ISH North America Opens - Today's Top News

Siggy Says

It may not be easy being green – unless you’re talking about hydronics.

“Water is vastly superior to air when it comes to being a ‘conveyor belt’ for Btus,” said John Siegenthaler at one of the 10n education seminars held during the opening day of ISH North America.

But Siegenthaler encouraged contractors to go a “deeper shade of green” and capitalize even further on the inherent advantages of hydronic and radiant heat.

Boilers are just one part of the equation. Contractors need to emphasize distribution efficiency just as much as they have long focused on the thermal efficiency of boilers.

“Putting a highly efficient boiler into a poorly designed heating distributing system is like putting a Ferrari engine into a 1962 Volkswagen,” Siegenthaler added.

It was Siegenthaler’s main contention that American contractors typically “overpump” their heating systems. To prove his point, Siegenthaler showed several pictures of residential boiler rooms with pumps numbering near 20.

On the other hand, European heating contractors are just as concerned about electricity as they are about fuel. Using formulas to determine “water watts,” Siegenthaler showed attendees that much common hydronic system could use pumps and circulators that draw considerably less power to provide the same measure of heat. Smaller in terms of energy use.

Many of these lower wattage pumps and circulators are just being introduced to the American market.

Besides lower watts, Siegenthaler outlined 15 other ways contractors could go “greener” ranging from using ECM-based water rotor circulators to insulating under slab.