A medical center in Chicago required a quick and efficient remedy to nurse its aging and failing boiler heating system back to good health. The newest high efficiency condensing boilers from Weil-McLain provided the medicine needed. Larry Latas, system director for multiple medical facilities in Chicago, needed to upgrade the aging boiler at the 15,000-square Read more
General News
A medical center in Chicago required a quick and efficient remedy to nurse its aging and failing boiler heating system back to good health. The newest high efficiency condensing boilers from Weil-McLain provided the medicine needed.
Larry Latas, system director for multiple medical facilities in Chicago, needed to upgrade the aging boiler at the 15,000-square foot Presence Health facility.
“We had several issues with controls, the boiler was leaking, and we had to place multiple services calls to keep it operating effectively,” said Latas. “We were exploring grant programs for energy savings projects, such as boiler replacement, and that’s when we were approached by Carl Wigginton.”
Wigginton, vice president of service at Murphy & Miller Inc., a Chicago-based HVAC mechanical services firm founded in 1936, handles heating maintenance at Presence Health.
“Presence had an old 1 million BTU atmospheric steel tube boiler that was only functioning at maybe 700,000 BTUs,” said Wigginton. “Additionally, it was leaking and was strictly an on/off boiler that was wasting energy.”
Latas’ wish list included installation of an energy efficient system that offered Modbus communication so the facilities technician could remotely access the boiler through the building automation system (BAS), view the status and determine how the system was functioning.
Wigginton recommended that Presence participate in a field trial for a condensing boiler that had just hit the market: the 95% AFUE Evergreen™ boiler from Weil-McLain.
The Evergreen features advanced technology with simple controls, flexible functionality for multiple applications and a durable design, and is easy to install, use and maintain.
The unit is adaptable for most heating needs including light commercial or large residential applications and for single or multi-boiler installations.
“The old atmospheric boiler was piped in series with the system, and when it was running it was about 65% efficient, versus the Evergreen that is 95% efficient,” said Mike Gambill, commercial specialist at Weil-McLain, who helped manage the project. “Because they were continuing to flow water through the boiler when it was not firing, it essentially became a radiator that robbed energy from the system and sent it up the chimney.
“When you run water through a boiler that’s connected to a system but not firing, it’s extracting energy from the system,” added Gambill. “It’s often not measured, but we refer to this as off-cycle losses.”
To improve heating efficiency, both Wigginton and Gambill recommended piping two 399 Evergreen boilers primary-secondary so the boilers are hydraulically disconnected from the system when not operational. Primary-secondary piping offers a simple way to inject heating energy into a system regardless of the flow rate in the heating system main piping. This flexibility and simple operation make primary-secondary a very popular configuration for piping boilers.
Boiler Installation and Specifications
The Presence Health facility consists of a main air handler and approximately 22 variable air volume (VAV) boxes that open or close based on the specific reheat demands in a particular space of the building.
“With 22 VAV boxes, the 1 million BTU boiler was constantly turning on and off or short cycling,” said Wigginton. “The two Evergreen boilers feature full modulation firing with up to a 10 to 1 turndown. Thus, one boiler is able to modulate all the way down to the smallest load or as low as 10% of a single boiler. This keeps short cycling to a bare minimum because the unit can match the required load with the least amount of fuel.”
Boiler turndown ratio is: the maximum heat output reducing to the minimum level of heat output at which a boiler will match the heat load efficiently.
“The Evergreen units are ideal for an application such as Presence Health with 22 VAV boxes,” said Gambill. “Evergreen boilers have a maximum turndown of 10 to 1 each. We found that further turndowns beyond this ended up with more energy in the flue than in the heating system.”
Installation Challenges
The first installation challenge was removal of the old, heavy boiler, which had to be disassembled in pieces due to its size and weight. Before removal, Wigginton recommended flushing the old system while the atmospheric boiler was still in place to clean the pipes.
With flushing and removal complete, the two Evergreen units were placed on a hand cart, rolled into the facility’s elevator, through a standard doorway in the mechanical room and were placed on the same concrete pad as the original boiler.
Converting the system to primary-secondary piping required some piping modifications. Murphy & Miller removed the old boiler and cut the piping that was in series and connected the headers with two closely spaced tees, creating a primary-secondary connection for the boilers.
The intake and exhaust were then vented through the roof, using the same chimney that was utilized by the atmospheric boiler.
The Evergreen boilers also were installed with a built-in sequencing controller (with lead-lag rotation) that was converted from Modbus® to BACnet® to fit the protocol of the building automation system.
Additionally, the boilers were set up as a lead-lag system to avoid one unit running more than the other. The units were configured to rotate lead every 24 hours to the next boiler.
“Installation took about two weeks to demo, cut out, re-pipe, install and operate the new boiler,” said Wigginton.
“We’ve partnered with Carl Wigginton and Murphy & Miller for years,” said Latas. “Carl is a terrific service manager and provides excellent support, and they are a great company to work with.”
A Clean Bill of Heating Health
Presence Health has experienced several benefits as a result of the heating system overhaul. One, is reduced fuel expenses.
“We’ve experienced energy savings by replacing the standard boiler with higher energy efficient units,” said Latas.
Another plus, according to Latas, is the reliability of the units.
“We didn’t have a single service call on the boilers through all of last year’s heating season, which says it all for the quality of the units we installed,” added Latas.
