Engineered Systems articles from April 2003

Engineered Systems archives from April 2003

Your thermostat: trusty friend or two-faced double agent? (Editor's Note).
April 1, 2003... Here at Engineered Systems, we talk each month about a wide variety of systems and equipment designed to change or maintain interior temperature in the pursuit of occupant comfort, but are we missing an important alternative strategy? Just a...

Calendar of events.
April 1, 2003... May 2003 For more events and details, visit ESOnline at www.esmagazine.com. May 5-9 Chilled Water Plants for Central and District Cooling Systems University of Wisconsin -- Madison Madison, WI. For info, visit ...

VAV box dilemmas. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... I found Corey Simon's article, "A VAV Box Dilemma" (December 2002, page 41) to be on the mark in terms of the message, but off the mark in terms of some specifics. The author makes repeated references to a "pressure-dependent" VAV box, but in...

The fix is in. (Letters to the Editor).
April 1, 2003... Mr. Simon's article, "A VAV Box Dilemma," covers a very real problem and it's one we deal with on a regular basis as an independent balancing contractor. However, he incorrectly identified the VAV box in the article as a pressure-dependent box,...

Correction.
April 1, 2003... Bryan Steam, LLC, manfacturer of the boilers at the school, was misidentified in "Maine's Noble Success," Engineered Systems regrets the error. Regarding the February 2003 issue of Engineered Systems, in the "Current Affairs" column, the...

Back to Basics.
April 1, 2003... Test 164 Operating Room Application with Constant Volume Supply Air, Steam Reheat, and Steam Humidification Basic System--Design Test 1 ON-OFF CONTROL, IN THE "OFF" POSITION: Central AHU is off (not part of this test), steam reheat RC-1...

Dataloggers help 30-year-old school overcome mold problems. (Case in Point).
April 1, 2003... With outdoor humidity rates near a constant 100% during the summer months, Houston is quickly becoming known as one of the world's moldiest cities. Many of the area's insurance carriers have seen a significant increase in mold claims in recent...

UV remedy wipes out mold problem in Florida hospital. (Case in Point).
April 1, 2003... It can start from the simplest of problems and grow into something that requires considerable time, effort, and money to solve: Mold not only poses a threat to property, but it has also been shown to present health problems for those who are...

Air eliminators/dirt separators solve chronic coil problems. (Case in Point).
April 1, 2003... Waukesha Memorial Hospital in Waukesha, WI, is a full-service health care facility comprising some 900,000 sq ft. Established in 1914, the hospital employs approximately 2,480 people with a maximum capacity of 263 beds. In an area of the...

Community convergence: as the transition to Web-based ways and to software begins, our practical experience and virtual relationships will still be crucial. (Building Automation).
April 1, 2003... This month's issue of Engineered Systems includes a pullout supplement section on "Building Automation Convergence" prepared by Tom Hartman and myself. While preparing this document, I was constantly reminded of the people convergence that...

Rate options rate attention: know how utilities may set your minimum bill, and what your choices are for managing the total load. (Current Affairs).
April 1, 2003... In my last column, we presented basic energy and demand components of the electric bill. This month, we'll review some more complex features of electric rate structures and some common rate options that you should be aware of. POWER FACTOR...

Commissioning for indoor air quality: here are a few more mistakes found on functional performance "final exams" in schools. (Commissioning).
April 1, 2003... There are a lot of reasons why facility owners believe commissioning is important. Different owners have different reasons, but near the top of many lists has been the need for positive verification and documentation of the proper startup and...

Airside economizers and a diabatic humidification: a better choice? (Weather Report: February 2003).
April 1, 2003... Last month, we analyzed the operational costs of an AHU with steam humidification and economizer controls. As expected, the results showed us that the two really don't mix, at least for the example presented. Given the assumptions in that...

IAQ for health & recreation facilities.
April 1, 2003... Imagine for a moment that instead of engineering, you had chosen law. You're no ambulance chaser, but the latest journals are full of cases involving sick buildings and mold, (1,2,3) and you dream of a facility that could generate the most...

Indentifying the complex components of convergence. (Controlling Convergence).
April 1, 2003... Never in my 30 years in the large building automation industry have I felt such excitement as I did at the January 2003 AHR Expo held in Chicago. It was not just about new products and new capabilities; it was about new directions and new...

Convergence: what is it, what will it mean, and when will it happen? (Controlling Convergence).
April 1, 2003... Over the last several years, a remarkable transition has begun in the building controls industry. We see it in what are called Web-based control systems that permit operation over standard Web browsers. In itself, a Web-based system is not...

