Presented by: Phil Madnick, Assistant Program Manager, Con Edison Meera Tandon, Senior Program Manager and Energy Efficiency Engineer, Association for Energy Affordability Francis Rodriguez, Senior Program Manager, Association for Energy Affordability

1. IREM Building Operations
Symposium
Heating Controls Workshop
March 20, 2013
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2. Agenda
• Boiler and Controls basics
• Definition of ‘Energy Management System’
• State the Problem
• First Level Diagnostics
• Second Level Diagnostics
• Thermostatic Radiator Valves
• Q&A
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3. Standard Heating System
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4. Hot Water vs. Steam Boilers
STEAM BOILER
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5. Standard Components
Have you ever been to the mechanic and he told you
some part was broken that you never knew existed?
So you paid for the part,
only to find out that it
actually doesn’t exist.
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6. Standard Components
• Burner • Barometric damper
• Firetubes • Air seperator
• Mixing Valve • Low water cut-off
• Aquastat • Pressure relief valve
• Pressuretrol • Hot water coil
?
• Heat exchanger • Coal box
• Pump • Electronic ignition
• Expansion Tank • Backflow preventer
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7. Standard Components
• Unless you have one of these
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8. Steam Boiler Operation Cycle
1. Control device calls for heat
2. Burner fires up and begins producing steam
3. Steam rises through supply lines and air gets pushed out
through various vents.
4. Steam condenses in radiators and releases latent heat to
apartments.
5. Condensate returns back down to boiler
6. Boiler turns off when pressure setpoint is hit
Note – between cycles the pipes are basically empty except for air 8

9. Hot Water Boiler Operation Cycle
1. Control device calls for heat
2. Burner fires up and begins producing hot water
3. Pump circulates hot water through supply lines
4. Hot water moves through convectors or baseboards and
releases sensible heat to apartments.
5. Water returns to boiler via return line
6. Boiler turns off when temperature setpoint is hit
Note – at all times the pipes are completely filled with water
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10. Controls
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11. What happens if you don’t have one?
Not Exactly
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12. Types of Boiler Controls
• Manually adjusted timer
• Programmable thermostat
• Outdoor reset control
• Energy Management System (EMS)
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13. Outdoor Reset Control method:
“open-loop”
• Input- Outdoor temperature
sensor reads weather.
• Control matches outdoor
temperature to a heating curve.
• Output- Heating curve (i.e. voltage
signal) commands boiler to run a
shorter cycle and reach a max
temperature lower than aquastat
setpoint.
• On a warm winter day, control will
keep boiler off.
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14. Outdoor Reset Control
• Typical Installation Price = $5,000
• Typical Savings = 400 therms/year
(depends on the size of your boiler)
• Con Edison Incentives = $500
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15. EMS Control method:
“closed-loop”
EMS
• Input- Outdoor temperature (no picture shown)
sensor reads weather.
*Con Edison
doesn’t endorse
• Output- Control establishes any brand
heating curve and sets boiler
run-cycle
• Feedback- Control computer
gathers indoor temperature
data from apartments and
adjusts boiler run-cycle.
• Control system monitors DHW,
stack T, return line T, etc.
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16. EMS Control
• Typical Installation Price = $15,000
• Typical Savings = 2,000 therms/year
(depends on the size of your boiler)
• Typical Con Edison Incentive = $10,500
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17. Now what do you think of EMS?
• Will it save me tons on my heating bills?
• Will it automatically solve all my heating problems?
• Do gun control laws stop criminals? 17

18. What EMS really is:
• EMS = The First Step of Your Energy Management Program
• Energy Management Systems are an invaluable tool for
managers to gain awareness of deeper building heating
problems and begin to take the necessary step to solve them.
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19. Energy Management Program
Clean &
Tune
Valve Boiler
Bleeding Upgrade
Master Radiator
Venting EMS Valves
Water Roof
Conservation Insulation
Pipe
Insulation
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20. State The Heating Problem
• Some apartments are cold.
• Fuel bills have stayed the same or
increased.
• Condensation on the windows.
• Condensation on pipes.
• Inner walls are cold.
• Radiators / convectors are hammering.
• Corridors and stairways are drafty.
• My spouse can’t cook
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21. First Level Diagnostics
• System checks:
Is the EMS in the “ON” position?
Do you have remote access? (i.e. is modem working)?
Are you receiving alerts from monitoring company?
• System Adjustments:
Sensor with strange reading  adjust strap or positioning
Not reading a sensor  talk to tenant, replace battery
DHW too hot  lower mixing setpoint
Q. Can’t I just raise the heating setpoint?
A. When the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor did America give up!?
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22. Second Level Diagnostics
• Low-to-mid cost maintenance investments
• Most can be performed by your building superintendent
• Con Edison incentives are available
• Will help you comply with Local Law 87
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23. 1. Clean & Tune Boiler
• Symptoms: Boiler over 5 years old,
stack temperature too high, low
combustion efficiency.
• Procedure: Clean scale and soot
from heat exchange surface, tune
burner orifice.
• Cost: $500 + /boiler (depending on boiler size)
• Con Edison Incentive: $225/boiler
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24. 2. Pipe Insulation
• Symptoms: Pipes passing through unheated space,
condensation on pipes, cold apartment lines.
• Procedure: Fiberglass or foam insulation on supply and
return lines
• Cost: $5-$7 /lf
• Con Edison Incentive: $1-$3 /lf
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25. 3. Remove Air from Distribution Lines
• Symptoms: Individual radiators,
convectors, or baseboards not getting hot,
hammering, boiler short-cycling.
• Steam System Procedure: Master venting
procedure, resize and replace air vents, AIR
pitch radiators.
• Hot Water System Procedure: Bleed water
from convector / baseboard valves, check
air separator and charge on expansion tank.
• Cost: can easily be done by superintendent
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26. 4. Building Envelope Improvements
• Symptoms: Cold inner walls, drafts in apartments or
common area corridors and stairways
• Stack Effect Reduction Procedure:
- Repair broken basement windows and roof doors.
- Weather-strip and sweep all exterior doors.
- Caulk around apartment windows, remove or cover
air conditioners.
- Insulate roof cavity with cellulose or foam.
• Cost: can mostly be done by superintendent
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27. 4. Building Envelope Improvements (cont.)
• Con Edison Incentives:
Roof Insulation - $0.15-$0.30 /sf
Door W/S - $25 /door
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28. 5. Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRV’s)
• Benefits:
- Give your tenants an alternative other
than opening the window.
- Operates like a thermostat without all
the confusing buttons and settings.
- Can be installed on a 1-pipe steam
radiator in under 5 minutes.
- Con Edison is practically giving them
away ($115 /TRV).
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29. THANK YOU
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