Industry News

Noritz is the first tankless manufacturer to offer a condensing residential unit with top-mounted connections and flexible venting through existing B-Vent, making the replacement of 40-gallon, tank water heaters easier and more affordable than ever.

Noritz America is revolutionizing the water heater industry, taking tankless-for-tank replacement installation to a new level of ease and affordability, with the new EZTR40 condensing tankless water heater for residential applications. Noritz will be showcasing the unit to contractors with the EZTR40 Roadshow, visiting over 250 locations in the South and West from October 1 to November 20.

Designed to replace a conventional 40-gallon tank-type water heater for two-bath residences in warm-weather climates, the new EZTR40 streamlines the tank-replacement process with three key features:

The EZTR40 vents with two-inch, flexible polypropylene tubing that is threaded directly through the existing B-Vent formerly used by the tank water heater it is replacing. As a result, there is no need to spend time changing out the vent.

In addition, water connections are located on the top of the EZTR40, not the bottom. This allows the flexible hot-and-cold-water lines used by the tank-type water heater to be quickly and easily reconnected to the new EZTR40. Not only does this save time traditionally spent creating new plumbing around the tankless unit, but it also gives the final application a cleaner look.

The EZTR40 uses the same half-inch gas line used by the old tank unit, which eliminates the need to up-size to 3/4-inch run in replacement situations. This cuts labor time by up to half, while avoiding the material cost for new gas piping, resulting in a substantially reduced installed cost to the homeowner.
“Noritz is the first and only tankless water heater manufacturer to offer all these features that make the tank-replacement job more intuitive and straightforward — and therefore quicker and less costly,” says Noritz Marketing Manager Jason Fleming. “With the EZRT40, plumbing installers and their customers get the benefits of time savings and installation ease with all the energy- and space-saving advantages of tankless.”

To make installation even easier:

The EZTR40 includes a step-by-step manual that gives simple, visual instructions on how to install the unit.

To further streamline the installation process, the packaging includes a QR code linked to a five-minute instructional video that can be easily accessed with a smart phone, tablet or laptop on the jobsite.

The EZTR40 is packaged with all the accessories needed for a successful installation.
Measuring 18.3 inches wide x 27.2 inches high x 9.4 inches deep, the unit weighs only 50 pounds, so that a single tradesperson can handle the installation.

Other important features include:

TEMPERATURE SETTINGS: 115°F to 140°F.

BTU INPUT RANGE: 15,000-120,000 BTU per hour, with a maximum flow rate of 6.6 gallons per minute at a 35°F rise in water temperature.

BUILT-IN DIGITAL DISPLAY: In addition to controlling operations, the integral digital display permits basic servicing without the need for a remote device. Located on the lower right of the front panel, this readout assists troubleshooting by indicating flow rates, water temperature and common error codes.

12-YEAR WARRANTY: The EZTR40 protects the environment by heating water strictly on demand, while offering a longer product life cycle than storage tank-type models. The warranty for each unit is 12 years on the two heat exchangers, made of long-lasting, high-grade stainless steel; five years on parts; one year on labor.
For more information on the EZTR40 condensing tankless water heater, visit www.noritz.com/professionals.

• Therm and Greentherm Models Now Join Other Bosch Residential Product Lines with the New White Color
• Bosch Models Meet or Exceed 2015 NAECA Efficiency Standards
• Heat Exchanger Warranty Now 10 Years on Therm 210 ES & Greentherm Models When Used in Applications of Controlled Recirculation & Combination DHW- Space Heating

Bosch now offers its Therm and Greentherm tankless water heaters (TWH) in a new color scheme: Bosch White. These formerly silver-gray painted products are now visually consistent with Bosch’s Greenstar boiler and Greensource heat pump residential product lines.

Bosch Therm and Greentherm products with the new white color scheme will be shipped as the former inventory of silver-gray products becomes depleted.

With the new April 16, 2015 DOE National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) in place for residential gas-fired and electric water heaters, the energy factor efficiency standard rises from .62 to .82 for gas-fired water heaters and remains at .93 for electric tankless water heaters.

