Coal Fed Monster

I have a story to tell, a scary story. A story of a monster living in a basement, a monster with a ravenous appetite. But don’t worry, there is a happy ending.

The monster wasn’t always a monster. When it first moved into the old Victorian home in 1905 it was loved as a modern marvel. It provided warmth for its family throughout the coldest winters and all it needed was to be fed with a shovel full of coal a few times a day.

But as time moved on the monster consumed more and more coal and spit out a dirty, belching breath that polluted and scarred and nobody liked it anymore, except Arthur Scargill, who was a bit odd.

Arthur Scargill

So the monster changed. It started eating Natural Gas. Around 1970, a lot of things that liked coal became full of gas (again, Arthur Scargill comes to mind). And the family were happy again. For a bit.

For gas became expensive and the monster just could not get enough of it. The family were cold in the winter and this made them cross. They started to complain about the monster and wondered if anything could be done about it.

And the answer was, “yes”.

From time to time we come across really old boilers like the one in our tale. Old coal fired boilers than have been converted to oil or gas fired machines. The cast iron construction makes them very robust and they can continue to work for years. But just because they can work, doesn’t mean they should.  They are extremely inefficient. They need to be removed, like the one in our story…..

Every monster has its conquering hero. Arthur Scargill was defeated by Margeret Thatcher, who was also a bit odd.

When the family got fed up with living with a monster in there basement and absolutely fed up with paying the bloody gas bill, they called in the experts.  Green Plumbing Technologies Inc. came in brandishing flash lights and tape measures and bravely entered the monsters lair.

“Bloody Hell”, they said, “there are two monsters down here”! For it were true, not only did the basement contain an old cast iron boiler for hydronic heating, it also had a storage tank water heater, and they are crap.  So the courageous plumbers set about to banish the demons using strange enchantments with words like “high efficiancy”, “modulating burner” and “outdoor reset” and “condensing stainless steel heat exchanger”. They brandished glossy brochures and came with energy saving calculations that could not be denied.

High effiancy Trianfle Tube replaces boiler and water heater

And so it came to pass that a Triangle Tube Excellence moved in to the cave of the monsters.  It heated the home at a fraction of the cost and where the old beast would take hours to get the place warm, this fine creation could get every radiator piping hot in just 15 minutes. The old storage tank was dragged off to the great recycler in the sky without complaint, it seemed to know that its time had come. The Triangle Tube, with its built in high recovery storage tank could produce endless hot water at efficiency rates not dreamed of by the crude savages of the past.

The Triangle Tube was truly excellent.

And all lived happily ever after.

Except Arthur Scargill.

Under floor heating "staple-up"

Yes, even with existing hard-wood, you can have radiant floor heating!  There are a great deal of misconceptions around radiant floor heating and, in particular “staple-up”.   The comfort of under-floor heating can be retro-fitted to existing floors, the process is often referred to as Staple-up as the tubing or, more often, the insulation is attached with staples.   It is a very effective way to get the comfort and efficiency of a radiant heating system into an older home.

I once had a customer complain that he had a problem with his staple-up system, “When my in-laws visit, they take off there shoes and socks to enjoy the warm floor, I hate looking at their feet!!”.

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Loops of PEX tubing are attached to the underside of the  sub-floor, one loop in each bay.  Approximately 1″ below that an aluminum foil faced insulation of R19 or greater is attached with the foil closest to the tubing.  The one inch gap allows for an air circulation convection current around the tubing which spreads the heat evenly across the joist bay.  The aluminum foil of the insulation reflects the infra-red heat upwards, through the floor to warm the space.  This does warm the floor, however, the requirement is to warm the space.  The comfort and efficiency of radiant floors are well known, please read “comfort from the ground up”

Foil attached with staples

It is very important that this system is installed correctly.  Incorrect water temperature can lead to buckling of floors, improper materials or installation practice can lead to noise.