Navigating the road ahead. (Controlling Convergence).
April 1, 2003... If you are not fond of change, then the next decade will be painful, but if you are excited by new directions, new capabilities, and new relationships, you are poised for a fantastic time. It will be a time of self-discovery for us as an...

The bottom line: convergence opportunity. (Controlling Convergence).
April 1, 2003... While the convergence of the IT and building controls will certainly result in many challenges for our industry, these are small when compared with the enormous new opportunities that convergence is creating for us. To start, convergence...

Suitable for framing.
April 1, 2003... The Portland Museum of Art faced unusual humidity concerns as well as other challenges particular to its two historic older buildings. However, by using modern controls and drawing on creative solutions involving chimneys and transplanted...

An AAON[R] encore.
April 1, 2003... The Mode LL Chiller Continues the Tradition of Excellence. Just as AAON [R] innovation changed the unitaiy rooftop market in 1988, the Chiller market is now being transformed. The AAON Model LL air and evaporative cooled chiller has...

Biosafety ventilation systems.
April 1, 2003... Biosafety laboratories have four levels, while biological safety cabinets have three classes. Each category carries technical distinctions of literally vital importance in the protection of researchers working with a variety of dangerous...

Ultrasonic humidification is ultra-efficient.
April 1, 2003... Low energy requirements, free cooling potential, and good retrofit suitability are just three appealing traits of this technology. As for caveats, water purity and adiabatic interaction within the system as a whole are two issues to keep in...

Announcing munters integrated custom air handler!
April 1, 2003... Then consider this: Munters, the world leader in dehumidification systems, has just introduced the most advanced system design available today! The Munters Integrated Custom Air Handler (ICA) brings an innovative double wall, no-through-metal...

NFPA calls for immediate meeting of code writers to address nightclub concerns after RI fire. (Issue and Events).
April 1, 2003... The nonprofit NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) recently called upon its Technical Committee on Assembly Occupancies to convene in Quincy, MA for an immediate review of the safety issues relevant in public assembly buildings. The...

ISH North America announces new six-track seminar series. (Issue and Events).
April 1, 2003... ISH North America show organizers have announced a new multilevel structure for its seminar program unveiled last year at the inaugural launch of ISH North America in Toronto. The event, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's...

Novar plc. (Industry News).
April 1, 2003... Novar plc of the United Kingdom acquired the trade and assets of Alerton Technologies, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of building automation and control systems for HVAC applications.

The New York Blower Company. (Industry News).
April 1, 2003... The New York Blower Company announced that it has acquired TLT-Babcock from Babcock Borsig Power AG of Oberhausen, Germany.

Delta Controls Inc. (Industry News).
April 1, 2003... Delta Controls Inc. and partner company, Electric City, recently announced the signing of a $2.2 million contract with O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

Bell & Gossett. (Industry News).
April 1, 2003... Bell & Gossett has opened a 17,000-sq-ft centrifugal pump manufacturing plant in Shenyang, China.

Johns Manville's. (Industry News).
April 1, 2003... Johns Manville's performance materials business recently announced that its customers will now go directly to office-based account representatives for real-time support on technical questions, pricing, complaint resolution, and other business...

Flowserve Corporation. (Industry News).
April 1, 2003... Flowserve corporation has donated a rotary, two-screw pump to Texas A&M University for use by researchers, instructors, and students to evaluate multiphase pump dynamics, identify operating problems, and develop solutions.

Maxitrol Company. (Places and Faces).
April 1, 2003... Maxitrol Company recently announced the appointment of Kenneth D. Fox as director of business development.

Selkirk L.L.C. (Places and Faces).
April 1, 2003... Selkirk L.L.C. has promoted Bill Stermer to EDI manager and Glen Edgar to the position of director of research and development.

Lindab Inc. (Places and Faces).
April 1, 2003... Lindab Inc. recently announced the promotion of Lawrence T. Sunshine to vice president of marketing.

Steril-Aire, Inc. (Places and Faces).
April 1, 2003... Steril-Aire, Inc. has appointed Michael C. Poyer to the newly created position of manager of Western regional sales.

nSTREAMS Technologies Inc. (Places and Faces).
April 1, 2003... nSTREAMS Technologies Inc. recently announced that Robert Chen has joined its board of directors.

Rheem's A/C division. (Places and Faces).
April 1, 2003... Rheem's A/C division recently announced the following promotions: Gary Wehunt to marketing programs manager; Frank Fodge to marketing communications program administration manager; Bill Alderson to marketing publications supervisor; Keith...

Emerson Motor Company. (Places and Faces).
April 1, 2003... Emerson Motor Company recently announced the promotion of Tim Albers to director of marketing, industrial solutions division.

DMJMH+N. (Engineering Beat).
April 1, 2003... DMJMH+N has announced the promotion of Paul A. Sabatiukto associate principal.