Bosch offers gas-fired Therm and Greentherm TWHs that meet or exceed the standard with energy factors ranging from .82 up to .95. All Bosch electric water heaters exceed the standard with energy factors ranging from a low of .99 to a high of 1.0.

As of April 2014, Bosch has also improved its heat exchanger limited warranty to 10 years on Greentherm models C950ES and C1050ES, and Therm model C1210ES when used for controlled recirculation and combination DHW and space heating applications. Please refer to www.boschheatingandcooling for complete warranty details.

The 2014 ASPE Show has now come and gone with thousands of professionals and over 300 exhibitors and suppliers within the industry exhibiting their products. As always ASPE does a wonderful job in putting together a great show that offers something for everyone from the contractor, engineer, and to the supplier. This convention and expo included programs to earn CEU’s, educational sessions, new product innovation showcases, and a keynote address from Chicago Bear’s great, Dan Hampton. It is clear that ASPE does a spectacular job and works diligently to offer the best value to every attendee.

Surfing the expo floor is always a pleasure to catch a glimpse of the latest and greatest technology in the industry. What’s especially interesting is the methods manufacturer’s come up with to showcase their innovations. This always includes fascinating demonstrations and often a clear, see-through model of the product to view the behind the scenes technology in action before your very own eyes. Or witness demonstrations and hands-on training on the latest tools to save contractors time and money with installations.

Yes, the ASPE Convention and Exposition has it’s excitement. But what’s interesting to note is how things have changed over the years because of the economy and modern digital technology advancements with the internet, smart phones, and social media. Strolling the floor between exhibitors, one couldn’t help but notice a growing trend; the all to often lack of interaction between exhibitor and attendee.

Now this was certainly not the case in all instances by any means. In fact, many exhibitors were very busy and giving demonstrations one after another, drawing the attention of additional attendees. But it displayed a transition from expos years ago and how much things have changed over the years. We are all so use to getting information at our fingertips almost instantly. And we decide how much we want and if we want to know more. Everything is fast-paced, get-it-now, and in short bursts of information like twitter, 140 characters are all that’s needed. It’s interesting to observe how modern technology has affected our interaction with each other and the art of developing rapport while building personal relationships and business partnerships.

We typically say or hear “This is how I’ve been doing it for 20 years so why change?” It took trust, relationships, and partnerships for this thought process to begin. But it’s evident how difficult it can be to change someone’s mind to go in another direction on a product or installation process. The effort and often cost can be substantial. This was evident during the Exhibitor portion of the expo.

Does this make conventions and expositions void or without need? Absolutely not. For information technology and social media can only go so far in someone gaining enough knowledge about a product. There’s nothing quite like seeing it up close and in-action to make a better assessment. However, it’s apparent that our industry is still trying to find the perfect balance of using digital technology and social media with human interaction to build relationships and partnerships. Both are extremely valuable and it will be worth watching over the next 5 – 10 years. It will be worth witnessing the industry’s development on using both of these vital methods of communication in the world today and how it will enhance and transform expos and conventions in the future.

The 2016 ASPE Convention and Exposition in Phoenix, AZ will be here before we know it. It will be a must see.

Sloan Valve Company announced today that Parthiv Amin has joined their organization as Vice President, Marketing. The announcement was made by Kirk Allen, President and CEO. “Parthiv brings leadership skills and strategic thinking to our company,” Allen said. “His extensive experience in building marketing plans from the ground up will ensure that Sloan remains the global leader within our industry.” Amin, who has over 20 years of global marketing and business development experience, will have responsibilities that include developing key strategies and formulating global marketing plans to ensure the continued success and profitability of the organization. Prior to joining Sloan he worked at Enerpac as Vice President, Global Marketing and Engineering where he built and implemented the company’s go-to-market strategic plan. Before Enerpac, Amin was at Northern Power Systems as President of the Distributed Wind power market. He also spent four years as President of the Americas to the Wind Drive Systems entity of the Siemen’s Corporation. “I am excited to join Sloan, the premier brand in the industry,” says Amin. “I look forward to working with the team, customers and partners to develop business strategies to expand Sloan’s global leadership position.” Amin graduated from University of Illinois at Chicago with a BSME in Mechanical Engineering and received an MBA from Loyola College in Maryland. He will be based in Franklin Park, Illinois.