The November 2022 issue of PM Engineer features the 2022 Mechanical Engineer of the Year., Solar water heating systems, Designing and specifying liquid cooling in data centers, and more.
Gary Hayden is a man of many talents. A licensed Professional Engineer in Virginia and eight other states, the 63-year-old’s career has taken him from product development to design and finally, the implementation of radiant and hydronic systems.
All too many times a bid is turned in only to be told, “We need to look at VE options.” There are plenty of mechanical units that can be downgraded, architectural features that can be sacrificed, or peel back every division to see what can possibly be optimized for that extra dollar.
Previously only common in high-performance computing (HPC), a growing number of data centers are adopting liquid cooling. The driver — an increasing number of high-density racks being deployed to support artificial intelligence and other latency-sensitive and processing-intensive business applications.
There is no doubt that issues with natural resources and conservation of energy will continue to make daily news headlines. The concerns around exploiting our depletable resources and sensitivity on the battered environment have led society to find alternative and better ways to use and manage the energy that is available to us, principally in the use of renewable resources such as absorbing and storing solar energy.
Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28, carving a path of destruction through the state and killing more than 100 people. The real magnitude of Hurricane Ian’s death toll is still unknown, with media outlets reporting differing numbers as officials are still digging through debris some three weeks later.
I love design-build mechanical projects, and York Arts was one that presented many challenges. The basement level would be two large pottery classrooms with a third room isolated for the electric kilns, the first floor an art gallery and offices and the upper floor was to be classrooms and a large open space where lectures, painting classes or gatherings would be held. With such a diverse and wide-ranging load for maintaining thermal comfort, multiple zones would need to be created.
There is a battle going on in the industry when it comes to domestic water distribution systems, and it lies in how plumbing engineers size domestic water piping. System longevity, pressure drop, water age, noise and building codes will influence the approach taken in sizing a domestic water system.
In 2012, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), the University of Cincinnati (U of C), and the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) began to work on a new sizing technique 80 years in the making. The main drivers were Dan Cole (IAPMO) and Steve Buchberger (U of C), and later Toju Omaghomi (U of C). As part of this effort, hundreds of thousands of data points were taken and evaluated to determine actual human behavior and plumbing fixture use in residential homes.
Motors are found everywhere in buildings, and engineers are responsible for making sure they are sized correctly and have adequate source energy to make them work. The heart of almost every HVAC, plumbing and fire protection system is the source equipment.
One of the best things about hydronic heating systems is that it’s easy to integrate some method of domestic water heating. This combination has been used for decades in systems where a boiler was the sole heat source. It’s also possible when a heat pump serves as the heat source.
I am often asked, “How do you remove the stranglehold that the union has on the Uniform Plumbing Code and Uniform Mechanical Code?” My answer is always the same — you outvote them at the Annual Conference at the end of the code change cycle.
Total event registration welcomed nearly 4,000 industry professionals, making it the third most-attended ASPE Convention in the show’s 60-year history.
Walraven’s starQuick is a versatile pipe clamp that can be used to quickly and securely install multiple pipe runs for electrical and plumbing installations, the company says.
Daikin Applied announced upgrades the 100%-configurable Pathfinder air-cooled screw chiller, including a higher efficiency compressor, factory-installed pump packages and ECM condenser fan motor options.
With stainless steel heat exchangers, optional commercial rack mounts and multiple venting options, the GS and GR tankless water heater models combine reliability with flexibility to meet the demands of both residential and commercial applications and accommodate a variety of installations, the company says.
The Voltex AL (anti-leak) hybrid electric heat pump water heater brings to market a water heating solution with integrated leak detection, smart connectivity and updated water connections for professionals and homeowners seeking a highly efficient, intuitive and user-friendly product.