Sponsored Content: Bell & Gossett adds new features and capabilities to its best-in-class online system selection tool ESP-SystemwizeTM

HVAC system selection is an important component in both new construction and retrofit projects to keep heating and cooling costs in line and achieve energy-efficiency targets. As building owners, facility managers and specifying engineers turn their attention to improving occupant comfort and maintaining air quality while reducing overall energy consumption, they are increasingly putting holistic system performance at the top of their lists when it comes to commercial buildings. Xylem’s Bell & Gossett brand’s ESP-Systemwize^TM, is the industry’s leading online selection tool that provides HVAC and plumbing system designers the ability to choose all system components within a single integrated tool to ensure the most efficient hydronic system design.

An HVAC system made up of the highest-efficiency components will only realize the efficiency gains of these individual products if it is designed, installed and operated as a system. Proper system design is critical to minimizing lifecycle costs and reducing a system’s power consumption. As the only online selection tool that enables designers to select the entire system, ESP-Systemwize is at the forefront of fostering greater efficiencies in HVAC system design.

ESP-Systemwize incorporates Bell & Gossett’s expansive portfolio, applications expertise and hydronic systems knowledge, resulting in an intuitive, easy-to-use tool for selecting highly efficient pumps and compatible system accessories.

The system selection tool guides industry professionals through the specification process by providing side-by-side product comparisons, an express select button that helps quickly narrow down a pump search, and an active warning system that alerts users of potential selection problems. ESP-Systemwize also is searchable by groups of products – a click of the performance button analyzes a pump’s multiple speeds in real time and the workplace tab offers additional product data.

ESP-Systemwize also enables industry professionals to specify pumps, suction diffusers, triple duty valves, air and dirt separators, expansion tanks, heat exchangers, pressure independent control valves, variable speed drives, controls and replacement parts. If users need assistance during the selection process, they have access to 24/7 technical assistance. With a quick click of the help button, they can submit comments and questions, which are addressed in real time. If a highly technical response is required, ESP-Systemwize alerts product experts to respond.

Another feature of ESP-Systemwize that helps industry professionals with the pump selection process is the option to create a customized project schedule, share it with a manufacturer’s representative in their area, and edit it, enabling the management of the entire system selection process in a single project schedule. Engineers and system designers can also generate submittals and download other technical documentation for information on proper installation and applications of the products they selected.

Expanding already robust capabilities

To ensure ESP-Systemwize remains at the forefront of fostering greater efficiencies in HVAC system design, the comprehensive online selection tool recently added several new functions, making it easier to optimize pump selection, compare operating costs, calculate floor space and check selections against Department of Energy efficiency ratings.

New features include:

• The addition of “I” buttons throughout the site make it easy for users to instantly access more information about products, selection options and features
• Motor overspeeding and duty point motor sizing capabilities provide flexibility to help users reduce their initial investment where possible
• Potential selections now display DOE Pump Energy Index and Hydraulic Institute Energy Rating information to help users make the most informed selection for their application

The system selection tool includes intuitive features designed to assist engineers in system design, including Bell & Gossett’s Part Load Efficiency Value (PLEV) selection criteria, a calculation that represents the efficiency of the pump at partial flow rates. Flow requirements fluctuate constantly based on the heating and cooling needs of a building at any given time; however, with the traditional pump selection approach, industry professionals select pumps at 100 percent load conditions, although a pump only operates there 1 percent of the time. When combining highly efficient pumps with selections based on PLEV, system designers can maximize operational performance while realizing energy cost savings.

Additional user-friendly functions – a variable speed option, floor space calculator and an operating expenditure (OPEX) estimator – provide engineers with valuable energy and cost-savings information.

Constant or variable speed options – ESP-Systemwize enables users to search pumps by constant or variable speed to discover and select products that will deliver optimal performance within a hydronic HVAC or plumbing system. Variable speed technology allows the pump to adjust operating speed and respond smoothly and efficiently to fluctuations in demand. By also using the ESP-Systemwize PLEV function – Bell & Gossett’s Part Load Efficiency Value criteria – system designers can gauge true pump performance by measuring the efficiency of the pump at partial flow rates.

Floor space calculator – With a growing focus on decreasing the size of mechanical rooms in commercial buildings to allow for more saleable space, engineers must identify the proper product and configuration to fit any mechanical room. ESP-Systemwize’s floor space calculator takes the guesswork out of determining the need for vertical in-line pumps or base-mounted pumps. Providing engineering solutions that maximize square footage can help achieve overall project budget goals.

OPEX estimator – The cost of operations (OPEX) estimator helps identify energy and electrical costs associated with pumps and hydronic systems. Proper system design is critical to minimizing lifecycle costs and reducing a system’s power consumption.

These features help engineers select the best system based on project goals, saving them time on the job and increasing productivity. Regular updates with new features and capabilities will continue to ensure ESP-Systemwize is the most advanced online selection tool on the market.

The ESP-Systemwize system selection tool is readily accessible through the Bell & Gossett website or at www.esp-systemwize.com – no special user access is required. Advanced features are available to those who register, including saving project schedules, generating submittals and sharing them with a Bell & Gossett manufacturer’s representative in their area.

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