I grew up hearing the adage: “A watched pot never boils.” When I was a young teen helping my mother cook spaghetti or make tea, impatience did indeed seem to drag out the waiting process. Better to chop vegetables or set the table than stare at the water on the stove. But for professionals who develop and maintain hot water systems, whether for hydronic heating, for hot water use in buildings, or both combined, it’s all in the details. We want them to be attentive! Their focus helps to assure a level of continued innovation, enhanced system performance, and energy efficiency. There is more to hot water than meets the untrained eye.
A few months ago I visited Southern California Gas’s facility in Downey, CA, called the Energy Resource Center, for a hot water demonstration, through the Green Technical Committee of the International Association of Plumbers and Mechanical Operators. The Hot Water Demonstration Lab provided at this location has six different water heaters, a boiler, and two moveable carts with hot water fixture fittings and appliances. It has the capability of monitoring pressure, temperature, and flow as water moves through the water heaters into the hot water distribution system and discharges through the fixture fittings. I was a fly on the wall, listening as plumbers and manufacturers discussed the many in-the-field experiences they have had, and they tried out solutions to the challenges using both equipment provided and newly designed components that some had brought to share with the group. The conversation during the demonstrations set the stage: not only can hot water systems be complex; the codes that impact them can be as well.
Take the example of a commercial building that has a bathroom containing a row of sinks. There may be codes having to do with the temperature of water required for hand washing, other codes related to water pressure, yet others limiting the amount of water loss that is acceptable while waiting for it to become warm, and yet other codes having to do with the placement of pipes connecting the sinks to the source of hot water. Getting hot water right is important.
Another California utility, Pacific Gas and Electric also has a Hot Water Testing Lab, and it is likely these kinds of facilities exist throughout the country, needed to both spur and to monitor system improvements, and to gain clarity about the way new products consume energy.
The landscape of hot water options is lush. There are high-efficiency (condensing) water heaters, instantaneous (tankless) water heaters, hybrid heater/storage combinations including high-efficiency boilers, and preheating options including refrigerant waste heat recovery.
In this supplement, we showcase all kinds of boilers including steam boilers and large industrial boilers, as well as tankless hot water heaters. We present the field of hydronics, and learn the strong value of insulation for steam systems.
More than anything, our goal is to leave you with a taste of what is hot in hot water and what trends may help you meet your facility’s hot water needs.
Nancy Gross is the editor of Business Energy.