Hard-wood floors are pretty tough.  The sun shining in through a window can heat up a floor to considerably higher temperatures than any heating system should create.  Operating temperatures of staple-up systems should not exceed 150 degrees F with floor temperatures of around 75 to 80F max.  Again, the system is designed to heat the space, the warm floor is a satisfying by-product.

Heat transfer plates are one method of installing retro-fit heating.  I used to use this method, we found that if we used the wrong type of PEX tubing, the plates would pinch the tubing and there was a creaking sound when the system was heating up and cooling down.   We switched to using non-barrier PEX with climbers chalk in the aluminum heat transfer plate to allow the pipe to move.  Heat transfer plates are effective,  they are very efficient for heating the space, however the installation is costly and they are less effective at transferring the heat evenly across the floor.  There can be hot spots.

Radiant Foil insulation, such as TVM, has incredible insulation qualities and works extremely well with this system.  It may be more expensive but it is very effective and easy to install.

Tubing attached to the sub floor with foil faced R19 insulation is probably the most cost effective way to have clean, silent, energy efficient and luxurious radiant floor heating in an older home.  It can be installed in new construction and additions too.  We often incorporate staple-up into  other parts of a heating system,  for example:  with a basement conversion we might put tubing in a new concrete slab and then use staple-up in the joist bays of the floor above.

Talk to an experienced installation contractor about staple-up and be sure to check references.

We are all aware by now that the standard storage tank water heater is out-dated technology that does not meet our needs for fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.  We know that 45% of the gas used in our homes is attributed to our Domestic Hot Water needs.   Many people have researched tankless water heaters, also known as Flash water heaters or on-demand water heaters and found that they can increase efficiency dramatically and produce endless hot water with reduced carbon emissions.  This same research may have led them to the conclusion that there are some draw backs to tankless technology- long delays in hot water delivery to fixture with increased water wastage and high cost of installation in some cases.

There is another solution to the Water Heater problem, High Efficiency Condensing Water Heaters.

Stored hot water is very useful, ready to go when you need it.   The problem with the standard storage tank water heater is not just its inefficiency in heating the water, it is also that it has to keep firing to keep the water hot.  It uses a lot of energy to heat water that is not used.  This is, in simple terms, because it has a big hole through the middle of it which funnels the heat from the tank out through the flue into the atmosphere.  You can insulate the outside all you like, you cannot insulate the hole in the middle.

The State Premier and A.O. Smith Vertex high efficiency, condensing water heaters take the flue from the burner and instead of venting it through the top of the heater, take it back down inside the tank so that its heat can be absorbed by the water. The flue gases that come out, from the bottom of the tank, are cool enough to be vented with PVC pipe.  The Vertex and the Premier are exactly the same units, marketed by different companies in the same way that the Ford Explorer is the Same as the Lincoln Navigator. The State is Blue, The A.O. Smith is yellow, choose your preference.  Both 50 Gallon units are available as direct vent and power vent and can have efficiency ratings of up to 96% with first hour delivery of up to 127 Gallons- that’s more than a 75 gallon water heater. There are other factors that make it a great upgrade when you replace your storage tank water heater:

• It has the same foot print as a regular 50 gallon water heater.
• It can use the same gas line as the existing water heater.
• It can incorporate recirculation without any issues with warranty.
• 92 Gallons per hour recovery, endless hot water.
• Tax Credits.

The cost of a high efficiency storage tank water heater is typically around $1800, compared with $900 for a tankless unit.  Flash water heaters require dedicated gas lines and stainless steel flue piping.  So the installation of the high efficiency storage tank is typically less making them pretty equal in the overall scheme. Typical installation costs are around $2600 to $3500.  Some installation factors such as flue piping length and condensation drainage may be issues and increase the cost.

High efficiency storage tank water heaters, such as State Premier or A.O. Smith Vertex have great applications with hydronic heating systems and solar hot water. They can be used with hydronic air handlers for a low cost upgrade to a more comfortable, greener combined heating /DHW system.

For more information, contact an experienced installation contractor.

Modular Green Building Oakland

Who moved my cheese?

