April - Plumbing Engineer

April 2009

Also InsideSolar CommercialHot Water Design

Rainwater HarvestingGeoExchange System

New fo

g Engin

Engineerin

g Spotl

Sustainability ProactiveAKF Group LLC

New York

Dave Moreno (l) amp Jake Lawrencestand tall amid the backdrop ofsteel framing for a replacementhospital in New Jersey

See contact information on page 69

Volume 37 Number 4April 2009

FEATURES50 Sustainability Proactive Spotlight on AKF Group 56 Solar commercial hot water design62 Rainwater Harvesting More than drop on the bucket64 GeoExchange system perfect Rx for athletic center

April 2009

1313AKF Group LLC

New York

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

INDUSTRY NEWS ampOTHER DEPARTMENTS

8 | 2009 UPC amp UMC designatedAmerican National Standards

8 | Sioux Chief buys fittings business

8 | CSA amp CIPH announces trainingprogram for plumbing inspectors

10 | Little Red Schoolhouse announces new courses

10 | InSinkErator snags award

14 | Hydraulic Institutersquos Webinars

66-67 | NEW PRODUCTS

68 | PRODUCT APPLICATION

69 | Classifieds

69 | Ad Index

70 | INDUSTRY MOVERS

COLUMNS6 Editorrsquos Letter The global economy ndash locally16 Designerrsquos Guide Medical gas design Part II22 Code Update Mandates for low flow fixtures renew

safety concerns28 Fire Protection The collapse of WTC Recommendations40 Modern Hydronics An Olympic caliber relay Part 244 Solar Solutions Collector efficiency and the SRCC

Plumbing Engineer April 2009

Function Style DurabilitySloan proudly offers the newSloanStonereg Selections

Make the ldquoinstitutionalrdquo look a thing of the past

S o l i d S u r f a c e S i n k s

8 6 6 - 6 6 3 - 2 2 8 9w w w s l o a n s t o n e s i n k s c o m

I t takes inspi rat ion to create ar t f rom s tone

Dave Moreno PE (l) amp Jake Lawrence PEstand tall amid the backdrop of steel framing steelframing for Capital Health Systemrsquos new replace-ment hospital located in Hopewell Township NJcurrently in construction This 1000000-sq-ftfacility will provide comprehensive and state-of-the-art patient-focused care

Call me crazy but every time I enter a commercial restroom I am intriguedby the design plumbing fixtures technology manufacturerrsquos footprintetc and I make a mental note of it I guess itrsquos part of the job

Recently the good people from Viega an innovative global leader in plumb-ing and heating technology invited me to join a great group of contractorswholesalers and engineers on a trip to Germany to tour the Viega manufactur-ing facilities and visit ISH-Frankfurt The Viega facilities mdash which manufacturethe highly-touted ProPress fittings mdash are state of the art The size and scale ofViegarsquos production capabilities and the amount of production automation isimpressive Quality control is imperative insomuch that every fitting is handinspected The logistics facility mdash the mechanisms employed for storing prod-uct and picking orders for shipping mdash also was impressive

As the Viega tour took us to Frankfurt Weimar Attendorn Cologne andHeidelberg one thing became apparent to me Every commercial restroom Iattended mdash whether it was in a truck stop restaurant or trade show mdash had asense of ldquocountry priderdquo German manufacturing was apparent in every bath-room From Viega and Grohe plumbing fixtures to Geberit toilets the plumbingmanufacturing industry in Germany seems to be doing just fine in my opinion

Here at home I tend to notice similar ldquoregional priderdquo For instance the nexttime you are in Wisconsin take a look at the commercial restrooms and moreoften than not you will find industry manufacturers that call the Dairy Statehome From Kohler to Bradley Corp to Bemis Manufacturing Wisconsin likesto reward their own first So herersquos my point

The current state of the economy has started me thinking of the global econ-omy vs US economy crux American manufacturers are feeling this reces-sionrsquos mighty grip Thousands of hard-working Americans have lost their jobsWork has been outsourced overseas And the US automotive industry teeterson the edge of bankruptcy

As consumers and specifiers of plumbing and heating products what is thethought process that goes into purchasing a particular product PriceReliability Efficiency Support I realize designers and installers need to basetheir decision on what is best for the client and application but have you everthought about the person on the assembly line making that product That per-haps your support of the company may keep himher job-secure The US econ-omy has never needed consumer help more than right now

Supporting a global economy can be advantageous if it supports the localeconomy and in this case the US economy Case in point In the past I havepurchased Honda automobiles and I would take flack for not purchasingAmerican-made cars Well my automobile was manufactured in Ohio whichemploys thousands of workers I felt OK knowing that good Ohioans workedon my car

Viega plans to open a manufacturing and distribution center later this monthin McPherson Kansas Americarsquos heartland Supporting Viega products and ser-vices allows the company to grow here in the States establishing great jobs

The next time you review a product for spec think of the person on that lineand the effect you could have on the local economy

I welcome your thoughts on this subject Please contact me ateditorplumbingengineercom

John Mesenbrink Editorial Director

Editorial Advertising ProductionAccounting and Administrative Offices

1838 Techny CtNorthbrook IL 60062

(847) 564-1127 bull Fax (847) 564-1264E-mail infotmbpublishingcom

OwnerTom M Brown

Editorial amp Production StaffJohn Mesenbrink Editorial DirectorMarilyn Cunningham Assistant EditorCate C Brown Production ManagerMark Bruno Art DirectorPrepress

ContributorsTimothy Allinson PE Designerrsquos Guide

Richard Schulte Fire ProtectionRon George CIPE CPD Code UpdateBob ldquoHot Rodrdquo Rohr Green SystemsPaul Rohrs Modern HydronicsBristol Stickney Solar Solutions

Sales StaffBrad Burnside Publisher East1838 Techny Court Northbrook IL60062 Phone 847564-1127 Cell224659-3984Fax 847564-1264E-mail bradtmbpublishingcom

David Schulte Midwest South and E Canada1838 Techny Court Northbrook IL 60062Phone 847564-1127 Cell 847420-4686Fax 847564-1264E-mail davetmbpublishingcom

Diane Spangler West Texas and W CanadaPO Box 9802 Fountain Valley CA92728 Phone 714839-6700Fax 714839-6777E-mail dianetmbpublishingcom

PLUMBING ENGINEER (USPS 567-950) ISSN 0192-1711PLUMBING ENGINEER (USPS 567-950) ISSN 0192-1711 is published monthly by TMB Publishing Inc 1838 Techny Court Northbrook IL 60062 Phone (847) 564-1127 Fax (847) 564-1264 Magazine is free to those who design and specify plumbingpiping systems in commercial industrial institutional and governmental buildings as well as government officials and plumb-ing inspectors Subscription rates for US and Canada $50 for one year $90 for two years Other countries $300 per year Periodical postage paid at Northbrook IL and additional mailingoffices POSTMASTER Change of address should be sent to Plumbing Engineer 519 E Briarcliff Rd Bolingbrook IL 60440 Material and opinions contained in contributed articles are theresponsibility of the authors not of TMB Publishing Inc Plumbing Engineermagazine or its Editorial Advisory Board The publisher cannot assume responsibility for any claims made by adver-tisers Copyright copy 2008 TMB Publishing Inc All rights reserved Volume 37 Number 4 Plumbing Engineer is microfilmed by University Microfilms Ann Arbor MI and indexed by EngineeringIndex Inc Publications Mail Agreement No 41499518 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to PO Box 503 RPO West Beaver Creek Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6

The global economy mdash locally

Editorrsquos Letter

Leonardthe right mix

Leonard Valversquos series ofemergency mixing valves still provide the same qualityand performance and arenow certified to the newASSE 1071 standard

ASSE Standard 1071 wasdeveloped to work withsystems that comply withANSI Z3581 (2004) foremergency equipment (ie eyeface wash anddrench showers) It adds a logical assurance thatemergency mixing valvesprovide tepid water to theemergency devices

Key performance requirementis Cold Water Failure Section126 stating that ldquoupon coldwater failure the hot watershall continue to flow at a rate not to exceed the values listed in Table 1rdquo

Wersquove always published our bypass flow rates andcan continue to say withconfidence that wersquove gotyour tempered water needscovered

Leonardrsquos emergency mixing valves utilize ourDURA-TROLreg bi-metal whichare the most durable andfastest reacting thermostatsin the industry Precise watertemperature control is whatyou can expect from Leonard Valve

Have a question about this new standard Call our free technical supporthotline at 8887974456or visit our websitewwwleonardvalvecom

If you specify thisldquoMust meet the new ASSE Standard 1071rdquo

All you need to know isldquoLeonard Valve Emergency Mixing Valvesrdquo

Table 1Flow 300 psi plusmn 05 psi Permissible temperature variation Maximum allowable flow (2069 kPa plusmn 34 kPa) differential above or below set point with cold water shut offGPM Lmin ordmF ordmC GPM Lminlt70 lt265 +30-50 +17-28 05 1970lt200 lt265lt757 +50-80 +28-44 10 38200lt400 lt757lt1514 +70-120 +39-67 15 57400 and over Over 1514 +70-150 +39-83 20 76

DURA-trolreg bi-metalthermostat

Industry News

oNTARIo CALIf mdashThe AmericanNational StandardsInstitute (ANSI)announced that the2009 editions of theUniform PlumbingCode (UPCcopy) andU n i f o r mMechanical Code(UMCcopy) devel-oped by IAPMousing an ANSI-accredited consen-sus process andreleased on March1 have been award-ed designation as

American National Standards This marks the third timethe UPC and UMC have earned the designation the 2003and 2006 editions were similarly recognized

ANSI accreditation signifies that the procedures used bystandards setting organizations such as IAPMo meet theInstitutersquos requirements for openness balance consensusand due process This process brings together volunteersrepresenting a variety of viewpoints and interests to achieveconsensus on plumbing and mechanical practices The UPCand UMC are the only plumbing and mechanical codes ofpractice to be named American National Standards

Introduced in Los Angeles in 1928 and formally publishedas the Uniform Plumbing Code in 1945 the UPC is devel-oped to govern the installation and inspection of plumbingsystems as a means of promoting the publicrsquos health safetyand welfare Published by IAPMo in 1967 the UMC pro-vides the same governance for mechanical (HVAC combus-tion exhaust refrigeration) systems Developed and subse-quently republished at the conclusion of each three-year code

2009 UPC and UMC designated American National Standards

Continued on page 10

cycle the UPC andUMC are designed toprovide consumerswith safe plumbingheating and mechani-cal systems while atthe same time allow-ing latitude for inno-vation and new technologies

ldquoWe are extreme-ly proud to onceagain have the UPCand UMC recog-nized by ANSI inthis manner primar-ily because this des-ignation reaffirmsour true consensus development process and the fact thatour procedures allow each and every stakeholder a voiceand a vote in the final productrdquo said gP Russ Chaneyexecutive director of IAPMo

The 2009 UPC and UMC complete the third ANSI-accredited development cycle for each code Key changes tothe 2009 UPC include new requirements for the installationof non-water urinals new requirements for distribution ofhot water and updates and revisions to the identification ofpotable and non-potable water systems Key changes to the2009 UMC include new requirements for outdoor air venti-lation new requirements for the protection of mechanicalequipment against flood damage and new approved refer-enced standards for hydronics systems

IAPMo now looks to gain the ANSI designation for itsUniform Solar Energy Codecopy and Uniform SwimmingPool Spa and Hot Tub Codecopy with new editions devel-oped for the first time using an ANSI-accredited processdue later this year

Sioux Chief purchases fittings business from REHAU

LEESbURg VA mdash REHAU announced the purchase of itsNorth American fittings business for PEX plumbing sys-tems by Sioux Chief Manufacturing This includes transi-tion of REHAUrsquos existing fittings inventory and associat-ed certifications as well as the licensing of the technolo-gy to Sioux Chief

ldquoWith a solid three-generation footing in the plumbingindustry wersquore excited to be expanding into the manufac-ture and supply of complete fitting systems by assumingREHAUrsquos proven high-quality line of compression sleevefittingsrdquo said Ed Ismert vice president of sales and mar-keting at Sioux Chief ldquobuilding on REHAUrsquos establishedreputation for quality and service in the industry we antic-ipate a seamless transition into providing the completerange and support of plumbing fittings formerly availablefrom REHAUrdquo

Prior to the sale which took effect April 1 Sioux Chiefhad been a supplier to REHAU for plumbing accessoriesand fittings Completion of the sale provides Sioux Chiefwith full manufacturing distribution and marketing capa-bilities for the plumbing fittings line throughout NorthAmerica

CSA and CIPH announce new education andtraining program for plumbing inspectors

ToRoNTo mdash Canadian Standards Association (CSA) aleading developer of standards and codes and theCanadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH) aredeveloping a new program to help ensure that standard-ized quality education and training is available to plumb-ing inspectors across Canada

The project is being funded by CSA and CIPH and is sup-

For more in format ion ca l l 866-663-2289

wwws loanvalvecom

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ported by the Canadian Advisory Council on Plumbing(CACP) The program is being designed to help ensure thatnational plumbing inspection personnel are best able to pro-vide the required level of quality as it relates to inspectionenforcement and installation processes

As a first step CSA has formed an Education and TrainingScheme committee comprised of subject matter experts fromacross the country that will define the curriculum and overseeprogram development This modular program will be an e-learning product and will be accessible to inspectorsplumbers and related professionals to learn at their own paceand from their own personal computers

Regulators with CACP have already identified a numberof key areas for the new CSACIPH program to addressincluding

bull Interpretation and application of codes standards and reg-ulatory requirements

bull Identification and management of counterfeit or non-approved plumbing products

bull Improving the inspection process methodologies andallowable time for inspections

bull Recognized qualifications and abilities of inspection andenforcement personnel

AFSA 2009 lsquoNavigating success in challenging timesrsquo

DALLAS mdash The American fire Sprinkler Association(AfSA) an industry leader delivering relevant and com-prehensive education for fire sprinkler industry profes-sionals is featuring a dynamic education program at itsAfSA 2009 Navigating Success in Challenging Timesconvention and exhibition october 14 -19 at theManchester grand Hyatt in San Diego

InSinkEratorreg snags prestigious Emerson Technology Award

RACINE WIS mdash InSinkErator a manufacturer of food wastedisposers and instant hot water dispensers was selected asthe recipient of the 2008 Emerson Technology Award for thedevelopment and launch of the Evolution Series disposers

Emerson selects one new product or technology eachyear to honor from among its many divisions around theworld According to Dr Randall Ledford Emersonrsquos chieftechnology officer the company typically develops andlaunches approximately 500 major new products each yearIn consideration for this yearrsquos award 17 products from thewide range of new products introduced over the past fewyears were reviewed by the Emerson Technology leader-ship The nominations were judged on a range of criteriaincluding

bull originality and creativitybull New technology and intellectual property (patents)bull best-cost situationbull Market leadershipbull Industry recognition

Continued from page 8

bull financial returnbull Importance to divisionThe Evolution Seriesreg food waste disposers marked the

first major technological advancement in the category in morethan 40 years

New courses announced for second quarter at B amp Grsquos Little Red Schoolhouse

MoRToN gRoVE ILL mdash bell amp gossett a leader in edu-cation for the hydronic heating and plumbing industrieshas announced its training course schedule for Spring2009 The free training seminars are offered at the bellamp gossett Little Red Schoolhouse Education Center inMorton grove Illinois a suburb of Chicago and areopen to engineers contractors and facility maintenanceprofessionals

The seminars are tailored to various industry occupa-tions and cover a wide range of important topics Uponcompletion of the three-day seminars CEU credits areawarded to graduates

The second-quarter Schoolhouse seminars includebull Design and Application mdash April 6 - 8 June 15 - 17bull Modern Hydronics Advanced mdash April 20 - 22 June 1 - 3bull Modern Hydronics basic mdash May 4 - 6 June 29 -July 1bull Service and Maintenance mdash May 18 - 20Since 1954 more than 55000 engineers contractors and

installers have been trained in the Little Red Schoolhousersquosfully equipped learning center while another 135000 profes-sionals have received training through bampgrsquos ldquotravelingclassroomrdquo program

for complete descriptions and enrollment information forthe Little Red Schoolhouse educational seminars visitwwwschoolhouseittcom

CertainTeed introduces pipe diameter options

VALLEy foRgE PA mdash Responding to the needs of contractorsand municipalities CertainTeed Corporation is expanding itsCertaflotrade greenLine PVC sewer pipe line to include largerpipe diameters

When introduced in 2007 Certaflo greenLine offereddiameters ranging from 4 to 8 inches With the product lineexpansion Certaflo also will be available in larger 10- and 12-inch diameters for use in upsizing overloaded smaller linesand for size-on-size replacement of deteriorated pipelines

CSI Controls launches redesigned Web site

ASHLAND oHIo mdash CSI Controlstrade a leading controlsprovider for the waterwastewater industry has launched itsnewly redesigned Web site wwwcsicontrolscom The newsite architecture and design incorporates a fresh updated lookwith user-friendly drop down menu navigation organizedcontent allows users quick and easy access to CSIrsquos full prod-

Industry News

wwwsymmonscomCopyright copy 2009 Symmons Industries Inc Braintree Massachusetts

From hotels to hospitals from schools to stadiums

Symmons products have been trusted by

professionals for 70 years

FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTSTHE SOLUTION IS SYMMONSreg

pipe coatings that have applied for inclusion in the com-panyrsquos fggbMCZ system compatible program As aresult the companyrsquos compatibility program now includestwo additional blazeMaster-compatible products to pro-vide installers with a manufacturer-applied antimicrobialsolution as well as an effective after-market product

The new additions include Potter Pipe-Shield CorrosionInhibitor from Potter Electric Signal Company andWheatland Tube Companyrsquos MIC SHIELDtrade coatingmanufactured after february 22 2009 Together theseproducts provide specifiers and contractors with a provenCPVC chemically compatible option for a manufacturer-applied protective coating as well as an aftermarket cor-rosion inhibitor

Hydraulic Institute announces Webinar series on slurry pumps

PARSIPPANy NJ mdash Hydraulic Institute (HI) a pumpindustry knowledge leader and resource for pump educa-tion has announced the kick-off of their Spring 2009Webinar Standards series titled ldquoMaking Sense of theANSIHI Slurry Pump Standardrdquo

In this series slurry pump expert graeme Addie vicepresident of engineering and research and developmentfor gIW Industries Inc will explain nuances of the slurrypump standard and discuss industry terminology designapplication installation operation and maintenanceguidelines Under Addiersquos leadership the HydraulicInstitute Slurry Committee developed the ANSIHI 121-126 2005 standard Rotodynamic (Centrifugal) SlurryPumps for Nomenclature Definitions Applications andOperation

