56/Plumbing Engineer March 2019
S
tepping into the terminals of the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, attendees of this year's AHR Expo were instantly reminded that they were in the city hosting Super Bowl LIII. Between the bright signage and looming construction projects, members of the air- conditioning, heating and refrigeration industry likely felt right at home. From expo nightlife hosted at some of the city's leading hotels and museums to access to Georgia World Congress Center's estimated 3.9 million sq. ft. of exhibition space, Atlanta was an impressionable return for the expo after two decades. During the three days of the show (Jan. 14-16), 45,078 people walked through the exhibition hall and attended educational sessions. Following are some highlights that Plumbing Engineer magazine gathered at the show for our community of plumbing, heating, cooling and piping pros! New Products As expected, many exhibitors launched new products at this year's expo. Bradford White introduced its Infiniti K Series of tankless water heaters. The offering features a built-in internal recirculation pump, up to 10:1 modula- tion, venting lengths that can vent 2-in. or 3-in. PVC or polypropylene up to 280 ft. long and scale reduction tech- nology that provides improved performance, longer life and lower maintenance costs. A key feature of the tankless water heater is its STEADISET technology, which keeps water consistent and virtually eliminates "cold water sand- wich" with no internal buffer tank. This product will be available for orders in 2019. LAARS launched its updated electric boiler that was developed based on demand for low emissions: ELECTRA-THERM. Popular in solar applications and areas such as the Pacific Northwest and Canada, this offering turns a large boiler into an instant water heater, thanks to controls technol- ogy. The boiler features built- in digital temperature control with outdoor reset capabil- ity and multi-boiler staging control, access to all circuit breakers from the front of the unit, a 30 or 125 PSI pres- sure relief valve option and an SME H Stamp heat exchanger vessel. The product will be available for orders by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Leak detection was a theme at Rheem's booth after receiv- ing customer feedback for this feature. It's new Prestige combination boiler is a new addition to the company's expanding high-efficiency product portfolio. With its compact design, the combi- boiler frees up space without sacrificing performance. Energy Star-certified and at 95 percent AFUE, the offering is estimated to be 15 percent more efficient than standard boilers. Raypak attendees saw a flashy preview of its redesigned look and size for its XVers condensing fire-tube boiler with what it called a "concept car." The new version will be smaller than the current offering while still offering installation flexibility, easy commissioning, optimum sea- sonal efficiency and long-term reliability. The boiler will
The Big Game: 2019 AHR Expo
Annual show warms up Atlanta with large crowds before its Super Bowl hosting.
By Ashlei Williams
Rheem introduces the Prestige combi- nation boiler to its high-efficiency lineup.
Previous Page