A construction project in Calgary, Canada, called Cube, features several firsts. It’s the city’s first office-to-residential space conversion and real estate developer Strategic Group’s first re-purposing project. It’s also the first building in Canada to feature the latest advancement in condensing boiler heating technology from Weil-McLain. The Cube—a 52,000-square-foot, seven-story building in Calgary’s Beltline neighborhood—features Read more
Stainless Vertical Firetube (SVF) Commercial Boiler
A construction project in Calgary, Canada, called Cube, features several firsts. It’s the city’s first office-to-residential space conversion and real estate developer Strategic Group’s first re-purposing project. It’s also the first building in Canada to feature the latest advancement in condensing boiler heating technology from Weil-McLain.
The Cube—a 52,000-square-foot, seven-story building in Calgary’s Beltline neighborhood—features 65, one- and two-bedroom residential rental units and is just a short walk from the city’s downtown area. Once the aging Stephenson office building, the 38-year-old building was converted to new residential and rental units in 2019.
The building’s developer, Ash Mahmoud, Managing Director of Calgary-based Strategic Builders Inc (SBI), the construction arm of Strategic Group, which owns, manages and develops office, retail and apartment properties across Canada, oversaw the conversion project.
“Cities like Calgary have seen office building vacancy rates as high as 27% in the past few years,” said Mahmoud. “Rather than let downtown buildings go unused, it has been one of our core missions to convert them into residential.”
In addition to incorporating contemporary designs and styling finishes, Mahmoud also sought the latest in boiler technology to heat the new development.
Next Gen Heat
To conduct the HVAC overhaul, Mahmoud turned to Nu-Mun Contracting, a Calgary-based HVAC company offering commercial and residential plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning services.
Working with SBI and the project engineer, David Muncaster, owner of Nu-Mun Contracting, devised a strategy to convert the building to a high efficiency boiler system and recommended specification of the latest advancement in condensing boiler technology: the Stainless Vertical Firetube (SVF) from Weil-McLain.
Eric Cameron, project manager with Nu-Mun Contracting, oversaw the boiler installation at the building.
“We have a long standing relationship with Weil-McLain, and we trust the quality of their boilers,” said Cameron. “The SVF boilers were the perfect match for the space.”
To meet the building’s heating style and load, the team installed two SVF 1100 MBH high-efficiency condensing gas boilers in the building. The SVF boilers features industry-leading thermal efficiencies up to 97.1%, a clover-shaped stainless steel fire tube heat exchanger for corrosion resistance, and the intuitive and user-friendly Unity™ control system to simplify installation and operation.
“With superior thermal efficiencies, the SVF line offers cost savings and energy efficiencies that could allow owners to qualify for local utility rebates, if available,” said Craig Demaray, National Sales Manager with Weil-McLain Canada. “The SVF also meets all market-driven bid specifications, and is designed for most heating needs including applications in schools and other educational facilities, public institutions, healthcare buildings, offices, hotels, multi-family, churches and more.”
The high-water content design of SVF heat exchanger means a low loss header is not required providing cost savings so the boilers can simply be piped in a primary-secondary design.
The on-board Unity™ control system allowed the boilers to communicate with each other in a Multiple Boiler System (MBS). In this configuration, a master boiler controls the modulation and sequencing of the boilers on the network to achieve the desired system supply temperature. “With the automatic sequencing feature, the boilers communicate directly with one another so they sequence themselves and rotate as needed,” said Cameron. “They operate to optimize energy use and efficiencies. When heat is required, the boilers will stage on as needed.”
Cube Completion
The Cube conversion project was completed in 12 months and more than two-thirds of the building is already leased to residents. Mahmoud praised the experience with Nu-Mun Contracting.
“Working together with Nu-Mun was a seamless operation,” said Mahmoud. “It was a really great relationship and, as a result, the job was a complete success.”
“The start-up and installation progressed smoothly in part due to the way these boilers are designed,” said Cameron. “The SVF boilers offers time-saving installation features that include heavy-duty roller casters for improved maneuverability in confined spaces, industrial-grade leveling legs, and an end-shot burner design requiring only 18 inches overhead space.”
Mahmoud appreciates the ease of maintenance that the boilers offer for the building staff
“The boilers are really user friendly,” said Mahmoud. “We can even conduct the annual maintenance on the units ourselves to keep them in tip-top shape.”