The ANSIHI Slurry Pump Standard was created to helpeliminate misunderstandings between the pump manufac-turer the purchaser and the user Standards also assist thepurchaser in selecting and obtaining the proper product forpumping and transporting mixtures of solids and liquidsor so-called slurries The standard also provides signifi-cant educational content to help users understand thebasic needs and design requirements of slurry pump andpipeline systems

following is a schedule for the Slurry Pump WebinarsMay 12 130 - 300 pm EDT Slurry Pump Design and

Testing mdash In this session Addie will discuss slurry pumptypes their application pump hydraulic design mechani-cal design features assembly nozzle loads and testing

June 9 130 - 300 pm EDT Slurry Pump Wear andApplication mdash This session will focus on slurry pumpwear service classes selection application materials ofconstruction operation and maintenance

Registration for each Slurry Pump course is $119 perconnection Registrants may have a number of people inthe room to view the session All HI Webinar participantsearn HI Professional Development Hours (PDHs) whichare accepted by most certification and licensing entities

To obtain more details about the Hydraulic Institute orto register for the course please visit online atwwwPumpLearningorg or e-mail Educationpumpsorg

uct line of waterwastewater control products and provides abetter understanding of CSIrsquos engineering capabilities

Elkhart Brass teams up with GSG

ELKHART IND mdash Elkhart brass Mfg Co Inc has joinedforces with government Sales group (gSg) of georgia tomarket Elkhart brass products to US government agenciesworldwide

ldquoWorking with gSg provides Elkhart brass and our gov-ernment customers with a dedicated sales force committedsolely to mdash and focused on mdash the specialized firefightingneeds of the various US government agenciesrdquo said PaulAlbinger director of government sales ldquoThe combination ofElkhartrsquos extensive lines of firefighting equipment and gSgrsquosin-depth knowledge of the US governmentrsquos needs and pro-cedures will create a more efficient sales experience for ourcustomersrdquo

Lubrizol completes CPVC-compatible testing of antimicrobial products

CLEVELAND mdash The Lubrizol Corporation has completedcompatibility testing on the first two antimicrobial steel

Industry NewsContinued from page 10

Industry news continued on page 70

104 PM Page 1

JOSAM COMPANY 525 West Highway 20 Michigan City IN 46360 | P 80036JOSAM | F 8006270008 | wwwjosamcom

Engineering a Siphonic Roof Drainage System Shouldnrsquot Have You Looking in 7 DifferentDirections

Your Single Source For a Complete Siphonic Roof Drainage SystemLoro-Josam offers the most complete siphonic roof drainage solution available to the US market The Loro-Josam wide range of balcony and roof drainage systems made of galvanized steel are combined with the Loro-Josam galvanized steel push-fit drainage system and are offered complete with siphonic system calculations to ensure excellent results for every installation

The Loro-Josam siphonic drainage system offers facility owners plumbing engineers and mechanical contractors a proven and complete siphonic roof drainage solution with support and warranty pointing only in one direction

For more information contact your local representative or visit our website at wwwjosamcom

JOSAM COMPANY 525 West Highway 20 Michigan City IN 46360 P 80036JOSAM F 8006270008 wwwjosamcom

Its configuration parallels the vacu-um with similar pipes and equip-ment Supply air is drawn from theroof and as with the vacuum caremust be taken to locate the air intakeat least 10 feet from any door win-dow exhausts etc Take particularcare with the vacuum exhaust load-ing dock truck exhaust kitchenexhaust and the like Consult themanufacturerrsquos literature to size theintake pipe

NFPA 99 1999 (the edition select-ed for reference in this article) has aschematic detail of a typical medicalair pump assembly complete with allthe necessary appurtenances (Fig 4-3119) As with vacuum pumps allof these devices typically come withthe medical air pump skid set sowhile familiarity is always importantit is not essential to study this level ofdetail What is essential to know isthat the pump set as with vacuumpumps must have 100 redundancyFor a duplex set that means twopumps sized at 100 capacity eachFor a triplex system it means threepumps of at least 50 capacity suchthat if one pump fails there is still100 capacity For a quad set itmeans four pumps at 33 each andso on

One noteworthy differencebetween a medical air pump packageand a medical vacuum pump packageis that the compressors require airdryers As air is pressurized themoisture content increases To pre-vent condensation from forming andtraveling through the system thecompressors have air dryers thatremove the moisture content before itleaves the pumping plant

The system piping arrangement formed air is nearly identical to medvac Med air piping is smallerbecause as noted last month there ismore pressure available to overcomefriction losses There are also usuallyfewer med air outlets than med vacoutlets

While NFPA tells you virtuallynothing about sizing medical air

This is a follow-up to last monthrsquosarticle that addressed medicalvacuum systems As promised

this piece will address pressurizedgasses

Medical air is essentially theinverse of medical vacuum Like thevacuum it uses pumps to supply thesystem but instead of pulling a vacu-um it pushes a pressurized supply

Medical gas design Part 2

Designerrsquos GuideTimothy Allinson PE Murray Co Long Beach Calif

EMERGENCYDRENCH EQUIPMENT

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

The Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees

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Acorn Safety provides a complete line of Barrier

Free emergency showers and eye washes These

models are designed using ADA access dimen-

sions as a guideline to ensure that they are fully

accessible to all conditions and age groups as well

as being fully compliant to ANSI Z3581 Special

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educational facilities A wide array of options are

available to further enhance the effectiveness of

these models

When looking for emergency drench equipment to

protect all of your employees contact Acorn Safety

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LEH-Series submersible sewage pumps from

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The new LEH-Series from Liberty Pumps

One of Americas fastest growingprivately owned companies

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now in 1 15 and 2 hp

sewage pumps LEH-Series

TheNew

ASPE Data Book 3 coupled with the manufacturerrsquos lit-erature becomes a valuable resource Similar to med vaca common design criterion is a friction factor of 05psi100 As noted last month this factor should be adjust-ed to accommodate unusually large or small systemsFlow rate for patient rooms is noted in ASPE Table 2-5 as05 cfm per bed with a diversity of 10 I think this isdangerously low and prefer to use 05 cfm per outlet withthe scaled diversity factor in Table 2-21 listed for ldquomed-ical laboratory compressed airrdquo

Applying these criteria to determine flow rate per pipesize and the corresponding number of patient roomsserved by each yields the following table Note that theflow rates and numbers of rooms served for each pipe sizeare a dramatic increase compared with the vacuum sizingchart printed last month even with the relatively conser-vative assumptions made

Note that if we used the information as presented inASPE Table 2-5 a 34 pipe would serve 334 patient beds167 cfm05 cfmbed 01 = 334 beds

Supplying this number of patient beds with a 34 pipewould be absurd and irresponsible This is why the engi-neer must temper the available data for designing medicalgas as none of it is perfect

The other common medical gases namely O2 N2ON2 and CO2 are designed in a similar fashion as medicalair All of these gases are delivered by pressurized tanksrather than by pumps The central oxygen supply is gen-erally a large outdoor tank that receives delivery of liquidoxygen from a truck while the other gases because oflesser consumption are supplied by small exchangetanks Details of these arrangements are shown in NFPAFigrsquos 4-3117 and 4-3115 respectively

All of these gases (except the nitrogen) like the med-ical air operate with a 5 psi differential pressure availablefor friction with 55 psi at the tanks and 50 psi required atthe outlets Nitrogen generally operates at 160 psibecause it is used for powering pneumatic tools Actualnitrogen pressures can vary depending on hospital needsThe industryrsquos need for nitrogen is continually reducingas more and more of the tools are electric rather thanpneumatic but it is still frequently used to power the

braking system of operating room boomsThe oxygen supply once inside the building parallels

the medical air and vac There is a requirement for anemergency fill at the building exterior as shown in Figure4-312 Design information on oxygen systems is in evenshorter supply than medical air For some reason the lit-tle information that does exist for oxygen generally usesmetric units (lpm) for flow rate rather than cfm Note that1 cfm is approximately equal to 30 lpm Other criteria arevery similar to med air so the sizing is quite similar Inthe case of our sample project there were twice as manyoxygen outlets than air so the sizing worked out a bit dif-ferently as noted in the table below

In contrast to air oxygen and vacuum the remainingmed gases are used almost exclusively for operating

rooms meaning the demand is less but 100 criticalBelow is a table for sizing nitrous carbon dioxide andnitrogen based on the usual criteria described in the notesKeep in mind that the nitrogen could be sized separatelysince it operates at a higher pressure has more pressure tolose to friction and has different friction characteristicsbased on its elevated pressure but given the small pipesizes it is hardly worth the effort If you chose to pursueit ASPE Table 2-23 has good frictionflow data for nitro-gen at 160 psi A quick glance reveals that at 160 psi a12 pipe could carry 300 lpm at a 05-psi drop and if you

Designerrsquos GuideContinued from page 16

Theyrsquore part of our research departmentTheyrsquore not just ranting and raving fans

copy2008 Moen Incorporated Moen and the Crossed Water Drops device are registered trademarks of Moen Incorporated

On any given day Moen Commercial is out in the world with the people who use our products And occasionally misuse them Wersquore enduring soda spills and mustard stains to design heavy-duty faucets that meet the demands of a heavy-duty crowd

vandal resistance of our products we back them with a limited 5-year warranty Which means you can always count on a

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increase the friction factor the capacity grows with itAnother med gas system is Waste Anesthetic Gas

Disposal referred to as WAGD or WAG for short WAGis a vacuum system used in ORs to remove nitrous oxidethat is exhaled by the patient to prevent the doctors andnurses from getting woozy At one time WAGD wasalways a separate system with dedicated piping and vacu-um pumps In more recent years the WAGD is piped fromthe OR boom to the zone valve box Upstream of a dedi-cated valve in the box the WAGD piping can connect tothe medical vacuum piping saving a great deal of redun-dant piping and a second set of vacuum pumps

There is one caveat noted in NFPA section 4-3313(1999 edition) that says that when the medical vacuumpumps are used for WAGD you must insure that the N2Ovapors do not create an explosion hazard at the vacuumpumps Generally there is sufficient dilution in the sys-tem to avoid such a hazard but it is hard to calculate soit is safest to use liquid ring vacuum pumps when theyserve a combined WAGD system

In last monthrsquos article I touched on where alarms wererequired in the piping system These alarms report to anassortment of alarm panels First and foremost are themaster alarm panels These two (or more) panels must belocated in separate areas one is generally in the engi-neerrsquos office and the other is in an area with 24-hoursupervision such as the security station The master alarmpanel receives signals from the central supplies if they arelow or if the reserve supply is in use plus it receives sig-nals from all the area alarm panels

Area alarm panels are located at the nursesrsquo stationserving critical areas They indicate whether there hasbeen a drop or rise in pressure within the critical care areaIn addition although it is not specifically required byNFPA it is fairly common practice to provide area alarmpanels at nursesrsquo stations serving patient rooms withalarms for the central supply

One last noteworthy item in NFPA is Table C-48 Itsummarizes the medical gas outlet requirements for vari-ous areas within a hospital A similar more elaboratetable is ASPE Table 2-4 It is important to note that inmany jurisdictions there are requirements in the architec-tural section governing hospitals that conflict with the twotables referenced above This is why the med gas outletprovisions are generally dictated by the architect ratherthan by the engineer of record

Timothy Allinson is a senior professional engineerwith Murray Co Mechanical Contractors in LongBeach Calif He holds a BsMe from Tufts University andan MBa from New York University He is a professionalengineer licensed in both mechanical and fire protectionengineering in various states and is a Leed accreditedprofessional allinson is a past-president of aspe boththe New York and Orange County Chapters

The views and opinions expressed in this column arethose of the author and do not reflect those of PlumbingEngineer nor its publisher TMB Publishing

Anew alliance of five plumbing industry organiza-tions was formed in February 2009 The alliancethe Plumbing Efficiency Research Coalition

(PERC) was made official when the participants mdash theAlliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) the InternationalAssociation of Plumbing amp Mechanical Officials(IAPMO) the InternationalCode Council (ICC) thePlumbing-Heating-CoolingContractors Association(PHCC) and the PlumbingManufacturers Institute (PMI) -signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU)

The Coalition is seeking toconduct much-needed researchin a number of areas

and has identified drainlinetransport as its first researchproject Pete DeMarco ofIAPMO will serve as projectcoordinator for the inauguralresearch study and he will alsochair the technical committeeassigned to the project Each PERC member associationhas named a representative to this committee The firstorder of business is to define the parameters of the project

To gain perspective we need to look back at the UnitedStates Energy Policy Act of 1992 which required all waterclosets in the United States to flush a maximum of 16US gallons per flush (gpf) The mandate allowed a cou-ple of years before implementation and became effectiveJanuary 1 1994 for residential water closets and January1 1997 for all commercial water closets In 1992 therewas a concern about the ability of only 16 gallons to beable to adequately flush the water closet bowl clean and totransport the contents efficiently down the drain line Thiswas confirmed with independent testing of 16 gpf fix-tures which showed that many early models performedpoorly or actually flushed more than 16 gpf Early onmany manufacturers did not redesign their water closetbowls they only redesigned their tanks to flush with lesswater This caused a brief period (in 1994 and 1997) whenmany of the new models did not perform very wellManufacturers were forced to re-engineer and test theirproducts to meet the ASME A112192-2003 VitreousChina Plumbing Fixtures and Hydraulic Requirements forWater Closets and Urinals

The water closet testing requirements include the fol-lowing tests

511 Performance Requirements Water closets shall betested at the test pressures specified in Table 5 or at themanufacturerrsquos recommended minimum pressure In no

case shall the higher test pressure specified in Table 5 [80psi (550 kPa)] be substituted If the manufacturerrsquos rec-ommended minimum pressure is higher than those shownin Table 5 the manufacturerrsquos literature packaging andinstallation instructions shall be marked with the mini-mum recommended pressure

512 Trap Seal Restoration Water closets shall restorea residual trap seal of not less than 2 in (50 mm) mini-mum when tested in accordance with para 83

This test will be more difficult at lower flush volumes513 Water Consumption Water closets shall have an

average maximum consumption of 16 gpf (6 Lpf) for low-consumption water closets or 35 gpf (132 Lpf) forblowout water closets when tested in accordance withpara 84

As flow volumes are reduced drainline transport willbe reduced and drainline blockages will increase expo-nentially

514 Granule and Ball Test In order to comply withthis standard not more than 125 polyethylene granulesand not more than five 1frasl4 in (64 mm) diameter ballsshall be visible after each of three initial flushes when thewater closet is tested in accordance with para 85

515 Surface Wash Test For the line drawn at 1 in (25mm) below the rim holes the total length of ink line seg-ments remaining on the flushing surface after each flushshall not exceed 2 in (50 mm) as averaged over three testruns No individual segment shall be longer than 1frasl2 in(13 mm) based on the average of three test runs when test-ed in accordance with para 86

During a recent ASME meeting in San Diego it wasnoted that this test will become extremely difficult to passwith the ultra low flow water closets and it is likely thatthese water closets will require toilet brushes to assist in

Proposed mandates for low flow fixtures renewconcerns about health and safety issues

Code UpdateBy Ron George CIPE CPDPresident Ron George Design amp Consulting Services

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drainline transport will be an impor-tant issue as flows are reduced bygovernment mandates

I expressed concerns about healthand sanitary issues from sewage back-ups related to drainline blockages Icited an example of a hospital wheresome existing public water closetswere replaced with low flow modelswhich experienced drainline transportproblems When hospital maintenancestaff removed the floor cleanouts(which was done about every twoweeks) the raw sewage flowed allover the MRI unit creating an unsani-tary mess and exposing patients andstaff to a cocktail of bacteria andstench If water closet flushing ratesare reduced further without researchinto the full effects and studies ofdrainline transport expect this sce-nario to be commonplace I feel thatresearch would define certain designparameters that should be avoided forultra low flow fixtures (long horizon-tal runs with no additional fixture toaid in flushing the lines)

518 Adequacy of Overflow Devicein Gravity Tanks The overflow devicein gravity tanks shall be capable offully discharging the full open flow ofthe fill valve when tested in accor-dance with para 89 This provisionshall become effective 18 months afterpublication of the Standard

519 Operating Pressures For safeand efficient operation static pres-sures of water distribution systems atplumbing fixtures shall be not lessthan 20 psig (140 kPa gauge) for low-consumption gravity and flushometertank closets and not less than 35 psig(240 kPa gauge) for low-consumptionflushometer valve activated closets ornot less than 45 psig (310 kPa gauge)for blowout-type water saverflushometer valve activated closets

5110 Maximum Safe OperatingPressure Manufacturerrsquos specifica-tions shall be followed for all waterclosets Maximum water pressureshall be no more than 80 psig (550kPa gauge) static Higher pressurescould result in unsafe conditions

Manufacturers learned that thewater closet trapway needed to beslightly smaller to be more efficientyet not so small that it caused constantclogging Eventually the trapwayswere a smooth design and were glazedinternally to aid in flushing perfor-mance Manufacturers have for the

cleaning the bowl516 Mixed Media All water clos-

ets shall discharge 22 mixed media(any combination of sponges andorpaper balls) based on the average ofthree of the four test runs when testedin accordance with para 87

517 Drainline TransportCharacterization The average carrydistance shall be a minimum of 40 ft

(122 m) when tested in accordancewith para 88

At the ASME meeting it was notedthat will be more difficult for manymodels of water closets to pass thisrequirement The simple physics ofusing less water reduces thehydraulic depth of flow and withoutreducing pipe sizes will likely lead toan exponential increase in drainlinestoppages Pete Demarco queried thetask group and it was agreed that

Code Update

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most part redesigned their products to perform well and toflush the contents out of the bowl and down the drain atleast the minimum 40 feet required by the standard At onepoint during the 1990s manufacturers wanted to removethe 40-foot distance requirement from the standard becausesome of them were having trouble meeting the requirementwith older models Many in the industry including theAmerican Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) voicedtheir concerns about removing the 40-foot requirement

The poor flushing performance created a need for superflushing performance with very little water Bruce Martinstepped up with his patented invention of the pressure-assist toilet He was with a company called Water ControlInternational which was bought out by Sloan ValveCompany The product eventually became known as theSloan ldquoFlushmaterdquo pressure-assist flushing system

