New Commercial Boiler Breakthroughs: Green Tech for Better Building Energy Performance
The HVAC industry in 2009 has been seeing some interesting green technology breakthroughs that promise better building energy performance and a reduced carbon footprint.
Case (or rather, cases) in point: some recent developments reported on by The ACHR News and FMLink.
1. “Boiler Technology Breakthroughs,” by Joanna Turpin, The ACHR News, August 17, 2009. This was, in fact, one of the cover stories for the month. “The winds of change are blowing across the U.S.,” Turpin says in the article’s opening line, “and nowhere is that more evident than in the commercial boiler market. While manufacturers have traditionally focused on lowering NOx emissions, now they’re looking at ways of reducing other greenhouse gases in response to concerns from government agencies and environmental groups. In addition, they’re researching how to reduce energy costs for end users by increasing efficiencies or even looking at new fuel sources altogether.” She goes on to describe newly developed boilers that, variously, rely on alternative green fuels, offer enhanced user controls and interfaces, and use various other innovative means to achieve the ultra-high efficiency that’s crucial to the green building and green technology movement.
2. “AERCO International launches boiler with less energy consumption, small footprint,” FMLink, April 15, 2009. The story reports on the newly designed Benchmark 2.0 Low NOx (BMK2.0LN) from AERCO International, Inc. It’s a” two-million BTU/hour condensing boiler,” says FMLink, that “has been re-engineered to deliver a smaller footprint and reduced electrical consumption while maintaining unmatched 20:1 turndown to maximize seasonal fuel savings. Consulting engineers and contractors can employ the environmentally-friendly, high-efficiency boiler in a wider variety of hydronic heating applications than was previously possible due to the new design.” You can read more about it at the AERCO Website, if you want.
Of course, the very fact that green technologies like this are being invented only stands as half the story when it comes to facility management, HVAC installation and maintenance, and the other areas that constitute our special focus here at Just Venting. The other half involves the actual operational and maintenance challenges that these new systems present. We encourage you to browse our blog archives to find reams of cogent maintenance advice. We also encourage you to participate in the conversation by commenting with descriptions of your own experiences in this vein. In the current business and cultural environment, where green building is both an established trend and a new frontier that we’re attempting to explore comprehensively for the very first time, we’re of a mind that putting our heads together about this important issue makes for one of the best possible uses of the tech-miracle that is the Internet.
Matt Cardin
Goodway Blogging Team
New York Boiler, Inc
Great post Matt. As a commercial boiler service company in New York, I think from what we’re seeing, commercial buildings are heading in the right direction. For many older buildings, going green first requires getting clean. I’m specifically referring to heating plants, as that’s the industry I’m in. Countless buildings in NYC need their heating plants optimized so they can run at peak efficiency…which of course is all part of getting green. Given this economy, the trending price of oil, and the particularly cold winter we’re having already, it’s especially important to ensure commercial boilers are running optimally so buildings can address their other policies for going green as they move forward.