eKOCOMFORT: News and Resources: Articles: HVAC-R, March/April 2001

There are six commercial products being developed under a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) program for new technologies to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of this $14 million Advanced Integrated Mechanical Systems (AIMS) project is to introduce these new HVAC systems by spring 2002, initially at the CMX 2002 show in Toronto. Only $3.6 million is coming from government programs.

The six were selected from an initial ten groups in a three-stage proposal-response process in 1999 that was open to all manufacturers. The program evolved from the growth of the combo system market which has seen an estimated 30,000 systems installed in the past decade. But the ventilation aspect is not part of the typical DHW-air handler-space heating system.

"Eighteen months into the three-year program, the six consortia are seeing the results of their research and development in meeting the AIMS technical requirements set out at the beginning," comments Jamie Glouchkow, NRCan project leader. "There is a confidence in and a commitment to the test protocol established that ensures all six systems meet the same performance and safety criteria before going to market.

"There is also an industry-wide commitment to complete this project. Representatives from natural gas and electrical utilities, home builders, consultants; testing, certification, building code and inspection agencies; industry associations and governments are participating in and supporting the program," he said. Three technical groups from the U.S. are also involved. HRAI and NRCan provide administration.

The first of the six AIMS design prototypes began being tested in January by independent agencies, Bodycote Ortech in Mississauga and the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology at the National Research Council facilities in Ottawa. This is to verify that each design exceeds the project design specifications and performance requirements. The independent test and monitoring data will enable the manufacturing teams to optimize their products prior to the planned 120 extended field trials across Canada for the heating season this fall.

Goals of the program

The components are commonly installed in most homes, but only as individual units, often by different trades at different times. The furnace or boiler, domestic hot water (DHW) heater or storage tank, heat recovery ventilator (HRV), air handler and controls are not designed as integrated systems in this situation.

The primary objective is to develop a new generation of higher efficiency systems with a lower heat source for today's tighter energy efficient homes. Two objectives are to integrate ventilation and utilize the hot water heater more efficiently. The program will also establish training criteria and methods of delivery, develop a joint marketing plan with a brand name and trademark, and differentiate these products from others in the marketplace with new features.

The market for these systems is now focused on the custom home and the mid-to-high range of the new housing markets. The multi- unit residential and light commercial markets may also be a target. The price range has not been determined.

The benefits of a designed high-performance package to contractors and their customers are:

Integration reduces the number of components (one pump and one fan, for example) and the space required.
Installation is simpler and faster with a single gas connection, one venting system and a water hook-up on some units.
The components are properly sized and matched for integration, there by reducing electricity and fuel costs while increasing performance efficiency.
Improved quality control for field installation plus easy access to each of the modules for servicing.
Expanded use of microprocessor controls and diagnostics.
One service call, one warranty. The units are not susceptible to combustion spillage.
Customers have a choice of warm air space heating or radiant floor heating or both.
Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, thereby limiting the impact on global warming.

The six AIMS manufacturing consortia and more than 50 other players and stakeholders participated in two days of planning meetings in Toronto in mid-January. Each of the consortia outlined their design, technical, marketing and manufacturing programs separately at one of the sessions.

All six groups are now expected to include the General Electric (GE) ECM motor in their systems for its energy savings and its programming flexibility. Four of the six will segregate domestic hot water from the space-heating loop using a heat exchanger.

The Vebteck Research, Markham/Nutech Energy Systems, London/Fleetline Mfg., Brantford group, will offer their Aquamaster QIOO Series system for natural gas, propane or oil. Featured components are a low mass boiler, blower coil module with heat recovery ventilation core, the Innex instantaneous domestic hot water (DHW) heat exchanger and the Shirvent MVP 100 direct wall-mounted induced draft blower with integral outside air dilution system for the flue gases.

Burner input is 70-150,000 Btu/hr or 20-44 kW. Electrical usage is 70 Watts for continuous fan operation; 240 Watts for heating at 700cfm; 340 Watts for pump, blower and fan; and 575 watts for high speed cooling with an optional add-on chiller using the space heating coil for air conditioning. Height: 81-inches. AFUE 83.5%.

Kerr Heating Products, Parrsboro, N.S has given priority to having an abundance of DHW in storage in its AIMS design. The stainless steel indirect hot water storage tank is made in Germany. Connecting to a dishwasher is also designed to increase efficiency. Advanced control strategies with a variety of valves is the key to overall system efficiency, Bill Spencer of Kerr commented. Another plus is tempering incoming air with heat from the boiler.

