Appliance Design - November 2007 - (Page 47)

GAS TECHNOLOGY design that provides equivalent air, speed, power, and noise performance in a smaller diameter. All of these changes made for a more efficient blower, which in turn helped improve the condensing boilers to be more efficient and quieter. This is important because of condensing boilers used in Europe are generally installed near living quarters. “This of course demands a product with a high level of balance to insure quiet operation,” he says. One of the products’ benefits, Costello says is that it can be made on an automated assembly line and customized at the final stage to the OEMs requirements. “The design of the housing allows us to build up the motor on an assembly line and at then at the end of the line install the rest of the housing, which can be OEM specific in its design. This allows us to automate the manufacturing process, further reducing cost.” This type of cost reduction and automation is key to reducing the cost of the product and making them easier for the OEM to utilize. This in turn may help pave the way for more migration of modulation units from high-end systems down to everyday, household products. < For more information, enter: CompuValve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312 Or email: info@compuvalve.com Ebm-papst Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313 Or email: Jamie.Perkins@us.ebmpapst.com Gas Technology Institute (GTI) . . . . . . . 314 Or email: businessdevelopmentinfo@gastechnology.org Maxitrol Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315 Or email: mmasen@maxitrol.com The National Gas Technologies Centre .316 Or email: Caroline.Duphily@ctgn.qc.ca Varidigm Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 Or email: sales@Varidigm.com Results for modulating vs. non-modulating burners. Source: GTI mix-ready combustion blower from ebm-papst of Farmington, Conn. The ebm-papst model NRG118/0800-3612 is the next generation of the company’s premix-ready combustion blowers that have been used in the European hydronics market since the 1980s and the North American hydronics market since the late 1990s. The new blower was sized to deliver the air performance currently supplied by larger blowers installed on boilers rated up to 102,000 Btu/h (30kW) without sacrificing efficiency. Though the blower was initially designed for the European hydronics heating market, but Tom Costello, product manager for ebm-papst, says that the technology can be applied to a variety of gas-fired applications. One advantage of this approach in a high efficiency gas-fired boiler is that, combined with an advanced control system, it can be designed to automatically adjust its firing rate or energy input (modulate) to compensate for a change in the heat demand due to a change in the outside air temperature, says Costello. “If the outside air temperature increases, the boiler will continue to run, but at a reduced firing rate,” he says. “The result is an increase in the thermal efficiency due to an increase in the ratio of the heat exchanger surface area www.applianceDESIGN.com to the heat input as the firing rate is reduced. Therefore, efficiencies will range between 87 percent to more than 95 percent depending on the load and boiler design.” Since first developing the product, ebm-papst has made a number of improvements to it, including an upgraded microprocessor, a reduced size of the scroll housing, new molding techniques, the use of new materials, and a revamped impeller system. “The system went from a 130 mm diameter impeller down to 118 mm diameter, and achieved the same performance as the larger product without increasing the blower speed, without increasing the power consumption and without increasing the noise level,” says Costello. He adds that it was important to achieve the same results as the larger unit, but make it in a smaller package. The impeller redesign was key to this process. They first developed a design for a one-shot injection molded part, whereas the previous design was a 2-shot injection molded part that was ultrasonically welded together. Costello says that not having to mate the two parts together improved the balance, reduced manufacturing time and simplified manufacturing operations of the component. The impeller blades were also redesigned. They now feature a hybrid vane Airplane Hanger / Poultry Brooder Nothing in common? Not much, except for Maxitrol’s gas control systems. Selectra: Electronic Gas Flame Modulation Systems CV Series: Compact Combination Controls www.maxitrol.com For more Information Enter 118 applianceDESIGN AD11074Max.indd 1 November 2007 47 10/10/07 9:28:25 AM http://www.maxitrol.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - November 2007 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Today’s LEDs are Brighter and More Colorful than Previous Versions, Allowing Designers More Opportunities to Improve and Differentiate Their Products. When Converting from CCFL to LED Backlights in LCD Panels, New Driving Methods are Needed. Electrowetting Technology Allows Displays to be Designed in an Extensive Range of Colors. Noise Problems are Not Always Easy to Find or Fix, but Acoustic Labs Can Help Designers Ferret Out the “Good” Noise from the “Bad.” A New Sanitization Protocol for Clothes Washers Combines the Best of Three Well-Established Provisions to Ensure Efficiency, Quality and Safety. Stricter EMC Requirements Raise the Bar for Appliances with Electronic Controls and Require Testing to New Levels. Despite Added Cost and Complexity, Gas-Modulating Systems have Migrated from Large-Scale Boiler Applications to Smaller Residential and Commercial Furnaces and Appliances. A New Treatment Technology Hardens the Surface of Light Alloys such as Aluminum and Magnesium and Expands Their Potential Applications. DesignMart Advertiser’s Index Association Report: AHAM

Appliance Design - November 2007

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