Martin went on to design a new version of a pressure-assist flushing unit that was called ldquoPS-2 PowerflushrdquoThe product was a hit and it was soon purchased byMasco Corporation Martin who was a member of theASME A112192 committee on Vitreous China PlumbingFixtures and Hydraulic Requirements for Water Closetsand Urinals had an uphill battle in keeping the perfor-mance requirements for drainline transport in the stan-dard The 40-foot distance remains in the standard inlarge part due to Martinrsquos raising awareness of efforts toremove it Some people even question whether the 40-footdistance is long enough there are those who would like tosee a more realistic distance for drainline transport I per-sonally feel that 100 feet would be a more realistic dis-tance because the vast majority of building drains exceed40 feet and are closer to or exceed 100 feet from the fix-ture outlet to the public sewer

I just returned from Frankfurt Germany where I attend-ed the ISH show and the Dry Drains Forum at whichspeakers from around the world discussed the issues theyare having with drainline transport It became apparent thatwe are all dealing with the same types of issues

Each of these speakers addressed the issues they havebeen dealing with related to a phenomenon known as ldquodrydrainsrdquo related to low flow fixtures Dry drains is a relative-ly new phenomenon as it has only started to become a prob-lem since the advent of global water conservation effortsand it seems to be more than just a drainline transport issue

Dry drains are a result of continual efforts to conservewater in many ways Newer technologies such as non-water using urinals and high efficiency urinals (HEUs)lower flow rate faucets and increasingly-efficient waterconsuming appliances reduce the amount of water dis-charged into sanitary waste systems To compound theissue greywater reuse systems that collect discharged waterfrom lavatory basins clothes washers bathtubs and showerfixtures for reuse are taking water away from sanitarydrainage systems The wastewater flow must be maintainedat a level that keeps the hydraulic depth of flow sufficientfor proper water velocities and drainline transport

Recently the LEED points system has driven water usereductions to levels that are becoming unsustainable Thearbitrary points system that the LEED program has iscompletely out of balance with reality The arbitrary 10percent increment reductions in water usage have no sci-entific basis Research is needed to address the minimum

water flow required for proper drainline transport There are unique and dangerous hazards involved in

arbitrarily reducing water consumption in plumbing fix-tures without considering the consequences For examplereducing a 16 gpf water closet 20 percent to 128 gpf fora LEED point and another reduction to 30 percent to gainanother LEED point (112 gpf) will most likely be a chal-lenge for larger horizontal buildings In high-rise verticalbuildings it should be relatively easy to load a stack andhave enough additional uses of water in the stack to pro-vide sufficient drainline transport In a remote restroom ina large horizontal building there will likely be drainlinetransport problems and an increase in drainline blockages

The cost of cleaning the drainlines and cleaning up thespilled sewage from drainline blockages and the increased

Code UpdateContinued from page 24

QampA with Ron George

RonHow is it that the low-flow showerheads sometimes

increase scalding riskRegardsMatt

MattThe low-flow showerheads increase the risk of scald-

ing by restricting the flow of water out of the shower-head This makes other fixtures without flow restrictorswater closets clothes washers dish washers etc the fix-ture with the largest demand When a shower without apressure or temperature compensating element built intothe shower valve is flowing and another nearby fixtureon the cold water (CW) system turns on the water flowsto the path of least resistance When an old two-handleor non-compensating type single-handle faucet is flow-ing hot and cold water into the same mixing chamber orpipe between the two valves and a nearby CW fixture isopened the cold water pressure will drop and then thehot water (HW) pressure is higher than the CW pressureThis condition causes hot water to temporarily crossover in the mixing faucet with the flow restrictor andflow toward the open CW fixture The HW flowingthrough the faucet causes either a sudden burst of noth-ing but HW or a sudden rise in temperature if it does notcross over completely The result will be thermal shockwhich can lead to a slip and fall injury or if the hot watertemperature is high enough it can lead to a scaldingincident This is why I recommend storing hot water at140ordmF to minimize Legionella growth in the tank anddelivering HW to the HW system at a maximum of 120 Fthrough an ASSE 1017 thermostatic mixing valve at theheater At the shower valves there should be an ASSE1016 control valve to minimize the chances of thermalshock In order to eliminate thermal shock the olderstyle mixing valves must be replaced with mixing valvesthat meet the requirements of ASSE 1016 or CSA B125requirements for individual showers At the very leastany organization handing out free low-flow showervalves also should hand out temperature-actuated flow-reduction valves that conform to ASSE 1062 to minimizethe risk of scalding with non-compensating-type valves

Ron George

Plumbing Engineer April 2009Page 27

health risks associated with the spread of bacteria and moldfrom drainline blockages needs to be weighed against thefew gallons of water that are saved I do not know what thefinal outcome will be but I do know that we need toresearch the issues and make sound decisions instead ofarbitrarily picking percentages of water reductions

During the Dry Drains Forum Dr Lynne Jack discussedmany of the water conservation efforts that are leading tothe dry drain phenomenon Dr Jack pointed out that theproliferation of greywater systems is robbing the drainagesystem of much needed water to assist in drainline transportof solids She also pointed out that the addition of non-water using urinals is further contributing to the problem

I found some of the discussions on drainline flow researchinteresting especially one of the Australian studies done byJeff Clark Les Barnard and Dr Steve Cummings Theirresearch addressed the fact that when drainline branches areconnected horizontally they allow waste to divert or back upinto each branch which lowers the hydraulic depth of flowin the main This illustrated the need to consider coderequirements to roll up branches on a 45 fitting to preventthe waste from entering the branches and reducing the drain-line transport for ultra low flow fixtures

The research also confirmed that waste should not dropfrom directly overhead into a horizontal drain Wasteshould usually be directed upstream from a vertical stackdropping into a horizontal drain This allows solids to set-tle in the horizontal pipe upstream of the connection andreduces the hydraulic depth of flow because of the diver-sion of waste The stack should use a 45- and a Y-fitting toallow a rolled up 45 degree entry into the horizontal drain

We need to be more aware of using directional drainagepattern fittings as water closet flow rates are furtherreduced An interesting thing to note is that the minimumslope in Australia is 167 percent and in the US the min-imum slope is 10104 percent (18 inch per foot)

Another interesting presentation was made by ProfessorMete Demiriz the research leader for Building ServicesEngineering at Gelsenkirchen University in Germany Hisdiscussion covered waterless urinals and urinal scale build-up Les Barnard from Australia discussed a research pro-ject on waterless urinal installations that used glass pipingon the other side of the toilet wall for observations One toi-let room was maintained and had sinks upstream flush thedrain line the other installation had no fixtures upstreamand was specifically not maintained for observation pur-poses They found that after 39 months the pipes becamecompletely blocked by urine salts and mineral build-upThe non-water using urinals with proper maintenance andwith lavatories upstream performed well

Another issue related to low flow fixtures is that whenthere is no compensating-type shower valve installed lowflow showerheads increase the risk of scalding The instal-lation of a low flow showerhead causes other fixtures with-out flow restrictors such as water closets clothes washersdishwashers etc to have the largest demand in the systemMost homes built before the 1970s or 1980s were builtwithout compensating-type shower valves because thesevalves were not required by the codes Based on the age ofthe housing stock in the United States it is estimated thatapproximately half of all homes with showers and bathtubsdo not have compensating-type shower control valves

When a two-handled or non-compensating single-han-dle faucet flows hot and cold water into the same mixing

chamber or pipe between the two valves and when a near-by cold water fixture is turned on the cold water pressurewill drop and the hot water pressure will be higher thanthe cold water pressure A flow-restrictor type showerheadcauses hot water to temporarily cross over in the mixingfaucet Hot water flows toward the open cold water fix-ture The resulting drop in cold water pressure and theincrease in hot water pressure allow hot water to flowthrough the mixing faucet and up to the low flow shower-head This causes either a sudden burst of hot water or ifit simply changes the mix ratio and does not cross overcompletely a sudden rise in temperature The result willbe thermal shock which can lead to a slip and fall injury

If the hot water temperature is high enough it can leadto a scalding incident To prevent scalding and to mini-mize Legionella bacteria growth in the water heater tankI recommend storing hot water at 140 F I also recommenddelivering hot water to the hot water piping system at amaximum of 120 F through an ASSE 1017 or CSA B-125thermostatic mixing valve at the heater

To minimize the chances of thermal shock the ModelPlumbing Codes require a new shower valve to be an ASSE1016 or CSA B-125 control valve Mixing valves that meetthe requirements of the code must be pressure-balancingthermostatic or combination pressure-balancingthermostat-ic shower valves designed for individual showers and at theflow rate of the showerhead At the very least any water util-ity or organization handing out free low flow shower valvesshould also offer to replace the older style shower valvesThey should also hand out warning literature and considertemperature-actuated flow reduction valves that conform toASSE 1062 The ASSE 1062 devices shut off the flow ofwater to a trickle when the temperature exceeds about 115 to117 F It should be noted that although the ASSE 1062device minimizes the risk of scalding with non-compensat-ing type valves it will not prevent thermal shock

To sum up the Frankfurt ldquoExperience the Productrdquoshow was 10 times the size of any show I have everattended It was like ASHRAE and ASPE on steroids Itwas pretty incredible The Dry Drains Forum was anunqualified success and I hope you will get a chance toview the photos and videos online in the near future Untilnext time keep looking for ways to save water

Ron George is president of Ron George Design ampConsulting Services He is the former Chairman of theInternational Residential Plumbing amp Mechanical CodeCommittee and he serves on the International Association ofPlumbing amp Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) Code interpre-tation Answers and Analysis Committee and the IAPMOStandards Council He is active in Plumbing Code andPlumbing Product Standard development and consultingHis company specializes in plumbing piping fire protectionand HVAC system design He also provides plumbing andmechanical code consulting plumbing product standardconsulting and forensic investigations and litigation supportfor plumbing and mechanical system failures E-mailrgdcrongeorgedesigncom Web site wwwrongeorgedesigncom

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those ofthe author and do not reflect those of Plumbing Engineer nor itspublisher TMB Publishing

The Executive Summary of the National Institute ofStandards and Technology (NIST) Final Report(November 2008) on its investigation into the col-

lapse of the WTC 7 Building begins with the followingparagraph

ldquoWTC 7 was a 47-story office building located immedi-ately to the north of the main WTC Complex It had beenbuilt on top of an existing Consolidated Edison of NewYork electric power substation which was located on landowned by The Port Authority of New York and New JerseyOn September 11 2001 WTC 7 endured fires for almostseven hours from the time of the collapse of the northWTC tower (WTC 1) at 102822 am until 52052 pmwhen it collapsed This was the first known instance of thetotal collapse of a tall building primarily due to firesrdquo

Given the last statement in the paragraph above thereport on the collapse of WTC 7 should be of considerableinterest to both structural engineers and fire protectionprofessionals The two-part column that appeared in theFebruary and March 2008 issues of Plumbing Engineerincluded excerpts from the NIST report and critiqued theentire report This column will focus entirely on Chapter 5of the report Chapter 5 is titled ldquoRecommendationsrdquo Thefollowing are excerpts from Chapter 5

ldquoIn its final report on the collapse of the World TradeCenter towers (NIST NCSTAR 1) NIST made 30 recom-mendations for improving the safety of buildings occu-pants and emergency responders These encompassincreased structural integrity enhanced fire endurancefor structures new methods for fire resistant design ofstructures improved active fire protection improvedbuilding evacuation improved emergency responseimproved procedures and practices and education andtrainingrdquo (page 63)

ldquoThe urgency of the prior recommendations is substan-tially reinforced by their pertinence to the collapse ofWTC 7 a tall building that is based on a structural systemdesign which is in widespread use A few of the prior rec-ommendations have been modified to reflect the finding ofthis Investigationrdquo (page 63)

ldquoThe partial or total collapse of a building due to firesis an infrequent event This is particularly true for build-ings with a reliably operating active fire protection systemsuch as an automatic fire sprinkler system A properlydesigned and operating automatic sprinkler system willcontain fires while they are small and in most instancesprevent them from growing and spreading to threatenstructural integrity Fires that have spread and grown canalso be extinguished by fire fighters when they are small-er than 10000 sq ftrdquo (page 63)

ldquoThe intent of current practice based upon prescriptivestandards and codes is to achieve life safety not collapseprevention However the key premise of NISTrsquos recom-

mendations is that buildings should not collapse in infre-quent fires that may occur when active fire protection sys-tems are rendered ineffective eg when sprinklers do notexist are not functional or are overwhelmed by the firerdquo(pages 63 and 64)

ldquoFire scenarios for structural design based upon a sin-gle compartment or single floor fires are not appropriaterepresentations of infrequent event fires Such events haveoccurred in several tall buildings resulting in unexpectedsubstantial losses Instead historical data suggests thatinfrequent fires which should be considered in structuraldesign involve ordinary combustibles and combustibleload levels local fire origin on any given floor no wide-spread use of accelerants consecutive fire spread fromcombustible to combustible fire-induced window break-age providing ventilation for continued fire spread andaccelerated fire growth concurrent fires on multiplefloors and active fire protection systems rendered ineffec-tive The fires in WTC 7 involved all of theserdquo (page 64)

ldquoThe scope of the WTC Investigation does not includesupporting analyses of the recommendations such asalternative factors or design optionsrdquo (page 64)

ldquoRecommendation A (NIST NCSTAR

Recommendation 1) NIST recommends that (1) progres-sive collapse be prevented in buildings through the devel-opment and nationwide adoption of consensus standardsand code provisions along with the tools and guidelinesneeded for their use in practice and (2) a standardmethodology be developed - supported by analyticaldesign tools and practical design guidance - to reliablypredict the potential for complex failures in structural sys-tems subjected to multiple hazards

Relevance to WTC 7 Had contemporaneous standardsand practices been available to expressly design WTC 7for prevention of fire-induced progressive collapse itwould have been sufficiently robust to withstand local fail-ure due to fires without suffering total collapserdquo (page64)

ldquoRecommendation B (New) NIST recommends thatbuildings be explicitly evaluated to ensure the adequateperformance of the structural system under maximumcredible (infrequent) design fires with any active fire pro-tection system rendered ineffective Of particular concernare the effects of thermal expansion in buildings with oneor more of the following features (1) long-span floor sys-tems which experience significant thermal expansion andsagging effects (2) connection designs (especially shearconnections) that cannot accommodate thermal effects(3) floor framing that introduces asymmetric thermally-induced (ie net lateral) forces on girders (4) shear studsthat could fail due to differential thermal expansion incomposite floor systems and (5) lack of shear studs on

The collapse of WTC 7 The NIST recommendationsPart 1

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Fire ProtectionContinued from page 28

tures perform in real fires particular-ly considering the effects of fire onthe entire structural system the inter-actions between subsystems ele-ments and connections and scalingof fire test results to full-scale struc-tures especially structures with longspan floor systems

Relevance to WTC 7 The effects ofrestraint of free thermal expansion onthe steel framing systems especiallyfor the long spans on the east side ofWTC 7 were not considered in thestructural design and led to the initi-ation of the building collapserdquo

(pages 65 and 66)ldquoRecommendation C (NIST

NCSTAR 1 Recommendation 4)

NIST recommends evaluating andwhere needed improving the techni-cal basis for determining appropriateconstruction classification and firerating requirements (especially fortall buildings) - and making related

designed to prevent progressive col-lapse The current model buildingcodes do not require that buildings bedesigned to resist progressive col-lapse

Better thermal insulation (iereduced conductivity andorincreased thickness) to limit heatingof structural steel and to minimizeboth thermal expansion and weaken-ing effects Currently insulation isused to protect steel strength but itcould be used to maintain a lowertemperature in steel framing to limitthermal expansion

Improved compartmentation intenant areas to limit the spread offires

Thermally resistant windowassemblies which limit breakagereduce air supply and retard firegrowth

Industry should partner with theresearch community to fill criticalgaps in knowledge about how struc-

girders Careful consideration shouldalso be given to the possibility ofother design features that mayadversely affect the performance ofthe structural systems under fire con-ditionsrdquo (page 65)

ldquoBuilding owners operators anddesigners are strongly urged to actupon this recommendationEngineers should be able to designcost-effective fixes to address anyareas of concern that are identifiedby these evaluations Several exist-ing emerging or even anticipatedcapabilities could have helped pre-vent the collapse of WTC 7 Thedegree to which these capabilitiesimprove performance remains to beevaluated Possible options for devel-oping cost-effective fixes include

More robust connections andframing systems to better resist theeffects of thermal expansion on thestructural system

Structural systems expressly Continued on page 32

code changes now as much as possi-ble - by explicitly considering factorsincluding

timely access by emergencyresponders and full evacuation ofoccupants or the time required forburnout without partial collapse

the extent to which redundancyin active fire protection (sprinklerand standpipe fire alarm and smokemanagement) systems should becredited for occupant life safety

the need for redundancy in fireprotection systems that are critical tostructural integrity

the ability of the structure andlocal floor systems to withstand amaximum credible fire scenario with-out collapse recognizing that sprin-klers could be compromised notoperational or non-existent

compartmentation requirements(eg 12000 ft2) to protect the struc-ture including fire rated doors andautomatic enclosures and limitingthe air supply (eg thermally resis-

tant window assemblies) to retard firespread in buildings with large openfloor plans

the effect of spaces containingunusually large fuel concentrationsfor the expected occupancy of thebuilding and

the extent to which fire controlsystems including suppression byautomatic or manual means shouldbe credited as part of the preventionof fire spread

ldquoFootnote 3 The constructionclassification and fire rating require-ments should be risk-consistent withrespect to the design-basis hazardsand the consequences of those haz-ards The fire rating requirementswhich were originally developedbased on experience with buildingsfewer than 20 stories in height havegenerally decreased over the past 80years since historical fire data forbuildings suggests considerable con-servatism in those requirements Fortall buildings the likely conse-

quences of a given threat to an occu-pant on the upper floors are moresevere than the consequences to anoccupant on the first floor or thelower floors For example with non-functioning elevators both the timerequirements are much greater forfull building evacuation from upperfloors and emergency responderaccess to those floors The currentheight and area tables in buildingcodes do not provide the technicalbasis for the progressively increasingrisk to an occupant on the upperfloors of tall buildings that are muchgreater than 20 stories in heightrdquo

ldquoRelevance to WTC 7 The floorsystems in WTC 7 failed becausethermal effects within the structuralsystem especially thermal expansionwere not considered in setting the firerating requirements in the construc-tion classification which are deter-mined using the ASTM E119 orequivalent testing standard Suchevaluation is not required under cur-rent codes and standardsrdquo (pages 66and 67)

ldquoRecommendation D (NIST

NIST recommends that the technicalbasis for the century-old standard forfire resistance testing of componentsassemblies and systems be improvedthrough a national effort Necessaryguidance also should be developedfor extrapolating the results of testedassemblies to prototypical buildingsystems A key step in fulfilling thisrecommendation is to establish acapability for studying and testingthe components assemblies and sys-tems under realistic fire and loadconditions

