Natural Gas Water Heater Design

From the central space heating to hot water on your faucets and sinks, most multi-residential and commercial properties alike list domestic hot water (DHW) system as one of the must-have item in the engineering design criteria. At NY Engineers, we are qualified experts in this specific engineering domain. Our duly licensed plumbing engineers will guide you through the exhaustive process of domestic hot water system from pre-design to the turnover of your building project.

To do this, we activate this process with a rigorous analysis of your building project’s DHW requirements. If the DHW system is already existing and engineered by previous plumbing consultants, we subject the as-built system for baseline tests on its functional efficiency and relate it to the current standards. Take for example, the conversion from oil to natural gas heating system.

In older homes, this is the exactly the case. Since the out-of-date domestic hot water system do not meet the stringent standards of the modern building codes today, inefficiency translates from the whole extent of the DHW system down to the specific operation of distribution system, plumbing fixtures and natural gas-fired water heaters.

At NY Engineers, we treat this as a critical factor to consider. And as such, we do not want you to be settling for an ineffective domestic hot water system. We thoroughly inspect your building’s DHW system from outside-in to inside-out, so we can professionally advice you if you need an upgrade, and if you do, how much will it cost with sustainability in mind.

However, like any other remodeling or renovation for older homes, there needs to be a paradigm shift on the design approach for newly-built projects but the basic DHW fundamentals should be incorporated. Activating the hot water supply for your multifamily or commercial building means that we need to factor in the demand load, size of the building, peak hour demand, occupant usage patterns, storage volume, distribution system and hot water generation.

But the most basic question is: how exactly is water heated in a DHW system? Electrically or through heat combustion? It depends, and this is why you need our skilled plumbing expertise. At NY Engineers, we veer away from the one-size-fits-all approach. From small-scale to large-scale residential, commercial or industrial project, we take on every building typology with a fresh vantage point to deliver a DHW system that is suited and custom-built to all your specifications and needs.

We treat each building project we handle from square one – an entire ensemble of engineered systems unique in site, context, design, timescale, budget and end users. Through our plumbing know-hows, we can assimilate and scale the selection down to the most essential functions that should be conveyed by your DHW system: custom-engineered, cost-effective and energy-efficient.

At NY Engineers, we drill you in on why you should choose natural gas over any other heat source available, and how it explicitly generates all the three essential functions above for your domestic hot water system.

Older NYC homes have a real penchant for oil heating systems, but over the years, surely we have seen that natural gas has seen the light of the day. Now, more than half of the population in the city has made the transition to natural gas heating systems, and this number will only increase as the movement for sustainability grows.

This goes to show that natural gas heating system is not just a trend, but an impending force of sustainable change. Reduction of greenhouse emissions in the city effectively results in a smaller carbon footprint, thanks to natural gas DHW system. If you are not in on the move, let our plumbing engineers help you weigh the pros and cons and why you should make the cut from oil to natural gas with your DHW system.

Both are fossil fuels, but what makes natural gas emerge as a winner? For one, your savings on heating costs will be at an all-time high. When compared with oil heating systems, your natural gas DHW system will accumulate to a total of 60% savings, and possibly higher if you have a high-efficient boiler and an improved building envelope effectively reducing the heating loads inside.

Aside from that, you have Con Edison incentives to add to your list. When you switch from oil to natural gas, Con Edison will give you conversion rebates amounting from $3,000 to $25,000 depending on where your property lies in the spectrum. However, this window of opportunity is only limited and will close as soon as rebate capital has been allocated. Here's where you can utilize our expertise: our proficient plumbing engineers can guide you on the DHW performance requirements needed for eligibility.

And on top of that, you can rely on Con Edison's available natural gas distribution system to deliver amidst typhoons and calamities, as long as your DHW system's strategically placed above floodworks to remain operational.

In emergency conditions, logistics of oil heating systems can be a nightmare. Scheduled trucking deliveries to your home's point of use can prove to be very inconvenient, but such is not the case with the reliable and functional gas supply lines of Con Edison. See for yourself how we utilize all the benefits of natural gas domestic hot water generation in our extensive list of industry-specific projects.