Did you know that May 4 is National Skilled Trades Day? It also happens to be National Star Wars Day — “May the Fourth Be With You,” and all that jazz.

I first encountered formic acid erosion/corrosion when our installed air conditioning and heat pump evaporator (indoor) coils began suddenly leaking refrigerant in 2008. These were not old coils either, and some had only been installed for a year when the issues arose. 

In my January 2022 column, I made a broad call for improved water intelligence to offer improved building occupant health. This is nothing new to the HVAC industry, with system monitoring and control extending far beyond the mechanical room and into the most remote areas of the building

You would expect water in a hospital to be safe. But, far too often, water in hospitals and other health care facilities can put patients at risk of severe illness or death.

Heated floor slabs, without floor coverings, have one of the lowest supply water temperature requirements of any radiant panel system. This makes them well-suited for use with renewable energy heat sources such as air-to-water heat pumps, water-to-water geothermal heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal collectors.

It’s been two full years since the COVID-19 pandemic changed all of our lives. Two years is a long time to live life in a bubble. I know many people will understand when I say I’m so tired of COVID and all of its restrictions! We want to get on with our lives and have everything return to normal. But here’s the thing, COVID is not going away just because we wish it would.

Innovation often starts within research facilities, which is certainly the case for a large university in the mountain region of the USA. When this facility needed to install a new piping system to support research and development efforts at its food and water laboratory, they looked to a local distribution company for expertise. Shyne & Associates, based out of Colorado, has serviced the plumbing industry for over 60 years by providing products that meet the needs of engineers and design firms across their region.  

On the older hydronic systems, replacing the existing boiler with a new one was pretty straightforward. The installer connected the new boiler to the existing flue, piping and electric. The newer high-efficiency boilers are much different and require some additional planning.