The September 2022 issue of PM Engineer features the Next Gen All Stars: Top 20 Under 40 Plumbing Professionals, ASPE gets back to business with 2022 Convention & Expo, and more.
No doubt, it’s a scenario you have encountered — and successfully managed — on any number of occasions: A building owner wants restroom facilities or a commercial kitchen space where plumbing does not exist, or the nearest plumbing line is 10 or more feet away.
Central domestic packaged heat pump hot water (HPWH) systems can significantly reduce energy usage and provide a consistent and reliable source of hot water.
From the street, Bayview Tower in downtown Seattle looks like many other 1970s-era affordable housing apartments found across the U.S. This 13-story, 100-apartment property, run by the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA), provides an affordable senior-housing option to Seattle’s financially at-risk community. But, around the back of the building exists a domestic hot water (DHW) system, which is anything but 1970s.
It’s been four years since the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) last held its convention and expo. The normally biannual event was canceled in the fall of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s easy to believe that the organization — and its members — are ready to get back to business. The 2022 ASPE Convention & Expo returns Sept. 16-21 in Indianapolis.
I was first introduced to black water in 1972 as an apprentice at F. W. Behler, where I had just begun the never-ending learning curve. We were draining a hydronic hot water system that served a large row home with standing cast iron radiators. The water was dark colored and smelled a bit funky, but it was explained, to me, that this was perfectly normal and highly desirable because that indicated the hydronic water was essentially devoid of free oxygen.
There has been a lot of discussion and new guidance documentation about Legionella in building water systems and the implementation of water management programs (WMP) for ongoing operations. This has led to discussions about plumbing engineering best practices to allow the building water distribution system (BWDS) to operate efficiently and safely when the building is occupied.
In creating Hunter’s Curve, the beauty of what Dr. Roy Hunter did was to take an incredibly complex problem in probability theory and make it simple — so simple, in fact, that all it required was basic arithmetic.
“Que Sera Sera” is the title of a catchy tune from way back when that means: “Whatever will be will be.” The lyrics go on to say, “the future’s not ours to see.” For anyone reading this who has absolutely no connection to this cultural reference, a more modern term in common use would be: “It is was it is.”
I’ve covered pellet-fueled boiler applications in several past issues of PME. All of them have involved hydronic distribution systems. While such applications are certainly the prevailing way pellet boilers are used, they are not the only option. It’s possible to couple a pellet boiler to a forced air distribution system.
The first time I heard the terms “paruresis” and “parcopresis” was in the mid-1980s at a plumbing code hearing. In those days, there was no Google to look up the words. I listened to the chief plumbing inspector from a Midwestern state explain why this was an important issue in the plumbing profession.
Last month, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, representing the largest investment in clean energy sources in U.S. history. Though the bill is entitled “Inflation Reduction Act,” it's really a “climate change bill with a side helping of health reform,” as New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman describes.
The RSC-900-F is a wireless, commercial-grade solution for detecting plumbing leaks and monitoring a building’s water usage trends to identify excessive water usage in real-time.
The Snow-Melt Embeddable Attachment Grid functions as a framework to attach snow melting cables to when used for heated snow melting systems for projects like outdoor stairs, driveways, walkways and more.
The IKONIC high efficiency condensing gas tankless water heater delivers a best-in-class 0.96 UEF, resulting in up to a 36% reduction in energy use and carbon footprint and up-to 65% reduction in NOx emissions, the company says.
Developed by the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA LiNK is an application-based platform containing real-time code information and expert commentary.
Sloan’s new Gravity Toilet features a sleek one-piece look with the benefits of a two-piece toilet that makes maneuvering parts easier for installation while delivering improvements that increase efficiency, aesthetics and hygiene for a wide range of commercial applications.