The Three Types of Heat Transfer

Convective heat transfer is what most of us are familiar with. This is how our forced air heating system or our baseboard system transfers energy (heat) to a space. Air moves over a heating element, becomes warmer and expands into the space. In a forced air environment, most of the hot air is at the ceiling, much the same way the hot air balloon rises, so will the warm air in a room heated with forced air. Convective heat transfer is the least efficient means to transfer energy.

Conductive heat transfer refers to two surfaces touching each other. Imagine a metal pan on the stove. If your hand is positioned an inch above the hot handle, you really won't feel much from the handle, and you can keep your hand there as long as you wish. But, when the handle is touched, your hand instantly begins to feel hot. This is conductive heat transfer. The pot is giving off the energy (heat) in the handle to your hand in a very fast, efficient manner. Conduction is one of the more efficient modes of heat transfer.

Radiant heat transfer is the best because it isn't slowed down by air. Radiant energy is only felt when the energy wave strikes another surface. This means the surrounding surfaces all reach set temperature. By enclosing your body by warm surfaces, we can better control how our bodies lose heat. Radiant floor heat means better comfort with higher efficiency.

Protect Your Home From A Water Heater Failure

Most water heaters fail within 7 —10 years. That's about 5 million tank failures every year. The WAGS Valve was designed to protect consumers from flooding and damage due to water heater failure. Without a WAGS valve, a leaking water heater keeps refilling— and leaking. WAGS prevents disastrous floods and untold damage to your property.

WAGS stands for Water And Gas Safety. The WAGS valve is designed to shut off the water supply (plus gas supply for gas-fired heaters) in the event of a water leak from a hot water heater, thus minimizing water damage and possible gas leakage.

The WAGS Valve can easily be installed on all styles of water heaters. The reliable WAGS Valve is fully mechanical and requires no external power supply.

The WAGS Valve sits in a drip pan under the water heater and is activated when leaking water accumulates to a predetermined level in the pan. Once activated the valve shuts off the water and gas supply, indicated by a red pop-up tab.

Features Include:

•          Easily installed on new or existing water heaters

•          Dependable, proven technology

•          Taco quality and reliability

•          $1,000 Lifetime Protection Policy

 

Not convinced you need a WAGS Valve?

Check out some horror stories here

Emerson Swan Is Now On Facebook & Twitter

Be sure to check out our brand new Facebook and Twitter accounts to stay up-to-date with the latest information on our products as well as our training offerings and trade show events. With stuff happening everyday, these networks will be a great resource to stay on top of things. Posts will be updated constantly with information that matters to you. We all get a lot of emails throughout the day and it can be hard to keep up with all of them. Social networks are a great way to get information when you want it, not when someone sends it to you. Check it out! We think you'll really find it useful.

Geothermal Loops

The ground/earth loop provides the infrastructure for accessing and continually exchanging thermal energy between the earth and the building. GeoExchange loop systems can be classified as either closed or open. Closed Loop systems consist of a continuous, sealed, underground or submerged loop field of high-density polyethylene pipe through which a heat-transfer fluid is circulated between the ground and the heat pump. Closed Loop systems are installed in various configurations (horizontal, vertical or in a pond) dependent upon site characteristics. Open Loop/Groundwater systems are designed to use groundwater for the purpose of extracting or rejecting heat.

Vertical Loop

Vertical systems are used when land area is limited. For a vertical system, holes are drilled 10-20 feet apart and 100-400 feet deep in a grid matrix. A pair of pipes that are connected at the bottom with a U-bend are inserted into each bore hole. The pipes are then manifolded together and brought into the home.

Horizontal Loop

This type of installation is generally the most cost-effective for residential installations where sufficient land is available. It requires trenches to be dug by a backhoe or trencher to approximately 6 feet. GeoExchange pipe is then layered in the trenches, and the trenches are backfilled with soil.

Pond/Lake Loop

If the site has an adequate body of water close to the residence, approx. 1/2 acre by 8 feet deep, this may be the lowest cost option. Supply and return pipes are run underground from the home to the pond/lake and connected to a series of closed coils. These coils are submerged to the bottom of the pond/lake.

Open-Loop System

This type of system is used when an abundant supply of quality well water is available. Ground water is withdrawn from the aquifer/well and pumped into the heat pump. The discharge water is directed to a secondary well. The supply aquifer/well must have adequate capacity to provide flow for the heat pump and domestic water.

How The Federal Tax Credit Is Calculated For 2011

If you’re like most homeowners, saving money on utility bills is a top priority for you. Bringing an environmentally friendly, high efficiency water heater or boiler into your home can be a great start. Recently, Congress increased residential tax credits for energy efficient improvements.

There are important limitations on this tax credit. First, this is a single tax credit that can be used on a variety of “qualifying energy efficiency improvements” placed into service in 2011. You may claim a maximum of 10% (with a cap of $500*) on all of your “qualifying energy efficiency improvements.” That means, for example, if you purchase and install a qualifying unit and claim $100 of the tax credit for the unit, you have only $400 of the credit left to claim on your other qualifying expenditures. Second, you can claim a maximum of $300 on any one qualifying item of energy-efficiency building property - such as a water heater ($150 for qualifying furnaces and boilers). Third, if you claimed previous tax credits on energy efficiency improvements in any tax year from 2006 to 2010, you have to deduct the amount of those credits from the $500 cap. If the total amount of your previous claims is more than $500, you cannot claim any credit for improvements installed in 2011.

Emerson-Swan has a number of high efficiency water heaters and boilers that will qualify for federal tax credits. Call us at 800-346-9215 to find out more.