Boiler and water heater manufacturer Lochinvar has upgraded its SELECT digital hot water sizing programme.
When it comes to hot water, end users’ top priority tends to be reliability of supply followed closely by energy efficiency and compliance with current legislation. It is, therefore, increasingly important for engineers to have tools that can help them accurately match equipment output to demand to ensure the longevity of the equipment; as well as efficient operation.
While the SELECT programme has been available for almost 20 years, the 2019 version includes a number of new features along with the company’s current high efficiency gas-fired water heater products. It can be quickly and easily downloaded from the Lochinvar website.
The user-friendly programme covers 20 different building types, including educational facilities, hotels and industrial plant. Data is entered via a ‘virtual walkthrough’ process and default settings are included where appropriate. SELECT helps designers of hot water systems calculate the most suitable product(s) to meet peak demand periods and the volume of hot water needed for the building in question.
Most traditional hot water sizing methods are based on indirect systems with an emphasis on hot water storage. The advantage of direct gas-fired water heaters is that they work on low storage, but with fast recovery rates and SELECT 2019 prioritises continuous output.
Efficiency credits
To comply with Building Regulations Part L (or equivalent), new build or large refurbishment projects need to meet certain energy efficiency criteria. This is usually assessed by software such as SBEM, which measures the design against current energy standards. Using the manufacturer’s software allows the specifier/contractor to claim an additional two efficiency credits within SBEM and other energy modelling software.
The SELECT programme enables the user to choose any combination from a single water heater up to a maximum of four units, but Lochinvar has noted significant growth in the number of large commercial projects requiring multiple heaters, with the EcoKnight range being the most popular for these applications. Â The upgraded SELECT software, therefore, allows the designer to choose up to six of these models.
Multiple water heaters are often installed where building owners or occupiers want to ensure that ‘stand-by’ is provided. SELECT allows users to establish the combined duty of a multiple water heater project, giving them the ability to choose the proportion of stand-by required.
When all the criteria has been added, SELECT will publish the assessed hot water demand in terms of hot water volume and peak demand period; and the selection results screen will provide up to three water heater options. This section of SELECT displays basic product details such as storage capacity, hot water recovery rate, duty versus demand and storage heat-up time.
Once a selection has been made, the user can print out a PDF summary of the sizing calculation and save it in the programme for future reference. They can also email the calculation to a third party, including Lochinvar if they wish to request a quotation. There is also an automatic link to the relevant webpage for users to view more product information.