Navien

Look around, nearly all the fire tube heat exchangers on the market are a shared design manufactured by either one of two or three designs coming from overseas. Except one. Navien has designed and manufactured their own fire tube and its very different from the rest. Of course its not yet been put to the test here in North America, there are not yet thousands or even hundreds of installations in place but given the track record of the major tankless manufacturer, one might expect it to perform well. For more info on the new NFB boilers coming soon from Navien click here.

Here’s a video we shot at the 2018 AHR Expo in Chicago while visiting Navien’s booth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqzfQPUkc1I&feature=youtu.be

Family owned and operated, Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating Inc. focuses on residential and light commercial service, repair and installation work. The company performs boiler, furnace, ductless system work, “and plain ol’ no-heat/no-ac calls. We pride ourselves on getting things done right the first time,” says owner, Joseph Wood.

“We operate cleanly and foster a cool team environment where we’re always making sure we’ve got each other’s back—it leads to a nice experience for both our company and our clients and everyone works together, which is great. We do company outings quarterly to make sure we all function as a team at all times, and these vary from Red Sox games to bowling and pizza, or fantasy football drafts,” continues Wood.

Recently, Wood and a two-man crew encountered an old 4-level, 2,000-sq.-ft. multi-family row house in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood—near the Bunker Hill Monument—that was converted back to a single family home, which had two failing heating systems and two failing tankless units. (The home is technically a two-family home but has been occupied by the same family since 1960.) It was a great opportunity to transition to one modern system. The two techs, Jose and Ben, worked off of an application drawing that Wood drew for them to ensure they followed manufacturer’s specs or better for each item.

For the 5-zone baseboard system, Boston Standard’s crew installed a Navien NHB-150 to tackle the heating needs due to its superior turndown Ratio of 15:1, meaning it could get down as low as 10,000 BTUs for a mild day, but ramp up if needed to tackle the biggest heating or hot water demand. They paired the NHB-150 with a lifetime warranty 60-gallon Heat Flo indirect water heater so they could get ample hot water and a great lifespan.

The team also installed a Caleffi SEP-4 Magnetic Hydraulic Separator to provide the air elimination, but also to keep the old system debris clean of any remnant debris as it has a manual flush feature to draw iron oxide and similar “crud” from the system. “The SEP-4 also allows us to handle the hydraulic separation in a really clean format,” says Wood.

A Taco Veridian pump was installed to modulate the pump speed based on the number of open zones. “This will allow the client to have an awesome new system that is super-efficient with not only the gas usage, but also with the electrical usage,” says Wood.

In addition, two old HVAC systems were replaced with new Trane Hyperion air handlers and condensers.

Viega ProPress fittings with the Milwaukee M12 FORCE LOGIC short throw tool, which presses up to 1.25”, were used for the whole setup to keep things nice and clean and leak free for years to come.

The proof is in the install. “The homeowner loves the new system—it saves space and looks beautiful, and will last the client a good long time,” says Wood.

Lebanon, Pa.  — At their annual awards dinner in Hershey, PA, APR Supply Co. named Navien their Innovation Partner of the Year. Jeff MacDowell, VP of Marketing and Emerging Markets presented the award to Gary Eklof, president of Harry Eklof & Associates, Navien’s area representative.

 

In his presentation, MacDowell noted that “Navien distinguished themselves with their outstanding products and support while simultaneously meeting the needs of APR, the contractor and the consumer”. He went on to list the following factors that led APR Supply to their decision: “This year Navien has been

• Always striving to improve on products to take them from good to great
• Creating niche products for new and existing market segments
• Making their products smart
• Focusing on ultra -condensing efficiencies
• They have great rep support
• Consumer friendly website
• Providing multiple market segments of water heating and space heating
• The products that made us give the awards were:
  • NPE Series condensing tankless water heaters with energy factors up to 0.99EF and cascading capabilities for both residential and commercial applications
  • NHB boilers with up to a 15:1 turn down ratio and NCB combi units with heating capacity up to 120k BTU/H and DHW of 199k BTU/H.”

