Many hydronic installers look for ways to differentiate their work, to craft a specific look — maybe even a “brand” — that resonates with customers. For Fernando Lobo, owner of Fairfield, Connecticut-based 1 Call Services, that unique look begins with the raw material list he builds when sizing a boiler replacement, or new boiler install.

People who knew Capt. Montgomery C. Meigs said he was occasionally pompous, but when the job was done to his satisfaction, he said, “This was the most difficult piece of engineering and construction that I have yet to undertake.”

Government planners, taking their queues from politicians and advocacy organizations, have steered the future of energy supply away from fossil fuels and toward renewably-sourced electricity. It’s happening on every level from the feds right down to local city councils.

Hughes is the ninth recipient of the award.   

In 2007, Siegenthaler authored the first edition of idronics, Hydraulic Separation.

A recent inquiry involved a heating system for a school in which two electric boilers were being added to supplement the output of a gas-fired cast-iron boiler, and take advantage of low “off-peak” electrical rates.

Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke sat down with longtime PM Columnist Ray Wohlfarth, president of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Fire & Ice, to discuss his experience as a contractor specializing in boilers, what the boiler market looks like today, and what to expect in this space moving forward.

I love all the advances taking place in the world of hydronics, but I’m still seeing plenty of steam systems out there in our older cities, so knowing about dry steam will help you if you’re replacing a steam boiler. The dryer the steam is, the better you’re going to look to your customers.

Many legacy hydronic heating systems use a fossil fuel boiler to supply fin-tube baseboard heat emitters in some areas of a building and lower-temperature radiant panels in other areas. 

Given the current prices for fuel oil and propane, and current state and federal incentive programs, many homeowners are asking heating contractors to replace their aging boilers with a geothermal heat pump system.