sure is better than venting carbon monoxide into someone's house through a failed vent connector.

Other glitches in the original drawing include:

1. Lack of a central air separator.

2. Incorrectly oriented purging valves. The drain port must be upstream of the inline ball valve.

Visit www.hydronicpros.com.

AEC Store Corner

HYDRONICS DESIGN STUDIO - Professional Version 2.0 - $340

The Hydronics Design Studio - Professional Version is Windows-based software that assists in analyzing the thermal and hydraulic performance of hydronic heating systems. This newly updated software consists of 12 modules for tasks such as heating load analysis, series baseboard circuit analysis, piping heat loss estimating, expansion tank sizing, radiant circuit analysis, fuel cost comparisons, injection mixing calculations and buffer tank sizing. Several modules access extensive internal databases of current hydronic components such as, piping, circulators, baseboard, fluids and valves. Sophisticated engineering algorithms are exercised through a simple graphical user interface. Follow this link for more information or to place your order.

To view more books, visit www.AECStore.com.