The COVID-19 pandemic is causing commercial buildings such as day care facilities, hotels, schools and health clubs to remain closed for abnormally long periods. When the coast is clear to begin reopening, ensuring safe and sanitary plumbing water will be of utmost importance. Plumbing systems left idle can be susceptible to harmful bacteria such as Read more
HVAC
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing commercial buildings such as day care facilities, hotels, schools and health clubs to remain closed for abnormally long periods. When the coast is clear to begin reopening, ensuring safe and sanitary plumbing water will be of utmost importance. Plumbing systems left idle can be susceptible to harmful bacteria such as Legionella which can proliferate to dangerous concentrations.
Experienced water maintenance managers know susceptible systems should be flushed before reusing. Important considerations should not be overlooked such as ensuring all service lines are purged and dead legs drained.
Several factors determine if the system equipment requires treatment such as how long a system is left idle, the temperature of the stagnated water and condition of the internal surfaces. This is so bacteria that are resistant to simple purging/draining and have become resident in biofilm can be addressed. Common methods include thermal treatment or treating with chemicals such as chlorine, chlorinated gas and chlorine dioxide.
A significant benefit of thermal treatment is that it’s a proven, cost-effective method for bacteria management on an ongoing basis in the hot side of the plumbing system. The cold side doesn’t typically require ongoing treatment unless water remains stagnated for extended periods within the temperature range that Legionella grows which is 68°F to 122°F.
Thermal treatment requires little additional maintenance compared to chemical treatment. Also, common plumbing equipment such as seals, gaskets and polymer components are not exposed to potentially incompatible life-shortening chemicals.
Residual chemicals in the water can also be a human health concern if acceptable concentration values are exceeded. In contrast, most common plumbing materials can withstand, without effect, thermal shock temperatures such as 160°F.
Thermal treatment consists of periodically circulating elevated water temperature such as 160°F through the entire system for a specific and measured period of time, thereby killing harmful bacteria and restoring the water to a safe and usable condition. During this period it is important to ensure all point-of-use fixtures are either disabled for access or equipped with anti-scald devices. An example is the Caleffi scald-protection valve SinkMixerTM — an innovative, easy to install valve for under-sink applications.
Often the most difficult portions of the hot water side to circulate sufficiently through is the recirculation return risers. This because they are sized and balanced to a relatively low flow rate such as 0.5 GPM. The Caleffi ThermoSetterTM thermal balancing valve automatically responds when it senses high temperature water by fully opening an internal by-pass, thereby allowing a sufficient return riser flushing during treatment. It then automatically returns to standard operation state when water temperature decreases to normal.
If a building is equipped with a Caleffi LEGIOMIX digital mixing valve, it will enjoy highly accurate mixed water temperature 24/7. The LEGIOMIX has industry-unique, calendar- based automatic thermal disinfection programs. For thermal monitoring, it has data logging capabilities and can connect to a building automation system for remote monitoring and access.
LEGIOMIX combined with SinkMixer anti-scald valves and ThermoSetter recirculation balancing valves offer an innovative total thermal solution for control of safe and sanitary domestic hot water.
Watts is helping bring heat to a Nebraska veteran’s tiny house—soon enabling him to live in a heated home for the first time in years. The project in Hubbard, Nebraska, is a partnership between “Project Veteran Tiny Home” in Hubbard, Nebraska, and Support Siouxland Soldiers in Sioux City, Iowa. Recently, the “Tiny Home” project lead Read more
Navy veteran Rick Lewis outside his new home.
Watts is helping bring heat to a Nebraska veteran’s tiny house—soon enabling him to live in a heated home for the first time in years.
The project in Hubbard, Nebraska, is a partnership between “Project Veteran Tiny Home” in Hubbard, Nebraska, and Support Siouxland Soldiers in Sioux City, Iowa. Recently, the “Tiny Home” project lead contacted Watts, who, in turn, donated 500 square feet of its SunTouch WarmWire heating cable, Command Thermostat, plus related supplies.
The home is one of a growing number of “tiny homes” in the U.S., which meet a variety of low-cost housing needs. When finished, the veteran’s 500 square foot home will include a bedroom/living room, full kitchen, a bathroom, and will enable him to leave the camper where he lived previously.
