If the Design & Construction Week at KBIS/IBS Show in Orlando is any indication of the health of the kitchen & bath and construction industries, then 2017 will be a prosperous year. In fact, solid employment gains and rising household formations, single-family production will continue on a gradual, upward trajectory in 2017, according to economists Read more
Whats Next
If the Design & Construction Week at KBIS/IBS Show in Orlando is any indication of the health of the kitchen & bath and construction industries, then 2017 will be a prosperous year. In fact, solid employment gains and rising household formations, single-family production will continue on a gradual, upward trajectory in 2017, according to economists speaking at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show.
Show traffic was great, booths were large and vibrant, and the buzz was invaluable. Some trade show fun facts included: nearly 80,000 homebuilders, remodelers, developers, designers and their trade partners talked to suppliers and saw demonstrations during a show; the number of exhibitors grew from 1,400 to more than 1,500; and exhibit space grew from about 500,000 square feet in 2016 to 569,000 square feet this year.
The Show kicked with an “Omaha!” a presentation by former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, and that energy continued to be reflected for the next three days. Exhibitors representing home technology, cloud-based construction management software and other innovative products and practices reported strong crowds.
Former NFL QB keynotes the NAHB event.
Held in Las Vegas the past four years, Orlando was suffice in its ability to accommodate a show of this magnitude but honestly, despite conflicting reports, according to the dozens of participants that I spoke with, Las Vegas seemed to be the better choice based on booth hall proximity (halls are a bit closer). Case in point: this year’s show featured the KBIS portion of the show predominantly in one hall and the Builder’s portion in another hall. God forbid you had to cross the “bridge of death” to go to and from one hall to another. I say that jokingly in that you needed a good amount of time to get to point A to point B (15 minutes, I timed it). As an editor who makes booth appointments every half hour, it became increasingly difficult to honor those commitments based on the sheer size of the show. Again, not necessarily a bad thing at all, yet selfishly, it seemed that the show, at times, felt too big, if that makes any sense at all.
Nonetheless, how can one complain when the temps reached the mid to upper 70s during the week with very little to no rain in the forecast? This made the outdoor exhibits very accessible. The show will return to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando again next year—January 9-11—and if I learned anything, bring a comfortable pair of shoes next time!
This week we will be featuring products that we saw up close at the show, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, NAHB named the winning products in its fifth annual Best of IBS Awards. This year’s Best of IBS Awards received over 400 entries. Decided by a panel of independent judges made up of attending reporters and building professionals, the awards were given in nine categories, plus an overall Best in Show award.
The winners were:
Best in Show Winner: AquaBoy® Pro II by Aquarius Brands
Best Kitchen Product: AquaBoy® Pro II by Aquarius Brands
Best Bath Product: Marble Attache by Daltile
Best Energy Efficient Product: Intelli-Balance 100 by Panasonic Eco Solutions North America
Best Green Building Product: The Greyter HOME by Greyter Water Systems
Best Home Technology Product: Biorev 360 by Biorev LLC
Best Indoor Living Product: Brinks Home Security Array Deadbolt by Hampton Products International
Best Outdoor Living Product: OUTDECO Decorative Panels by Outdeco USA LLC
Best Window and Door Product: MultiGlide Door by Andersen Windows Inc.
Most Innovative Building Product: Regal Aluminum Railing w/LED by Regal Ideas Inc.
Project Goals: Replace old gas-fired boiler and 500-gallon storage tank supplying DHW Achieve sufficient DHW to meet demand in 99-room hotel Provide DHW for laundry, meeting spaces, kitchen areas Minimal disruption to guests The owners of the Best Western Plus New Englander Hotel located in Woburn, Mass., a suburb located about 10 miles north of Read more
Project Goals:
- Replace old gas-fired boiler and 500-gallon storage tank supplying DHW
- Achieve sufficient DHW to meet demand in 99-room hotel
- Provide DHW for laundry, meeting spaces, kitchen areas
- Minimal disruption to guests
The owners of the Best Western Plus New Englander Hotel located in Woburn, Mass., a suburb located about 10 miles north of Boston, decided to replace an old gas-fired boiler and tank serving its 99-room hotel equipped with two commercial washing machines after the existing 500-gallon tank began leaking.