U.S. Green Building Council. (Engineering Beat).
April 1, 2003... Christine Wagner and Melanie Berkemeyer of Cannon Design have been awarded LEED accredited status by the U.S. Green Building Council after successfully completing the qualifying examination.

Arnold & O'Sheridan, Inc. (Engineering Beat).
April 1, 2003... Arnold & O'Sheridan, Inc. has announced that its president, Brian L. Hanson, was recently elected as a fellow of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).

Syska Hennessy Group. (Engineering Beat).
April 1, 2003... Syska Hennessy Group and Shalom Baranes were selected as the NE design firms for the design of the $130 million modernization of the GSA Headquarters Office Building located in Washington.

Guttmann & Blaevoet. (Engineering Beat).
April 1, 2003... Guttmann & Blaevoet is providing engineering services on the 200,00-sq-ft, $54-million San Joaquin County General Hospital and central plant in French Camp, CA.

Dome-Tech Engineering. (Engineering Beat).
April 1, 2003... Dome-Tech Engineering has announced that Ronald P. Cardella has rejoined the company as manager of the consulting group.

ARI's. (Association Agenda).
April 1, 2003... ARI's Commercial Refrigerator Manufacturers Division has created ARI Standard 1200-2002, Commercial Refrigerated Display Cases, which is available for free download on its website at www.ari.org.

ASHRAE. (Association Agenda).
April 1, 2003... ASHRAE has established a liaison to improve use of BACnet[R] in Russia. The liaison with the Russian Association of Engineers for Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, Heat Supply and Building Thermal Physics, the Russian equivalent to...

NFPA's. (Association Agenda).
April 1, 2003... NFPA's 2003 NFPA World Safety Conference and Exposition[TM] to be held at the Dallas Convention Center, May 18-21, will feature General H. Norman Schwarzkopf (retired), and Chris Matthews, an author and television personality, as keynote...

The Association for Facilities Engineering. (Association Agenda).
April 1, 2003... The Association for Facilities Engineering has hired Michael Ireland of New Market, MD, as executive director.

The American National Standards Institute. (Association Agenda).
April 1, 2003... The American National Standards Institute and model code developers have completed the world's first fully integrated volume of consensus codes and standards, the C3 set, which will be available next month and can be pre-ordered at...

The National Institute of Building Sciences. (Association Agenda).
April 1, 2003... The National Institute of Building Sciences recently honored Paul K. Heilstedt, P.E., and CEO of Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) International, as the recipient of the 2002 Institute Member Award.

The Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association. (Association Agenda).
April 1, 2003... The Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association has contracted with the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society to administer the new I=B=R Schools beginning early in 2003.

Energy 2003 to discuss "real world, real solutions". (Issues and Events).
April 1, 2003... The theme of Energy 2003, "Real World, Real Solutions," addresses the need to improve America's energy security and reliability and many other energy and environmental concerns. Energy 2003 will be held August 17-20, 2003, at the Wyndham Palace...

HVAC system design. (Computers & Software).
April 1, 2003... Design Master HVAC automates the process of designing HVAC systems for the architectural industry. It calculates the building load, and cfm totals, sizes the ducts, and draws the ductwork based upon those sizes. Design Master Software, Inc....

Cooling tower sizing. (Computers & Software).
April 1, 2003... TowerSelect[TM] is a Windows[R] based software program designed to assist in cooling tower selection, It allows users to view the actual cooling tower required for their application, along with color photos, dimensioned engineering drawings,...

Building automation. (Computers & Software).
April 1, 2003... EBuilding[TM] is the company's newest version of its Internet-powered, BACnet-compliant, IT-friendly BAS. It includes improvements in scheduling, alarm management, trending, and extended support for multiple sites. Teletrol Systems Inc....

Informative Graphics Corp. (Bits & Bytes).
April 1, 2003... Informative Graphics Corp. recently announced the release of its ModelPress Publisher 3.0 3-D model software, which now supports Inventor R6 and SolidWorks 2003. It provides a way to share 3-D CAD model content with users who don't have access...

Fuel Tech Inc. (Bits & Bytes).
April 1, 2003... Fuel Tech Inc.'s, ACUITIV[TM] Software Group recently announced the availability of ACUITIV 3.2 software (formerly known as Virtual Vantage), which enables Windows[R] 2000 compatibility and offers numerous other enhancements.

ABB. (Bits & Bytes).
April 1, 2003... ABB recently announced that it has expanded its offering of computer-based training services for its ACH DrivelT Low Voltage 400 AC drives. The self-paced program is available as licensed software in an interactive CD-ROM format.

