MULTIFAMILY BEST PRACTICES  (an excerpt)

“Multifamily buildings are generally characterized by central tank heaters (or boilers) with recirculation loops.

There are approximately 16.7 million multifamily buildings in the United States.

Over 90% of the multifamily buildings use central hot water systems.

A “bad” hot water system delivers about 1/3 of the site energy to the hot water fixture, while a “good” one will deliver over 1/2.

The major strategies for improving efficiency in existing buildings [are]:

Implement improved control strategies that include using the smallest feasible water heater, circulating hot water at the lowest temperature that supports the instantaneous load, and using temperature-based demand control for the circulation pump.

Demand control of the circulation loop can reduce gas consumption by 15%, compared with savings in one studied building of a 9% for a single pump timer and 10% for a loop temperature modulation.  A demand controlled pump will only run 1 – 2 hours per day while supporting 24 hour hot water service, and can save 17% of hot water energy.  The pump control should allow the pump to run only when there is demand for hot water, or the hot water temperature is too cool.”

For the full report, click here:  www.ACEEE.org

This confirmation, as evidenced in ICC – ES listing PMG-1112, provides guidance to code officials faced with approving the use of the D’MAND CIRC® System under these codes.  The full report is available for review / download.  CLICK HERE

Compliant with the following Standards & Codes:

2012 International Plumbing Code (IPC)

2009 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC)

2012 International Residential Code (IRC)

2012 International Green Construction Code (IgCC)

2011 IAPMO PS – 115

CSI Master Format:

Division: 22 00 00 – Plumbing

Section: 22 30 00 – Plumbing Equipment

Section: 22 11 23 – Domestic Water Pumps

ENVIRONMENTAL BUILDING NEWS What Really Matters In Sustainable Design & Construction

“Conventional hot-water recirculation pumps- a standard appliance in hotels, multifamily residential buildings, and other commercial buildings with high demand for domestic hot water- were never supposed to save energy.  These devices are installed to get hot water to the tap quickly to keep tenants and hotel guests happy.  If they prevented some lukewarm water from going down the drain, that was a welcome side-effect. But high speed delivery comes at a price:  building owners end up wasting energy and money constantly re-heating and pumping water- despite the fact that most building occupants need hot water only once or twice a day.

D’MAND CIRC, from Enovative Kontrol Systems, is the first (and so far only) system to offer the next logical step for commercial hot-water recirculation.  Designed as an energy retrofit for buildings that already have a recirculation pump installed, the system uses technology developed by the U.S. Department of Energy and then commercialized by Advanced Conservation Technology.”

To read the entire article, please click on the link below:

http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2011/6/29/An-Efficient-Retrofit-for-Commercial-Hot-Water-on-Demand/

Led by Yanda Zhang of Heschong Mahone Group, the presentation discusses Central Domestic Hot Water Systems in Multi-family buildings, the available technology involved with water heating and re-circulation, and the means of combing the existing technology to maximize energy savings in the most cost effective manner.

Re-circulation systems were monitored and recorded to establish the highest levels of energy savings between temperature modulators and Demand Controlled pumps in Low Rise and High Rise buildings.  Data from the report showed the Demand Controlled pumps consistently out-saved aqaustats by 20-40% in Low Rise and 10-30% in High Rise buildings (See Slide 18).

Final analysis and proposed requirements to the utility codes were summarized as (Slide 26):

http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2013standards/prerulemaking/documents/2011-06-09_workshop/presentations/Multi_Family_DHW_Solar_Water_Heating.pdf

As with most things, there are many pretenders in the green market, forcing the ‘buyer beware’ mantra into play.  Proper research and use of reputable manufacturers will usually bypass the ‘green wash’ problem.  This ‘e-book’ companion to our September Green Construction issue helps you with that research effort.”  Excerpt from Gary Parr, Editorial Director, CBP Magazine

For a look at the e-book and Enovative’s company listing, please click on the link and scroll to page 17.

http://www.cbpmagazine.com/digital/1109ebgreenstory.pdf

By Nehemiah Stone / Home Energy Magazine

Read about the energy efficiency standards and technological innovations of demand based plumbing appliances and the levels of energy savings generated in multifamily buildings.  Here is a brief excerpt from the article below:

To read the entire article, please click on the link below:  http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/distributionsys/id/416

Here are some resources for learning about Enovative’s D’MAND CIRC and specifying it into your projects.

Guide Spec in 3-Part CSI format: Click Here to Download (comes in word and wordperfect format)

Need AIA Continuing Education credits? Go To Course

Need a submittal or technical data? Click Here to Download

Need any help? E-mail us, admin@enovativegroup.com