“We finally got everything installed and it’s warm! I cannot thank you enough for everything,” said Heather Millard, the project lead, who approached Watts after living for years in a home with a Watts heating system. “Rick (our veteran) was so impressed!” For more information about SunTouch heating systems, go to SunTouch.com.
The reinvigorated program pairs ideas with investment. Did you know that Uponor North America has a division called Uponor Innovations (UI), where highly motivated entrepreneurs can submit innovative ideas and turn them into protected, substantive, viable products or technology? What started seven years ago as a central resource site for entrepreneurs, startups, business owners, management Read more
The reinvigorated program pairs ideas with investment.
Did you know that Uponor North America has a division called Uponor Innovations (UI), where highly motivated entrepreneurs can submit innovative ideas and turn them into protected, substantive, viable products or technology? What started seven years ago as a central resource site for entrepreneurs, startups, business owners, management teams and investors to submit an idea that improves the way people design and construct the human environments, this accelerated think tank of innovative ideas is gaining momentum once again.
According the website (www.uponorinnovations.com), Uponor Innovation’s interests include acquisitions, equity participation and licensing. The approach is to pursue involvement where UI can best leverage mutual success through existing Uponor assets and resources. “Someone may have a good idea, but lack the resources to gain any traction or success,” says Bill Gray, president of Uponor North America. “That’s where Uponor can help. We have a successful and established infrastructure to help introduce ideas, products, processes and technology to our industry.”
The joint venture between Uponor and Belkin was initiated through Uponor Innovations.
A pipeline of ideas, the core concept that initiated the discussion behind Uponor Innovations was that “no one company has all of the good ideas,” says Carl Moe, Business Analyst at Uponor Innovations LLC. “We have the global expertise and employees in technical, marketing and product design areas where we can become a resource for idea generators.”
The force behind UI is that an idea will offer viability and acceptance, which, in turn, will contribute value to society. “We want to invest in an opportunity where the entrepreneur has a good idea and is already in a position to bring it to market—and we can help them. The strategy is for UI to invest more than just money. We have to see a way for Uponor to help leverage or help grow what we perceive to be a very good idea,” says Moe.
Piggybacking off the idea of growing and nurturing a very good idea,“Unlike a venture capitalist, we don’t have to ‘own’ your company. We can own it, but it isn’t a required part of our model. We want to invest in an opportunity where the entrepreneur has a good idea and is already in a position to bring it to market—and we can help them,” says Moe.
Upstream Technologies SAFL Baffle has saved Minnesota taxpayers $8.5 million over the past few years and projects additional savings to the state of $26.4 million over the next 10 years.
Gray believes that building an innovative culture internally and externally is a great opportunity to build products and create new processes and technologies that help its customers differentiate and grow their businesses. “We are looking for products and innovations that align with our sustainability goals and our vision of becoming a ‘recognized leader in sustainable building solutions,’” says Gray.
One recent success story was Uponor’s investment in Upstream Technologies. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Upstream Technologies SAFL Baffle—developed out of the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory—has saved Minnesota taxpayers $8.5 million over the past few years and projects additional savings to the state of $26.4 million over the next 10 years. The product is a proven, cost-effective method to help municipalities, developers, watershed districts and transportation departments improve sediment capture in urban runoff before it goes into storm sewers and eventually ends up in lakes, rivers and oceans. Uponor subsequently supported launch of the Upstream’s new Modified Philip Dunne (MPD) Infiltrometer, which provides an innovative solution for quickly and efficiently measuring the rate of water infiltration into soil.
Another great example was the joint venture between Uponor and Belkin International to create Phyn in May 2016. Phyn’s mission is to help consumers reduce their water usage and contribute to the global water shortage problem, protect their homes and save money. “There was interest in it at Uponor because it pertains to water management, so the decision was to see if Belkin had interest to take on a partner. I reached out to the exec team at Belkin and introduced Uponor,” says Moe.
Currently, with multiple projects in the pipeline and in various stages of development, Uponor Innovations is an approach to pursue involvement through existing Uponor assets and resources, the UI infrastructure includes staff, funding, manufacturing, marketing, sales, technical support and a national distribution network.
