Energy Prices | Metropolitan Industries

September 20, 2012

Navien training seminars beneficial for all involved

Our commitment to providing training to industry professionals is one of the many reasons why Metropolitan makes an ideal business partner. By sharing our expertise with engineers, water/wastewater operators, city officials and more, those working in the field are fully prepared to best meet needs and challenges.

With this goal in mind, we recently held a Navien tankless water heaters training course at our facility. Metropolitan is the representative of Navien tankless water heaters, which are 98 percent efficient in operation. For residential applications, Navien heaters can lead to increased gas savings, save space, and provide an instant/endless supply of hot water. These features have led to increased popularity and demand of Navien heaters, making training for installers more and more pertinent.

Navien America’s David Hoskyn was on-hand to conduct training during our most recent course. Hoskyn, who has been involved in the wholesale business for nearly 20 years and has conducted Navien training throughout the Midwest for over a year, said all sides of the business benefit from training courses.

“Training is very important to Navien America since we understand the benefit to all of us, including Navien, the representatives, distributors and the contractor,” said Hoskyn. “This helps the contractor be more profitable by reducing callbacks due to misapplied or incorrectly installed products. It will also reduce service time due to a greater understanding of the components, their function and operation. Lastly, it helps everyone understand the service and warranty process, and how we as a company handle support and warranty issues.”

Hoskyn said the most recent training fostered the type of learning environment he strives for as an instructor.

“The most recent training that we held at Metropolitan was another example of a well-coordinated, well-executed class,” said Hoskyn. “The people attending the class were involved and interested in attaining a better understanding of the product. The class was not only a great mix of both installers and service technicians, but also people that have installed the product before and those who have not. This makes for a great variety of questions and comments, which helps everyone in the class, including myself.”

Overall, Hoskyn credits Metropolitan’s commitment to training as a primary reason why it makes a model partner in business for customers and suppliers.

“Metropolitan is an extremely valuable partner for Navien America,” said Hoskyn. “They understand the importance that training holds to not only our product, but all of the lines they carry. The sales and support that they provide to their customers are keys to the success we have in the market.”

For more information regarding Navien tankless water heaters or to inquire about Metropolitan trainings, please visit www.metropolitanind.com or contact 815-886-9200.

June 24, 2010

Energy Costs, Tax Breaks Energize Solar Market

By: Joseph Sanchez

As energy prices continue to rise at an alarming pace, consumers are turning their attention to alternative forms of energy to power their homes. A front-runner in the alternative energy market is solar power, which is gaining popularity thanks in most part to the energy crisis gripping the country. Solar power is finding its way into homes across America tasked with reducing the costs for everyday things such as heating our homes and water.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), heating your home accounts for about 56 percent of your utility bill making it the largest expense for most homes. Water heating is the third largest energy expense and can account for about 14-25 percent of the utility bill.

A recent addition to the Metropolitan Industries product line are solar powered systems manufactured by Viessmann for domestic hot water, radiant floor heating and air conditioning systems for residential and commercial applications.

The advantages of using solar power for domestic hot water, radiant flooring and air conditioning are significant given the cost of energy, its continued rise and its limited supply. The DOE says a solar system can provide up to 80 percent of the heating needs required for a home or business at zero cost to the consumer after initial equipment and installation costs. Given solar energy is free, a system will pay back the purchaser in just under a couple years in energy savings and will continue to pay dividends in energy savings and consumption for years to come.

Other benefits include tax incentives from Federal and State governments in forms of rebates, grants and exemptions that help offset installation and equipment costs making the technology feasible for many businesses and families.

For example, the State of Illinois offers a property tax exemption for passive solar space heat, solar water heat and solar space heat for residential, commercial and industrial properties according to website dsire.org, a database of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. A residential solar tax credit is offered by the Federal Government that that offers a maximum incentive of $2000 for a solar water heating system installation. An incentive offered by the United States Department of Agriculture is in the form of a grant upwards to 25 percent of project costs. For renewable energy systems, the minimum grant is $2,500 and the maximum is $500,000. For energy efficiency improvements, the minimum grant is $1,500 and the maximum is $250,000.
With solar power gaining popularity in the U.S., Viessmann Manufacturing Company of Germany is ready for the increased demand based on the more than 2 million solar collector installations over the last 30 years installed in just Germany alone.
Viessmann solar hot water heating systems, marketed as the Vitosol, collect and absorb solar radiation through either solar vacuum tubes (Vitosol 300) or solar panels (Vitosol 200) and transfers the solar heat directly to a storage system, from which the heat is distributed.
Viessmann solar collectors are specifically designed for northern climates and can produce as much as 70 percent of the annual hot water requirements of an average family household. The average lifespan of any Viessmann solar product is 20 years or more.
The Viessmann product line is only available in Illinois at Metropolitan Industries, Inc. located in Romeoville. For more information, contact Mark Brickey at 815-886-9200.