What's New

HYDRONICS KNOW HOW II DVD & CD

The Hydronics Know How II DVD contains all the columns and articles John Siegenthaler has written for Plumbing & Mechanical and PM Engineer, from the very first in July 1996 through December 2008. That's over 200 articles and columns covering everything from heat loss to hydraulic separation.

This digital collection is a virtual encyclopedia on modern hydronic systems.
No more cutting up magazines - This DVD makes it easy to access all of "siggy's" articles and columns. Better yet, all the information is searchable. Just type in a key word or phase and Adobe Acrobat will instantly search all the columns and articles for you.

Good designers know that it never hurts to go back and review what you thought you completely understood a few years ago. Sometimes a small bit of new information can yield major benefits when applied repeatedly in future systems.

The information on this DVD will help you transform hundreds of individual components into smoothly operating hydronic systems. Systems that consistently deliver what their owners expect.

In addition to the columns and articles, the Hydronics Know How II DVD contains the latest information on products, design and installation methods from several leading manufacturers.

The information in Hydronics Know How II is available as either a DVD or CD. The DVD is for use on a computer. It's not a video DVD for viewing on a television. Most newer model computers have a DVD drive. If you have an older computer with a CD drive, be sure to order the product in CD format. Both formats have the same content.

The DVD will operate on either Windows or Mac operating systems Windows systems require Intel Pentium III 1GHz or faster processor with at least 512MB of RAM. Supported versions of Windows are: Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise including 64 bit editions, Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition SP2 and SP3, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows 2003 Server. Mac systems require Mac OS X 10.4.11 or Mac OS X 10.5.4 and 10.5.5, 512MB of RAM, with an Intel Core Duo 1.83GHz or faster processor; PowerPC G4 1GHz or faster processor.

AVAILABLE IN OUR E-STORE THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY.

New publication on Wood Burning and other Bioenergy Systems

Planning & Installing Bioenergy Systems
A Guide for Installers, Architects and Engineers
Published by the German Solar Energy Society
Copyright 2005
268 pages, softcover, full color

The popularity of wood-fired boilers as an alternative heat source for hydronic distribution systems is growing as the cost of conventional energy increases.

The market appears divided between relatively low-tech wood burners with marginal efficiency, and high-tech devices such as gasification boilers capable of burning chord wood, chips, and pellets at efficiencies in the range of 85- 90%.

This publication focuses on the latter type of heat sources. It gives you the proper scientific prospective on combustion of wood and other bioenergy fuel stocks, along with a discussion of what's necessary to achieve high performance. It shows many examples of wood-fired systems for both residential and commercial applications. Given its European roots, the book focusses heavily on hydronics as the best means of delivering the heat.

In addition to wood, this book publication discusses energy from liquid and gaseous biofuel sources such as crop waste, manure, and other organic stock. It provides the data for comparing the cost of using such fuels in comparison to conventional energy sources.

This publication is for those who want to know more about optimizing the energy yield of wood and other bioenergy fuels.

As you'll see there is a "smart" way to combust wood that can literally double the energy yield relative to smoldering burners and chimneys covered with creosote.

This book is printed in full color and beautifully illustrated.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Biomass: Energy From the Sun
Chapter 3: Anaerobic Digestion
Chapter 4: Liquid Biofuels
Chapter 5: Small Combustion Systems
Chapter 6: Large Scale Heaters
Chapter 7: Gasification
Chapter 8: Legal Boundary Conditions for Bioenergy Sytems
Chapter 9: Support Measures for Bioenergy Projects

Excellent new book on SOLAR Combisystems now available

We've just added another book to our e-store.

Solar Heating Systems for Houses
A Design Handbook for Solar Combisystems
Edited by: Werner Weiss
Published in 2003
ISBN: 1-902916-46-8
313 pages: Hardcover

Although the largest share of the residential market for solar thermal systems is for domestic water heating, there is ever-growing interest in "combisystems" that supply both DHW and space heating. This is true in Europe as well as North America. As with conventional hydonics, there are many ways to design and control such systems.

I recently came across a publication that was specifically focused on such systems. It compares the many different designs that have been used over the last 20 years in Europe. It presents the collaborative work of 26 experts from Europe and the US, and 11 solar industries in the IEA (International Energy Agency) Solar Heating and Cooling Program's task 26, Solar Combisystems.

This publication discusses systems for detached single-family residences, grouped residences, and multi-family buildings. It provides standard classifications, evaluation processes and design tools for these systems. It is well illustrated with schematics, and photos of existing installations. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting a thorough overview of solar combisystems.

Table of Contents:
Preface
1. Solar Combisystems and the Global Energy Challenge
2. The Solar Resource
3. Heat Demand for Buildings
4. Generic Solar Combisystems
5. Building Related Aspects of Solar Combisystems
6. Performance of Solar Combisystems
7. Performance and Reliability of Solar Combisystems
8. Dimensioning of Solar Combisystems
9. Built Examples
10. Testing and Certification of Solar Combisystems
Appendix 1: Reference Library
Appendix 2: Vocabulary
Appendix 3: IEA solar Heating and Cooling Program
Appendix 3: Task 26

2 new publications on radiant heating

We're pleased to ring in the new year by offering two new publications on radiant panel heating. RADIANT I, and RADIANT II were just updated by the Radiant Panel Association as a replacement for the original RADIANT BASICS manual. They have been expanded in covered, and organized into a sequence of two manuals. RADIANT I is and introduction to radiant panel heating, and RADIANT II is a follow up with more detailed system design information. Both manuals are presented in full color, and in a 3-ring binder for easy reading.

Radiant I Heating & Cooling
144 pages, full color, illustrated, three ring binder

Just released in August 2008, this is one of the new publications from the Radiant Panel Association. It has been updated to provide a broad overview of radiant panel heating systems (both hydronic and electric). It starts off by establishing a solid foundation on what radiant heating is, and how it compares to other types of heating systems. It goes on to discuss the modern materials and installation methods use for radiant floor, wall and ceiling panels. There are many examples and schematics on how to combine various heat sources with a wide variety of radiant panels. The publication is well illustrated, and printed in full color to enhance the illustrations and photos. This manual provides a thorough and generic technical basis for anyone wanting to learn about radiant panel heating.

Table Of Contents:
Forward / Preface
Section 1: Introduction To Radiant Heating
Section 2: Hydronic Tubing And Floor Systems
Section 3: Tube Circuits And Manifolds
Section 4: Hydronic Ceiling And Wall Systems
Section 5: Hydronic Heat Sources
Section 6: Circulators, Piping, And Controls
Section 7: Electric Radiant Heating

Radiant II Heating & Cooling
80 pages, full color, illustrated, three ring binder

This manual picks up where RADIANT 1 ends. It is aimed squarely at those wanting to design systems. This publication gets into the details between water temperature, tube spacing, and heat output. New material on radiant cooling and ventilation is included to round out the overall system design. The manual concludes with sample specifications for radiant panel systems. Like Radiant 1 it is printed in full color.

Table Of Contents:
Section 8: Beginning System Design
Section 9: Floor Coverings
Section 10: Radiant Heat Flux
Section 11: Cooling
Section 12: Ventilation And Air Handling Systems
Section 13: System Documentation
Section 14: Specifying Radiant Panel Systems