On Thursday, American Standard Brands President and CEO Don Devine will present the company’s findings on best practices to increase consumer demand and acceptance of WaterSense-certified toilets, faucets and showerheads. Devine is part of a panel session at the 2010 Greenbuild that includes Deborah Meyer, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for PulteGroup, the nation’s largest homebuilder; and Wendy Koch, a reporter with USA Today, who focuses on sustainability issues.
Everyone at O’Reilly/DePalma is pleased that our Green Earth PR connection helped us secure this opportunity for our client. Don Devine has an excellent reputation for driving water efficiency solutions and extensive knowledge of the issues, so he was clearly a great fit for the panel.
Starting on Wednesday we will be live tweeting from all the events at Greenbuild. Follow along @AmercanStandard and @NoraDePalma to stay up to date.
Easier to install and more cost-effective compared with traditional stainless-steel fire sprinkler adapters, the ProPEX® Lead-free Brass Fire Sprinkler Adapter from Uponor is an industry-first. Made of lead-free brass to effectively meet state lead-level legislation and conform to NSF Annex G for lead-free plumbing requirements, the new adapter provides easier installation on a variety of mounting surfaces.
Visit the full media page for more information on this new product and to gain access to the press release and a hi-res image.
Uponor recently welcomed approximately 60 consulting and specifying engineers from across North America to its first-ever Radiant Cooling Engineering Summit: a day and a half of lectures and discussions, a product exposition and even actual project tours, all focused on this rapidly growing, energy-saving technology for commercial buildings.
“Since 2005, radiant heating and cooling system specifications have risen 36 percent, so that approximately 8.5 percent of all new commercial construction is now specified with this technology,” said summit program host Dan Sullivan, LEED® AP, CEM, Uponor senior product manager-commercial radiant business. “By 2013, that fraction is projected to rise to around 13 percent.”
Held April 8 and 9 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, the Radiant Cooling Engineering Summit took place concurrently with the 2010 Uponor Convention, which itself drew a record 688 attendees—mainly plumbing and mechanical contractors, as well as distributors and independent sales agents. Click here for more information on this special event, including the press release and hi-res images.
Making its North American debut at AHR Expo 2010 this week, Thinking Buildings Universe is a new web site from Grundfos Building Services, offering contractors and engineers a complete range of information and tools on commercial pumps to help make their building projects come together more smoothly.
From quick-reference terminology, theories and e-learning, to sizing tools and sustainable pumping solutions, thinkingbuildings.com delivers everything specifiers and installers need to identify and size the correct technologies for their applications.
“Thinking Buildings Universe will ultimately offer not only in-depth information on our product portfolio, but also all of our pump systems knowledge and experience worldwide, including white papers and case studies on projects in North America, Europe and around the globe,” says Terry Teach, Vice-President, Business Unit Director – Buildings for Grundfos Pumps. “The site will serve as an efficient and effective single point of quick-reference on buildings and their pump systems for anyone in the buildings industry.”
American Standard recently unveiled its redesigned Yorkville™ pressure assisted two-piece toilets at Greenbuild 2009 in Phoenix, Ariz.
Pressure-assisted siphon jet flush action and a fully-glazed 2 1/8” trapway enable high performance and fewer clogs, removing as much as 1,000 grams of bulk waste from the bowl with each flush.
Learn more about the Yorkville toilets’ classic styling and WaterSense®-certification at the American Standard Media Page.
Rheem Manufacturing Company recently announced that it has joined the Green Mechanical Council (GreenMech). The announcement follows Rheem’s recent decision to sponsor the organization’s Green Mechanical Awards, which “recognize mechanical/plumbing contractor and design/build firms that are creating the most fuel- and cost-efficient systems in residential and commercial applications.” The three winners of this new competition were announced at a special ceremony at the Greenbuild International Expo in Phoenix, Ariz., on November 11.
“We enthusiastically share in GreenMech’s commitment to educating the trade on the need to create and maintain environmentally sound residential and commercial mechanical systems,” says Peter Reynolds, vice president and general manager of the company’s Water Heating Division. “Environmental stewardship is good for both our society and our industry.”
Additional details on Rheem and its decision to join GreenMech can be found here.
BuildingGreen.com called the new Rheem integrated air source HP-50 Heat Pump Water Heater one of “the most exciting and innovative new products in the green building field.” BuildingGreen.com editor Alex Wilson announced the honor during a seminar at Greenbuild 2009.
We’re not too surprised. Rheem is continuously designing and developing their products to meet the efficient water heater needs of the future.
Back in September, Rheem was the first industry manufacturer to announce delivery of a fully integrated, highly efficient water heater. The HP-50 Heat Pump Water Heater, which meets the qualifications for an ENERGY STAR® rating, is more than twice as energy efficient as a standard electric storage water heater.
The energy-saving design will help a family reduce its carbon footprint by nearly two tons annually. In addition, the HP-50, which has a storage capacity of 50 gallons, qualifies for a federal tax credit as well as many state and utility rebates and incentives.
Feel the force from a trio of new showerheads from American Standard that deliver an invigorating, satisfying soak while reducing water usage up to 40 percent.
The FloWise® showerheads are about comfort and convenience as well as water conservation. The key to their construction is a small turbine-like mechanism that spins the water stream through the head to create a powerful, energizing spray. When the three-function showerhead is turned off, it automatically returns to the ultra water savings mode of 1.5 gpm, making it perfect for any home.
The FloWise showerheads are currently available in a variety of finishes, including Polished Chrome, Satin Nickel, Polished Brass and Blackened Bronze. New styles will be available shortly, expanding the design selection to coordinate with additional patterns in the American Standard bath lines.
The ultimate in efficiency and sleek design, American Standard’s Washbrook™ FloWise® Urinal System offers more than 87 percent water savings over standard urinals.
A high-efficiency urinal (HEU), Washbrook uses only 0.125 gallons per flush (gpf), well below HEU requirements of 0.5 gpf for water usage. It is powered by the high-efficiency Selectronic® FloWise 0.125 gpf Urinal Flush Valve. The hands-free Selectronic FloWise Flush Valve operates on DC power and delivers dependable operation throughout a powerful water pressure range of 25 to 125 pounds per square inch (psi).
The American Standard exclusive Selectronic® proximity system is the hands-free commercial plumbing system that delivers on the promise, not the hassle, of touchless technology.
Selectronic technology was developed to simplify specification and installation, while reducing maintenance time and replacement part inventory costs. Combine high-efficiency Selectronic FloWise® flush valves with high-efficiency fixtures to provide LEED-compliant engineered solutions that help meet requirements for green building projects.
The same watertight miniature sensor works for all Selectronic fittings on faucets, flush valves and urinals made by American Standard, including:
Selectronic FloWise 1.28 gallons per flush (gpf) toilet flush valves will save 20 percent on water usage over 1.6 gpf toilets when installed on American Standard’s Afwall® and Madera™ high efficiency toilets (HETs).
Selectronic FloWise 0.5 gpf urinal flush valves will save 50 percent over 1.0 gpf urinals when installed on the Washbrook™ and Allbrook® high-efficiency urinals (HEUs).
Ceratronic™ proximity faucet is the first to enable users to control water temperature, as well as on-off settings, without touching the faucet.
