radiant heat tubing in the lower concrete slab and 3,160 feet of 3/8-inch Onix synthetic rubber tubing for the under-floor areas in a five-zone system that would warm most of the home’s floors. They also hung three, prefabricated, pre-engineered Watts Hydronex panels to manage hydronic system flow. Meanwhile, the Frey’s excavator trenched the geoexchange field behind the house. Four, 300-foot long trenches were dug to a depth of 10 feet and were piped as they were completed—each line feeding into a large manifold pit. “A key surprise was Watts’ new solution for joining geoexchange tubing,” said Keith Frey. “We used Watts’ Triton HDPE pipe fusion technology.” Triton pipe fusion uses radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic technology to improve pipe joining. There’s no hot iron involved, so it removes the risk of burns. There’s no need for adhesives or musclestraining pressure, and all joints can be dry-fit. Shreiner explained that the Triton system creates durable welds offering unobstructed flow and decreased pressure drop. Watts’ Triton HDPE pipe fusion technology Mechanical systems, connected Within a single day, as the excavator completed trenching, Keith Frey and Shreiner fused the pipe. Kevin Hul, Mountain View technician, made many of the final Triton connections inside the home, completing fluid circuits to and from the five-ton, water-to-air Modine geothermal unit. According to Shreiner, the Modine heat pump was a perfect match for the tekmar controls chosen to integrate management of the homes forced air geothermal heating and cooling equipment, and the five-zone radiant heat system. “The geo system allowed easy integration to the tekmar 557 thermostats and controls,” said Roger Prevost, hydronics general manager for Millersville, MD-based ROI Marketing, a manufacturer’s representative firm. “The controls included two 557 t-stats; five 552 t-stats and a setpoint and wiring center.” “The tekmar controls are key components of the Hydronex panels,” said Watts Regional Manager Rich McNally. “Installers simply hang them, make connections, add power and water.” The preassembled, pre-engineered panels are factory wired and tested. The three modular Hydronex panels, ready for off-theshelf delivery, were ordered by Mountain View a few weeks before they arrived. The first, primary panel moves hot water from the boiler-fed buffer tank; it includes outdoor sensors and interior thermostats. Injection panels two and three parcel-out heated supply to feed the home’s different-temp radiant heat zones. Taco zone controls govern a bevy of Taco pumps, mounted at a 45-degree angle on the panels to control flow within the mile-long network radiant tubing. All the comforts of home Shreiner chose a 125 MBH, wallhung Laars LX mod-con boiler as the main source of heat for the home. “I especially like the system for its high efficiency(95% Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency AFUE) and that the New Hampshire company makes the boiler here in the U.S., even their own stainless steel heat exchangers. It’s got an advanced control system and outdoor reset, a condensate trap, zero clearance installation and allows venting up to 150 feet,” said Shreiner. “And it’s so danged quiet.” He added that the boiler is paired with two 120-gallon Bradford White tanks, one of which had a large stainless steel coil inside. “We chose these for their very low standby loss,” added Shreiner. 120-gallon Bradford White tanks and Taco circulators “One of them is a buffer tank for the 6 ICM/September/October 2016
ICM September-October 2016
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