MacDowell concluded by saying that, “Navien offers the support and innovation” that APR Supply Co. needs to be successful.

The 2015 ISH Show in Frankfurt, Germany, by all accounts, did not disappoint. The show was spectacular and grandiose in size and attendance. In fact, official numbers released from the show indicate record numbers in attendance — 198,000 visitors, a new exhibitor record and a significant increase in the level of international guests.

 

ISH is the leading exhibition for sustainable sanitation solutions, innovative bathroom design and energy-efficient heating technologies in combination with renewable energies and environmentally friendly air conditioning, cooling and ventilation technology. This year, it once again brought together the sector’s most important subjects at the same time and place, and covered all horizontal and vertical aspects of future-oriented building solutions with the extensive range of products and services to be seen.

 

The ISH Water section was characterized by sustainable sanitation solutions for individual user requirements arising from the process of demographic change, as well as by innovative water management and drinking-water hygiene. On the Energy side, the focus was on energy efficiency as the second pillar of the new energy paradigm, i.e., the shift away from nuclear power. Modern heating, air-conditioning, cooling and ventilation technologies have a huge potential for cutting energy consumption and represent an important step on the way to achieving climate targets.

 

According to ISH, the claim of the being the world’s leading trade fair for the sector was substantiated by a 16% increase in the number of international visitors to 74,100—up from 63.985 in 2013) with the largest national contingents coming from Italy, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and China. Significant growth in visitor numbers from the USA, Great Britain and Ireland are also evidence of a noticeable economic recovery in important sanitation, heating and air-conditioning markets. Altogether, there were 618 new exhibitors at ISH 2015: 161 of them from Germany, 89 from Italy and 23 from Spain, which indicates a gradual market recovery.

 

Yet I had heard that only 4% of total visitors were from the Unites States and finding English-speaking booth attendees proved arduous at times. Look for the Union Jack lapel and you’ve found someone that can speak the language.

If you haven’t been to ISH, there are 11 pavilions—with multiple levels—that are categorized by the bathroom experience; air conditioning, cooling and ventilation; building and energy technology/renewable energies; installation technology; home and building automation. There is plenty to see so if you plan to visit in 2017—the show takes place every other year—be sure to take as much time as you can. I attended three days at the show and wasn’t even able to see much of the show. “Overwhelming,” said Bob Short, Short’s Plumbing & Heating, Livingston, Montana. “It’s big, but in a good way.”

Additional feedback I received from the show was that the booths were large, clean, modern in appearance, and spacious enough to get around. Some of drawbacks were that a lot of the booths, again, did not have an English-speaking contingent. Also, what you see in this European trade show is, well, just that — European. A lot of the products and technology is not “transferable” to the U.S. based upon code compliance, early adoption or some products and/or technology are years down the pipeline for U.S. use.

 

Personally, the show is incredible, but its size can be daunting; wearing a comfortable pair of shoes is a must because you’ll do you good share of walking. I wish the show was a little easier to navigate but the ISH downloadable app was a plus while trying to find favorites to visit. I was issued free Wi-Fi with a press pass, but even that got a little spotty and non-existent at times.

 

I was fortunate enough to spend some time—during and after the show—with gracious company hosts Aquatherm and Viega, who both have major manufacturing facilities to the north of Frankfurt, in Attendorn, Germany. I know of several other contractors who were invited by manufacturers to visit the ISH Show and to do some Germany sightseeing. This might be a great way to get an opportunity to go overseas and visit the show.

 

The feedback from the exhibitors was incredibly positive; you can’t deny the traffic in the booths was high. It should be noted that all visitors weren’t wearing their ISH badges, or perhaps they weren’t even issued one. It’s nice to see names on badges to do a little scouting prior to initial introductions.

 

Overall, the ISH Show was well worth the trip over the pond. If you can find it in your budget—time-wise and monetarily— I would highly suggest making the trek in 2017.