An RPA new year

BY TED LOWE
Contributing Writer

When I was a young idealistic student in the ’70s, OPEC held us hostage and solar was ascendant, I thought we were at the dawn of a new age of awareness concerning energy utilization and efficiency. There was cool new technology called geothermal, mined with heat pumps, and it was all water based, and it made sense. The college pool was heated with a 32 panel evacuated tube array, the upstate N.Y. utility company (which subsequently disappeared in a foreign buyout) sponsored test sites, and even the White House had a solar DHW system.

I embraced all of this technology and thoughtfully considered solar fractions, high COPs, and the need for low temperature distribution. And voilà! I hit upon radiant floor heating. Of course nothing is new under the sun (no pun intended) and with research I learned about Roman baths, ondol systems, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Levittown. Time passed, I persevered, studied hard, graduated, and was ready to go out to help change the world. Shortly thereafter administrations changed, oil prices fell, tax credits expired, and the solar system was removed from that famous house in Washington, but by that time I was hooked on hydronics.

Thirty years and few career changes later, solar is back (again with tax credits) geothermal is sexy, even mandated in some cases, and PEX has made hydronic radiant both durable and practical. Boiler efficiency has improved by leaps and bounds while a proliferation of home improvement shows have popularized radiant heating — at least among the moneyed class. All is good, right? WRONG! Many of the same mistakes are being made all over again.

People that have only a vague idea about the basic principles of hydronics are installing solar thermal systems. Geothermal heat pumps are being coupled to distribution systems that require temperatures that decrease their performance. Critics decry the tax credits and deny our addiction to foreign fuel. Yet, according to the National Institute of Building Science, 39% of America’s energy and 68% of our electricity is devoted to heating and cooling. A reduction in building energy alone could significantly reduce our national fuel consumption.

Our industry possesses the technology and know-how to help with these very real problems. We are the “glue” that enables many of the alternatives. Solar thermal, geothermal, district heating, cogeneration, and waste heat recovery all rely on hydronic distribution to be effective. Radiant baseline heating and cooling can dramatically reduce the size of ventilation equipment. Fractional horsepower and ECM technology circulators can deliver considerable savings in the parasitic costs associated with comfort system operation.

Chillers enable zoning and benefit from outside temperature compensation much like boilers, while eliminating the need for conventional cooling equipment with large fans and ducts.

We’ve all heard the arguments against hydronics — the need for air conditioning, the installed cost, the complexity of the system, etc. I think it’s time to recognize that in a “comfort professional’s” solution toolbox there is a need to understand that not everything can be radiant or even hydronic. Knowing when to employ which and why, based on comfort, code, efficiency and budget is the sign of a professional. It is the goal of the RPA to help its members understand and react to those situational requirements to provide the proper strategy. In that way we will integrate into the larger world of HVAC and influence decision makers.

Why do we not recognize the need for a united front with all of us singing from the same page, or at least in the same key? In our small, fragmented industry those who should be natural allies are isolated, alienated, or otherwise uncooperative. Is it that our industry has too many outsize personalities or that in mastering the intricacies of hydronics we overdeveloped our egos? There are many extremely eloquent and intelligent spokespeople who understand the efficiency and elegance inherent in hydronics, and yet…

We must understand that to increase our share of the pie we will need to pull together to do what we obviously can’t do alone. In other industries, competitors have put aside individual differences to market collectively to the public and successfully reversed a shrinking or moribund market. Milk and beef producers, powerboat manufacturers, and others have changed the direction of their business by banding together to fund national advertising campaigns, which create desire on the part of consumers. This won’t be easy or inexpensive, and will take many participants putting aside their own interests temporarily to work for a common goal. However, if the tide rises, all boats will float.

Our goal in the coming year(s) is for the RPA to help unite the various hydronic constituencies through an understanding that we need each other to thrive rather than just survive. Solar, geothermal, boiler, chiller, and other manufacturers all have hydronic distribution in common, and especially the need for an educated distribution chain and skilled contractor base. Conditions will not improve overnight, but through many incremental steps can come transformational change. Support your association and you will help to support yourself.

Ted Lowe is the Executive Director of the Radiant Panel Association. He was formerly U.S. hydronic manager for IPEX, a mechanical contractor specializing in radiant, solar, and geothermal installation and design, and a custom homebuilder (in that order). He has a degree in refrigeration and solar engineering technology. Occasionally when he is not promoting hydronics he has been known to enjoy golf and skiing.