Engineered Systems - June 2008 - (Page 76)

Issues&Events refrigeration equipment (including import and export) containing HCFCs or blends that contain them. The proposed ban is currently being reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget. Currently, the Clean Air Act restricts import of HCFCs in bulk, but not when they are used in imported, precharged equipment. Places And Faces Maxitrol Company promoted Jeffrey DeWitt to vice president of engineering, a position in which his responsibilities will include management of production engineering, design/tooling operations, and the quality assurance department, along with supervision and budgeting of capital expenditures for manufacturing and special projects. IRS issues guidance on commercial building tax deductions The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2008-40 providing additional guidance on the Commercial Building Tax Deduction Program under Section 179D. The notice expands on Notice 2006-52 addressing 1) guidance on the pass-through on public/government building projects, 2) clarification on partial deductions, 3) clarification on lighting certification, 4) modeling software guidance, and 5) inclusion of energy saving design methods that were described in the legislative history of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, but not in the statute. Notice 2008-40 appears in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2008-14 on the IRS website. Distech Controls announced the addition of Ed Gomez as regional sales manager for Latin America. Victaulic Company announced with great sadness the passing of John E. Perry, 61, vice president of fire protection and new business, who had been with the company since 1997. TAC appointed Jana Gerber director of marketing and business development and Jay Nardone to vice president of systems integration for the central U.S. market. Heat pumps ‘go with the flow’ to boost output Air source heat pumps typically deliver 1½ to three times more heating energy to a space than the electric energy they consume. This is possible because heat pumps move heat rather than convert it from a fuel (as combustion heating systems do). National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers are working to improve the performance of these energy superstars even further by providing engineers with computer-based tools for optimizing heat exchanger designs. In a typical air source heat pump, air flows over two refrigerant-filled heat exchangers (known as coils): one indoor and the other outdoor, both of which have metal fins to aid heat transfer. In the heating mode, liquid refrigerant within the outside coil extracts heat from the air and the refrigerant evaporates into a gas. The indoor coil releases heat from the refrigerant as it condenses back into a liquid. A valve near the compressor can change the direction of the refrigerant flow for cooling. Performance of air-to-refrigerant heat exchangers can be reduced by uneven airflow distribution. However, performance degradation can be significantly avoided by design changes that increase refrigerant flow in areas that receive more air. To achieve this, one must ascertain the actual air distribution in a given system. NIST researchers have developed a testing apparatus that uses a high-resolution camera to track — with laser-illuminated dust particles — the motion and distribution of airflow in finned-tube heat exchangers. Data from these highly accurate laboratory experiments are being compared with computer simulations of airflow performed with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Once accurate CFD models are developed and validated, engineers could use them as the basis for design changes to coil assemblies and refrigerant circuitries to accommodate the existing air distribution. The NIST program, partially sponsored by the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology Institute (ARTI) under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), could increase finned-tube heat exchanger heating or cooling capacity by 5%, result- Emerson Climate Technologies, a business of Emerson, announced the appointment of Alan Abramson to the position of president, Clive Samuels & Associates. ABB has made two appointments to its North American team: Greg Scheu, currently senior vice president of the company’s Automation Products division in North America, will now head the company’s Power Products division in North America; and Rick Hepperla, who will fill Scheu’s vacancy. Burnham Hydronics announced that the N.H. Yates & Company, Inc. is a new manufacturer’s representative for the company’s line of boilers and hydronic heating equipment. Uponor North America announced that William Gray will join the company as general manager for Canada. Pittsburgh Corning Corporation’s regional manager, R. Alan Neely, was selected to receive the Lincoln Bouillon Award (which recognizes a member who performs the most outstanding work in increasing the membership of the society during the course of the year) from ASHRAE. Grundfos promoted Chris Zelenka to regional segment manager for commercial building services in North America. ing in improved heat pump efficiency. Additionally, such improvements could allow manufacturers to reduce the heat exchanger size, thereby reducing material cost and the amount of refrigerant needed. The NIST study results on home air source heat pumps will be issued in 2009 and are also expected to be applicable to large heat exchangers used in commercial buildings and refrigeration systems. ES 76 En gi neer ed Sy stem s June 2008

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Engineered Systems - June 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Letters To The Editor Back2Basics HVAC Challenge Case In Point Commissioning Efficiency Incentives HydroTech Building Automation Energy Wiz HVACR Designer Tips Notre Dame Tackles the Heat State Of The Arts Time For A Transplant? Project Delivery: What Can IPD Do For You? Issues & Events Computers & Software Products Application Checklist Glossary Classifieds Advertiser Index Tomorrow’s Engineer

Engineered Systems - June 2008

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