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NASA and SETS Go With the (Water) Flow!
by Mike Pincher for Centennial Aviation and Business Journal
Carlos Cabrera, an American-born citizen raised in Panama (and a propane gas company executive whose college minor was engineering), faced a common problem. With eight people in his household (including in-laws and four kids), they often lacked hot water for a shower after someone else had just used it.
Then he queried, why must one heat 120 gallons of water (he had two water tanks) at 120 to 140 degrees 24/7 just for the relatively few times it is actually used? "I likened this," he says, "to leaving your car running all night long just so you can use it in the morning. That's not very logical, but neither was how water was being heated. There had to be a better way."
Then, he further thought, people in cold climates run into flooding problems from busted water heater leaks that not only are expensive to replace but often, when installed in laundry rooms, e.g., ruin flooring and carpeting. Neither are many pleased with the space a water heater tank takes up or how heavy it is to maneuver.
So in 1995, after inventively addressing these concerns, Cabrera founded the Miami, FL-based SETS (Space, Energy, Time Savings) Systems, Inc., home of the Tankless Water Heater (http://www.buytankless.com). While there are four models to choose from depending on specific climatic and household needs, all are 19.5" x 13" x 3" (including side brackets) and weigh but 14.5 pounds (including pigtails). They are also connected above the ground, usu. against a wall, so space and weight are no longer obstacles.
But also removed is the additional expense of maintaining a tank at 120 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit at ALL TIMES, just for its being there. The SETS system only consumes energy upon actual demand for the hot water, and even then, at the conservative minimum activation flow rate of just .25 gal. per min. (GPM). It operates at 98% efficiency, far exceeding the tank's 80% first year and steadily declining efficiency percentage throughout its limited working life.
Combined, these factors yield a representative cost of $273 per year for a family of four with SETS as opposed to $417 for a natural gas tank and $517 for an electric tank. And with the tankless's lifetime full-parts warranty (which is extended to a subsequent purchaser upon payment of a $50 transfer fee), the savings continue annually.
It also produces hot water instantly (not having to "kick in" like tanks usu. do) and continuously, with no risk of running out and requiring reheating. The user, of course, will initially have unheated water because it will be in the system before usage, but the instant heating provided by SETS's computer chip technology through heating elements contained in their welded, hand-fabricated heavy duty copper heat exchangers makes the hot water wait quite minimal.
The Early Struggle
For SETS to succeed, Cabrera needed two God-sends. The first came from NASA through its SATOP (Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program), a 30-group alliance between New Mexico, New York, Florida and Texas. The flow switch was unreliable in the beginning. A corrosive problem with the spring mechanism caused it to stick, sometimes making the safety thermostat disconnect the electrical current to the unit. As smiling fate would have it, however, Cabrera heard a local talk show host mention SATOP and acted immediately.
The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Technology Programs & Commercialization Office of the NASA-KSC/State of Florida Technology Outreach Program provided a solution. A NASA engineer devised a free-flowing weight system (there is no spring or other mechanical device in the switch) that even allowed for replacement of two parts in the flow switch without having to remove the older units. SETS is a Success Story on the NASA TechFinder website [http:technology.larc.nasa.gov/scripts/nls_ax.dll/w3SuccItem(1142)].
Despite this breakthrough, Cabrera soon encountered another problem--depleting funds. Though the postman may never ring twice, good fortune nonetheless shone upon him once again. This time in the person of Canadian-born Jerry Morabito, who is now a U.S. citizen and became a millionaire during the South Florida real estate boom of the early 1970s.
Morabito had actually been looking for Cabrera to assist him in converting apartments to condominiums. "To sell these units," Morabito recounts, "it was necessary to rehab them. The biggest obstacle was to rid the apartments of the old and failing water heaters that commanded such great square footage. Apartments are priced by livable, usable square footage and I wanted those water closets turned into linen closets, but what was I to do with the tanks? Then I was told by a handyman about these tankless water heaters. I saw SETS as a solution to my problems."
When the two finally met, a partnership was formed. Morabito provided vital capital and became SETS's President (and expanded operations into Canada and other world-wide markets) and Cabrera headed Research and Development.
The Competitive Edge
Cabrera firmly believes that SETS's manufacturing of its own products and its expertise acquired through years of experience give his firm a leg up on the competition. "Our ability to produce our own product allows us to adapt and hence to troubleshoot," he says. "This, in turn, lets us apply different skills to different situations for varying industries."
As a case in point, he cites AutoZone, the second largest auto parts retailer in the United States. "AutoZone wanted help with an expansion of 300 new store locations for North America and Canada," he explained. "Heating for both restrooms and mop sinks were required. Their older stores also had serious flooding problems from busted water heater tanks in their restroom attics. Our SETS Model 145 met all requirements due to its compact size, ease of installation, energy savings and our lifetime warranty. The new and old AutoZone locations have been operating just fine for years now."