Zeta communities is a new type of construction company. ZETA  is building modular homes in a factory in Sam Leandro CA. that are net zero, that means over the course of a year ZETA buildings’ energy production and occupant consumption of energy nets to zero. It does this by combining advanced energy efficiency technology with grid-tied photovoltaics and other clean energy sources.  Affordable, good quality construction, stylish and green.  Could this be the future of construction?

This Flagship home is certainly a very interesting concept and for a green plumber, its a treasure trove of new technology.

Jessik Installing Air Tap

Hot water for this two bath home is generated from a 30 Gallon electric water heater powered by a photo-voltaic solar array.  To boost the hot water supply, a heat pump from Air-Tap is attached to the water heater.  The heat pump, uses a compressor to absorb heat from the surrounding air, it then dumps this heat through long copper tubes that disperse this heat into the tank.  This helps to boost the delivery of the tank, a conventional 2 bath home would require a 40 or 50 Gallon tank, this 30 Gallons with the heat pump is adequate as the shower heads are all ultra low flow (1.59 Gallons per minute) and low flow aerators are attached at the faucets.

Furthermore, the incoming water to the water heater passes through a Waste Water Heat Recovery Heat Exchanger.  In this show case home, a glass panel in the wall shows the inner workings of the plumbing system.  The heat recovery is achieved from a copper tube wrapped around the waste pipe from the bathroom on the floor above.  As the hot water from the tub or shower runs down the drain, its heat is absorbed by the cold water entering the water heater. The warmer the water entering the water heater, the lower the temperature differential, the less energy is needed to heat the water.  This type of heat recovery is especially viable in a commercial bathroom such as a gym or spa where the showers are running for long periods of time.

Waste Plumbing Heat Recovery

Another green plumbing design feature in this contemporary, stylish home is the central  plumbing core.  The bathrooms and kitchen and water heater are all designed around a central wall, all in close proximity to each other.  This simple idea, which is a LEED and Green Point Rated requirement,  saves energy and water by making sure that hot water is available at the fixture very quickly without running gallons of water down the drain.   I cannot tell you how many homes I am in that have the water heater in the garage and the master bath 200 feet away at the other end of the house. They either have a recirculating pump burning electricity, or they drain gallons of water before there is a small temperature rise at the faucet.

Heat for this home is provided by a passive heat recovery ventilator which sucks fresh air from outside and passes it through a heat exchanger that is heated by the air being expelled from inside. The inside air is warm from body heat and electrical appliances within the home.  Although this type of heat does not work in conventional construction, this building is super insulated with very tight construction.

On the Green Building side, the home is made with sustainable materials and consciousness in the design to minimize waste and impact on the environment.

I have spoken with some tradesmen who dislike the idea of homes being built in a factory, it takes away from the artisan-ship of the trade. Personally, I enjoyed being involved with an exciting new project.

Sometimes,  you need to go where the new cheese is.

75 Gallon Grey Water Storage Tank

The tanks are now in the ground for the first permitted Gray Water Recycle and Rain water Harvesting  system in Contra Costa County.

This new construction custom home in Lafayette was ‘Dual-Plumbed’ from the very start.  Dual Plumbing refers to the system of installing separate pipes for gray water and black water within the building envelope.  The drain lines for the tubs and showers, lavatory sinks and laundry were installed parallel to the toilet and kitchen sink drains (black-water).  This is completely code compliant and does not need special permitting.

The home owner was very motivated for conscious construction and worked diligently with the architect, consultant, contractor and plumbing contractor to push for the permit for a gray water/ rain water system.  The permit has been approved, setting precedent for other systems in the Contra Costa County and, hopefully, surrounding areas.

Rain Water Storage Tanks (3500G)

This gray water system is beautifully designed to utilize the water drained from sinks and showers for landscape irrigation.  Grey water will be filtered and cleaned in a manufactured wetland which will use specially chosen plants to remove phosphates and nitrates. Soils and gravels will filter particles from the water which will be collected in an underground storage tank.  The gray water will be filtered with UV sterilzation before being pumped through the irrigation system.

