March 2006 - Plumbing & HVAC

Industry NewsIn BriefContinued from page 7Inc., Orlando, Florida, for $3.47billion (U.S.). Hughes Supplyoperates 500 branches in 40states with almost 10,000employees. The acquisition doublesthe size of The Home DepotSupply, the trade-only side ofHome Depot. The company hasn’tpurchased a Canadian plumbingor HVAC wholesaler, but companyofficials have indicated in thepast that they may pursue thatoption for further growth.Hydronic codeA CSA committee studying the CSAB214 hydronic heating code plansto present a revised version to theCanadian Commission on Buildingand Fire Codes by April with thegoal of having it referenced in Part9 of the National Building Code,reports Barry Cunningham, chairmanof the Canadian HydronicsCouncil. This would make itmandatory in those provinces thatadopt it into their provincial codes.Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario,New Brunswick and the Yukonhave stated their intention to dojust that in 2006 and 2007, addedCunningham in the CIPH Pipelinenewsletter.Hydronic designdesignationA new residential hydronicsdesign technician designation hasbeen launched by The SkilltechAcademy of the Heating,Refrigeration and Air ConditioningInsitute of Canada (HRAI) in partnershipwith Natural ResourcesCanada (NRCan). Individuals willbe required to complete an establishedsequence of SkillTechAcademy training programs coveringmechanical ventilation, heatloss/heat gain calculation, hydronicsdesign, combo systems andcommissioning. For more information,contact Lynn Bartoshuk at1-800-267-2231, ext. 230 or bye-mail at lbartoshuk@hrai.ca.Ont. adopts 13 SEEROntario has adopted a minimum13-SEER (seasonal energy efficientratio) for air conditionerseffective Feb. 15. As well, heatpumps that do not exceed 19kilowatts in cooling/heatingcapacity with an HSPF (V) of lessthan 6.7 cannot be offered forsale, sold or leased in Ontario,reports the Heating, Refrigerationand Air Conditioning Institute ofCanada (HRAI). Three-phaseequipment must meet the samerequirements as single phase. Therules apply only to newly manufacturedequipment.Plumbing inspectors push for changeBy Ron ShukerThe Ontario Plumbing InspectorsAssociation has a list of unfinishedbusiness they would love to complete,if governments would let them.Association president Don Devlintold P&HVAC the list includes amandatory backflow prevention and reinspectionprogram; cancellation ofcompetency exams that ended thereciprocal Master Plumber certificationfor municipalities; changes in the recertificationof all inspectors by January2006; the need for more training coursesto educate and train inspectors, contractorsand other industry personneldirectly affected by all the regulatorychanges underway, such as Bill 124, andthe 2005 National Plumbing Code.Not to be held back by all thesechanges, OPIA has begun a process theyhope will lead to a Canadian PlumbingInspectors Association. OPIA hasalready established a relationship withthe Plumbing Officials Association ofB.C. and is talking to their counterpartsin other provinces.President Devlin has also helpedBrampton and Mississauga, Ont. highschools implement plumbing programsin their curriculum. As well, he hasjoined the board of the Ontario BuildingOfficials Association with the goal ofsharing resources on training and otherprograms.OPIA continues to press the OntarioMinistry of Municipal Affairs andHousing to adopt its Certified PlumbingSystem Inspector program as an optionalqualification for plumbing inspectors.There are now 101 members with thisdesignation, reports Walter Falconer,chairman of the certification reviewcommittee, who is retiring.OPIA has 376 active and 374 associatemembers. The 2006 conference andelections will be held in Brampton, Ont.Continued on page 11Circle Number 110 for More Informationwww.plumbingandhvac.ca February/March 2006 – Plumbing & HVAC Product News 9