Viega’s Hydronic Mixing Block is a mixing device and boiler control with a built-in circulator and microcontroller.

When Jason Gaspard, owner and project manager at Select Mechanical Services, was looking to finish the basement of his Maple Grove, Minnesota-based home, he knew he wanted radiant heating in the space.

In 2024, the RPA held educational sessions at the ASHRAE/AHR Expo in Chicago, welcoming new members and setting goals to advance the radiant and hydronics industry.

Smatrix Pulse is the industry’s first multizone wireless control system for both radiant heating as well as forced-air heating and cooling.

In a radiant heating and cooling system, water circulates through PEX pipes in the concrete slab to control the slab's temperature for heating or cooling.

Matt Millard, owner of Performance Mechanical in Edgartown, Massachusetts, loves to experiment with new technologies. Recently, Millard wanted to step up to hydronic radiant heating for his own home addition using an air-to-water heat pump.

Boiler systems are essential for residential heating and hot water. Their efficiency and longevity depend on good water quality. Poor water quality causes corrosion, scale buildup, and higher costs. Maintaining high water quality ensures smooth operation and durability.

Hiller announced a five-year partnership with The University of Alabama’s Athletic Department and Crimson Tide Sports Marketing.

The East Coast has suffered severe damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, leading to extensive destruction, fatalities, and power outages. These hurricanes highlight the impact of climate change on storm severity, driven by warmer Atlantic waters. This situation underscores the urgent need for the PHCP-PVF industry to adapt to the challenges of increasingly intense storms.

Key actions at the plant in Hutchinson included focusing on electricity consumption, energy efficiency and the use of green electricity since 2021. These measures have reduced the site’s emissions by about 94% as compared to the baseline year 2019. 

Attendees gathered to learn and engage with the industry at PHCC CONNECT 2024.

Andrew Wilson and Alex Phrommany were honored as the 2024 Plumbing Apprentice of the Year and HVAC Apprentice of the Year, respectively. 

This facility marks NSF's first laboratory within continental Europe, offering in-house certification testing for NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 (Drinking Water Chemicals – Health Effects) and NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 (Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects) standards.

Giglio is a dedicated member of PHCC of Louisiana’s leadership, currently serving as president-elect after more than a decade of work on the chapter’s Board of Directors

Included in Interplay’s career development platform, SAM provides technicians with immediate guidance to help them gain skills faster and learn more efficiently in a more engaging manner. S

For the past five years, Carter has been fulfilling his dream as an instructor at Gar-Field and currently has 80 students enrolled as first- and second-year students. 

This year, High 5 pLUMBING ranked No. 7 in the small business category.

Initially, Thomas & Galbraith Heating, Cooling & Plumbing was only offering plumbing services to homes as far north as Springboro from their Cincinnati office, but now they are hiring Dayton-based plumbers to serve the entire Miami Valley for water heater service, plumbing repairs, water softeners and water quality service, and more from their Dayton location. Initially, Thomas & Galbraith Heating, Cooling & Plumbing was only offering plumbing services to homes as far north as Springboro from their Cincinnati office, but now they are hiring Dayton-based plumbers to serve the entire Miami Valley for water heater service, plumbing repairs, water softeners and water quality service, and more from their Dayton location. 

These changes will unify the Conformity Assessment Group, merging testing and certification services under one roof to provide consistent, gold standard- level customer service across all departments and all office locations.

Heating contractors attended the event to learn about high-efficiency heating equipment, including the Ambient Air-to-Water Heat Pump, Citadel commercial condensing boiler, Alta self-adaptive boiler, and the Ambient electric boiler.  

The event also offered ASPE-accredited Continuing Education Units (CEUs), enhancing participants' knowledge and professional development.

 The 71st Annual Meeting of the Membership will be held as part of the PMI25 Manufacturing Success Conference from Nov. 3-6, 2025, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago. 

Not maintaining this valve could destroy the heating system.

Correctly set controls ensure proper boiler operation.

It’s important to always be mentally present at every service call.