Rain water will be collected in two 1700 gallon tanks, buried beneath the patio.  The rain water will be stored, filtered and then pumped into the house for toilet flushing and laundry use.

This Green Building Project also features radiant hydronic heating, recycled materials, LED lighting and conscious design.

Watch this space for more information as the project develops.

Aquatherm replaces copper for hydronics and potable water systems.

Engineered in Germany and used throughout Europe for over 35 years, a completely sustainable plastic piping system for potable water use has finally hit California.

100% recyclable, less than 1/3 of the energy to produce and completely non-toxic, Aquatherm Green Pipe is the most environmentally friendly pipe in the world!  Aquatherm is the only pipe approved by Greenpeace and applies to nine different LEED categories

Aquatherm manufactures the only Polypropylene piping system engineered with a fiberglass composite used for Potable water, food, Hydronics, compressed air systems, chilled water and industrial applications (Commercial and Residential projects).  It is listed with IAPMO, ICC, IPC, CSA, NSF, ASTM, ASHRAE, etc.

They have basically combined the strengths of traditional metal and plastic pipe and removed the major weaknesses.  This is a pressure rated plastic piping system that is corrosion free, erosion free, with no catastrophic blow-offs and no leak path in the fittings.  The fittings/connections become the strongest part of the pipe.  Through heat fusion technology, the properties of polypropylene recreate 100% of the original bond making your entire piping system one!

Cheaper than metal pipes and stronger than CPVC or PEX, there are many other benefits to using Polypropylene with glass over conventional piping systems.

General Highlights on the product:
* For Potable water, food, Hydronic, compressed-air systems and Industrial Applications (Works with HVAC and Solar Panels)
* Lighter in weight – 2 people can carry a 20′ piece of 10” pipe , no crane
* Absolutely corrosion resistant and erosion resistant
* Non Toxic, post combustion the material emits 80% water vapor and 20% CO2.
* 75% less expansion than plastics
* Anticipated Life of 50+ years
* 10-yr Warranty on product, labor and incidentals per installation (Bank of Zurich)
* Cheaper than Copper
* Easier Installation Process
* R Value of 1 without insulation cover, R Value of 6.4 with
* Doesn’t Sweat in normal conditions
* Doesn’t Scald even w/ 180F water

* Rated for 180 ºF at 100 psi and can operate up to 212 ºF

The advantages that Aquatherm piping systems have over metal piping systems include:
* Fusion connections (strong, reliable and no open flame used on the job)
* Scale resistance
* Higher flow rates can be achieved without wearing out the pipe (8 ft/sec rather than 4 ft/sec on copper) this allows you to downsize in many instances.
* Insulation factor of R1, 2400 times better than copper
* Chemical resistance (polypropylene is used in acid waste systems and high purity reverse osmosis systems)
* Fifty year life cycle rating
* Quiet, will not carry noise, eliminates water hammer
* Labor saving saddle connections

The advantages that Aquatherm piping systems have over other plastic piping systems include:
* Linear expansion controlled by Faser (Fiberglass) technology
* Rigid pipe that will not sag on its hangers like other plastics

* A plenum rated pipe system
* Opaque to eliminate microbiological growth
* No toxic glues
* Pipe and Fittings made of the same material
* Specially engineered metal transition pieces
* Recyclable
* Sizes range from 3/8″ to 12″ equivalent ID

If you would like to learn more about Aquatherm Green Pipe and how to incorporate this revolutionary system in your green building design, feel free to contact Pipeline Plumbing

Aquatherm Poly Pipe

or the manufacturers Bay Area representative:

Gibran Farrah

Sustainable Building Products

Gibran@SustainableBP.com

415-826-2463

Bay Area Hot Water From The Sun

Capturing the suns energy for pre-heating a homes hot water has been with us since man started bathing.  In recent years the solar hot water industry has had a new lease of life with increasing energy costs and concern for climate change. The government has given home owners added incentives with tax credits.