Do you have an idea that would inspire the industry with fresh, innovative and sustainable solutions, and enrich people’s way of life? Uponor Innovations may be worth a look and worthy of consideration. “There is a wide network of really creative entrepreneurial people out there, for whom we would like to widen our front-door welcome mat to Uponor,” says Moe.
Washington — The Propane Education & Research Council released a video for commercial builders and contractors that provides a comprehensive overview of tankless water heaters. The video details how the systems work, their role in meeting LEED certification, and more. https://youtu.be/A24yGp-dUek “Many commercial building owners and operators are finding tankless water heaters to be a valuable Read more
Washington — The Propane Education & Research Council released a video for commercial builders and contractors that provides a comprehensive overview of tankless water heaters. The video details how the systems work, their role in meeting LEED certification, and more.
“Many commercial building owners and operators are finding tankless water heaters to be a valuable investment — whether in retrofits or new construction projects,” said Bryan Cordill, director of residential and commercial business development at PERC. “These systems are bringing significant space and energy savings to businesses across the country, especially as tankless technology continues to evolve. This video helps showcase how propane tankless systems can be a solution for a wide variety of commercial building types.”
The video outlines the importance of maximizing space and efficiency in commercial buildings, given that water heating is a major energy consumer in many buildings — particularly older buildings in need of renovations. In fact, nearly 80 percent of water heating energy use occurs in buildings built before the year 2000.
Current water heating technology, especially propane tankless systems, can offer big improvements in terms of performance, energy use, and energy costs. Plus, they’re versatile, so tankless technology for commercial buildings can meet a wide range of load types. As outlined in the video, individual tankless units can be combined into larger configurations, allowing them to provide hot water rates of several hundred gallons per minute — and ultimately, the ability to handle water heating no matter the size or scope of a building.
Visit Propane.com/Commercial-Buildings to learn more about the advantages of going tankless in commercial buildings.
Indianapolis—Williams Comfort Air, a leading provider of heating, cooling and plumbing services, is providing free delivery of grocery pick up orders to healthcare professionals working with COVID-19 patients and people considered to be at high risk for severe illness from the coronavirus. The company, which operates Williams Comfort Air and Mr. Plumber in Indiana, Thomas Read more
Indianapolis—Williams Comfort Air, a leading provider of heating, cooling and plumbing services, is providing free delivery of grocery pick up orders to healthcare professionals working with COVID-19 patients and people considered to be at high risk for severe illness from the coronavirus. The company, which operates Williams Comfort Air and Mr. Plumber in Indiana, Thomas Galbraith Heating, Cooling and Plumbing in Ohio, and Jarboe’s Plumbing, Heating and Cooling in Kentucky, is converting its preventative maintenance teams into grocery delivery drivers – picking up and dropping off online grocery orders made through Kroger, Meijer, Walmart, Target and Market District.
“Our services are considered to be essential, and many of them – like HVAC and plumbing repairs and replacements – absolutely are,” said Jacob Huck, president of Williams Comfort Air. “But we don’t need to be completing preventive maintenance work right now. Still, we wanted our field teams to be getting 35-40 hours of work per week, so we came up with a meaningful, new way to serve the people in our community. We’re proud to offer free delivery of grocery pick up orders to those who need it right now, while still keeping employee and client safety top-of-mind.”
Free delivery of grocery pick-up orders is available now. Company leaders say they’ll continue to provide deliveries throughout the stay-at-home orders.
“As a company, we talked about how thankful we were for people on the front-lines of the pandemic, and discussed how we could help in an authentic, human way,” said Matt Tyner, Williams Comfort Air director of marketing. “Offering free grocery delivery was a way we could give thanks to people treating those who have the virus, help protect those most vulnerable to the virus and prioritize the health and livelihood of our own employees at the same time.”
To receive a grocery delivery from Williams Comfort Air, qualified individuals can place online orders scheduled for pickup between 8 – 5 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, then call the client care team in their area to confirm the delivery.
- Williams Comfort Air (Indiana) customers can call 317-663-9125.
- Thomas Galbraith Heating, Cooling and Plumbing (Ohio) customers can call 513-342-0460
- Jarboe’s Plumbing, Heating and Cooling (Kentucky) customers can call 502-442-7500.
For more information about Williams Comfort Air, visit https://williamscomfortair.com/.