Contractors Receive Free Pair of Rugged Boots with High Efficiency Boiler Purchase Weil-McLain has launched a new promotion for its Boiler Bucks™ contractor loyalty program members. For a limited time, contractors who are signed up for the program will receive a free pair of Carhartt® 6-inch Rugged Flex® boots with the purchase of any Weil-McLain Read more
Contractors Receive Free Pair of Rugged Boots with High Efficiency Boiler Purchase
Weil-McLain has launched a new promotion for its Boiler Bucks™ contractor loyalty program members. For a limited time, contractors who are signed up for the program will receive a free pair of Carhartt® 6-inch Rugged Flex® boots with the purchase of any Weil-McLain designated high efficiency boiler.
Contractors can participate by visiting www.weil-mclain.com/boiler-bucks and registering a qualifying boiler online. After registration, members should click the “submit purchase” link to order the free boots.
The Weil-McLain boiler models included in the promotion are the Evergreen®, Ultra™, WM97+®, Eco™, GV90+® and SlimFit® units.
Purchases must be made now through September 30, 2016, and registered on the Boiler Bucks website by October 14, 2016. There is a limit of five pairs of boots per contractor and the boots will arrive four to six weeks from the date of registration.
Contractors who are not currently members of Boiler Bucks are invited to sign up to participate in the promotion.
Boiler Bucks offers contractors multiple and unique ways to earn “currency” in the form of Boiler Bucks to redeem for a variety of rewards including e-gift cards, branded wearables, tools of the trade, training and instructional videos, and small business marketing tools. Points are earned by registering in the program, purchasing boilers, providing opinions in short surveys, watching educational videos and participating in other promotions.
To learn more about the Weil-McLain Boiler Bucks program visit https://www.wmboilerbucks.com/ or contact a Weil-McLain regional sales office at www.weil-mclain.com/en/weil-mclain/about-us/locations/.
Keep Clean at the Right Price! Galeton, a leading supplier of quality work gloves and personal protective equipment, has recently expanded its popular line of Safe N’ Clean™ Disposable Coveralls to include the #12715 Gray Coveralls with Open Wrists & Ankles, #12716 Gray Coveralls with Elastic Wrists & Ankles, and #12717 Gray Coveralls with Hood Read more
Keep Clean at the Right Price!
Galeton, a leading supplier of quality work gloves and personal protective equipment, has recently expanded its popular line of Safe N’ Clean™ Disposable Coveralls to include the #12715 Gray Coveralls with Open Wrists & Ankles, #12716 Gray Coveralls with Elastic Wrists & Ankles, and #12717 Gray Coveralls with Hood and Elastic Wrists & Ankles.
Breathable Safe N’ Clean™ Disposable Gray Economy coveralls keep you cool while protecting you and your clothes from dust, grime and other non-hazardous particles. Strong and lightweight polypropylene material breathes to keep you comfortable. Gray color looks clean longer than traditional white coveralls. Start as low as $1.75 each.
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Since 1908, Galeton has been a leading supplier of fine quality work gloves and personal protective equipment at great prices for manufacturing, commercial industry, construction, contractors , as well as federal, state and local government facilities. Built around its unique product line and legendary customer service, the company continues to expand to meet the growing needs of its customers.
The Galeton catalog and website offer a wide variety of work gloves ranging from premium quality to economy plus a broad selection of exclusive brands and unique products. The expansive offering also includes rainwear, high visibility work wear, work boots, disposable apparel, safety glasses, hard hats, respiratory & hearing protection, as well as other personal protective equipment all designed to help keep the worker safe, comfortable and productive on the job. Shop the easy-to-use website at galeton.com.
For more information or a FREE catalog call Galeton at 800-221-0570, fax 800-322-2003 or go to galeton.com.
Viega LLC promotes Mark Evans to director of North American sales. In this position, Evans is responsible for directing strategic planning, brand value extraction and sales development for the field sales team across the United States and Canada. Evans was hired by Viega in 2007 to develop and implement a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy Read more
Viega LLC promotes Mark Evans to director of North American sales. In this position, Evans is responsible for directing strategic planning, brand value extraction and sales development for the field sales team across the United States and Canada.
Evans was hired by Viega in 2007 to develop and implement a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy and plan prior to the introduction of Viega products to Canada. Prior to joining Viega, Evans worked in the wholesale, agency and manufacturing sectors for companies including Danfoss and Wilo, where he was placed as a team leader on both a regional and national level.
“Viega is pleased to bring Mark’s talents in team leadership to a larger stage as we continue to expand in North America,” said Dalyn Cantrell, vice president of sales and marketing, Viega. “His experience in administrative management, marketing management and sales management has poised him to take on this exciting new role.”
About Viega:
The Viega Group, with a tradition of innovation for more than 115 years, has more than 4,000 employees worldwide and is among the leading manufacturers of pipe fitting installation technology. In metal press systems for industrial, commercial and residential projects, the company is the global market leader. In the U.S., Viega LLC employs nearly 500 people and offers more than 3,000 products. These include Viega ProPress® for copper and stainless, Viega MegaPress® for black iron pipe and Viega PEX Press systems in Zero Lead™ bronze and high-performance polymer. Viega also specializes in the design, production and installation of ProRadiant™ heating and cooling systems. For more information, visit www.viega.us.
Grundfos has elevated Jonathan Hamp-Adams to the newly-created role of General Manager of Grundfos USA. In this role, Hamp-Adams will lead all Grundfos sales organizations in the United States. “We have excellent growth opportunities in each of our US sales organizations and are excited to have Jonathan lead the next steps,” says Poul Due Jensen Read more
Grundfos has elevated Jonathan Hamp-Adams to the newly-created role of General Manager of Grundfos USA. In this role, Hamp-Adams will lead all Grundfos sales organizations in the United States.
“We have excellent growth opportunities in each of our US sales organizations and are excited to have Jonathan lead the next steps,” says Poul Due Jensen, Grundfos Group Executive Vice President.