Heneghan and Sons Plumbing and Heating in Pepperell, Mass. quoted a system of 10-intelligent cascaded Bosch Greentherm C1050ES gas-fired condensing tankless water heaters, delivering up to 107 gallons of hot water per minute. The Bosch units were priced less than a competitive unit, and offer a superior warranty.
Bosch Greentherm C1050ES gas-fired condensing tankless water heaters
Heneghan Plumbing, with materials provided by PV Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.) was able to keep the existing hot water system running while installing the new system, and Colin added that “the changeover was a lot easier than we ever expected. We found the Bosch units easy to install, program and troubleshoot. It was made simpler with support from Bosch Sales Representative Dan McDermott and Craig Porter from Bosch technical support.”
Intelligent Cascading
A cascading application may be considered if the potential hot water demand exceeds the capacity of one gas tankless water heater. The cascading set up supports variable flow inputs and is designed for large homes and commercial applications. Use of the Intelligent Cascading Kit, unlike other parallel applications, maintains the activation flow rate of a single appliance.
The time had come to replace the old gas-fired boiler and water storage tank.
Intelligent Cascading allows up to twenty four appliances to be connected in parallel to achieve flow rates up to 257 gallons per minute for Bosch Greentherm 1050ES (see figure). One of the appliances will serve as the controlling primary appliance and will attempt to meet the hot water demand. If the hot water demand is beyond the capacity of the primary appliance, a signal is sent to one or more of the secondary appliances to ignite. With the Intelligent Cascading, after each 100 hours of operation, the system will automatically rotate which heater serves as the primary; thus the primary control appliance is rotated throughout the cascade setup to distribute the load of each unit. One of the appliances serves as the primary control and attempts to meet the hot water demand. If the hot water demand is beyond the capacity of the primary appliance, a signal is sent to one or more of the secondary appliances to ignite.
Note: Refer to Bosch Greentherm Tankless Water Heaters Applications Guide at this link http://www.bosch-climate.us/support-center/download-center/downloads/bosch-manuals/bosch-tankless-manuals.html
The 10-unit Bosch Greentherm cascade installed in the Best Western Hotel delivers high efficiency hot water delivering up to 107 gallons per minute. This satisfies demand from guest rooms, meeting space, laundry, and kitchen areas throughout the busy hotel. The hotel owner reported fuel savings of approximately $1,500 to $2,000 per month in the first six months of operation. Compared with a competitive tankless installation at a similar hotel with same number of rooms, this Bosch installation saved about $500 more per month.
Project Summary:
Best Western Hotel, Woburn Massachusetts
Equipment: Bosch Greentherm C1050ES natural gas fired condensing tankless water heaters in 10-unit cascade
Installing Contractor: Heneghan & Sons Plumbing &Heating, Pepperell, MA
Wholesale Supplier: P.V. Sullivan, Quincy, MA
Project Completion: 2014
Milwaukee Tool expands its industry-leading M12™ System with the introduction of the M12™ Drain Snake, developed specifically for the challenges plumbers, maintenance technicians, and property managers encounter when cleaning fixtures and small drain lines. Providing the benefits of both handheld and floor-mounted drain cleaning machines, the Drain Snake’s simple cordless setup, as well as its Read more
Milwaukee Tool expands its industry-leading M12™ System with the introduction of the M12™ Drain Snake, developed specifically for the challenges plumbers, maintenance technicians, and property managers encounter when cleaning fixtures and small drain lines. Providing the benefits of both handheld and floor-mounted drain cleaning machines, the Drain Snake’s simple cordless setup, as well as its new-to- world design, deliver game-changing productivity for plumbers and contractors cleaning sinks, tubs, and other small drain lines up to 25’ long.
Whoa! Must be an old Moen tub/shower valve in this house or some bad piping. I'll have to investigate but listen to that heater fill thru the hot side. #crossconnection #plumbing A video posted by Mechanical-Hub (@mechanicalhub) on Sep 1, 2016 at 8:47am PDT Read more
Daigle Plumbing and Heating of Derry New Hampshire recently installed this Kohler toilet for one of their clients. The toilet was purchased locally and sent to an artist in Canada to be professionally decorated. What do you think? Have you ever installed one like it Read more
Daigle Plumbing and Heating of Derry New Hampshire recently installed this Kohler toilet for one of their clients. The toilet was purchased locally and sent to an artist in Canada to be professionally decorated. What do you think? Have you ever installed one like it?