Of particular concern is that theStandard Fire Resistance Test doesnot adequately capture importantthermally-induced interactionsbetween structural sub-systems ele-ments and connections that are criti-cal to structural integrity System-level interactions especially due tothermal expansion are not consid-ered in the standard test method sincecolumns girders and floor assem-blies are tested separately Also theperformance of connections underboth gravity and thermal effects is notconsidered The United States cur-

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rently does not have the capability for studying and test-ing these important fire-induced phenomena critical tostructural safety

Relevance to WTC 7 The floor systems failed in WTC7 at shorter fire exposure times than the specified fire rat-ing (two hours) and at temperatures lower than the end-point temperature (593deg C 1100deg F) because thermaleffects within the structural system especially thermalexpansion were not considered in setting the endpoint cri-teria when using the ASTM E119 or equivalent testingstandard The structural breakdowns that led to the initi-ating event and the eventual collapse of WTC 7 occurredat temperatures that were hundreds of degrees below thecriteria that determines structural fire resistance ratingsrdquo(page 67)

ldquoRecommendation E (NIST NCSTAR 1

Recommendation 7) NIST recommends the adoption anduse of the ldquostructural framerdquo approach to fire resistanceratings This approach requires all members that com-prise the primary structural frame (such as columns gird-ers beams trusses and spandrels) be fire protected to thehigher fire resistance rating required for the columns Thedefinition of the primary structural frame should beexpanded to include bracing members that are essential tothe vertical stability of the primary structural frame undergravity loading (eg girders diagonal bracing composite

floor systems that provide lateral bracing to the girders)whether or not the bracing members carry gravity loadsSome of these bracing members may not have direct con-nections to the columns but provide stability to thosemembers directly connected to the columns This recom-mendation ensures consistency in the fire protection pro-vided to all structural elements that contribute to overallstability State and local jurisdictions should adopt andenforce this requirement

Relevance to WTC 7 Thermally-induced breakdown ofthe floor system in WTC 7 was a determining step in caus-ing collapse initiation and progression Therefore thefloor system should be considered as an integral part ofthe primary structural framerdquo (pages 67 and 68)

ldquoRecommendation F ([NIST] NCSTAR [1]

Recommendation 8) NIST recommends that the fire resis-tance of structures be enhanced by requiring a perfor-mance objective that uncontrolled building fires result inburnout without partial or global (total) collapse Such aprovision should recognize that sprinklers could be com-promised non-operational or nonexistent Current meth-ods for determining the fire resistance of structural assem-blies do not explicitly specify a performance objectiveThe rating resulting from current test methods indicatesthat the assembly (component or subsystem) continued tosupport its superimposed load (simulating a maximum

Fire Protection

of but not be limited toa Standard methodology supported by performance

criteria analytical design tools and practical designguidance related building standards and codes for fireresistance design and retrofit of structures workingthrough the consensus process for nationwide adoptioncomprehensive design rules and guidelines methodologyfor evaluating thermostructural performance of struc-tures and computational models and analysis proceduresfor use in routine design practice

b Standard methodology for specifying multi-compart-ment multi-floor fire scenarios for use in design andanalysis of structures to resist fires accounting for build-ing-specific conditions such as geometry compartmenta-tion fuel load (eg building contents and any flammablefuels such as oil and gas) fire spread and ventilation andmethodology for rating the fire resistance of structuralsystems and barriers under realistic design-basis scenar-ios

c Publicly available computational software to predictthe effects of fires in buildings - developed validated andmaintained through a national effort - for use in the designof fire protection systems and the analysis of buildingresponse to fires Improvements should include the firebehavior and contribution of real combustibles the per-

load condition) during the test exposure without collapseModel Building Codes This recommendation should be

included in the national model codes as an objective andadopted as an integral part of fire resistance design forstructures The issue of non-operational sprinklers couldbe addressed using the existing concept of DesignScenario 8 of NFPA 5000 where such compromise isassumed and the result is required to be acceptable to theAuthority Having Jurisdiction

Relevance to WTC 7 Large uncontrolled fires led tofailure of a critical column and consequently the completecollapse of WTC 7 In the region of the collapse initiation(ie on the east side of Floor 13) the fire had not con-sumed the combustible building contents yet collapseoccurredrdquo (page 68)

ldquoRecommendation G (NIST NCSTAR 1

Recommendation 9) NIST recommends the developmentof (1) performance-based standards and code provisionsas an alternative to current prescriptive design methodsto enable the design and retrofit of structures to resist realbuilding fire conditions including their ability to achievethe performance objective of burnout without structuralor local floor collapse[] and (2) the tools guidelinesand test methods necessary to evaluate the fire perfor-mance of the structure as a whole system This perfor-mance-based capability should include the development

formance of openings including door openings and win-dow breakage that controls the amount of oxygen avail-able to support the growth and spread of fires and whetherthe fire is fuel-controlled or ventilation-controlled thefloor-to-floor flame spread the temperature rise in bothinsulated and uninsulated structural members and firebarriers and the structural response of components sub-systems and the total building system due to fire

d Temperature-dependent thermal and mechanicalproperty data for conventional and innovative construc-tion materials[]

e New test methods together with associated confor-mance assessment criteria to support the performance-based methods for fire resistance design and retrofit ofstructures The performance objective of burnout withoutcollapse will require the development of standard fireexposures that differ from those currently used

Relevance to WTC 7 A performance-based assessmentof the effects of fire on WTC 7 had it considered all of therelevant thermal effects (eg thermal expansion effectsthat occur at lower temperatures) would have identifiedthe vulnerability of the building to fire-induced collapseand allowed alternative designs for the structural sys-temrdquo (pages 68 and 69)

ldquoRecommendation H (NIST NCSTAR 1

Recommendation 12) NIST recommends that the perfor-mance and possibly the redundancy and reliability ofactive fire protection systems (sprinklers standpipehosesfire alarms and smoke management systems) in buildingsbe enhanced to accommodate the greater risks associatedwith increasing building height and population increaseduse of open spaces high-risk building activities firedepartment response limits transient fuel loads and high-er threat profile

Reliability is affected by (a) the redundancy such thatwhen one water supply is out of service (usually for main-tenance) the other interconnected water supply can con-tinue to protect the building and its occupants (b) auto-matic operation of water systems (not only for starting firepumps but also for testing and tank replenishment withappropriate remote alarms to the fire department andlocal alarms for notifying emergency personnel) (c) theuse of suitable equipment and techniques to regulateunusual pressure considerations

Relevance to WTC 7 No water was available for theautomatic suppression system on the lower 20 stories ofWTC 7 once water from street-level was disrupted Thislack of reliability in the source of the primary and sec-ondary water supplies allowed the growth and spread offires that ultimately resulted in the collapse of the build-ingrdquo (page 70)

ldquoRecommendation I (NIST NCSTAR 1

Recommendation 24) NIST recommends the establish-ment and implementation of codes and protocols forensuring effective and uninterrupted operation of thecommand and control system for large-scale buildingemergencies

a State local and federal jurisdictions should imple-ment the National Incident Management System (NIMS)The jurisdictions should work with the Department of

Homeland Security to review test evaluate and imple-ment an effective unified command and control systemNIMS addresses interagency coordination and establishesa response matrix - assigning lead agency responsibilitiesfor different types of emergencies and functions At a min-imum each supporting agency should assign an individ-ual to provide coordination with the lead agency at eachincident command post

b State local and federal emergency operation centers(EOCs) should be located designed built and operatedwith security and operational integrity as a key consider-ation

c Command posts should be established outside thepotential collapse footprint of any building which showsevidence of large multi-floor fires or has serious structur-al damage A continual assessment of building stabilityand safety should be made in such emergencies to guideongoing operations and enhance emergency respondersafety The information necessary to make these assess-ments should be made available to those assigned theresponsibility

d An effective command system should be establishedand operating before a large number of emergencyresponders and apparatus are dispatched and deployedThrough training and drills emergency responders andambulances should be required to await dispatch requestsfrom the incident command system and not to self-dis-patch in large-scale emergencies

e Actions should be taken via training and drills toensure a coordinated and effective emergency response atall levels of the incident command chain by requiring allemergency responders that are given an assignment toimmediately adopt and execute the assignment objectives

f Command post information and incident operationsdata should be managed and broadcast to command andcontrol centers at remote locations so that information issecure and accessible by all personnel needing the infor-mation Methods should be developed and implemented sothat any information that is available at an interior infor-mation center is transmitted to an emergency respondervehicle or command post outside the building

Relevance to the WTC 7 (1) The New York City Officeof Emergency Management (OEM) was located in WTC 7and was evacuated early in the day before key fire grounddecisions had to be made The location of OEM in WTC 7contributed to the loss of robust interagency commandand control on September 11 2001 (2) Due to the col-lapse of the WTC towers and the loss of responders andfire control resources there was an evolving site leader-ship during the morning and the afternoon Key decisions(eg decisions not to fight the fire in WTC 7 and to turnoff the power to the Con Edison substation) were reason-able and would not have changed the outcome onSeptember 11 2001 but were not made promptly Underdifferent circumstances (eg if WTC 7 had collapsedsooner and fire fighters were still evaluating the buildingcondition) the outcome could have been very differentrdquo(pages 70 and 71)

ldquoRecommendation J (NIST NCSTAR 1

Recommendation 27) NIST recommends that building

Fire Protection

codes incorporate a provision that requires building own-ers retain documents including supporting calculationsand test data related to building design constructionmaintenance and modifications over the life of the build-ing Means should be developed for offsite storage andmaintenance of the documents In addition NIST recom-mends that relevant building information be made avail-able in suitably designed hard copy or electronic formatfor use by emergency responders Such informationshould be easily accessible by responders during emer-gencies

Relevance to WTC 7 The efforts required in locatingand acquiring drawings specifications tenant layoutsand material certifications and especially shop fabrica-tion drawings significantly lengthened the investigationinto the collapse of WTC 7rdquo (page 72)

ldquoRecommendation K (NIST NCSTAR 1

Recommendation 28) NIST recommends that the role ofthe ldquoDesign Professional in Responsible Chargerdquo be clar-ified to ensure that (1) all appropriate design profession-als (including eg the fire protection engineer) are partof the design team providing the standard of care whendesigning buildings employing innovative or unusual firesafety systems and (2) all appropriate design profession-als (including eg the structural engineer and the fireprotection engineer) are part of the design team providingthe standard of care when designing the structure to resistfires in buildings that employ innovative or unusual struc-tural and fire safety systems

Relevance to WTC 7 Following typical practice noneof the design professionals in charge of the WTC 7 project(ie architect structural engineer and fire protectionengineer) was assigned the responsibility to explicitlyevaluate the fire performance of the structural systemHolistic consideration of thermal and structural factorsduring the design or review stage could have identified thepotential for the failure and might have prevented the col-lapse of the buildingrdquo (page 72)

ldquoRecommendation L (NIST NCSTAR 1

Recommendation 29) NIST recommends that continuingeducation curricula be developed and programs be imple-mented for (1) training fire protection engineers andarchitects in structural engineering principles and designand (2) training structural engineers architects fire pro-tection engineers and code enforcement officials in mod-ern fire protection principles and technologies includingfire-resistant design of structures and (3) training build-ing regulatory and fire service personnel to upgrade theirunderstanding and skills to conduct the review inspectionand approval tasks for which they are responsible Theoutcome would further the integration of the disciplines ineffective fire-safe design of buildings

Relevance to WTC 7 Discerning the fire-structureinteractions that led to the collapse of WTC 7 requiredresearch professionals with expertise in both disciplinesAssuring the safety of future buildings will require thatparticipants in the design and review processes possess acombined knowledge of fire science materials scienceheat transfer and structural engineering and designrdquo(pages 72 and 73)

ldquoRecommendation M (NIST NCSTAR 1

Recommendation 30) NIST recommends that academicprofessional short-course and web-based training mate-rials in the use of computational fire dynamics and ther-mostructural analysis tools be developed and delivered tostrengthen the base of available technical capabilities andhuman resources

Relevance to WTC 7 NIST stretched the state-of-the-art in the computational tools needed to reconstruct a fire-induced building collapse This enabled identification ofthe critical processes that led to that collapse Makingthese expanded tools and derivative validated and sim-plified modeling approaches usable by practitioners couldprevent future disastersrdquo (page 73)

Discussion

With one exception (Recommendation B) the recom-mendations for improving the level of safety in buildingsexcerpted above were contained in the NIST Final Reporton the investigation into the collapse of the WTC 1 andWTC 2 towers issued in the fall of 2005 Hence these rec-ommendations have already been discussed and debatedand have spawned proposals in the code change processesconducted by the International Code Council (ICC) andthe National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Many ofthese proposals have already been incorporated into themodel building codes developed by these two organiza-tions

Nonetheless a discussion of the NIST recommenda-tions should still be of interest because of the significantadverse impact that the implementation of these recom-mendations will have on the construction of new high-risebuildings and the cost of upgrading existing high-risebuildings to comply with the NIST recommendations

Prior to beginning the discussion of the NIST recom-mendations letrsquos take a look back at the origins of theNIST investigations into the collapse of the WTC towersand WTC 7 in order to gain a perspective on the originalpurpose and goals of the investigations

Congressional hearings on the collapse of the WorldTrade Center towers began roughly six months afterSeptember 11 The first hearing held on March 6 2002opened with a statement from the chairman of the com-mittee Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) fol-lowed by testimony from five witnesses CongressmanBoehlertrsquos opening statement included the followingexcerpts

ldquoThe Committee decided to move forward for two fun-damental reasons First we believe that we owe it to thevictims and their families to learn everything possibleabout what happened in those horrifying first hours ofSeptember 11- not just to satisfy their immediate needsand yearnings but to ensure that such a catastrophic build-ing failure and the resulting loss of life never happenagainrdquo

ldquoAnother significant lesson of the Trade Center col-lapse is that we need to understand a lot more about thebehavior of skyscrapers and about fire if we are going toprevent future tragediesrdquo

ldquoBut this hearing is not so much about the past as it isabout ensuring that we protect lives in the futurerdquo

The final witness before the committee was DrBement the director of NIST Dr Bementrsquos testimonyincluded the following

ldquoThe tragedy that the United States experienced onSeptember 11 2001 was unprecedented when comparedwith any prior accident natural disaster or terrorist warattack The collapse of the twin World Trade Center tow-ers was the worst building disaster in human history rdquo

ldquoThe implementation of the results of such an investi-gation would be critical to restore public confidence in thesafety of tall buildings nationwide enhance the safety offire and emergency responders and better protect peopleand property in the future To cite one example theFebruary 4 issue of Crainrsquos New York Business reports thatan increasing number of tenants are leaving the EmpireState Building which is again the tallest building in NewYork City because of fears of another terrorist attackAnecdotal evidence also suggests that building vacancyrates have doubled in Manhattan despite the 15 millionsquare feet of space that was lost on September 11rdquo

ldquoThe Building and Fire Research Laboratory is theforemost fire research laboratory in the United States andthrough the National Earthquake Hazards ReductionProgram (NEHRP) NIST is the principal agency forresearch and development to improve building codes andstandards ldquo

ldquoFourth to study procedures and practices used to pro-vide adequate structural reserve capacity to resist abnor-mal loads (eg blast explosion impact due to aircraft orflying debris from tornadoes accidental fires and faultydesign and construction) especially those that can beanticipated prior to construction (eg impact of a Boeing707) ldquo

ldquoThis broader program would address critically andurgently needed improvements to national building andfire standards codes and practices that have begun to berecognized in recent years The events of September 11have brought even more focus and priority to this alreadyimportant issuerdquo

ldquoThe goal of this broader program would be to producecost-effective retrofit and design measures and opera-tional guidance for building owners and emergencyrespondersrdquo

ldquoCurrent building design practice does not consider fireas a design condition Instead structural fire enduranceratings are prescribed in building codes using standardtests on individual components The current testing stan-dards are based on work carried out at NIST in the 1920sThey do not represent real fire hazards in modern build-ings They also do not consider the fire performance ofstructural connections or of the structural system as awhole or the multiple performance demands on fire-proofing materialsrdquo

ldquoIn short NIST would provide the technical basis andguidance for fire safety design and retrofit of structuresthe predictive tools and test methods for fire resistancedetermination and the performance criteria for fireproof-

ing materials In addition NIST proposes to develop guid-ance and retrofit technologies to enhance building egressin emergencies practical tools and guidance to enhancethe safety and effectiveness of fire and emergency respon-ders and improved models of occupant behavior andresponse to enhance evacuation and communication inemergenciesrdquo

ldquoYet the United States has not developed standardscodes and practices to assess and reduce this vulnerabili-ty Adding to the problem for modern structures is theirsmaller margin of safety - and the reserve capacity toaccommodate abnormal loads - due to increased efficien-cy in the use of building materials and refinements inanalysis techniques ldquo

ldquoThe overwhelming majority of buildings in public usetoday are vulnerable to terrorist attack on a number offronts ldquo

ldquoThe final program element supports a construction-industry-led road mapping effort to reflect changed prior-ities for development and deployment of safety and secu-rity standards technology and practicesrdquo

ldquoThe effort would complement and support parallelefforts of technical organizations to improve standardscodes and practicesrdquo

ldquoIn conclusion I believe it is imperative for the US tolearn from the worst-ever building disasters in human his-tory and to take aggressive remedial action to minimizefuture lossesrdquo

ldquoIn the wake of September 11 the private sectorrsquos will-ingness to take necessary corrective action to strengthenbuilding codes and standards is extraordinarily strongrdquo

Following the March 6 hearings members of theScience Committee issued a press release containing someof the membersrsquo reactions to the testimony that the com-mittee heard The reaction of one committee memberRepresentative Connie Morella (R-Md) was as follows

ldquoThe importance of this work canrsquot be overstatedResearch into this disaster is the only way we have anychance of preventing the next one and Congress needs tomove swiftly to formalize the way we evaluate cata-strophic building collapse Fortunately we have anadvanced federal laboratory dedicated to such researchThe National Institute of Standards and Technology isuniquely position[ed] to conduct extensive investigationsinto the structural failures of the World Trade Center andto suggest appropriate new standards and potential retro-fits rdquo

Now that the NIST investigation reports on the collapseof the WTC towers and WTC 7 building have been com-pleted and NISTrsquos final recommendations on makingbuildings ldquosaferrdquo have been published we can begin toevaluate whether or not NISTrsquos investigations have actu-ally fulfilled the promises NIST made to Congress and theAmerican public and also our progress in preventing ldquothenext onerdquo