The very latest advancement in solar hot water technology is the introduction of web based performance monitoring.  The Helio-Pak Pro from Heliodyne, a local solar manufacturer based in Richmond CA., has a built in wi-fi transmitter that the installer or home owner can access from there PC. , lap-top or smart phone.  This allows for performance monitoring  and trouble shooting from, well, anywhere.

Dan and Liz Harvitt incorporated solar hot water with there extensive remodel in

Solar Thermal with WiFi

Piedmont.  They were excited about the possibility of generating 70-80% of their Domestic Hot Water needs with solar energy from only two small 4′ x 6′ Heliodyne Gobi collectors.  We installed the Helio-Pak Pro with the wi-fi monitoring.  After we turned on the on-line monitoring we were able to monitor the performance immediately, right on our lap-top computer.

So what, exactly, are we monitoring?   There are many features available with this system, the most beneficial to the home owner in this installation are Real Time monitoring and historic data monitoring as well as low performance alerts.

Real time monitoring refers to the process of logging on to the system to see what percentage of hot water is being produced by the sun at any given time.  This has a good “feel-good” factor, the display gives a percentage of the value of solar generated hot water and the value, in pounds, of the carbon that has been off-set by not using fossil fuel. Pretty awesome!

Historic data monitoring shows a graph of the amount of hot water delivered since the system was installed and, again the value, in pounds, of the carbon that has been off-set by not using fossil fuel.

Low performance alerts, in the form of an email, let the home owner know if the system is producing less hot water than would be expected from the environmental conditions.  This would typically mean that it is time to get up on the roof and hose down the panels, bird and animal mess or dust and pollen can build up on the panels and reduce performance.

The system installed at the Harvitt residence is a combination hydronic heating system, with a solar thermal hot water storage tank with integral indirect coil for boiler back up.  The heat is generated in a high efficiency modulating Baxi Luna boiler.  There are radiators on the second floor with four zones and one zone on the basement level with tubing run in the concrete slab.

Basic Solar/ Space heating Schematic.

The benefits of replacing corroded and clogged galavanized water pipes with copper are:

• Great water pressure throughout the home
• Clean and clear water
• No more leaky pipes, eliminate water loss and reduce carbon emissions.
• Take a shower, wash dishes and even wash the laundry at the same time
• Increase the resale value of your home

Of the energy generated in California, 20% is used in the cleaning, processing and moving of water.  Saving water saves energy. Saving energy reduces carbon emissions which are a contributor to global warming.  On average, 14% of the water used in a home is attributed to leaks.  Older homes with galvanized piping can have many small leaks that the homeowner is unaware of.

Most homes, especially older ones have galvanized piping, which are iron pipes layered with zinc. Due to age the zinc coating gradually wears away, exposing iron. The unprotected iron rusts rapidly in the presence of water, just as iron rusts when it is exposed to rain.

Things can get worse when water becomes dirty, and unpleasant to drink and starts to smell bad. Major damage to the home can occur by hidden leaks inside the walls, in the attic or under the house. Another indication of corroded pipes can be rust spots on newly washed clothes and linens.

With poor water flow, or volume,  the performance of the hot water system is greatly reduced.  By repiping a home with copper plumbing and increasing flow, you not only increase the comfort of your home, you can also reduce the hot water bill and the related carbon emissions.

Copper has been the standard for water pipes since the late 1960′s.   Now other products are available which may have more water saving qualities.  PEX tubing is now code compliant fro California and has a lower resistance and can increase volume with smaller pipes, however it is a petro-chemical, a by-product of the oil industry.

Polypropylene piping has many fine qualities, there are difficulties with the inspecting authorities, although that is expected to change in the near future.

Contact us to get your free estimate, $250 off if you mention this blog!!! (expires 03/31/2010)

Like many of us who enjoy a hot shower, you probably turn on your shower and while you wait for it to get up to temperature, you wander off and brush your teeth, make the bed, write an email, feed the dog.  While multi-tasking is a valuable skill, two and a half gallons of water per minute flow down the drain while you mow the lawn and iron the cat.

