Solar Thermal Conference and Expo - Day 1

Friday, November 07, 2014

Friday, November 7, 2014, 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday, November 8, 2014, 7 am – 4:30 pm
TEC-SMART, 345 Hermes Road, Malta, New York 12020

On Saturday, join us for a choice of 2 master tracks: John Siegenthaler's "Hydronics and Combi-Systems" or Olivia Cellini's "Integration of Passive and Active Technologies for the Modern Home".

FRIDAY: FUNDAMENTALS

9:30REGISTRATION
9:45A: “Fundamentals of Solar Thermal Systems: Engineering Design and Component Choices for Residential and Commercial Systems” (course info), Peter N. Skinner, P.E.
B: “Ground Source Heat Pumps”, Lloyd Hamilton

Fundamentals of Solar Thermal Systems: Engineering Design and Component Choices for Residential and Commercial Systems

A SHW Concentrated Design Char​r​et​t​e for Professionals and Building Owners

This course will be a unique classroom experience where students and the instructors collaborate with hands-on demonstration devices to choose designs and equipment for a custom drain ​back and a pressurized solar thermal systems from the first client contact to the monitoring of the performance of the finished system. This learning exercise will focus on WHY system designs work and fail and WHAT component choices optimize performance, durability and cost effectiveness. What are some of the code and standard of practice elements of the design process.

The charrette will focus on engineering choices that must be made for:

  • Load analysis – present and future DHW demand – temperature and volume, time of day, seasonal variation, client vacation & health realities
  • CWS quality – long term impacts of water chemistry on performance & components
  • Location of the collector array – ground or roof, tilt angles, difficulty of attachment
  • System performance simulation tools – the limitations and strengths of math
  • Size and type of collectors – flat plate (small or large piping) or tubes (single vs double glass, U tube vs thermal bulb, etc.), seasonal & diurnal performance, maximum hourly output
  • Array frame and mounting options and hardware, lightning risk reduction and wind, waterproofing & snow issues, tricks to lift and safely attach equipment
  • Lineset materials, routing, hangers, interior diameter insulation & jacketing
  • Solar loop choices – drainback or pressurized pipe choices, dynamic & static head loss, flow, pressure and temperature gages, PRVs and piping, drainback tank issues and location,
  • Stagnation control – pressure & steam dynamics, HTF chemistry impacts, expansion tank size & piping details, loop pressure choices, hazards during maintenance
  • Heat transfer fluids – propylene glycol vs synthetics, pH & buffering, introduction equipment and methods during commissioning
  • Solar and DHW pump choices – ECM vs traditional pumps, volute materials, pump curves, multiple pump operation, power consumption, corrosion risks and responses, flanging, heat considerations, drainback vs pressurized pumps
  • Solar & backup tank options – atmospheric, pressurized, coil/no coil, water vs PCMs, plastic vs. steel, and how much HTF volume should the tank have
  • Heat Exchangers – immersed vs side arm, flat plate vs. coils vs. shell & tube, CSST vs copper vs steel, thermal and head loss performance analysis
  • Solar loop pump control – RPM modulation, 0-10 v control, amperage load limits, lightning protection and grounding, spill provisions, PRV provisions
  • CWS/DHW balance of system – mixing & anti-scald valves, PEX vs copper, 3 valve bypass, pipe sizing, T&P valves & piping, DHW recirculation challenges, Legionella
  • Solar thermal specific components – check valves, valves, sensors, tools
  • Space heating considerations – loop design, load analysis, piping & injection options, role of water to water HPs.
  • Labeling, insulation, manuals, warrantees, spill and leak provisions
  • System performance and failure notification systems – on-site & WWW based
  • Client involvement and education for system operation monitoring
  • Technical resources and applicable code compendia for design professionals
NOONGourmet Buffet Luncheon
Speaker: To Be Determined
1:00A: Fundamentals of Solar Thermal System (continued), Peter N. Skinner​,​ P.E.
B: Ground Source Heat Pumps (continued). Lloyd Hamilton
C: Spaghetti is for Dinner, Not for Plumbing – Using a Standardized Primary/Secondary Loop Configuration for Hydronic Combisystems (class info). Fred Milder (bio)

Dr. Fred Milder is the CEO and co-founder of SolarLogic, a technology company dedicated to simplifying the design, installation, control and monitoring of solar thermal and renewable energy hydronic combisystems. Prior to SolarLogic, Fred founded two medical technology companies. Fred received a B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan. Dr. Milder holds over 30 patents as an inventor.

Primary/Secondary plumbing has many advantages when adapted to combisystem design with renewable heat sources. As examples, solar hydronic systems can benefit from: improved efficiency by bypassing storage whenever possible; combining solar and boiler resources (or not) according to real-time temperatures; prioritization of heating sources and calls for heat; and, providing heat to loads with differing temperature requirements simultaneously. Renewable heat sources other than solar are easily incorporated, as are centralized internet control, monitoring and energy measurements. This session will cover plumbing and performance examples from the field of systems designed using a simple, standardized primary/secondary loop configuration.

