Every year thousands of new products are introduced a the AHR Expo, North America’s largest trade show for the HVAC/R industry. This year’s event held Feb. 3-5 in Orlando, Florida, was no exception. There were over 1,900 exhibitors displaying thousands of new products.
As noted in the show report on page 9, Danfoss won an unprecedented three categories in this year’s AHR Expo Innovation Awards, including Product of the Year.
We mentioned the Danfoss CO2 Adaptive Liquid Management Solution, which won both the Refrigeration category and Product of the Year, in our earlier report. It combines Danfoss’ liquid ejector and adaptive liquid control case controller algorithm to fully utilize the evaporator surface in display cases and cold rooms, providing up to 10 percent greater efficiency with no equipment change.
Danfoss also won the Cooling category for its Interlaced Micro Channel Heat Exchanger, or iMCHE. It integrates multiple circuits into a single-coil with shared air heat transfer area, controlling each one independently by a multi-circuit system. The compact, all-aluminum iMCHE uses whole air-side heat transfer area when operating under partial load conditions to improve system efficiency by more than 20 percent. It also offers 30 percent higher heat transfer efficiency, and lower refrigerant charge.
In the Green Building category, Danfoss received an Innovation Award for its Danfoss Turbocor TG490 compressor. Designed for air- or water-cooled chillers, the Danfoss Turbocor® TG4the company reports that it is the first oil-free, variable speed, magnetic bearing centrifugal compressor qualified for the use of R-515B. R-515B has an AR5 GWP of 299 and an ASHRAE A1 safety classification for lower toxicity and no flame propagation. As an extension of the existing Turbocor TG series of compressors, it also is qualified to use HFO-1234ze, an environmentally-friendly refrigerant with a GWP less than one.
Thousands of new products
Here are just a few other products that caught our reporter’s eye at this year’s event:
Hybrid water heater
Rheem’s Prestige series hybrid electric water heater is a hybrid heat pump and electric water heater, now in its fifth generation. Rated at a very high 4.0 UEF efficiency, the new line will be available in June and will include a new 40-gallon model. The system’s premium model is now built with LeakGuard – an integrated leak detection and auto-shutoff system. Rheem’s EcoNet technology monitors the system from any location. This allows users to adjust temperature settings and run diagnostics on the system. It also lets users know how much hot water is available.
Rheem www.rheem.com
Efficient combi-boiler
Navien introduced its new NCB-H (high-output) series of condensing combi-boilers at the AHR Expo. They are packed with upgrades from the NCB-E series, including 15 to 1 turndown ratio, greater DHW performance, a new DHW module with flow control, enhanced controls with multi-line text display, increased two-inch PVC venting length, serviceability with up-front three-way valve and built-in controls for up to three zones.
Navien www.navieninc.com
New press joining system
Nibco displayed their new PressG fittings at AHR, a new line of joining solutions designed for use in copper tube systems primarily for gas and compressed air applications. PressG fittings feature a patented (yellow) HNBR O-ring, providing leak detection capability to identify any uncrimped connections. They are available in 1/2 through two-inch sizes and the line includes male and female threaded adapters, caps, couplings, reducing couplings, elbows, tees, and unions.
Nibco www.nibco.com
Airflow control
Belimo’s standalone airflow measurement and control actuators are available with digital communications for rotary, linear, and induct applications. Select actuators have pressure independent control characteristics combined with an integrated differential pressure sensor to calculate and deliver designed flow regardless of pressure fluctuations in the system. The actuator communicates directly with the building automation system using BACnet, Modbus, or MP-Bus.
Belimo www.belimo.com
Internet boiler monitoring
Cleaver Brooks launched Prometha, an Internet-of-Things (IoT) powered boiler control. It offers users the ability to remotely monitor boiler systems from anywhere, providing alerts and actionable insights that help increase reliability, efficiency, safety and sustainability in the boiler room. It collects data on each point of a boiler system’s health and transmits it wirelessly to a dashboard, accessible to authorized users on any phone, tablet or computer.
Cleaver-Brooks www.cleaverbrooks.com
Condensate drain cleaner
DiversiTech introduced the Swoosh Drain Gun, which is designed to blow out condensate drains instantly, clearing any debris, dirt, algae, and other substances that lead to clogs. It is designed to operate exclusively with the new 20-gram Swoosh Drain Gun cartridge. The cartridge delivers 800 psi of oil-free air to clean the line. Each unit comes equipped with a tapered fitting to work on 3/8-inch to 3/4-inch drain openings.
DiversiTech www.diversitech.com
Compact HVAC unit
LG launched its new Console Indoor Unit, available in a 9,000 to 15,000 Btu/h capacity. It is ideal for residential applications and designed for markets where heating days outnumber cooling days. It is available for single or multi zone system configurations. The unit comes embedded with LG ThinQ technology, allowing for simple connectivity to other smart LG home appliances and products. It can be controlled anywhere via the accompanying smartphone app.
LG www.lg.com
Data centre cooling
The Nortek CDU1200 1,200-kW coolant distribution unit is designed for data center liquid cooling. It supplies 1.2-megawatts of cooling capacity in a density of 14.6 ft2. The unit’s heat exchanger technology thermally transfers primary loop cooling to the secondary loop’s liquid cooling circuit for distribution to IT rack cold plates. Features include two redundant 15-hp stainless steel pumps with ECM motors and variable frequency inverters that modulate optimum performance flow rates for the system.
Nortek www.nortekair.com
Latent load management
The DX-based DN series DOAS with integrated refrigeration from RenewAire is a customizable modular design. It features a near-zero exhaust air transfer ratio at balanced airflow. The design is beneficial for those applications using chilled beams, VRF, VFV, radiant panels and other technologies lacking adequate latent load management capabilities. It is a compressorized outdoor unit that boasts an industry-pioneering 8.0 ISMRE rating. The three-model series – D-2, D-3 and D-5 – ranges from 375 to 5,000-CFM and two to 30-tons of refrigeration.
RenewAire www.renewaire.com
Quick refrigeration piping
RectorSeal has added the Quick Connect push-fit, flame-free, refrigerant line brass fitting system to its Pro-Fit tools and accessories. The system is designed for ductless mini-split and ducted unitary, single-family residential air conditioning systems. Each Quick Connect fitting port consists of a patented factory-assembled tight-fitting double O-ring, protector, grip ring and endcap. No special tools are required except for a reusable support kit that is sold separately.
RectorSeal www.rectorseal.com