New Standard Institute. (Bits & Bytes).
April 1, 2003... New Standard Institute recently announced the publication of "Shutdowns, Turnarounds, and Outages, a computer-based training product available as an instant download or on CD-ROM.

Autodesk, Inc. (Bits & Bytes).
April 1, 2003... Autodesk, Inc.'s, Building Systems 3 software is a complete building information modeling application for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers.

Algor. (Bits & Bytes).
April 1, 2003... Algor has announced an initiative to offer a new Nastran computer-aided engineering solution that provides extensive CAD support, finite element modeling, hybrid solid FEA meshing, results evaluation and presentation capabilities, and...

Sixnet. (Bits & Bytes).
April 1, 2003... Sixnet's new datalog server software provides users with the ability to gather time-stamped data in remote locations and to easily transfer these records to a central database or SCADA system using an Ethernet telephone, or wireless link.

TradePower. (Bits & Bytes).
April 1, 2003... TradePower recently won one of 16 IBM Beacon Awards in the category of "Best Data Management Solution" for its new TradeSource enterprise system.

Baldor Motors, Drives & Generators. (World Wide Web).
April 1, 2003... Baldor Motors, Drives & Generators' ProSPEC is an online tool designed to help specifiers, consultants, and engineers, who apply or purchase motors, drives, generators, gear products, motion control products, or industrial grinders and buffers,...

Alnor. (World Wide Web).
April 1, 2003... Alnor recently improved and updated its website, located at www.alnor.com.

The ETL SEMKO. (World Wide Web).
April 1, 2003... The ETL SEMKO division of Intertek Testing Services plc. recently launched a series of multilingual, country-specific customer websites designed to deliver culturally tailored testing and certification information to manufacturers, design...

Yaskawa Electric America. (World Wide Web).
April 1, 2003... Yaskawa Electric America's Virtual Training Room is a Web-based program that allows product users, distributors, and integrators to attend classes anywhere they can connect to the Internet and a telephone. For more information visit...

Automatic Filters, Inc. (World Wide Web).
April 1, 2003... Automatic Filters, Inc. offers extensive information about its Tekleen[R] product offerings at www.tekleen.com/oboutus.php.

Pure Humidifier. (World Wide Web).
April 1, 2003... Pure Humidifier's website at www.purehumidifier.com, offers information about the company's line of direct steam injection, steam heat exchanger, and electric self-contained humidifiers for industrial and commercial applications.

Cmmscity.com. (World Wide Web).
April 1, 2003... Cmmscity.com is designed to educate the buyers and users of CMMS solutions to increase CMMS productivity.

Fans. (Products in Focus).
April 1, 2003... The company's unhoused, compact plenum fans are designed to minimize AHU first cost by maximizing application flexibility with capacities to 160,000 cfm, pressures to 12 in. w.g., and 19 sizes to 73 in. Double-width fans are suited for...

DDC controllers. (Products in Focus).
April 1, 2003... The company's line of DDC controllers, the SN Advantage Series, is available for all HVAC control applications. The controllers are designed to be highly modular, fully programmable with a single programming tool, and are customizable for...

Valves. (Products in Focus).
April 1, 2003... The company has added two valve sizes to its Powermite 599 MT Series line of two- and three-way valves: 1-1/4 and 1-1/2 in. The new valve bodies are designed to eliminate overheating or overcooling through a controlled device shutoff and handle...

Transducer valves. (Products in Focus).
April 1, 2003... The company says that its transducer valve can be installed wherever pressure monitoring is needed. Features of the unit include a forged steel, hermetically welded valve body; working pressure to 400 psig; and operating temperatures from...

Air distribution. (Products in Focus).
April 1, 2003... The company's NetworkAIR RM air distribution unit is designed to increase airflow inside racks and enclosures. The unit works with the existing AC system to pull air from beneath the raised floor directly into the rack enclosures before it can...

Time delay relays. (Products in Focus).
April 1, 2003... The company's time delay relays are used in electric furnaces and heat pumps to cycle the electric heating elements on/off and to provide a fan on/off delay to conserve energy. The relays can also be used in gas unit heaters and in AC...

Heating and cooling control. (Products in Focus).
April 1, 2003... The PXR3 controller is a self-tuning temperature/ process controller that features a large LED and heating and cooling control. Features include PXR-Lite Windowse[R]-based communications software that provides a graphical user interface. Remote...

Insurance is the wrong driver: focus on coverage bloats the project. And, what could you provide for twice the fee? (Tomorrow's Engineer).
April 1, 2003... I was discussing the trials and tribulations of design engineering with a friend one day, and we came upon this interesting revelation that design engineer's errors and omission insurance has set the wrong standard to be measured by. Instead of...