In addition to offering class leading serviceability, the new boilers also offer low operating costs and are expected to bring energy savings and a reduction in gas usage to the facility.
But most important, Mahmoud reported that tenants are extremely pleased with the climate and comfort of the building.
Four Larger Sizes added to New State-of-the-Art Boiler Line Featuring Industry-Leading Efficiency, Ease of Installation and Maintenance Hydronic comfort heating solutions leader Weil-McLain® has added four larger sizes to its advanced, energy efficient Stainless Vertical Firetube (SVF) boiler portfolio to accommodate large commercial applications. The new SVF boiler line has expanded to now include BTU sizes Read more
Four Larger Sizes added to New State-of-the-Art Boiler Line Featuring Industry-Leading Efficiency, Ease of Installation and Maintenance
Hydronic comfort heating solutions leader Weil-McLain® has added four larger sizes to its advanced, energy efficient Stainless Vertical Firetube (SVF) boiler portfolio to accommodate large commercial applications. The new SVF boiler line has expanded to now include BTU sizes of 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000 MBH that join the existing 750, 1000 and 1100 BTU configurations.
The 1500 to 3000 MBH Stainless Vertical Firetube (SVF) boiler line features industry-leading thermal efficiency up to 96.8%, unrivaled ease of installation and maintenance, the intuitive and user-friendly Unity™ control system, and Weil-McLain boiler design reliability and longevity.
“With the addition of these four new sizes, we now have a complete line of SVF products ideal for both small and large commercial projects such as schools, colleges and other educational facilities, municipal buildings, multi-family, healthcare, churches and more,” said John Miller, senior product manager with Weil-McLain. “This design meets all market-driven bid specifications for new construction projects and also is ideal for hybrid applications and replacement boiler needs.”
The SVF line features a stainless-steel vertical fire tube and shell heat exchanger for best-in-class corrosion resistance, a new and bold exterior look, simple, user-friendly controls to make installation and operation easy and a long-term corrosion resistance solution in the form of a serviceable and replaceable condensate tray. With industry leading thermal efficiency performance, the SVF line offers annual operation cost savings and qualification for local utility rebates (where available).
“The SVF boiler line was developed with the contractor in mind and utilized feedback from our installer network to help shape design and functionality,” said John Miller, senior product manager with Weil-McLain. “The result is fire tube performance, perfected. The new SVF showcases the quality, durability, serviceability and innovation that our customers have come to expect from Weil-McLain, and demonstrates our commitment to industry-leading hydronic heating performance.”
Time-saving installation features include an integrated shipping ramp, heavy-duty roller casters for improved maneuverability in confined spaces, industrial-grade leveling legs mitigating the need for a concrete pad, integrated burner in cover plate for minimized 18” overhead space requirement, adjustable control panel height adjustment, and the advanced Unity control set-up wizard. The unit also is zero clearance, side-by-side installation capable to help make the most out of confined boiler room floor space.
“The Unity Controller is designed to reduce installation and set-up time for contractors, simplify boiler system design for specifying engineers, and improve control interface commonality and communication across the entire Weil-McLain high efficiency boiler line,” said Miller.
For ease of service, the SVF features a counter-balanced/hinged cover plate with hatch for quick access to the burner and fire tubes for simple heat exchanger wash-down and no need for additional disassembly. Easy access from the front/back of the boiler requires no side access for regular service intervals and the boiler also features a serviceable and replaceable condensate tray.
Other key features include:
- 70 to 3,000 MBH compatibility throughout the Weil-McLain Evergreen, SlimFit and SVF lines
- 160 psi working pressure
- Natural gas or propane fuel options
- Modbus communication with BACet/Lonworks compatibility
- Ultra-low emissions with SCAMD certification Commercial Energy Star Certification
- Up to 10:1 turn down ratio
- Full line of venting options
The SVF also is ideal for hybrid applications calling for a cast iron boiler complement, and joins the Weil-McLain family of boilers that includes the industry’s widest selection of high-efficiency gas and oil-fired boilers for residential, commercial and institutional needs.
The SVF expanded line became available in August 2019, with all models shipping from the Weil-McLain facility in Eden, North Carolina.
To learn more about the SVF Unity™ boilers, visit www.weil-mclain/svf or contact a Weil-McLain regional sales office.