Weil-McLain

Offers Help Homeowners, Commercial Businesses Save Money on High-Efficiency Boiler Purchases

Growing awareness of the benefits of energy efficiency and increasing performance standards for heating systems are important drivers in the boiler market. Focused on these trends, Weil-McLain, a leader in hydronic heating systems, recently launched EcoRebates industry-leading rebate tools on its website. The tools automatically highlight rebate and incentive savings available to homeowners and commercial entities based on their location when they research and view qualified energy-efficient boiler equipment.

EcoRebates tracks thousands of rebate programs offered by utilities and energy service providers that offer cash-back to homeowners and commercial entities that purchase energy efficient hydronic heating equipment. Using the rebate tools on the Weil-McLain site, homeowners can easily find rebate savings, up to $2,500 in some areas, with higher savings available to commercial entities purchasing larger equipment.

“The rebate center is a powerful tool that is simple for homeowners and business owners to use and automatically displays location-based rebates and savings on energy efficient products in real-time,” said Scott Butterfield, VP of Marketing and Business Development at Weil-McLain. “We are excited to offer this solution to our sales team and dealers to provide a valuable way to present savings to customers throughout their high efficiency boiler purchase journey.

“Weil-McLain is the North American leading boiler manufacturer who remains strong in the high-efficiency boiler market,” added Brett Battles, Co-Founder and CEO at EcoRebates. “We’re pleased to work with them to deliver these valuable savings opportunities into the hands of their customers.”

More information on rebates for Weil-McLain residential and commercial boiler systems is available at www.weil-mclain.com/rebate-center.

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.

When you take pride in your work, the craftsmanship shines through, and the customer receives a reliable, comfortable radiant heating system. Tim Kuhlman, plumbing tech, Grasser’s Plumbing & Heating Inc., McNabb, Ill., is no stranger to meticulous installs and a job well done. Grasser’s is a family-owned plumbing and HVAC company serving the Illinois valley for more than 60 years.

To put it directly, the Oglesby, Ill. customer at a larger residence—3,186-sq.-ft. main floor; 3,300-sq.-ft. basement; and 1,200-sq.-ft. garage—wanted a professional install that worked. As a result, “The customer is very happy with the boiler install and performance of the system,” says Kuhlman.

As part of the solution, Kuhlman used tekmar 4-way mixing valves to raise the return temps for the garage and basement — the main floor set point is 140 degrees F; the basement and garage set points are 120 degrees F. The garage is set to 58 degrees F, the basement at 65 degrees F and the main floor to 68 degrees F.

Inside the Mechanical Room

• Boiler — Weil McLain/ultra 230 series 3
• Water heater — Navien 240A (not shown)
• Pumps — Grundfos UPS15-58FC, 3 speed circulator Relays
• Zone controls — Taco 4 Zone pump relay
• Piping – All primary and secondary piping done in copper with sweat fittings • • Main Tools Used —Bernzomatic TS8000 torch,
• Valves — Webstone isolation pump valves
• Separators —2” spirotherm air seperatore, Flexconsole expansion tank holder
• Expansion tanks —#60 Extrol expansion tank
• Other—three 12-loop 1” stainless steel uponor radiant heat manifolds and one 4-loop uponor ep manifold for garage.

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.