Industry News
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Uniform Solar Energy Code named an American National Standard
Ontario, Calif. — The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has formally bestowed the designation of American National Standard upon the 2009 Uniform Solar Energy Code (USEC). Developed by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), the USEC is the only model code governing the installation, inspection and maintenance of solar energy systems and their component products to be designated as such.
The USEC joins the 2009 editions of the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC®) and Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC®) as the only codes of their kind to be designated American National Standards. The 2003 and 2006 editions of the UPC and UMC also earned the designation; this is the first time for the USEC.
The advantages of a Uniform Solar Energy Code, acceptable in various jurisdictions as a means of promoting the public's health, safety and welfare, had long been recognized, prompting IAPMO to pass a resolution at its 1975 annual business conference that directed the president to form a committee to develop a basic solar energy document. After months of concerted endeavor, this committee, composed of representatives from industry and public utility companies, inspectors, plumbers and engineers, successfully completed the first edition of the USEC, which was officially adopted by IAPMO in September 1976.
Matco-Norca gets lead out in California and Vermont
Brewster, N.Y. — Matco-Norca, Inc., a leading supplier of globally sourced, code-compliant plumbing and PVF products, is ready to meet the new California and Vermont lead free requirements for plumbing products and fixtures.
Matco-Norca’s lead-free products are now available and contain less than .25 percent weighted average lead content on wetted surfaces. They include lead free valves, fittings, faucets and plumbing specialty items.
With a La Palma, Calif. distribution center, the Golden State is a major market for the company. When California announced passage of its AB 1953 law in September 2008, Matco-Norca swung into action in gearing up to meet the new lead-free product requirements, which will go into effect as of January 1st, 2010.
The new California law, now referred to as Health and Safety Code 116875-116880, defines lead free products as “not more than a weighted average of 0.25 percent when used with respect to the wetted surfaces of pipes and pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures to be determined pursuant to a prescribed formula.” As of January 1st, the law prohibits the sale of lead-based plumbing products, and any water fixtures or fittings that need replacement as of that date will have to comply with the new law.
City of Encinitas Civic Center recognized for energy retrofit project
Fair Lawn, N.J. — Last night, the Civic Center in Encinitas, California received the Association of Energy Engineers’ (AEE) 2009 International Award in the Renewable Energy Project of the Year category. As part of the retrofit project, a hybrid cooling system, which included CALMAC’s IceBank energy storage tanks and Trane’s cool water system, was installed at the Civic Center.
The hybrid cooling system makes and stores ice at night during off-peak times, when utility rates are far less expensive and when cleaner baseload plants are used. Chillers are rightsized to handle energy demand efficiently and stored energy kicks in when needed. This decreases the civic center’s cooling costs and reduces its effect on the energy grid by shifting energy demands to less expensive rates. Over the next 25 years, the project will save the Civic Center more than $4 million in utility bills alone.
MSS publishes standard practice for pipe hangers and supports
Vienna, Va. — The Manufactures Standardization Society (MSS) has published a newly revised and enhanced Standard Practice, SP-58-2009, Pipe Hangers and Supports –Materials, Design, Manufacture, Selection, Application, and Installation.
This comprehensive Standard Practice combines all of the content of five Pipe Hanger and Support standards into a single document. MSS SP-58-2009 will serve as a “complete guide” for pipe hanger and support design, manufacture, selection, and installation; enabling the user to specify a minimum level of acceptance for pipe hanger design and performance, in addition to defining the types of hangers and supports.
MSS SP-58-2009 includes all of the information from ANSI/MSS SP-69, Selection and Application; MSS SP-77, Guidelines for Pipe Support Contractual Relations; MSS SP-89, Fabrication and Installation Practices; and MSS SP-90, Guidelines on Terminology for Pipe Hangers and Supports.
The scope of this revised Standard Practice:
- Establishes the material, design, fabrication, and inspection criteria to be used in the manufacture of standard types of pipe hanger components;
- Establishes the allowable stress values for materials used in standard types of pipe support components and unique hanger design assemblies;
- Establishes minimum design load ratings for rigid pipe hanger assemblies;
- Presents the recommended practice for the selection and application of pipe hangers and supports for all service temperatures;
- Establishes recommended procedures for detailing, fabrication, and installation of pipe hangers and supports;
- Serves as a pipe hanger and support specification for selection and application;
- Serves as a guide to proven industry practice during engineering design and writing of job specifications covering the hanging, supporting and controlling the movement of piping systems;
- Provides the erector with information on types of hanger and support components to be used for specific application and installations, where such information is not otherwise provided; and
- Serves as a companion document to MSS SP-127, which provides recommendations for the design, selection, and application of bracing for piping systems subject to seismic– wind — dynamic loading.
New Products
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Handheld Calculators The Pipe Trades Pro™ and PlumbingCalc™ Pro are handheld calculators that work with feet-inch-fractions and include built-in reference tables for various pipe types, materials and sizes. Quickly do conversions and calculations, including flow rates, velocity, force, pressure, volumes, slopes, drops (run, travel, offset), empty and filled pipe weights, and more. Calculated Industries.
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Electronic faucets Company has more than 95% of its products that comply with the Buy American Act (BAA). HyTronic™ and E-Tronic™ (pictured) electronic faucets are among more than 1,700 baa-compliant products from the maker. BAA requires U.S. government entities to prefer, and when possible, purchase products made in the United States. To comply with baa, the cost of a product’s domestic components must equal more than 50% of the cost of the complete product. HyTronic faucets include traditional and contemporary style deck-mount lav faucets, and wall-mount and deck-mount Gooseneck faucets. Chicago Faucets. |
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Prefabricated boiler manifolds Prestige Cascade’s factory prefabricated boiler manifolds holds capacities from 800,000 Btu/hr. to 2 million BTUs (two to five boilers) in two different piping arrangements: primary secondary or reverse return. The Cascade system features individual, 95% efficiency, fully modulating, low water content 399 MBH boilers, where off cycles losses are substantially reduced and dissipated heat from stored water is far less that large capacity, single input boiler. Triangle Tube. |
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High efficiency flush valves Easy-to-operate FreeHand™ High Efficiency flush valve promote water and energy savings by using an infrared sensor beam to activate a flush cycle when a user is in range, ensuring efficient water use and the ultimate in sanitary protection. FreeHand flush valves feature solid-brass, chrome-plated construction to withstand constant use and advanced electronics to limit false sensing and over-flushing. Valves are ADA-compliant. Moen Commercial. |