Interestingly enough NISTrsquos recommendations con-tained in its final investigation reports do not address theissue of terrorism and ldquothe overwhelming majority ofbuildings in public use todayrdquo still remain ldquovulnerable to

Fire Protection

Common sense should tell us thatsaving the lives of hundreds of thou-sands of Americans by reducing thenumber of traffic fatalities over thenext few decades ought to be a farhigher priority than at most savingthe lives of a few thousand or per-haps as few as a handful ofAmericans by implementing theNIST recommendations Saving hun-dreds of thousands of lives versussaving thousands of lives at mostover the next few decades I wouldhope that most safety professionalsincluding the engineers and scientistsat NIST would agree that the choiceis obvious

In a time when our economicresources are limited public officialsneed to invest the publicrsquos moneywisely (Building codes are a meansof allocating our resources whichmust be invested in building safety)The implementation of the NIST rec-ommendations is simply not a wise

use of our dollars invested in publicsafety

Part 2 of this article will provide anin-depth discussion of the NIST rec-ommendations

Richard Schulte is a graduate ofthe Fire Protection EngineeringProgram at the Illinois Institute ofTechnology He formed Schulte ampAssoc in 1988 His consulting expe-rience includes work on the SearsTower and many other notable struc-tures He also has acted as an expertwitness in the litigation involving thefire at the New Orleans DistributionCenter

terrorist attack on a number of fronts ldquo Also of interest is that ldquothe nextonerdquo has been prevented in the 7+years since September 11 withouteven implementing NISTrsquos recom-mendations In other words theUnited States has been able to pre-vent future disasters by preventingterrorist activity in this country (andby simply enforcing our existingbuilding codes) Given this it seemsfair to ask Is the implementation ofthe NIST recommendations for ldquocrit-ically and urgently needed improve-ments to national building and firestandards codes and practices ldquo real-ly all that critical or even necessaryat all

In my opinion it is simply not eco-nomically feasible to make our build-ings ldquoterrorist-proofrdquo or even ldquoterror-ist-resistantrdquo and that the generationof codes and standards in use in theearly part of this decade (ie 2000and 2003 editions of the InternationalBuilding Code) provide more thanadequate safety for both buildingoccupants and emergency respon-ders One only has to look at the firesafety statistics for high-rise build-ings protected by a sprinkler systemto see that the increase in the level ofsafety provided by the implementa-tion of the NIST recommendationswill be minuscule at best Given thecurrent economic climate in theUnited States do we really want tomake the development and construc-tion of new high-rise buildings moredifficult costly and in many casessimply impractical when the safetyrecord of high-rise buildings isalready outstanding and the increasein the level of safety provided by theimplementation of the NIST recom-mendations is so minuscule

Quite frankly the implementationof the NIST recommendations willprovide little ldquobangrdquo in the way ofbuilding safety for the billions of dol-lars that will be required to complywith these recommendations Againin my opinion we could save hun-dreds of thousands of more lives inthe next few decades by taking theresources invested in compliancewith more restrictive provisions forhigh-rise buildings and investingthese resources in highway safety

The views and opinions expressedin this column are those of theauthor and do not reflect those ofPlumbing Engineer nor its publisherTMB Publishing

ICC-ES PMG Listing Service

on Plumbing Products that Comply with Codes and StandardsFOR DETAILS wwwicc-esorgpmg

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09-01561

Look For the Markhellip

Modern HydronicsBy Paul Rohrs Radiant Expert Biggerstaff Radiant Solutions Lincoln Neb

Last month we talked about relays what they arehow they work how best to utilize them Thismonth I would like to build on that by looking at

how industry professionals from coast to coast are usingrelays in practical and creative applications

Rocky Pavey is the owneroperator of Rockyrsquos HeatingService in Fairbanks Alaska Rocky uses relays with hisEnergy Kinetics System 2000 boiler installs Rocky statesldquoThe EK boiler has a lsquodigital managerrsquo that providespower to the thermostats It also provides power to thezone valves Closing the zone valve kills power to thezone contacts relying on a lsquospring returnrsquo style zone valveto pull itself closed If we come across a system usingWhite Rogers 1311 or 1361 zone valves where they arelsquopower open power closersquo then we have to leave their 24-volt transformers connected This presents possible con-flict between the System 2000 digital managerrsquos trans-former and the zone valves transformer

ldquoWe use the RIB brand single-pole single-throw(SPST) relay to connect to the tail switch contacts ofWhite Rogers 1311 and 1361 series zone valves Then theoutput side of the RIB becomes my thermostatic demandto the digital manager preventing any butting heads oftransformer power It keeps us from having to replacesome perfectly good zone valves when using the System2000 boiler controlsrdquo

Brad White is a highly respected engineer fromBoston White says ldquoI am partial to Veris Hawkeye cur-rent sensing relays They are roughly sixty bucks and canbe panel mounted or in a junction box Some uses I havein play include interlocking combustion air fans with aclothes dryer make-up air fan with a cooking range hoodfan lock-out or enabling of pumps andor fan coils (notrunning a fan until water flow is established) to preventfreeze-stat lockout This allows the return temperaturesensor to be satisfied in series too These are just a fewof its many applications Also the 735 can detectamperage spikes indicating a fan belt break or shearedpump couplingrdquo

A lot of snowmelt systems use circulators with highamp draws I use relays to isolate and protect circuits in

the system when these circulators have the potential to tripbreakers and blow fuses Figure 1 illustrates a two-zonesnowmelt system with one heat source Figure 2 shows theelectrical schematic of the controls and boilers that arecontrolling this system We can refer to Figure 1 for pip-ing and visual references and to Figure 2 for the bulk ofour discussion about how relays 1 to 3 are used and whattheir functions are

The Tekmar 665rsquos featured slab sensors (S5 and S6)when coupled with the outdoor sensors (S3 and S2) willactivate the system and start melting snow through termi-nals 11 and 12 When the snowmelting call for heatbegins 120V is switched through terminals 11 and 12 Weuse this circuit to power the coil on our relays on terminals7 and 2 on relays R2 and R3 With the coil now closed wecan highlight two functions on each relay First uponenergizing the coil the NO (normally open) terminals 1and 3 close and allow it to complete the circuit back to ourboiler TT of our Lochinvar Knight boiler This signals thecall for heat and the boiler initiates its firing sequence toinject heat into the system Secondly when the coil isenergized relays R2 and R3 allow terminals 8 and 6 toswitch 120V(ac) power to complete our circuit to the P6and P3 circulators

Now letrsquos look at our Knight boilers control board Withthe Knight boiler anytime there is a call for heat via theroom stat or end switch terminals the system pump con-

tacts are engaged Even if the domestic hot water (DHW)circulator is used and the boiler pump drops off the sys-tem pump contacts remain engaged until the call for heatends This feature is used to our advantage by driving thecirculators that provide heat to the heat exchangers TheKnight boiler system pump contacts will allow up to a 18amp draw but our P2 and P5 circulators are going to draw30 amps each so use the R1 relay to protect our systempump contacts

As said earlier the system pump contacts remain

An Olympic caliber relay Part 2

Figure 2 Illustrates how relays 1 to 3 are used and whattheir functions are

Figure 1 An illustration used for piping and visual references

engaged constantly during a call for heat so we are goingto use those contacts to close the 120V(ac) coil of our R1relay to switch a dedicated and appropriately sized circuit(Circuit 1) to our P2 and P5 circulators When the systempump contacts engage it powers the coil on terminals 7and 2 and allows our NO contacts to close so that termi-nals 8 and 6 safely feed the necessary power and amper-age to our circulators

With the use of three DPDT relays on this job we safelyswitched the necessary voltage and required amp draw toour P2 and P5 circulators switched power to our P3 and P6circulators and completed the low voltage circuit to signal acall for heat to the boiler As with any heating or snowmeltsystem proper programming and selection of controls isessential to proper operation Hopefully relays and theirproper wiring will be second nature to you and heatingcontractors across the country will be using these handy andinexpensive devices to enhance their heating systems

Paul Rohrs welcomes your comments Contact Paulat paulbiggerstaffradiantsolutionscom

Modern HydronicsContinued from page 40

ETERNAL TURNS UP THE HEATWhen it came to replacing the antiquated multi-tank system at the Paul R Ruth fire station in Henderson Nevada Eternal was the water heater for the job Ease of installation with PVC venting the self-cleaning reservoir and standard piping methods with recirculation won city planners over They are so happy with the efficiency and long warranty that Eternals are planned in many more applications throughout the city

See more stories like this at wwwhybridstoriescom

Manufacturer White Papersare online now Visit our web siteat wwwplumbingengineercom andstart downloading today For FREE Showcased as an authoritative report white papers are used toeducate customers and to help people make decisions aboutspecific products and services

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wwwplumbingengineercom

Solar SolutionsBristol Stickney technical director Cedar Mountain Solar Systems Santa Fe NM

Ihave said many times that if you donrsquot get the first fiveprinciples right the last one does not matter Yes I amspeaking of the E-word Efficiency

Many people use this term in casual conversation withoutunderstanding what it means It is really a simple relationshipbetween the total energy (fuel) available and the useful portionof it that is put to good use Divide the useful energy deliveredby the energy available and you get Efficiency expressed as afraction or as a percent It is often abbreviated using the Greekletter Nu (η) The confusion starts when people are not clearabout what is available or how much is useful Even worse iswhen they confuse Effectiveness with Efficiency such as thefellow that recently told me that his flat plate solar collectorsget boiling hot so they must be really efficient

To add to the confusion the thermal efficiency of a solarheat collector is not static It changes as the operational condi-tions change This can make a fair comparison of one collectorto another really difficult since panels come in different sizesare made of different materials and can be used in countlessdifferent climates and temperature applications Clearly thereis a need for a standard way of testing and comparing solar heatcollectors and in the United States that standard is maintainedby the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC)Letrsquos take a closer look at collector efficiency and the vastrepository of solar collector data that is the SRCC

The SRCCThe Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) is

our national solar heating test facility It was founded in 1980

as a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is devel-opment and implementation of certification programs andnational rating standards for solar energy equipment Theyadminister a certification rating and labeling program forsolar collectors and a similar program for complete solarwater heating systems (We will cover complete systems in afuture article) The rating and labeling has become moreimportant to installers and owners in recent years since thisis now required for the solar equipment to qualify for solartax credits in the US The labels themselves can be usefulwhen making an energy performance comparison since theyshow a standard performance rating similar to those found onappliances and cars

The SRCC database is the one place where all these ratingscan be found side by side for an easy and useful comparisonThis information is free on the SRCC website at wwwsolar-ratingorg and includes a complete list of all the test results forall the collector manufacturers available on the US marketNew products entering the US market must submit to SRCCtesting or they will not qualify for most solar subsidy pro-grams The list is regularly updated new products are listed astheir testing is completed The SRCC website does a good jobof explaining themselves and their programs so feel free tocheck it out

Free publications are available for download on this web-site The ones that cover solar collector ratings from A to Z inPDF format are

1 Summary of SRCC Certified Solar Collector and WaterHeating System Ratings a 50-page publication listing the per-

formance ratings for solar collectors andsystems

2 Directory of SRCC Certified SolarCollector Ratings a 279-page publicationthat includes construction and rating infor-mation on certified solar collectors

There is also a lot of information on solarwater heater system ratings which I hope tocover in more detail in the future

Efficiency vs EffectivenessEffectiveness has more to do with user sat-isfaction and with how well the equipmentdoes its job This includes everything thatthe owner needs in order to feel satisfiedwith the equipment including the cost-effectiveness and comfort temperaturesWhen we succeed in providing solar heat-ing components that are effective the own-ers have little to complain about Be awarehowever that the ownerrsquos perception maybe mistaken as in the example I mentionedearlier The fellow that commented how

Bristolrsquos six principles of good solar hydronic design

Collector efficiency and the SRCC

Figure 1 For most of the common solar heating categories the flat plate glazedcollector performs better than the glass vacuum tube collector with a higher collector efficiency

13 amp

FEATURES AND BENEFITS INCLUDE

QQuuaalliittyy DDeessiiggnn aanndd CCoonnssttrruuccttiioonnbull Tanks and Coils are all stainlessbull Large smooth coils deliver high output for yearsbull Low heat loss R-12+

EEaassyy iinnssttaallllaattiioonnbull All connections on topbull Brass drain and relief valves are factory installedbull Two thermal wells to control each coil independently

MMooddeellss aarree aavvaaiillaabbllee iinn 111155 8800 aanndd 6600 ggaalllloonn ttaannkkss

HHeeaatt--FFllooHHEEAATTIINNGG PPRROODDUUCCTTSS

ldquoefficientrdquo his collectors must be because they got boilinghot was actually being fooled by an impressively high tem-perature that he thought should be very effective On the con-trary the general rule is that a cool collector is an efficientcollector When the collector stays cool on a sunny day itmeans that the solar heat is being carried away by the coolantand is not building up in the collector In fact extremely hotcollectors quite often indicate a coolant pump failure with acorresponding collector efficiency of zero

Efficiency is calculated by dividing the ldquouseful energy outrdquoby the ldquoenergy availablerdquo In the case of the solar heat collec-tor the energy available is the solar radiation that arrives at thecollector aperture This can change from moment to momentwith passing clouds and other shading conditions The usefulenergy out is the net thermal energy embodied in the hot fluid(coolant) leaving the collector outlet pipe A cold outdoor airtemperature surrounding the collector tends to draw more heatout of it so cold ambient temperatures can lower the usefulenergy delivered

When this situation is boiled down mathematically it turnsout that there are only three things you need to know to eval-uate the collector efficiency for any heating application

How hot is the fluid you want to heat (Ti)How cold is it outdoors (Ta)How sunny is it (I)So the Collector Efficiency (η) is directly linked to these

three values which can be combined as follows

(Ti - Ta)I [aka (P)I as seen on the SRCC ratings pages]

Ti is inlet fluid temperature Ta is ambient temperature and I is solar radiation at the collector surface [I stands for solar

Insolation]

The SRCC publications provide collector test results inpublications 1 and 2 (above) which include the slope andthe intercept data for each collector tested The slope and theintercept allow you to draw a straight line on a graph thatdefines the collector efficiency for any conditions of (Ti -Ta)I I have done this in Figure 1 for three collectors I foundlisted in the January 2009 Directory a flat plate glazed a flatplate unglazed and a glass vacuum tube collector The inter-cept is the point found on the vertical axis and the slope isthe (negative) Rise over Run of the line as it runs downhillto the right

Please note that this only describes the collector thermal

efficiency which is the solar collector by itself This is not tobe confused with the system thermal efficiency which iscomplicated by pump and control ldquoparasiticrdquo energy con-sumption heat loss from piping heat exchanger efficienciesheat storage losses etc etc This article is limited to thesolar collector We hope to cover more system efficiencyissues in the future

Making sense of SRCC collector ratingsThe SRCC requires each solar collector to be tested using

a standard series of procedures known as the OG100 test (Notto be confused with the OG300 test for solar water heaterssystems) This includes a torture test that proves that the col-lector can stand up to high temperature solar stagnation andother harsh conditions The final results include not only theslope and intercept of the Collector Efficiency graph but alsothe heat output of the collector under five different standardtemperatures and three different solar Insolation conditionsThese ratings represent solar heating jobs that range from veryeasy to very difficult and are presented as categories A B CD and E respectively

Category A Pool Heating (warm climate) Ti-Ta = (-9) FCategory B Pool Heating (cool climate) Ti-Ta = 9 FCategory C Water Heating (warm climate) Ti-Ta = 36 FCategory D Water Heating (cool climate) Ti-Ta = 90 FCategory E Very Hot Water (cold climate) Ti-Ta = 144 F

Results from each category are presented for standard solarconditions known as

Clear Day - 2000 Btu per square foot per dayMildly Cloudy - 1500 Btu per square foot per dayCloudy Day - 1000 Btu per square foot per day

A collector that is capable of producing heat under all ofthese standard test conditions will have 15 heat output ratingsfrom which to choose A sample is shown in Figure 2 Theseresults appear in the SRCC Directory (publication 2 above) astwo tables one metric and one in Btu In summary informa-tion (publication 1 above) only the Clear Day Category Cresults are shown for comparison

On Figure 1 you will notice that I have drawn rectangularboxes on the graph that represent where the differentsolartemperature categories are The SRCC lists the solaravailability in more than 50 major US cities and it is inter-

Solar SolutionsContinued from page 44

Figure 2

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Comfortable Efficient Intelligent Heating

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experience

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comparison between collectors Keep in mind that while thegraph data is normalized per square foot of collector the tabledata is not The tables show the heat output of each wholecollector and some collectors are bigger than others So youcan divide by the net aperture area to make a comparison persquare foot

The examples shown in Figure 1 present an interestingresult For most of the common solar heating categories theflat plate glazed collector performs better than the glass vac-uum tube collector with a higher collector efficiency forthese models (Both of these collectors are from the samemanufacturer) So if the price of the vacuum collector ismuch higher than the flat plate the extra expense may not beworth it unless you are to the right side of Category D or inthe Category E area The SRCC publications include somedescriptions of how to use the data to make other usefulcomparisons

Bristol Stickney partner and technical director at CedarMountain Solar Systems in Santa Fe NM has been design-ing manufacturing engineering repairing and installingsolar hydronic heating systems for more than 30 years

esting to note that they all fit within each of the gray boxesFor example if you have a Category C heating job the col-lectors seen in this figure will perform to the left side of theCategory C box in Albuquerque or Los Angeles and to theright side of the box in Seattle or Boston

Collector comparisonWhether you use the SRCC Data Tables or Plot the

Efficiency Graph you can see that this data allows a useful

In this series of articles I have been making the case

that the key ingredients for solarhydronic design and

installation can be divided into six categories listed

below roughly in order of their importance

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

The success of any solar hydronic home heating instal-

lation depends on the often-conflicting balance between

any of these six principles Finding the balance between

them defines the art of solar heating design

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The HyTronic from Chicago Faucets reliable and friendly

Plumbing Engineer

Sustainable design load matching and service integrationare just some of the topics covered in PlumbingEngineerrsquos new feature segment called ldquoEngineering

Spotlightrdquo in which PE spotlights an engineering firm thatexhibits professionalism and innovative design proceduresTo kick off its first Spotlight Plumbing Engineer proudly fea-tures New York-based AKF Group LLC which specializes inHVAC electrical plumbing firelife safety controls centralutilities and energy management The firm has continued toevolve and expand its services and reach throughout theUnited States and abroad The staff has continued to grow at a rate of over 15 a year and AKF Group has been blazing the trail as a LEEDtrade(Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design) leading engineering firm

