Ted Sikorski (left), Bradford White vice president of marketing, and Ian Booker, Bradford White Canada vice president and general manager, pose in front of the EF Series commercial water heater.

Bradford White (Ambler, Pa.) introduced its EF Series commercial gas ultra high efficiency water heater. The original EF Series water heater was designed to provide a commercial unit that combined efficient performance, quiet operation, and installation versatility. According to the company, the 100-gallon, 199,999-Btu water heater has a 98.5 percent efficiency rating.

The new series includes a 250,000-Btu model and a 150,000-Btu model that offers a 99.1 percent efficiency rating, making these water heaters “perfect for commercial applications where the primary criteria are large volumes of water and reduced energy costs,” the company said.

Burnham (Lancaster, Pa.) announced a new boiler control to provide outdoor reset, reduce operating costs, protect against thermal shock, and reduce flue gas condensation. The unit is named RTC (return temperature control). The company used its V11 boiler with the RTC for display at the AHR Expo.

A mounted three-way valve and boiler circulator with painted pipes illustrated the flow and temperature of water around the boiler. “Studies show that resetting boiler and system water temperature increase efficiency and reduce operating costs,” said Bob Wilson, Burnham commercial product manager. “This concept is now made easy with Burnham’s RTC.”

Grundfos (Olathe, Kan.) rolled out its three-speed Super Brute circulator, which the company said is ideal for zoning applications. The Super Brute features a unique removable integrated check valve for minimal flow restriction, the company said.

Taco's Gary Devar shows off the HS2 software for the new Loadmatch single-pipe hydronic system for heating and cooling applications.

Every model in the Elite Series has an LED digital display, making it easier to adjust and monitor temperature and setpoints, which is important since outdoor reset control matches the production of heat according to the outdoor temperature, the company said.

Lochinvar (Lebanon, Tenn.) introduced its next generation Copper-Fin II® commercial gas water heater/boiler, which the company said offers “greater installation flexibility and easier service access to valves and connections.”

Features include the gasketless heat exchanger and dual ignition systems. “The next generation Copper-Fin II is the result of 10 years of experience delivering reliability and serviceability with Lochinvar exclusive features,” said Jeff Vallett, Lochinvar executive vice president.

Lochinvar also introduced its TurboCharger™ gas water heater and redesigned LochSPEC™ water heater sizing program at the AHR Expo.

Raypack (Oxnard, Calif.) displayed its Hi Delta sealed-combustion boiler, which the company said offers “optimum thermal delivery with super low NOx levels, multiple firing options and venting flexibility in a compact footprint.” It is available in a range of capacities from 122,000 to 2,340,000 Btuh to meet most domestic hot water and hydronic heating applications.

Jim Knauss, Burnham engineering manager, stands alondside his company's industrial Three Pass Boiler. (Photos by Dave Wilks.)

John White Jr., president of Taco, said that Taco will put more emphasis on the commercial market this year, noting, “LoadMatch allows us to take our core circulator product and grow it into our commercial product lines. And HS2 is one of the most incredibly cool things I have ever seen.”

Greg Cunniff, Taco systems engineer, demonstrated HS2 and LoadMatch for press conference attendees.

“This software is truly a paradigm shift in the industry,” he said. “It is a two-year-old idea that is wrapped up in new technology. I like to think of this as CAD software on steroids.”

He said that LoadMatch eliminates the need for most balancing valves and energy-consuming control valves by replacing them with small, energy-efficient Taco LoadMatch calculators. The HS2 software, he stated, allows designers to cut system design time in half and eliminate calculation errors.

“Systems can now be designed in minutes instead of hours,” Cunniff added.

Uponor-Wirsbo (Apple Valley, Minn.) showed off its pro Series control package for radiant floor heating and snow melting applications. The pro Series controls allow contractors to integrate multiple hydronic system controls into one cost-effective and efficient system.

The pro Series radiant temperature controls are available with a variable-speed injection pump or a floating action mixing valve. Other features include easy outdoor reset, simple wiring, integrated boiler reset, domestic hot water (DHW) priority, and automatic protection for the boiler against damage from condensing flue gases, the company said.

The controls regulate sophisticated systems but are “simple to operate,” according to the company. As an example, The SYSTEMpro 311 is a weather-responsive master control used in multiple temperature hydronic systems.

The SYSTEMpro 311 oversees boiler reset, DHW priority, high-temperature control, mixed-temperature control and semi-automatic snow and ice melting control when used with Wirsbo’s Snowmelt Enable Kit. It also offers outdoor reset.

Publication date: 03/03/2003