The clever folks at Evolve Showerheads have designed a device to minimize the impact of the wait for hot water.  An attractive shower head that shuts itself off when the temperature of the water reaches 95 degrees. Now you can tell when the shower is hot because you can hear that it has stopped flowing and you can now proceed with your bathing. When you step into the shower, gently pull the tag and let the shower flow. CLEVER!

Evolve Showerheads claim that this device can save 2700 Gallons of water per year! But that is not the end of the story, 45% of the gas burnt in our homes is attributed to generating hot water so there are energy savings too. Also, lets not forget that 20% of California’s energy consumption is attributed to cleaning, pumping, moving water so saving water reduces carbon emissions!

I have installed an Evolve shower head in my own shower. The ultra-low flow 1.59 GPM experience (as opposed to a standard low flow showerhead at 2.5GPM) is surprisingly comfortable and the pull tag feature works really well.  One thing to note, if you have a tankless water heater, if you leave it too long between the turn off of the showerhead and pulling the re-start tag, you will experience a cold “sandwich” of water in the shower as the tankless water heater re-starts.

I have been using the Evolve for several months and recommend it to everyone who would like to reduce their water and energy consumption.

For information on water and energy saving ideas, call us at  510-540-0837

Solar Thermal Array

C.S.I. San Francisco is not a new spin off crime show featuring computer generated imagery of gruesome murder scenes, it is in fact the California Solar Initiative program from the California Public utilities Commission (CPUC) which, in our neck of the woods is PG&E.   While Tax Credits have been around for a while and utilities rebates for Photo-Voltaic systems are well known, the Rebates for Solar Hot Water systems have been a little slow getting off the ground.

Rebates are here and there is around $350,000,000 available for incentives on Solar Thermal Hot Water systems. That is on top of the 30% federal Tax credit!

To get the rebates which could yield up to $1850, the installer must complete a training class from the utility company.

Today, August 9th 2010, I completed that class and can officially apply for said rebate incentives.

Pacific Energy Center

The Pacific Energy Center (address and directions) offers

educational programs, design tools, advice, and support to create energy efficient buildings and comfortable indoor environments. Most of our efforts are focused around commercial buildings, however, other departments offer advice and information for residential buildings.  It is a most impressive building with some interesting real-time models that show how various energy systems work. A suitable venue for the class.

The 2006 senate bill (SB1) allowed for $100 million in incentives for PV. The Assembly bill (AB1470) in 2007 allowed for $250 million for200,000 Solar Hot water systems.

The CSI Thermal Program is creating incentives with the goal of displacing 585 million therms of energy generated from gas and reducing the cost of solar installations by 16% over 8 years.

The rebate amount is dependent on the efficiency of the system and several aspects are looked at including system type, azimuth (orientation) and tilt.

Not all systems are eligible for the rebate. Open loop systems are NOT eligible (systems that heat the potable water). Swimming pool and spa systems are also not eligible, neither are solar thermal space heating systems.  Closed loop glycol systems are eligible if they are OG-300 rated.

The Solar Rating and Certification Corporation rates solar components individually (OG-100) and as combined systems (OG-300).  The website has a full list of OG-300 systems that you can search by manufacture, system type, or back up heat source.

Also to qualify, the system must have a permit with a final inspection. The house must have a Energy Efficiency audit, this could be a Title 24 report less than 3 years old or a 3rd party energy audit that PG&E provide for free on-line or by telephone.

Another requirement is a final inspection by a PG&E inspector who will verify that the information that is included on the application is accurate and the installation meets there standards. This is due to the many issues that occurred with the incentive program from the Carter administration and the problems with poor installations that gave solar hot water a bad name.  The rebates are available for systems installed after July 1st,2009.

Finally, the Solar rebate is here, but it won’t last forever. Act now!