AKF was founded in New York in 1989 by three found-ing partners and offers a full scope of traditional engi-neering services Today the firm mdash comprised of 25 part-ners and 435 staff members mdash offers a broad range ofengineering services with offices in New York PrincetonNJ Arlington Va Boston Philadelphia StamfordConn and Mexico City With a majority of engineerslicensed professionals AKF has continued to grow anddiversify its practice to serve the continually changingneeds of its clients Its services have expanded to embraceAKF Technologies and AKF Analysis amp Testing to sup-plement the broad range of professional engineering ser-vices AKF is organized to allow for continual successionand opportunities for all members of the firm

As AKF celebrates its 20th anniversary the partners arevery proud of the many accomplishments that brought themto their current position as a leading full-service engineer-ing firm with clients in both the private and public sectorsthroughout the United States and the world

Inside the firm

AKF provides detailed testing and retro-commissioningservices Over the past three years it has expanded its in-house commissioning group and services to become theonly New York City firm to provide complete in-houseCritical SystemsSM design and true hands-on commission-ing services and preventive maintenance without the needto outsource the services AKF maintains an inventory ofsophisticated testing and monitoring equipment to supportits field technicians Many of its commissioning techni-cians have come out of the major UPS corporations andprovide a greater level of hands-on support

The commissioning services vibration analysis predic-tive maintenance and start-up testing services are con-ducted by dedicated specialists within the AKF Group andAKF Analysis amp Testing companies The AKF Group hasover 70 dedicated Commissioning and Analysis amp Testing

Sustainability ProactiveBy John Mesenbrink

Engineering SpotlightAKF Group LLC New York

Manufactured from glass reinforced polyester (GRP) pressed from sheet molding compound (SMC) the Mea-Josam Pro-Plus trench drains provide a trench drain system that is 15 times stronger yet 70 lighter than polymer concrete In addition to strength and reduced weight key advantages of the SMCGRP process include shatterproof non-porous chemical resistance nonflammable superior compressive flexural and tensile strength and reduced thermal expansion The Pro-Plus series is available with and without slope in 4rdquo 8rdquo and 12rdquo nominal widths and with a variety of gratings including the STARFIX ldquobolt freerdquo grate securing system

For full details on the Mea-Josam Pro-Plus trench drain system contact your local representative or visit wwwJOSAMcom

What Do All of These Items Have in Common

Due to the nature of each of their applications they require a manufacturing process able to withstand the most stringent conditions

The answer for all isGlass Fiber Reinforced Polyester (GRP) Pressed from Sheet Molding Compound (SMC)

Due to the nature of each of their applications they require a manufacturing

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

professionals in NYC actively participating within theAssociation of Energy Engineers (AEE) the AmericanSociety of Heating Refrigeration and Air-ConditioningEngineers (ASHRAE) Building CommissioningAssociation (BCA) and the American Society forHealthcare Engineers (ASHE) organizations

AKF also performs all electrical distribution testing andemergency generator testing services and short circuitcoordination and arc flash studies The Analysis andTesting team provides in-depth vibration monitoringvibration analysis acceptance testing critical speed test-ing and motor current waveform analysis

AKF has highly experienced commissioning engineerstechnicians and analysts who have focused their expertiseon building operations chiller plants and automation sys-tems serving facility and plant operations directly or incombination with the Ownerrsquos AE project specific designteam to provide a fully integrated solution

The firm has a dedicated Critical Systems design teamwhich has extensive experience with the design of datacenters and other critical facilities The in-house support

available to the commissioning team provides them withinsight and assistance into providing a comprehensive andcoordinated commissioning plan

The following is an exclusive QampA with AKF GroupLLC partners Jake Lawrence PE Dave Moreno PE RobDiemer PE LEED AP Asif Syed PE LEED AP and JoeIanni project manager

PE What are your initiatives for AKFAKF Our initiatives involve green technology sus-

tainability integration of services with our information

technology analysis amp testing commissioning controlslighting etc mdashproviding our clients the ability to addresstomorrowrsquos issues today

Specific Project Example

AKF provided sustainability engineering services to StJohnrsquos University to comply with their ldquo3010 challengerdquo aspart of the US Mayorsrsquo climate protection agreement NewYork City requested higher educational institutions to reducetheir carbon footprint by 30 over 10 years commonlyreferred to as the ldquo3010 Programrdquo or ldquo3010 challengerdquo

St Johnrsquos has over 275 million sq ft of buildings at50000 tons of carbon dioxide and a target reduction of30 or 15000 tons AKF established St Johnrsquos footprintbaseline carbon for 2006 and St Johnrsquos was recentlyawarded the Energy Gold Star by Mayor Bloomberg ldquoforaccelerating its greenhouse gas reduction plan to reach its30 decrease target by the year 2013rdquo

AKF developed a strategy for 30 reduction achievedwith a five-year master plan including

bull Existing buildings on campus retrofitted with greentechnologies

bull Boiler plants and chiller plant technologies convertedto state-of-the-art

bull Building operations improvedbull Campus-wide building management system to reduce

waste energybull Building systems retro-commissioned andbull On site generation and cogeneration technologies with

existing campus low pressure steam distribution andimproved efficiency

PE Is your company involved with sustainable designAKF As a large design and full service engineering

firm we are involved in more than $3 billion in construc-tion Our designs can significantly impact sustainabilityenergy efficiency and the carbon footprint With this inmind we have taken an integrated approach to sustain-ability LEED Design and energy along with our MEPdesigns We do not consider sustainability to be anappendage to MEP design but rather seamless and mosa-ic We have introduced CFD Analysis and have trained alarge portion of our regular engineering design staff in allsoftware available for engineering analysis

Increased awareness of the principles of sustainabledesign is changing the way buildings are developed AKFis a leader in furthering sustainable design and environ-mental responsibility in our projects We continue to payattention to the long-term environmental impact of thesystems we engineer as well as the energy required tooperate them We provide workshops and seminars on sus-tainable design and green building systems for our clientsand staff

As a benchmarking tool and to ensure advanced supportto our clients we work closely with the LEED GreenBuilding Rating System which was developed by the USGreen Building Council (USGBC) LEED supports sustain-able buildings and its effect on the environment by provid-ing a framework for more efficient healthier structures thatare both good for the planet and the people who live on itwhile providing a higher return on investment AKF is proudto have been an active member in the USGBC since 2001

AKF became the founding sponsor of the MexicoGreen Building Council in 2005 with the World GreenBuilding Council as well as existing and emerging

Engineering Spotlight

Jake Lawrence (l) PE and Dave Moreno PE partners atAKF oversee construction of Capital Health Systemrsquos newreplacement hospital located in Hopewell Township NJ This1000000-sq-ft facility will provide the most comprehensiveand state-of-the-art patient-focused care AKF has providedcomplete MEPFP engineering services at this facility

Green Building Councils from around the world Thecombined councils work to advance the cause for sus-tainable buildings and building practices mdash necessary tothe welfare of our planet

Sustainable design capabilities start with our experi-enced professional staff and collaborative approach toengineering Our comprehensive in-house training pro-grams continue to yield an increasing number of LEEDregAccredited Professionals The firm goal is not only tomeet the current sustainability requirements of our clientsand a buildingrsquos occupants but also to anticipate and pre-pare for future needs and developments

Our sustainable design solutions have included geother-mal heat pump systems photovoltaics hybridnaturalmechanical ventilation radiant heating and coolingthermal storage heat recovery energy efficient lightingcontrol systems graywater storage and treatment systemscogeneration plants and alternate fuel chillers AKF has fullbuilding energy modeling capabilities utilizing the DOE IIbased VisualDOE program as well as the Trane Trace mod-eling software AKF provides computation fluid dynamicsmodeling using Fluent software We also have assisted ourclients in the process of procuring rebates and incentives for energy efficient equipment and systems AKFCommissioning Group is available to provide basic andenhanced Commissioning Services for LEED projects

Our services and capabilities including the following bull Sustainable MEP Design Services bull Building Energy Modeling bull Daylighting Studies bull Renewable Energy Studiesbull Computational Fluid Dynamics bull LEED Commissioning Services bull LEED Consulting Services bull RebateIncentive Consulting ServicesOur philosophy of sustainable design is founded upon

three basic principlesHarvest Free Energy mdash Maximize the harvesting of

available on-site renewable energy by advantageous build-ing orientation and massing correct placement of fenestra-tion to maximize daylight potential and optimize solar gainoptimal placement of passive ventilation openings and dis-charge points and other passive strategies The proper uti-lization of daylight has a profound impact on building ener-gy use occupant comfort and health We are proponents ofthe use of natural ventilation passive heating andor cool-ing and geothermal energy where appropriate

Reduce Building Loads mdash Second optimize remain-ing loads that affect building performance The design ofefficient electric lighting systems realistic plug loadallowances optimized building envelopes and the educa-tion of the building owner to alternative indoor environ-mental control systems and strategies have a major impacton the affordability of sustainable strategies

Employ Efficient Systems mdash Finally once maximumbenefit is extracted from available site resources and build-ing imposed loads are reduced to the greatest extent possi-ble we design efficient mechanical and electrical systemsThese systems are ldquoright sizedrdquo based on an optimizedbuilding require less capacity and have a lower first costthan systems that are not designed in this manner Theopportunities to apply high performance low energy sys-tems and strategies are greater because the building systems

are asked to do less We believe our approach results in therealization of the maximum sustainable potential for theproject at the lowest bottom line impact

PE Can you explain the significance of AKF beingcarbon neutral

AKF We are offsetting our environmental impact andeliminating our contribution to global warming This isachieved by purchasing certified offsets for our electricityuse and carbon emissions associated with our corporatetravel and firm member commuting AKF is committed tohelping reduce our dependency on fossil fuels promotingcleaner air and fighting global climate change Our certi-fied annual commitment is similar to planting 32330mature trees or not driving 8016216 miles each year

PE Is green building here to stay or is it just goodfodder for campaign speeches

AKF Green building has become standard operatingprocedure in todayrsquos fast-paced world although there arestill cost premiums involved for some systems We believethat designing and building better healthier more efficient

buildings is the only solution to improving the quality ofour environment and as more people understand anddemand these systems we expect that costs will decline

However it is important to understand that where weare today is just a step in the evolution of where we needto go in the design of buildings We need to design build-ings that are regenerative and restorative that generatemore energy than they use that export clean water insteadof waste and that create rather than destroy habitats

PE How do you avoid ldquogreenrdquo over-saturation Howdo you spec products that are sustainable and true to theapplication

AKF There is a proliferation of claims made by manu-facturers about the green compliance of their products It isincumbent on us as engineers to do the comparative due dili-gence and take the time to educate ourselves about the prod-ucts we specify We do that in a number of ways at AKF

bull We have a sustainability group (AKF Green Team)who undertake research studies and share their informa-tion with the rest of the firm

Engineers at AKF Group LLC work diligently addressingtomorrowrsquos issues today

bull We have a program of ldquolunch and learnsrdquo both in-house training and with manufacturers

bull We attend Greenbuild (November 11-13 Phoenix) wherewe can see the products side by side and can evaluate them

PE Anything in the stimulus package that will translateto green building practices and environmental stewardship

AKF There has been $151 billion earmarked in thestimulus package nationwide for green building practicesand environmental stewardship

PE Tackling solarSDHW how do you come up withsolar designs and software

AKF The most critical factor is understanding theownerrsquos goals and objectives So often solar and SDHW arethought of because they are very visible symbols of anownerrsquos commitment to sustainability Unfortunately manyownerrsquos balk at the cost of installation once they fullyunderstand them We try to educate owners on the costs andmerits of various systems We also try to make sure we areapplying the systems correctly and in the right applicationsIt may not make much sense to put SDHW on an officebuilding where the domestic hot water load is such a smallfactor but on a residential building it may be another storyOnce we decide that a particular building is a good fit weuse a number of generic software programs and refer tomanufacturersrsquo literature to determine basic sizing parame-ters for solar domestic hot water Oventrop Corprsquos litera-ture for example is a great source for us

PE For what percentage of the building load wouldyou size a solar system

AKF If the space is available and it is economicallyfeasible then we would size the solar system for 100 ofthe buildingrsquos domestic hot water load We obviouslywould have other means of generating hot water as a sup-plementbackup If the project has certain limiting para-meters such as space then the system would be maxi-mized up to the limiting parameters

We are careful to consider solutions that create a bal-anced system that takes advantage of available solar energythroughout the year while optimizing the cost of the system

PE Flat panel vs evacuated tubesAKF Based on independent studies the evacuated

tubes are more efficient (produce more hot water per areaof equipment) Also the evacuated tubes perform betterduring lower ambient temperatures If neither space norambient temperature is an issue then we would select pan-els since they are more cost effective

PE How can engineersAKF better assist builders intodayrsquos economic climate

AKF We help our clients by providing them options onsolving problems and informing them about alternatecost-effective ways to assure that their facilities meet cur-rent regulatory compliance requirements and state-of-the-art operational efficiencies

PE Can you explain the delicate balance of engineer-ing in the short term while anticipating for the long term

AKF As engineers we need to help our clients under-stand how things are changing in the world around us andhelp educate them about the value of thinking beyond onlythe expedient options and considering the long term implica-tions of energy usage carbon footprint etc as well We mustrecognize that some owners are beginning to value energyuse reductions with the resultant reduction in carbon footprintand have specific goals that go beyond the life cycle costsThe old way of looking at engineering options assumed thatthe main considerations were cost driven We now have tomake sure we are finding the best life cycle cost options thatalso achieve these other objectives We must also considerdesign flexibility in our design solutions that allow the build-ings and the systems we design to adapt over time

PE Celebrating its 20th year what are some mile-stones or highlights of AKF

AKF Several major milestoneshighlights have led tothe successful growth of the firm

bull The core values and culture established by the found-ing partners have survived and endured over the past 20years and have allowed us to differentiate our firm fromour competitors and maintain strong long term relation-ships with our clients

bull We have successfully expanded into new geographicareas and new market sectors by empowering our peopleto pursue their goals and interests

bull We have accomplished the leadership transition pro-gram that will take the firm forward for the next 20 years

AKF Group LLCrsquos goal is to continue to provide innov-ative design quality service and technical leadership byoffering services that go beyond traditional engineering andrespond to the ever-changing dynamics of the marketplace

Because AKF is an ldquoopenrdquo firm mdash it purposely has nostratified structure no titles no private offices mdash eachengineer on a project has access to all of his or her staffable to tap into the firmrsquos total pool of knowledge andskills The spirit of collaboration also embraces its clientsEach client has unfettered access to its AKF team leaderswho in turn serve as their partners on a project and whoare engaged on the front line to answer questions mdash andask them mdash and to solve problems This atmosphere ofrespect and candor throughout a project helps to sharpenand speed successful outcomes

And as AKF looks forward it recognizes the effects ofthe global economy new technologies the need for envi-ronmental efficiency and other major issues will present newchallenges for its clients across all market sectors Its visionfor the future is to foster a firm that will continue to leaddiversify and evolve

AKF Awards

bull New York Constructions News mdash The Best of 2008 AwardsThe Best Green Project mdash Award of MeritNational Audubon Society Home Office New York

bull 2008 Green Building AwardThe City of New York and the United States Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) Region 2 Grand Prize WinnerBattery Park City Parks Conservancy Maintenance Building New York

bull 2008 Green Building AwardThe City of New York and the United States Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) Region 2 WinnerWest Harlem Environmental Action (WEACT) New York

bull 2008 American Council of Engineering Companiesof New York (ACECNY) mdash The Gold Award Weill Cornell Medical CollegeThe Weill Cornell Ambulatory Care Building New York

bull 2008 American Council of Engineering Companiesof New York (ACECNY) mdash The Diamond Award The Rockefeller UniversityDr Hudspeth Ear Cell Laboratory Bronk Building New York

ume of hot water required for the building the heatingsource can match with delivery

This method will not work however for sizing solar hotwater systems Why not To size a solar system the design-er needs to determine the volume of hot water expressed indaily use The design load cannot establish the hot watervolume in gallons per day and to make it worse for thedesigner there are no charts for solar (that I am aware of)that help estimate daily hot water volumes Also the load ofa hot water recirculation loop should be taken into accountfor the additional amount of daily energy consumed throughthe losses of the hot water piping lengths With these dailyloads taken into account mdash gallons per day at design tempand Btu losses through hot water recirculation mdash we canexpress the value of energy used per day in a hot water heat-ing system for solar integration

For example letrsquos look at a hotel that uses an estimatedaverage of 2400 gallons per day and has a 400-foot recir-culation hot water loop timed for 12 hours per dayIncoming water temperature is 55 F and design hot watertemperature to achieve is 140 F To find the daily hot waterusage load calculate 2400 gallons per day 83 lbs pergallon 1 Btu per 1 F temperature rise 85 F temperaturerise This will equal the total daily usage which is 1693200Btu per day Next estimate the recirculation hot water loop

In todayrsquos revitalization of job creation and emphasis onrenewable energy there is a renaissance of activity with-in the engineering community for commercial solar hot

water systems Spurred by federal and state tax incentivesutility rebate programs grant money and prestigious LEEDaccreditation this push into solar hot water has engineersventuring into a new aspect of design that had quietly goneaway for almost 20 years (since the end of the early stage ofsolar hot water development in the 1980s)

Many mechanical engineers have had to rethink domes-tic hot water design and include a solar system for the firsttime Using a solar fuel source requires a dynamic approachto design that is very different from using traditional fossilfuel or electric boiler water heaters The purpose of this arti-cle is to help explain sizing criteria designing for the usagepattern or building occupancy and the importance of thedynamic use of solar hot water storage

Measuring hot water loads for solar

Commercial hot water system design begins by sizing thehot water load under full occupancy of the building Electricor fossil fuel boilers and hot water heaters are sized by thisrequirement ASHRAE charts help determine the hot waterrequirement for each fixture so that at a given design vol-

Solar Commercial

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heat loss load In this case I will use a loss of 825 Btuhrper linear foot of recirculation pipe (assumptions pipe sur-face temperature 125 F pipe diameter 34 inch pipe insu-lation 1 inch)

To find the daily recirculation hot water loop heat lossload calculate 12 hours of use per day 825 Btuhr perfoot of pipe 400 feet of pipe This will equal the total daily

load of 39600 Btuday The total energy (Btu) draw wouldbe the sum of the estimated daily energy load for hot wateruse and the recirculation pipe loss This is calculated as1693200 Btu + 39600 Btu The total energy use per day is1732800 Btuday

