When most people think of radiant heat or hydronic snowmelt, the usual applications are warm floors, heated sidewalks and snow-free driveways. Viega Radiant Design Services in Nashua, NH, has designed and quoted thousands of projects like those, but occasionally they receive requests for assistance with out-of-the-box projects.
The Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency (BBARWA) in Big Bear, CA, contacted Viega Radiant Design Services with a project that needed an innovative solution. A byproduct of the water treatment process is sludge, composed of 25% solids and 75% water. Since the sludge must be hauled by truck to an off-site disposal area, BBARWA needed a way to reduce the water content and weight of the sludge, making it less expensive to haul. BBARWA tried several different methods to dry the sludge with only marginal success, so they decided to devise a new system that would be more effective, more efficient and would reduce the odor complaints.
Viega Radiant Design Services worked on the specifics of the slab heating system design, focusing on what would be required to generate enough heat from the slab to meet the sludge-drying objectives. Viega design engineers used finite element analysis (FEA) to determine the optimum tubing size, spacing and install-depth in the slab based on the water temperature supplied from the diesel generator’s exhaust. Due to the shape and size of the 315- by 60-foot heated slab, it was clear that this project was an excellent application for Viega’s revolutionary Viega Climate Mat® system.
Since the facility produces its own electricity using three natural gas generators, the water flowing through the slab would be heated with a heat exchanger in one of the generator’s exhaust, making it an efficient co-generation system. Within the first year alone, the new system saved approximately $200,000 in transportation and fuel costs.
Viega Climate Mat® system
The contractors were impressed with the speed and ease of installation of the Viega Climate Mat and appreciated the support provided by Viega throughout the entire process, from design to installation.
“Anything you said you could do, you did it,” said Plant Manager Fred Uhler. “They were topnotch guys from the sales staff, to the design support. They were excited about the project. It’s great to work with people like that.”
Once the covered drying bed building was completed, the system went into operation in June 2014. Within a few months, it became clear that this unique application of radiant heating was a resounding success. In 2015, Uhler reported that the system was performing beyond expectations and even better in the low-humidity winter months.
“This system is self-operational, and I’ve had zero maintenance issues with it from Viega’s side of things,” Uhler said. “It couldn’t be any better.”
Additionally, the project received the California Water Association Desert Mountain Award for Innovation.
While conventional radiant heating and snow melting projects are everyday business for the Viega team, projects like the Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency covered drying bed are prime examples of how Viega can design and deliver innovative solutions that improve lives, reduce energy usage and help protect the environment.
For more information on Viega system solutions, visit Viega.us.
Viega
800.976.9819
insidesales@viega.us
www.viega.us
Related Stories
| Sep 17, 2014
New developments in data center design
From the dozen or so facilities housing Google’s 900,000 servers to the sprawling server farms of Facebook to Amazon’s seven sites scattered around the world, today’s data centers must accommodate massive power demand, high heat loads, strict maintenance protocols, and super-tight security. This AIA Discovery course is worth 1.0 AIA CES HSW learning units.
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
| Sep 7, 2014
Ranked: Top state government sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
PCL Construction, Stantec, and AECOM head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest state government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 3, 2014
New designation launched to streamline LEED review process
The LEED Proven Provider designation is designed to minimize the need for additional work during the project review process.
| Sep 2, 2014
Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Sep 2, 2014
Extreme conversion: 17-story industrial silo to be converted to high-rise housing
As part of Copenhagen's effort to turn an industrial seaport into a bustling neighborhood, Danish architecture firm COBE was invited to convert a grain silo into a residential tower.
| Aug 26, 2014
Ranked: Top industrial sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, Jacobs, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 6, 2014
25 projects win awards for design-build excellence
The 2014 Design-Build Project/Team Awards showcase design-build best practices and celebrate the achievements of owners and design-build teams in nine categories across the spectrum of horizontal and vertical construction.
| Aug 4, 2014
Facebook’s prefab data center concept aims to slash construction time in half
Less than a year after opening its ultra-green, hydropowered data center facility in Luleå, Sweden, Facebook is back at it in Mother Svea with yet another novel approach to data center design.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction market benefits from improving economy, new technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following years of fairly lackluster demand for commercial property remodeling, reconstruction revenue is improving, according to the 2014 Giants 300 report.
