Thinking Beyond Plate & Frame Heat Exchangers for Waterside Economizing

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By Chad Edmondson

  “What type of heat exchanger is best for my waterside economizer application?”

 It’s a question we get asked a lot.  With the increased requirement for either an air or waterside economizing in ASHRAE 90.1 – 2010, we expect to get asked even more – especially since the DOE expects states to adopt the revised standard into their non-residential building codes by as early as next month.

 U-Factor Versus Real-World-Factor

Conventional engineering logic has always leaned toward plate and frame technology for waterside

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Air Management and Pressurization Part 4: Expansion Tank Sizing

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By Chad Edmonson

Properly sized expansion tanks (standard or bladder/diaphragm) are critical to a successful air management in a hydronic system.

Every expansion tank manufacturer has a written form that provides the steps and calculations for sizing an expansion tank.  Most, if not all, have developed software that does the work for you.  Bell & Gossett has a great one, ESP-Plus which can be downloaded here.  But regardless of whether you use software or charts and longhand calculations to size an expansion tank, there are a few pieces of information you’re going to have to have either way.  These key values are:

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Air Management and Pressurization Part 2 – Air Control versus Air Elimination

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By Chris Edmondson

 Air must be managed in every type of closed hydronic system, either by (1) routing it to a specific place in the system where it can’t create problems like pipe corrosion or air blocking of components, or (2) by continuously eliminating it

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Federal Buildings To Comply with ASHRAE 90.1-2010 – Just Like the Rest of Us!

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By Chad Edmondson

It’s only a matter of weeks before new commercial buildings codes must comply (or state’s must a request for extension) with ASHRAE 90.1 -2010, as we reported in an earlier blog.  And it looks like federal buildings will also have to follow suit too – albeit a little later

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