This total Btu equivalent would be the estimated dailyenergy load for hot water With a good sense of the daily

load the solar designer canbuild a monthly hot water loadprofile and then establish solarperformance based on solarradiation data and collectorsizing for a particular location

Solar collector sizing options

The solar contribution for hotwater heating can be measuredin an annual solar savings frac-tion In other words howmuch solar hot water will con-tribute to the full hot waterload over the course of anaverage year In some casesthe solar contribution may bea small fraction of the total

Solar Hot Water

How much solar hot water will contribute to the full hot water load over the course of anaverage year

2009 International Codesreg A World of Difference

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MAKE THE CHANGE 1-800-786-4452 | wwwiccsafeorg2009pmg3Need convenient electronic access to the new I-Codes Go to www biz

Changes to the 2009 International Plumbing Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes

09-01621

Plumbing Engineer September 2008Page 59

The problem to avoid in closed loop solar hot water col-lection is stagnation of the working fluid propylene glycolin the solar collectors If the solar storage tank has reachedits high temperature limit the solar collection loop will stopcirculation stagnate and reach temperatures of 300 F andhigher Propylene glycol can then flash to steam quickly onlarge collector banks and if chronic can significantlydecrease the life cycle of the antifreeze and the solar collec-tors I have seen large collector banks fail early because ofoversized collector arrays or undersized solar storage tanksUnlike with a conventional fuel source one cannot turn offthe sun but solar collectors can be sized so that stagnationwill not occur Another way to avoid stagnation is to includea heat dissipater in the design so that the collector loop cancontinue to cycle throughout the daytime hours when thesolar tanks are hot and the hot water load is either low or off

Designing solar to building occupancy

Understanding how a commercial building is occupiedand the type of hot water load needed can help determine theappropriate design and increase the efficiency and life cycleof the solar hot water system There are four primary types ofsolar commercial hot water applications buildings with day-time heating loads such as hospitals those with evening andmorning loads such as apartments those with intermittent

load (5 or less) where the hot water demand is high andthe roof area to mount collectors is limited The benefit forthe small solar hot water system is for the commercialowner who wants to make a ldquogreen statementrdquo and is inter-ested in appealing to his or her customer base

In many cases for commercial buildings the limitationof sizing solar for the total load can be imposed by theinstallation area of the roof facing south or by space in themechanical room for installing solar storage tanks Bothrequire space that could set the parameters for solar hotwater sizing Budget also has its constraints Where limita-tions are imposed the solar contribution can be viewed as atechnology that increases the efficiency of the hot waterheating system rather than as a system that has the ability tocarry a significant portion of the hot water load

Higher solar savings are made by sizing the solar hotwater system to result in annual savings of 50 (in somecases up to 65) of the hot water load The 50 goal solaris a good rule to apply to a commercial building this helpsto avoid the problem of stagnation in the solar collectorsduring low load cycles Solar performance in the summeralso needs to be taken into consideration for sizing Due tohigh ambient air temperatures solar radiation increases inthe summer as does efficient solar collection this can pro-duce more than twice the amount of energy for domestic hotwater production than in the winter months

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Solar Hot Water

loads such as offices that are unoccupied two days per weekand schools which have long periods of inactivity

Buildings with daytime loads such as hospitals nursinghomes and laundries can be designed without large solarstorage requirements These buildings have a constant day-time load every day of the week all year round In this caseand only in the case of steady hourly daytime hot waterloads solar collector arrays may be thought of as heatingplants not unlike boilers without the need for large solarstorage tanks Solar storage tanks would still be required butwould be designed as buffer tanks or solar heat transfertanks As a precaution during periods of servicing the hotwater system these systems would require heat dissipaters

The second type of application is for apartments and multi-family dwellings In this case solar storage should be sizedto store the full capacity of hot water produced by the solarcollector array Most of these loads are drawn during earlymorning hours or late in the day for showers or cookingSome buildings are mixed use such as hotels that have day-time laundry loads The same strategy applies Solar storageshould be sized to store the solar energy collected throughoutthe day Typical sizing requirements for solar hot water stor-age are to include one to two gallons of hot water storagecapacity per day for every square foot of collector aperture

Solar energy is a dynamic fuel so expect the hottest stor-age temperatures in the summer and the lowest in the win-ter months You should never expect design temperaturefrom a solar tank to be the same all year round In the win-ter or during periods of cloud cover a solar hot water sys-tem should be recognized as a preheating hot water system

Office buildings are different in that they usually have nohot water load throughout the weekend In this case thesolar storage volume could be increased and solar tanksstaged to save the solar heat during the two days that no loadwould be accounted for and then used during the occupiedcycle The collector array could also be sized down for aseven-day collection cycle for five days of actual use

The last application would be for buildings that are inter-mittently occupied These include schools dormitories andseasonal resorts where the hot water systems serve a build-ing that may not be used for weeks or months at a timeThese hot water systems are best served by drainback solardesign Using drainback design the solar collectors areempty for freeze protection and are filled only when there issolar hot water to collect All the solar working fluid isdrained out of the collectors into a reservoir tank after thecollection cycle is complete Drainback solar systems areappropriate for buildings with intermittent use because thecollectors are empty when solar collection is not in use andtherefore do not pose the problem of stagnation

Pay particular attention to drainback design Not all solarcollectors can be drained to slope so the appropriate collec-tors must be chosen Also all collectors and piping must besloped to drain and empty to the reservoir when circulationis off It is important to note that a drainback may not bepossible for example when collectors are on a groundmount or when the distance from the collectors to the reser-voir poses obstacles for slope to drain

Solar closed loop systems may be the only choice forschools or seasonal resorts When choosing closed loops for

these buildings find an auxiliary load such as a pool dur-ing periods of inactivity If that is not possible have thesolar loop drained during unoccupied cycles The otheroption installing heat dissipaters such as rooftop fan coilsor buried pipe may be the easiest solution and should beincluded for closed loop systems on buildings that are regu-larly unoccupied

Hot water recirculation and solar storage tanks

If there is anything to avoid with hot water recirculationand solar storage it is piping the recirculation hot water loopdirectly back into the solar storage tank which uses solarenergy to preheat the cold water supply then feeds the heat-ed water to the thermostat-controlled hot water heater Solartank temperatures are very dynamic and can fluctuate wide-ly throughout the day Directing return recirculation pipinginto the solar tank is a mistake When this happens the hotwater feed from the water heater through the recirculationhot water loop raises the temperature of the solar tank to thethermostat setting in the water heater This must be avoidedso that the solar collector can do all the work in its desig-nated tank to raise the temperature of the cold water supply

Hot water recirculation can only be diverted into the solartank with the addition of a three-way valve and a differen-tial control This allows recirculation into the solar tank onlyas the water in the tank increases in temperature over thereturning hot water adding temperature to the recirculationhot water loop with solar Without this control pipe recircu-lation hot water loops into the back-up hot water heater

I hope that this article provides additional perspective onsolar design considerations for commercial hot water appli-cations One thing is certain Solar hot water technologyrequires a different approach to designing hot water sys-tems The primary difference is the emphasis on ldquocollect-ingrdquo hot water Once the concept is understood the princi-ples of design will fall into place The sunrsquos energy is notconcentrated fuel stored in a gallon or a therm of energyready for hot water heating at any time Instead solar ener-gy is very consistent and reliable and can be creativelydelivered into our job market and the US renewable ener-gy infrastructure

Peter Biondo is the technical sales coordinator forOventrop Corp

Solar Hot Water

Solar collectors on this commercial building soak in the sun

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Using harvested rainwater for water closets and urinals willbe only part of the story at the Wellmark Blue Cross-BlueShield headquarters now under construction in Des MoinesIowa Cisterns at this site will collect rainwater and conden-sate from the HVAC system to supply toilets and urinals andto be used for irrigation During warmer months when thedemand for irrigation is highest the water supply from theHVAC system condensate will also be highest The cisternsare integrated into the site stormwater management planwhich offsets a portion of the initial cost of rainwater harvest-ing This project is a prime example of the benefits of collab-orative design Imagine the potential waste if the plumbing

engineer designed a rainwater harvesting system the civilengineer designed an underground detention system and theHVAC engineer designed a system to handle condensate

In an article entitled ldquoPresidentrsquos Viewpoint - the Need forGreen Schoolsrdquo in NEA Today National EducationAssociation president Dennis Van Roekel stated ldquoGreenschools are also a great teaching tool If we want children tolearn that human beings have a responsibility to be good stew-ards of natural resources we have to teach them by examplerdquo

At Burton School in Grand Rapids Mich rainwater from11000 square feet of roof is filtered and directed to a 10000-gallon belowground storage tank then used to flush 12 waterclosets A water meter in the corridor lets students see howmuch water the system has saved Based on daily rainfall datafrom Grand Rapids if the school was used year round thissystem could supply approximately 150000 gallons of waterper year

Paula Leatherman CPD from ProgressiveAE whodesigned the rainwater harvesting system at Burton Schooldescribes the process saying ldquoGrand Rapids Public Schools

Rainwater harvesting is an ancient and effective waterconservation practice Unfortunately in modern timesldquorainwater harvestingrdquo has often become associated

with a mosquito-laden barrel in the backyard lined with lastyearrsquos leaves and a resident frog or two

The potential of rainwater harvesting systems is so muchmore With proper design these systems can transform awaste product (stormwater) into a valuable resource Bringingrainwater harvesting into the commercial and residentialmainstream will require increasing awareness of possible usesof rainwater improved regulatory guidance and a greaterunderstanding of all the potential environmental benefits of

stormwater management Rainwater harvesting systems arealso a perfect opportunity for coordination of services anddesign among the civil engineer the plumbing engineer andthe mechanical engineer (the butcher the baker and the can-dlestick maker)

Harvested rainwater is often thought of only as an irriga-tion supply but it can also be used indoors to meet non-potable water demands (and is approved in some localitiesfor potable use) According to the Alliance for WaterEfficiency restrooms landscape and cooling and heatingaccount for 87 of the water use in schools and 89 of thewater use in office buildings (domestic use is included withrestrooms in the reported figures for office buildings) Evenif half of the restroomdomestic use requires potable water(handwashing etc) the majority of water use at schools andoffice buildings is non-potable The EPArsquos guidance docu-ment ldquoManaging Wet Weather with Green InfrastructureMunicipal Handbook Rainwater Harvesting Policiesrdquo iden-tifies non-potable indoor water uses as toilets urinals laun-dry and cooling towers

Rainwater Harvesting

More Than Just ADrop in the Bucket

By Sarah Lawson

has made a commitment to sustainability for its facilities andtheir last several projects have earned LEEDreg certificationDuring the Burton Elementary School project planning stageadministrators and designers discussed the different elementsthat would be appropriate for LEED points for this projectOne way to acquire additional points for LEED is to use anon-potable water source to satisfy the building water needsThe concept of a rainwater harvesting system was researchedThe districtrsquos director of facilities expressed a deep interest inan educational approach to the aspect of rainwater harvestingand so the groundwork was set for the system

ldquoNot only does the system help recognize a 52 totalbuilding water savings (according to LEED templates) but italso provides an educational tool that involves the students inthe importance of preserving our natural resources Thedesign integrated a visual metering system located in a corri-dor display case where the kids are able to track the water sav-ings This was one of the first rainwater harvesting systems inthe city of Grand Rapids and the first to utilize the system asan educational tool Reusing rainwater for building needs is aviable direction in the construction industry and we areexploring opportunities to implement similar systems in avariety of building typesrdquo

At Western Virginia Regional Jail in Salem Va whichopened on March 9 2009 a look at the whole site led to inno-vative design and increased energy efficiency Water demandsinside the facility outweigh the available rainwater supply soharvested rainwater is used only for laundry Because the laun-dry use is localized in one section of the building the pumpingand piping demands are decreased However the real energysavings occur with pre-heating of the rainwater for laundryWater used to cool the pumps from the vacuum-assisted wastesystem enters a heat exchanger and pre-heats rainwater beforeit is pumped to the laundry This 264000-square-foot facilitywill be the first LEED-certified jail in the region

Rainwater harvesting is often used just to earn LEED pointsthrough irrigation but can be a part of stormwater managementand innovative design in addition to water efficiency

The potential impact of rainwater harvesting is staggeringAccording to the US Census the United States had almost12 million more housing units in 2007 than in 2000Assuming an average footprint of 1500 square feet for eachof these housing units and an average of 30 inches per year ofprecipitation if all of these new housing units had rainwaterharvesting systems they could collect about 234 billion gal-lons of water per year more than enough water to supply theentire city of Los Angeles These rainwater harvesting sys-tems would also mean that there would be 234 billion gallonsless of runoff into lakes rivers and streams or into stormwatertreatment facilities Based on information from theStormwater Managerrsquos Resource Center 234 billion gallonsof residential runoff will carry about 390 tons of phosphorus2150 tons of nitrogen and 97770 tons of sediment Whilethese nutrients and sediment are crucial for plant growth onland they can wreak havoc in lakes and estuaries causingalgal blooms and fish kills

The environmental benefits of rainwater harvesting evenextend to energy use According to the EPA approximately3 of energy use in the US goes to drinking water andwastewater treatment By using non-potable water whichrequires less treatment for non-potable uses and by greatlydecreasing the distance that water is transported rainwaterharvesting provides an energy-efficient alternative to tradi-tional water systems Rainwater harvesting even reducesstrain on an aging water supply infrastructure

These calculations are only for new residential devel-opment Imagine how much greater the impact could be ifcommercial development was included While rainwater

harvesting is an old technology the opportunities for inno-vation are by no means exhausted Starting with a basicestablished system design to preserve the quality of therainwater the possibilities of producing a green solutionare vast Rainwater harvesting should continue advancingfar beyond the leaf-filled barrel to becoming an integralpart of whole-site water management

Sarah Lawson is a water specialist for RainwaterManagement Solutions Salem Va

A high capacity vortex filter in action during construction ofthe Burton School This pre-tank filter diverts the ldquofirstflushrdquo and prevents debris from entering the tank A singlefilter can treat roof areas up to 33000 square feet (Photocourtesy of Paula Leatherman)

Rainwater storage at the Western Virginia Regional Jail isstored in four 30000-gallon belowground fiberglass stor-age tanks Storage tank selection can be tailored to thesite

a preliminary review of the facility They found that the pro-ject including the new floor would be feasible The final con-tract was approved by the City Council and signed in earlyJune 2008 The new floor was installed and skating resumedin late September 2008 while the remainder of the projectwas completed in November 2008

The MAC has a new floor in the Torrey Arena a high effi-ciency TRAK International GeoExchange ground source heatpump (GSHP) ldquochiller plantrdquo a new web-enabled and inte-grated building automation system (BAS) installed by HarrisControls and improved system operation The MAC team theCity of St Cloud and the citizens of St Cloud now have ahigh-performance green arena that will reduce gas usage by95 and electric usage by 30 Nearly 4 million gallons ofwater usage will be eliminated along with the yearly elimi-nation of 300000 pounds of greenhouse gases

The first phase of the project involved the demolition ofthe Torrey arena floor the chiller room pumps and evapora-tive condenser The new rink was designed using a state-of-the-art floor design that maximizes heat transfer to create ahigh quality skating surface while using substantially lessenergy The new floor utilizes a below-grade thermal storagebuffer to create thermal storage capacity sustain consistentglycol temperatures and minimize the risk of ice loss relatedto a loss of cooling

The floor contains three circuits to provide only theamount of flow needed to maintain ice quality saving cool-ing capacity and pump energy It is constructed using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping that was installed usingfusion welding to create a seamless piping assembly that isresistant to leaks and friction loss and contains more than 19miles of 1 HDPE and more than 600 of 6 HDPE pipeAdded insulation under the thermal storage buffer aroundthe header and along the sideboards prevents loss of capaci-ty to the surrounding areas

The heart of the new installation is the TRAK InternationalGeoExchange Ground Source Heat Pump System The sys-tem has four 60-ton heat pumps dedicated to the Source Loopproviding 12 - 15 degree chilled glycol for the arena floors

GeoExchange system is HarrisCompaniesrsquo Rx indown economy

In a time of tight budgets and soaring energy costs the StCloud Municipal Athletic Center (MAC) has found a wayto go green and to save taxpayer dollars in the process

With the installation of a new GeoExchange system theMAC uses the earth to maintain the arena ice and heat theirfacility Installing this sustainable technology will saveenough electricity to power more than 30 homes and enoughgas to heat more than 80 homes It will reduce greenhouse gasemissions by an amount equal to the removal of more than100 cars from the road each year

This project originated after the Fall 2007 Minnesota IceArena Managersrsquo Association (MIAMA) meeting at whichHarris Companies presented information on improving ener-gy efficiency in ice arenas Following that presentation ToddBissett St Cloud MAC arena manager asked for a follow-up visit

The MAC has two arenas Torrey Arena was original to thefacility and was installed in 1972 Ritsche Arena was part ofa 1997 addition The 1972 arena was in poor condition need-ed repair and was not operating efficiently The original arenafloor had been built using galvanized piping that circulatedbrine through the floor causing severe degradation in heattransfer and effectiveness The MAC staff felt that they couldjustify a chiller replacement with energy savings but due tobudget constraints did not think the floor could be replaced

Harris Companies met with the arena staff and conducted

and two 60-ton heat pumps dedicated to the load loop pro-viding 145 F hot water that is integrated into the existing hotwater and domestic hot water systems

The system was custom designed by TRAK to meet theneeds of both ice rinks The Vilter flooded chiller system at theRitsche Arena (1997) was left in place but tied into the newTRAK system so that it could remain as a back-up systemand provide additional capacity if needed during peak loadconditions

The TRAK heat pumps were custom built by MidwestFabrication and Supply of Zumbrota Minn for this applica-tion The heat pumps are high-efficiency industrial grade heatpumps that are designed for the specific facility where theywill be installed They include on-board direct digital controlsand electronic expansion valves

The well field was installed under the existing parking lotand consists of more than 6500 feet of vertical boreholes

The circulating pumps were installed with variable fre-quency drives to allow reduced flow through the circulatingloops A fluid cooler was added to the system to allow foradditional heat rejection and free cooling during cold wintermonths when it is possible to circulate chilled glycolthrough the fluid cooler and to eliminate the need formechanical cooling

The existing dehumidification unit for Torrey Arena wasretrofitted in the field to convert the existing refrigerant and

hot water coils to chilled water and hot water coils In addi-tion a new high efficiency motor and variable frequency drivewere installed The unit uses excess cooling from the rinkfloor supply and waste heat to efficiently maintain rinkhumidity levels