Kerr also plans to offer an oil heating module. And optional accessories that can be added are air conditioning, UV air sterilizer, humidifier, hydronic heating and other items. This unit has a basic efficiency of 84.3% and is aimed at houses with a heat loss of less than 60,000 Btuh.

Nu-Air Ventilation Systems of Newport, N.S., and IBC Technologies of Vancouver, B.C. will feature IBC's new VFC condensing hot water generator with an AFUE of 92.4%. This unit modulates from 40 to 100% of output, uses automotive-type electronic fuel mixing, and has a 26-gal. hot water storage tank, first hour rating of 100 gph at a 90°F rise in temperature and a continuous flow of 2.3 gpm at a 70°F rise.

The air handler has a 2-row, 2-pipe coil, provides 300 cfm of continuous conditioned air and has a capacity of 1,000 cfm and 60,000 Btuh. The HRV provides 450-sq.ft. of heat transfer area, independent wet room exhaust, frost-free design, 170 cfm capacity and 60 cfm continuous flow.

Ecologix Heating Technologies of Kitchener, Ont., is working with Plasco Mfg of Coquitlam, B.C., the Energy Building Group and fireplace manufacturer K-W Triple L also of Kitchener. This unit features a 70,000 Btuh input sealed combustion non-condensing boiler operating at 83% efficiency. There is 25-gal. U.S. storage tank to provide an extended large volume of hot water. The ventilation system features Ecologix's Smart Air Handler, which Plasco distributes, and an HRV. The Smart unit modulates air flow, gives priority to DHW and boosts water heater performance. It was a joint development with Enbridge Consumers Gas.

Enerzone Inc., London, 0nt. and the Canadian Gas Research Institute (CGRI) have teamed up to develop the compact water heating module that was originally an R&D project of Macintyre Management Consultants. This sealed combustion non-condensing boiler has a 55,000Btuh capacity for space heating and an indirect storage DHW tank. Enerzone, a manufacturer of combo-system air handlers, is developing the integrated air handler and heat recovery ventilator.

Tirino Corp., Brampton, Ont., is developing a direct-vent sealed combustion boiler with a 30 gal. U.S. stainless steel storage tank. It will operate at an efficiency of 86-88%, with a capacity of 94,000 Btuh. The integrated air handler-HRV ventilation system will produce 65,000 Btuh, according to Richard DiMarco. With a second heat exchanger, it will also be suitable for radiant floor heating (RFH). It has a footprint of 28x34 inches and a height of 6-ft.

The AIMS performance requirement is for all designs to achieve an installed ventilation capability of a minimum of 70 litres/sec. There is also a turn-down capability to between 40 and 60 percent of that figure. This is derived from CSA F326 residential ventilation standard. The six consortia are all developing their ventilation/heat recovery systems for continuous operation at approximately 30 litres/sec. Intermittent operation at high speed will be controlled by a timer, user-operated switch, humidity control or similar device.

Performance proven by extensive testing

There will be no confusion as to the performance of the AIMS integrated systems. And there will be standardized comparisons from one design to another. Plus the data will be comparable with existing HVAC systems.

The AIMS working group on testing and product development has approved a detailed and extensive testing protocol by which all the products have to meet the AIMS performance specifications. More than 40 technical requirements must be met and more than 60 tests will be conducted on each design system.

"The protocol provides performance rating parameters that are directly comparable to existing values wherever possible," consultant Peter Edwards, Mississauga, ON, told HVAC/R Magazine.

"A design day simulation is among the performance and safety tests. With this test, each prototype is challenged with simultaneous space heating and DHW heating loads. This is based on a standardized water draw schedule (U.S. DOE/ASHRAE) and design space heating and ventilation loads in existing codes.

"At CCHT, the products are exposed to different DHW load profiles and entering water temperatures. The space heating loads are also weather-dependent. The intent is to further stress the units (push to their limits) and investigate the interaction of the system controls in response to various loads and different operating modes.

"This test will also debug the monitoring approach and instrumentation that will be used for detailed and low-level monitoring in occupied homes in the next set of field trials. The product rollout and field testing has been specifically tailored to minimize any risks or discomfort to the end-user," Edwards added.

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