Another example comes internationally, from Nicaragua in Central America. "A large French conglomerate developer in joint ventureship with the Nicaraguan government wanted to convert an abandoned monastery from a Roman Catholic Cathedral into a luxury resort," Cabrera reported. "But the government didn't want structural changes made to the building because it was an historical landmark. So we were called in. Along with the conglomerate's engineers, we used existing cold water lines to install our Model 110 in every room in a small medicine-like compartment. The Government approved, so all 75 rooms of the hotel now provide unlimited hot water."
SETS also serves the "Kidsspace" galley for children at the Science World exhibition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. An exhibit called the "Water Table" allows young children to make dams or float a boat down water currents. Since 2000, SETS has provided heating for the recycled water and also for two new bathrooms in the area. As a testament to its compactness, the installation for all three is in the ceiling of the floor beneath the Water Table.
Cabrera summed up: "We truly feel that with our combined experience and our own manufacturing facilities, we can simulate unique problems presented to us by our customers and then design specific applications for almost any individual case. We feel our track record proves that."
His company appears to have the credentials to justify Cabrera's confidence. On 1/14/00, it became the first tankless water heater to be HUD-certified for installation in HUD-approved housing. It is also approved by the California Energy Commission, the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., and the Canadian Standards Association.
Nor is SETS's water-heating virtuosity confined to homes, hotels and business buildings. For swimming pools, SETS offers its own electric Gulfstream Pool Heater that is again hallmarked by compactness, measuring 26.5" x 17.25" x 4" and weighing under 20 pounds. It, too, can be conveniently mounted on a wall, eliminating cement slabs and bulky equipment or gas tanks on your yard.
The Gulfstream has an efficiency rating of 99.8% and carries a lifetime warranty. It generates a 1 to 1.5 degree Fahrenheit rise per hour controlled by a user-friendly digital thermostat that displays both its own temperature setting and the actual swimming pool temperature.
Indebtedness to NASA
NASA was not only instrumental to SETS during its formative years. It still is. "NASA continues to be of assistance," SETS's founder asserts. "One of NASA/Boeing's engineers is helping us improve our electronic boards and controls, which is in its final stages. As before, we will be able to retrofit these improvements to our existing field units."
Cabrera enjoys elaborating on the virtues of SATOP, which "is a FREE service providing engineering that accelerates space technology transfer to the private sector. Businesses receive up to 40 hours of free technical assistance, with a target resolution time of less than 90 days. Companies have been aided in machine design, process engineering, materials selection and many other technical issues that have helped solve their problems and increased their chances for success."
The process begins locally. "The program is mostly marketed through local Chambers of Commerce. For us, it was The Beacon Council. A company submits a request to SATOP (a very simple one-page form) that explains their problem and what they've done to correct it. Once accepted, SATOP looks for an expert in the specific applicable field. The engineer and company then work in a very close and private relationship to achieve the company's goals."
Cabrera is frequently asked to attend SATOP seminars and meetings to give testimony to what it has to offer. He gladly obliges, and states: "We have become SATOP's top cheerleaders and whenever we are called by an interested company, we are always excited to talk to them about this great program."
Other Contributions
During the 9/11 aftermath, SETS made a profound impact on Ground Zero workers, firemen and policemen. To accommodate their round-the-clock work efforts, the Kohler Company built travel trailer rest stations featuring hot showers and cots. They installed nine showers per station and equipped them with SETS hot water devices. SETS performed so perfectly for 100 to 200 users daily that Kohler affectionately called it "The Little Giant." The water was supplied by fire hydrants.
There are also prospective health benefits for using SETS. With water tanks, scalding often strikes the elderly and children mostly five years or younger, with about 3800 injuries and 34 deaths reported annually in North America. This is caused by superheating demands on water tanks for performance over extended periods. SETS has a manual thermostat control that lets the user set the temperature as required, thereby avoiding superheating entirely.
SETS also helps reduce Legionnaire's disease, a form of pneumonia (Legionelia pneumophila). The Legionella bacteria best grow in a temperature-range environment between 95 and 131 degrees Fahrenheit and have a two-to-ten day incubation period. This is just the temperature range of the typical domestic water heater. Anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 cases of Legionnaire's disease occur annually, esp. among the elderly, smokers and others who have lowered immune systems. Since SETS only culls forth heat when required rather than storing it for future use, this kind of environment is greatly obviated.
Environmentalists can take heart, too. With about 14 million new water tanks being sold in America each year and about 75% of those being replacement units, a wholesale adoption of the tankless system would result in millions of corroded tanks being potentially kept out of landfills.
In Cabrera's opinion, there would also be an appreciable water savings if his units were used in large volume. "Every home with a tank stores between 40 to 80 gallons just for the tank," he argues. "It's not needed for the distribution line. Our heat exchangers store less than a half-gallon of water. Even with a 300-home development and a 60-gallon tank per home, that's nearly 18,000 gallons of water that could be returned to a reservoir. Just imagine the savings if this were to be practiced on a much larger scale."
Besides its website, further inquiries about SETS products can be directed to tankless@hubbellheaters.com or 877-649-8589.
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