The Ritsche Arena used a Fresh Air Systems (FAS) dehu-midification unit that contained a desiccant wheel that wasrecharged by heat generated from a 750000 Btu natural gashot water boiler in the unit The hot loop piping was extendedto this unit in order to use waste heat generated from main-taining the ice to recharge the desiccant wheel

A heat recovery air handling unit for the Torrey Arena thathad used hot refrigerant gas from the chiller was converted touse hot water that is heated with waste heat from the TRAKheat pump plant

The Torrey Arena was built in 1972 with pneumatic con-trols for the temperature control system Several years agothe pneumatic control system was abandoned and replacedwith stand-alone electric controls Most of the valves andactuators were retrofitted in some way but several were leftwithout any control and remained that way until this projectwas completed Ritsche Arena was built in 1997 and usedelectro-mechanical controls for the Vilter Chiller plant andKMC Controls Direct Digital Controls (DDC) for the arenatemperature control

This project replaces all of the stand-alone controls in theTorrey Arena integrates both the existing KMC controls in theRitsche Arena and the new KMC controls for the TRAK heatpump plant and Vilter Plant into one system The project alsoincluded the addition of CO2 sensors for the Torrey Arenamake-up air units so that they only operate and ventilate whenthe building occupancy requires additional outdoor air

The BAS uses a web-enabled graphical user interface toallow the arena staff to monitor the system adjust schedules

and operate the building from anywhere Internet access isavailable It also includes energy management functions tomonitor and control the arenasrsquo energy use in the facility

The engine that drives the MAC installation is the TRAKInternational GeoExchange Ground Source Heat PumpSystem The system has four 60-ton heat pumps dedicat-ed to the Source Loop and two 60-ton heat pumps dedi-cated to the load loop providing 145 F hot water

The arena used a dehumidification unit that contained adesiccant wheel that was recharged by heat generatedfrom a 750000 Btu natural gas hot water boiler The hotloop piping was extended to this unit in order to use wasteheat generated from maintaining the ice to recharge thedesiccant wheel

Bariatric wall-hung water closetA complete system including a Z1203-XB carrier and Z5690 bariatric toiletwill withstand loadings of up to 1000pounds Bariatric toilet is provided withan open front elongated anti-microbialpolypropylene seat for enhanced patientcomfort The unit is fabricated fromtype 304 stainless steel and is availablewith an anti-microbial powder coatingZurn Industries LLC

wwwzurncom

Grinder pumpE810 Progressing Cavity Grinder

Pump retrofit readilyadapts to existing pro-

gressing cavity grinderpump systems The sys-tem contains a quick-disconnect coupling for

easy use installation andadaptation The pumprsquos

finned class 30 cast ironconstruction reduces

heat an arch-enemy toany electric motor Zoeller

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

Premium bathroom collectionReminiscent of the classic architectureof Oxford the geometric lines of theOxford Suite evoke a sense of beingamong Englandrsquos ornate towers andsteeples Boasting a bold and statelydesign the refined distinct look of theOxford Suite is appropriate for a rangeof deacutecor options from traditional tocontemporary Symmons

wwwsymmonscom

H2Okinetic showerheadAward-winning water efficientshowerheads with H2OkineticTechnology The showerheads flowat an efficient 15 gallons per minute

(gpm) at 60 pounds per square inch(psi) yet deliver a warm drenchingshower mdash offering consumers asmarter way to conserve water with-out compromising comfort Delta

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Oil detective systemsThree new ldquoOil Detectiverdquo SumpSystems are job-readyand are designed todetectalert the pres-ence of oil in variousapplications Systemcomes complete withdurable cast iron orcast ironstainlesssteel pump pump con-troller audiblealarms visual displaylights preset onoff20 piggy-back switchcord UL508approved switch andcomplete easy-to-install instructionsBlue Angel Pumps

wwwblueangelpumpscom

Product News

Oil smart water pump controllerThe ldquooriginalrdquo and ldquoonlyrdquo stand-alone pump controller with the abilityto differentiate between hydrocarbons

and water Unlikecostly conductivesystems the capac-itive pump controlrequires no controlpanel will operateany pump by itselfup to 1 hp or 16amps and itrsquos per-formance cannotbe altered by oil Ifa layer of oilattaches itself tothe sensors theswitch will detect a

field of water and pump the waterfrom under the oil Once the long sen-sor sees no more water (oil or air) thepump will turn off immediately See

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

Brochure on TMVs amp controlsA newly revised 16-page colorbrochure describing the companysextensive line of thermostatic watermixing valves and water temperaturecontrols is now available The revisedbrochure highlights the revisions tothe Megatron system photo mixingsystems remote shower control sys-tems and thermostatic shower valvesLeonard Valve Co

wwwleonardvalvecom

Fire sprinkler piping guideCompany has published a new com-prehensive 72-page CPVC FireSprinkler Piping Installation Guide to

provide the fire sprinkler industry withits most comprehensive printedresource for technical data oninstalling CPVC fire sprinkler sys-tems Harvel Plastics Inc

wwwharvelcom

Sensor-operated faucetsNew 16-page 4-color brochure titledldquoThe Universe of Electronic Faucetsrdquocovers companyrsquos hardwire battery-powered and solar-powered faucetsfor all types of commercial industrialand institutional applications Thebrochure highlights select modelswithin each faucet category and givesan overview of available optionsFaucets include both deck- and wall-mount models for installation flexibil-ity Sloan Valve Co

wwwsloanvalvecom

Commercial products catalogNew Commercial Products Catalogintroduced as the Division expands itspresence in the commercial market-place The easy-to-use guide givesbuilders architects and engineers ahigh-level review of the kitchen andbath products available to meet theirstandards for durability accessibilitysafety and conservation Products arecreated to address the specific needs ofthe building owner and the end-userMoen Commercial

wwwmoencom

ECAST faucets amp fixturesECAST line provides a completeoffering of durable high quality brassfaucets and fixtures including deckmounted and wall mounted faucetsmetering faucets stop valves special-ty fittings and bubblers The line wasdeveloped specifically to meet theAB1953 standard requiring faucetsintended to dispense water for humanconsumption must not exceed a totalweighted average of 025 maximumlead content Chicago Faucets

wwwchicagofaucetscom

DallaS mdash In a recent address to the nation PresidentObama announced his plan for reviving the weakened USeconomy One of the planrsquos primary focuses is on energyefficiency by investing in the greening of homes andlifestyles america can reduce waste and spur innovativeopportunities

The speech was well received many people saw thetrend even before President Obama announced it Oneexample of this forward thinking is the partnershipbetween United Mechanical in Dallas a private designand build contractor with more than 60 years of experi-ence in specialized skill projects and a 1 million-square-foot government facility that had an antiquated boilersystem serving its modern hot water needs

The facility (its identity undisclosed due to security)features an onsitecommercial kitchenshowers numerouslavatories and asalon There are fourfood preparationsinks five handsinks one commer-cial dishwasher twopot sinks 30 dish-washers throughoutthe offices 131restroom lavatoriesand more

Two 1-million Btu gas fired-boilers along with a 2000-gallon storage tank that took up 200 square feet had beenserving the entire compound for decades When the newadministration made its green intentions known the facil-ity contacted United Mechanical for advice and help

Gary Scoggins design engineer tackled the challenge ofsizing a system that can handle the facilityrsquos demands reduceenergy consumption and ensure reliable operations By tradi-tional means of Btu sizing the new equipment should matchthe original equipmentrsquos two million Btu input Btu input rat-ing is often misleading however as output is the key to sat-isfying demand For example with a 60 thermal efficiencyrating the original equipment is capable of a 12 M Btu out-put With high efficiency modulating equipment such asEternal Hybrid six 200 K Btu heaters can closely match theoutput of the original 2M Btu boilers

By closely monitoring usage patterns Gary discoveredthat while the commercial dishwasher required 12 gallonsof water per minute it filled in just 45 seconds Knowingthis he chose Eternal for its ability to leverage built-in stor-age for short burst demands Otherwise he would have hadto use a 380 K Btu tankless to achieve the required flow rate

The end result is a system with three pairs of Eternalsserving three different zones of the facility The units areon a header system allowing for easy swap-out and recir-culation to provide quick hot water delivery The facilityis very pleased with the result and the maintenance crewis happy that the new system takes up just over 10 squarefeet of space

Product Application

Challenge met at 1000000-square-footcovert government facility

Three pairs of EternalHybrid Water Heatersserve three differentzones of the facilityThe units are on aheader system allow-ing for easy swap-outand recirculation toprovide quick hotwater delivery Six200 K Btu heaterscan closely match theoutput of the original2M Btu boilers

Mike Edenstrom head installer who built the system at thegovernment project readies for another day at the job site

Hydrotek 30wwwhydrotekintlcomICC 58wwwiccsafeorgICCES39wwwicc-esorgJosam15 51wwwjosamcomLeonard 7wwwleonardvalvecomLiberty Pumps 17wwwlibertypumpscomMifab55 67wwwmifabcomThe Noble Company 32wwwnoblecompanycomMoen 19wwwmoencomNavien 71wwwnavienamericacomOventrop3wwwoventrop-nanetPleasantville Urban Enterprise Zone 43

wwwdowntownnjorgour-memberspleasantville-urban-enterprise-zone110php

Precision Plumbing Products48wwwpppincnetRockford Sanitary Sytems34-35wwwrkfdseparatorscomSFA Saniflo59 wwwsaniflocomSee Water Inc24wwwseewaterinccomSloan Valve Company4 9wwwsloanvalvecomSmith Mfg Co Jay R 23wwwjrsmithcomStiebel Eltron 57wwwstiebel-eltron-usacomSymmons 11wwwsymmonscomWatts 33wwwwattscomWebstone2wwwwebstonevalvescomWoodford Mfg 61wwwwatcomfgcomZoeller 25wwwzoellercomZurn Industries72wwwzurncom

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Bridgers amp Paxton a 100-personengineering firm seeks a PlumbingDesigner for our Albuquerque NMoffice with min 5 years exp inplumbing systems design for com-mercial industrial medical andeducational facilities Candidatesshould be proficient with AutoCAD2008 andor Revit Must be a teamplayer Submit cover letter andresume to

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Visit our website at wwwbpcecomEOE

ARlINGtON VA mdash the Air-Conditioning Heating andRefrigeration Institute (AHRI) hasrestructured its staff responsibilities andmade the following announcements

bull CEO Jack Klimp will be retiring

Movers amp Shakers

as of June 1 2009bull Stephen R Yurek will continue to

serve as the associationrsquos president bull Joe Mattingly continues as gener-

al counsel and corporate secretarybull Stephanie Murphy is responsible

for finance membership and officeoperations

bull Bill tritsis is responsible for cer-

tification programsbull Henry Hwong is responsible for

standards product section servicesand statistical programs

bull Francis Dietz is responsible forpublic affairs meetings and education

bull David Calabrese will have overallresponsibility for government regula-tory and international affairs assistedby Karim Amrane with regard to reg-ulatory activities Don Davis withregard to government affairs and JimWalters with regard to internationalaffairs

the senior staff positions of execu-tive vice president and senior vicepresident public affairs were elimi-nated in the restructuring

AHRI announces CEOrsquos retirement staff restructuring

ASHRAE honors Tampa engineer as new FellowCHICAGO mdash the American Society ofHeating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)elevated Warren G Hahn PE CEOHahn Engineering tampa Fla to thegrade of Fellow at the Societyrsquos 2009Winter Conference Fellow ASHRAEis a membership grade that recognizesdistinction in the arts and sciences ofheating ventilating air conditioningor refrigeration and is earned throughachievement as a researcher designereducator or engineering executiveApproximately 500 of ASHRAErsquos50000 members are Fellows

Webstone appoints Westernregional sales managerWORCEStER MASS mdash WebstoneCompany Inc has appointed GrantDow Western regional sales managerGrant will be responsible for all west-ern United States and the westernprovinces of Canada His duties willinclude sales enhancement trainingnew product launches and representa-tive management He has extensiveindustry experience in sales manage-ment and is a licensed plumbing con-tractor as well as a member of IAPMO

MENOMONEE FAllS WIS mdash BradleyCorp announced the appointment ofSteve Henry as the companyrsquos newWestern regional sales manager forDivision 10 products

Bradley names Western regional sales manager

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

The exclusive benefits of top down access in

the Acorn Aqua wall mounted stainless steel

drinking fountains are beneficial to both

customers and plumbers

Attaching the fountain and connecting the

plumbing from the top is more efficient

and comfortable Because the installation

can be completed from a standing posi-

tion crawling underneath the fountain is no

longer necessary and the amount of wear

and tear this saves on your friendly plumber

should make these models your plumberrsquos

best friend The value of top down access

continues even after installation The abil-

ity to easily access the valve cartridge and

strainer makes maintenance a simple The

integral P-trap eliminates the need for an

access panel or wall chase

TOP DOWN

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WATER COOLERS

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Suitable for ANY Environment

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All the hot water heaters in the world with PVC venting that are 98 efficient

Where technology meets ecology

Condensing 98 Tankless Water Heater

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Siphonic Drain hellip the Future

bull No pitch required in piping to induce fl ow hellip more usable interior space

bull Smaller pipe diameter for fl ow rates equal to gravity hellip cost savings

bull Reduced underground large diameter drainage due to vertical stack placement fl exibility hellip cost savings more free interior space

bull Higher fl ow velocities help to clean pipes ndash no cleanouts required hellip cost savings

bull Green benefi ts for siphonic construction

Have you considered a Zurn Siphonic Roof Drainage System for use on your next project Herersquos why you should hellip

ZURN INDUSTRIES LLC SPECIFICATION DRAINAGE OPERATION 1801 PITTSBURGH AVENUE ERIE PA USA 16502PHONE 814455-0921 FAX 814454-7929 wwwzurncom

wwwzurncom

Siphonic Roof Drain Systems Versus Gravity Roof Drain Systems

Easy To Use Zurn Siphonic Software

Please contact your Zurn representative for more details

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pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

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pe04_pgs_56_61

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pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

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April 2009

1313AKF Group LLC

New York

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

69 | Classifieds

69 | Ad Index

OwnerTom M Brown

Editorrsquos Letter

Industry News

wwws loanvalvecom

WATER SHAPES NATURE

Efficiency Company

The New Standard in

Water Efficiency

bull Sloan SOLISreg

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

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pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

April 2009

1313AKF Group LLC

New York

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

69 | Classifieds

69 | Ad Index

OwnerTom M Brown

Editorrsquos Letter

Industry News

wwws loanvalvecom

WATER SHAPES NATURE

Efficiency Company

The New Standard in

Water Efficiency

bull Sloan SOLISreg

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

pe04_pgs_28_39

pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

April 2009

1313AKF Group LLC

New York

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

69 | Classifieds

69 | Ad Index

OwnerTom M Brown

Editorrsquos Letter

Industry News

wwws loanvalvecom

WATER SHAPES NATURE

Efficiency Company

The New Standard in

Water Efficiency

bull Sloan SOLISreg

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

pe04_pgs_28_39

pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

OwnerTom M Brown

Editorrsquos Letter

Industry News

wwws loanvalvecom

WATER SHAPES NATURE

Efficiency Company

The New Standard in

Water Efficiency

bull Sloan SOLISreg

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

pe04_pgs_28_39

pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

OwnerTom M Brown

Editorrsquos Letter

Industry News

wwws loanvalvecom

WATER SHAPES NATURE

Efficiency Company

The New Standard in

Water Efficiency

bull Sloan SOLISreg

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

pe04_pgs_28_39

pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

Industry News

wwws loanvalvecom

WATER SHAPES NATURE

Efficiency Company

The New Standard in

Water Efficiency

bull Sloan SOLISreg

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

pe04_pgs_28_39

pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

Industry News

wwws loanvalvecom

WATER SHAPES NATURE

Efficiency Company

The New Standard in

Water Efficiency

bull Sloan SOLISreg

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

pe04_pgs_28_39

pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

wwws loanvalvecom

WATER SHAPES NATURE

Efficiency Company

The New Standard in

Water Efficiency

bull Sloan SOLISreg

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

pe04_pgs_28_39

pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

Industry News

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

Solar Hot Water

DONrsquoT LET

BURST YOUR BUBBLE

wwwWOODFORDMFGcom

Anti-Rupture

Mounting Sleeve

WOODFORD M Toll F

WOODFORDMFGcom

OMPANY

By Sarah Lawson

wwwzurncom

Pump Co

wwwzoellercom

wwwsymmonscom

Faucet Co

wwwdeltafaucetcom

Product News

Water Inc

wwwseewaterinccom

wwwleonardvalvecom

wwwharvelcom

wwwsloanvalvecom

wwwmoencom

Product Application

Classified Ads

SS Floor Drains

Call 888-244-3417

wwwholdritecom

Movers amp Shakers

ACORN ENGINEERING

Family of Companies

[ 800 ] 591-9360

acornaqua com

TOP DOWN

ACCESS

DRINKING FOUNTAINS

WATER COOLERS

CHILLERS

wwwzurncom

pe04_pgs_01_02

pe04_pgs_03_05

pe04_pgs_06_07

pe04_pgs_08_15

pe04_pgs_16_21

pe04_pgs_22_27

pe04_pgs_28_39

pe04_pgs_40_43

pe04_pgs_44_49

pe04_pgs_50_55

pe04_pgs_56_61

pe04_pgs_62_63

pe04_pgs_64_65

pe04_pgs_66_67

pe04_pgs_68

pe04_pgs_69_70

pe04_pgs_71_72

104 PM Page 1

S1340-BF

p [ 800 ] 591 | 9372

infoacornsafetycom

acornsafetycom

these models

for long life

TheNew

Reduction

STANDALONEALARM

DUPLEXCONTROL

PANELS

SIMPLEX SYSTEM

Code Update

ANNIVERSARY

SINCE 1939

Ron George

Fire Protection

Discussion

Fire Protection

09-01561

White Papers Online

13 amp

Insolation]

Figure 2

experience

1 RELIABILITY

2 EFFECTIVENESS

3 COMPATIBILITY

4 ELEGANCE

5 SERVICEABILITY

6 EFFICIENCY

N BUILDING COUNCIL

USGBC reg

PrecisionHydronics

PrecisionTM

N BUILDING COUNCIL

wwwphpincus

Call for quotation

NEWNEW

Made in the USA

The HyTronictrade

Plumbing Engineer

Inside the firm

MEA-JOSAM Pro-Plus

AKF Awards

Solar Commercial

HotWaterDesign

By Peter Biondo

Simply the Best

Solar Hot Water

09-01621

y w a y

frac34rdquo

SINCE 1958

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April - Plumbing Engineer