When I look at any replacement hydronic boiler project, my tenet is always to assume the existing system is installed improperly. I like to pretend I am a famous detective, such as Sherlock Holmes, and my job is to uncover the hidden mistakes.

The owner asked for a bid to replace her 35-year-old cast iron boiler which was still operating. She had two requirements: Redundancy in the event of a boiler malfunction and lower fuel costs for the building.

When troubleshooting a hydronic system, the piping layout is often confusing. To understand the system, I sometimes sketch the piping to help me visualize the flow of water. 

Troubleshooting hydronic systems can be challenging, as the pipes are hidden behind walls. Your imagination has to help you “see” the routing of the piping. 

On the older hydronic systems, replacing the existing boiler with a new one was pretty straightforward. The installer connected the new boiler to the existing flue, piping and electric. The newer high-efficiency boilers are much different and require some additional planning.

"According to the ASHRAE HVAC Applications Handbook, the estimated life of an air-to-air heat pump or a rooftop unit is 15 years while a boiler life expectancy is between 24-35 years, depending on the boiler type. So, you will install two heat pumps or rooftop units for every boiler. Where do you think those old units will end up?" I ask the class.

SunTouch ConnectPlus WarmWire Kits makes for a simple electric floor warming installation. Provide heat to warm floors and help keep bathroom, kitchen and entryway floors dry and safe.

Charlotte Pipe’s large diameter fittings include injection-molded and fabricated fittings produced by experienced fabricators with the latest technology available.

NIBCO expands its Wrot Racer push fittings to include new configurations such as reducing and repair tees and couplings, additional sizes of male and female thread adapters, thread elbows and caps with drains.

REHAU announces the addition of CPVC and copper press adapters to their proprietary EVERLOC+ compression-sleeve fitting system.

Targeted for buildings with high repeatable room types, Uponor Kitting Services provides all essential ProPEX fittings, rings, transitions, valves, stub outs, supports, and other components in individual kits labeled by room.

Wheatland Tube's new black steel pipe coating, Ultra Z-Coat, provides enhanced protection to shield against corrosion and rough handling during transit and installation.

The Moen 5-Series eToilet delivers a comfortable and complete clean with its powerful performance all with the push of a button.

Sloan’s Gravity Toilet features an innovative tank design with a slightly inverted taper for a modern aesthetic and a raised deck that eliminates rocking.

The Laars NeoTherm XTR condensing natural gas boiler or volume water heater is available in several MBH sizes all with Laars Linc.

Rinnai's RCB SERIES Commercial Wall-Hung Boiler is a compact building heat source that delivers reliable, energy-saving performance.

The Vitocrossal 200 CI2 is the most advanced, compact floor-standing gas condensing boiler designed for large residential and commercial applications.

Armstrong introduces Design Envelope Permanent Magnet pumps (up to 60hp), delivering 20% lower operating costs and highly accurate flow metering (+/- 5%).

Finzel digs into his own experience at agencies of all kinds and as a political aide to discuss the biggest news stories of the past week.

Kuczkowski reflects what his firm has been up to since it launched 10 years ago and gives advice to others looking to start their own PR agency.

Jeff Hahn joins the podcast to talk about his firm’s unique Austin, Texas-based culture, surviving his own crisis and much more.

Nearly all closed-loop hydronic heating and cooling systems are supposed to be filled with water or a mixture of water and antifreeze. The only intentional air in the system is that contained in the expansion tank.

The choice between ∆T and ∆P operation of a circulator has, at times, been the subject of rather “heated” debates. It’s almost as if a few Yankee fans are disputing superior pitching or batting performance with a few Red Sox fans. There appears to be some strong opinions involved.

Although I’ve worked with hydronic heating for four decades and designed systems around just about every possible heat source, I would be hard-pressed to predict what might be available as hydronic heat sources 25 years from now. 

Many legacy hydronic heating systems use a fossil fuel boiler to supply fin-tube baseboard heat emitters in some areas of a building and lower-temperature radiant panels in other areas.