3:00Coffee and snack break
3:15 to 4:45PANEL: Technology to manage more systems at lower costs
Controls and system management tools allow installers to efficiently service their portfolio of systems while keeping the owner assured of proper operations. It’s one thing to install a great solar system; it’s another to insure proper operations. Web-based management tools keep management cost low while providing constant oversight. When the installer sees how a system is running they can optimize performance. When owner sees all is well, they are happy customers. Good systems and happy customers are the best referrals. Today several monitoring and management systems on the market offer different options. The panel will discuss strategies and tools that installers can include in their system design insuring lifetime performance and satisfied customers.
Fred Milder (bio), SolarLogic
Ron Gehl (bio), EOS Research, LTD
Henry Vandermark (bio), Solar Wave Energy, Inc
Terry Moag (bio), The Radiant Store

Henry K. Vandermark founded Solar Wave Energy Inc. in 1978 and has been involved in all aspects of the design, installation and service of solar thermal systems including site-built and many different types of factory-built collectors and systems used in the northeast. He currently oversees www.thermal-grid.com , a web-based monitoring platform designed to help installers optimize performance of their solar thermal systems. He has taught conference workshops, trade school classes, and programs for teachers.

Dr. Fred Milder is the CEO and co-founder of SolarLogic, a technology company dedicated to simplifying the design, installation, control and monitoring of solar thermal and renewable energy hydronic combisystems. Prior to SolarLogic, Fred founded two medical technology companies. Fred received a B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan. Dr. Milder holds over 30 patents as an inventor.

Ron Gehl, P.E. is president of EOS Research, Ltd., providing control and remote monitoring solutions for renewable energy and environmental protection applications. He has nearly 30 years of experience in environmental engineering, and in the automation of processes that function at the boundary between industry and the natural world. Ron holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is Chair of the ASES Solar Thermal Division.

Terry Moag is the CEO and Founder of Radiant Store Inc., a diversified company specializing in the areas of Renewable Power, High Efficiency HVAC, Combined Heat & Power, LED Lighting and Building Consulting. A Graduate of The Rochester Institute of Technology, and an accredited NABCEP Certified Solar Thermal Installer, Terry has over 25 years of experience in the Mechanical Contracting and Energy fields.

Evening program: Networking… TBD

SATURDAY: ADVANCED

7:00Registration and Gourmet Breakfast Buffet
8:00Track 1: Hydronic Anatomy of a Solar Thermal Combi System. Instructor: John Siegenthaler (course info)
Track 2: The Big Picture – Integration of Passive and Active Technologies for the Modern Home. Instructor: Olivia Cellini (course info) (bio)

John Siegenthaler's full day session examines solar thermal in the context of modern hydronics, and includes applications for heat pumps and biomass boilers, within the context of hydronics. Many of the design concepts that apply to solar thermal applications also apply to air-to-water and geothermal heat pumps, as well as pellet-fired boilers and other wood-based boilers: Low temp. distribution system, thermal storage, DHW production, outdoor reset, high efficiency circulators, etc. We will demonstrate this commonality and address a range of renewable heat sources.

The Big Picture course aims to systematically describe, review and discuss the essential components of the modern high efficiency home. The synergistic collaboration between passive solar design techniques, active solar equipment, advanced HVAC technologies, building envelope options and passive & active ventilation strategies create a home that is highly comfortable, highly functional and economically attractive to run.

The course will discuss the following areas of their respective component of the modern home, offer a cost/benefit analysis and close with a complete financial review to show a 25-year ROI.

  • Building Envelope
    • Insulation
      • Spray foam (closed cell, open cell)
      • Blown-in
      • Batt
      • Rigid foam (SIPs, ICFs, etc.)
      • Alternative (Straw bale, rammed earth, adobe, etc.)
    • Foundation
      • ICF
      • Frost protected
      • Foam lined
    • Wall construction
      • Thick walls: I-joists, wall trusses, Double-wall
      • Advanced Framing techniques
  • Advanced HVAC Technologies
    • Heat Pumps
      • Geothermal
      • Air Source
      • Ductless
    • Combi-systems
    • All Electric
    • Biomass
  • Passive and Active Ventilation
    • HRVs/ERVs
    • When is a home too tight?
    • Window placement techniques for passive ventilation
  • Passive Solar Design
    • Comfort – why a passive solar home is the most comfortable home you can live in
    • Lifestyle – how passive solar strategies are designed around a family’s lifestyle
    • Traffic Pattern – efficient traffic patterns within the home
    • Daylighting
  • Solar PV
  • Solar Thermal

Olivia Cellini, PE is a licensed structural engineer, with over 15 years of design experience. Ms. Cellini’s firm focuses on three areas of expertise – structural engineering support for solar PV and Thermal installers, structural engineering for both residential and commercial buildings, and architectural design focusing on passive solar and “green” residential buildings.

10:00Morning coffee and snack break
10:15Class continues
NOONGourmet Lunch Buffet
1:00Class continues
3:15Afternoon coffee and snack break
4:30Class dismissed!

COST (click on type of ticket to pay & register)

You can change the quantity of tickets on the payment screen.

With CEU’sFriday - $145Saturday - $145Both days: $275
Without CEU’sFriday - $125Saturday - $125Both days: $220
  1. If paying by check, please make it out to:” NYSES” and mail it to: 5270 Sycamore Avenue, Bronx, NY 10471, with name(s) of participants
  2. AIA and/or NABCEP credits will be given for all courses (Panel:TBD)
  3. ASME recognizes AIA CEUs
  4. You will be receiving goods and services for the full amount of the tuition paid therefore you may not take a tax deduction with your tuition.
  5. For additional information and/or if you would like to be a sponsor, please contact: Wyldon Fishman: 917 974 4606 or wyldon1@gmail.com

Many thanks to our sponsors:

To become a sponsor, print and fill out the attached form.

For presentation materials please click here.