The total tankless solution features the dynamic One Point of Connection feature. TTS multi-unit assemblies are designed and built at FRG’s Michigan facilities and then shipped to job sites fully assembled.

The standard package consists of an aluminum frame rack holding from two to six Noritz NCC199CDV Commercial Condensing Water Heaters with maximum inputs of 199,900 Btu/hour and maximum flow rates of 11.1 gallons per minute. Also included are the system controller, water and gas manifolds, expansion tank, breaker box with circuit breakers, digital pump controller with timer, surge protector, building recirculation pump, and isolation valves — all pre-installed and pre-piped to the attached water heaters.

The prefabrication is so extensive, the installer needs to make only a single connection apiece for the water, power, gas, vent, condensate drain, and building-recirculation lines. These half-dozen connections are a small fraction of the numerous, complex hookups technicians would need to make, were they to build the system from scratch.

In addition, the TTS is designed to be common vented, further reducing job site materials and wall and roof penetrations as well as the labor needed to complete the combustion-air and exhaust systems.

“The single connection point for power at the TTS breaker box is, all by itself, a huge labor-saver for the installing contractor,” says Benjamin Wirick, vice president, FRG. “No longer does that installer need to carve out time and space for a professional electrician to hard-wire the various components in the system. We also spare him all the time and headaches involved in parts-sourcing for these and all the other connections. It’s all done for the installer before the rack arrives.”

To further speed installation, the TTS offers a wheel kit option with commercial-grade casters to facilitate moving the rack from shipping crate to its final location. Measuring 80-by-31.5 inches, regardless of the number of tankless units incorporated, the compact TTS rack will easily pass through a standard, mechanical-room doorway. Whether two, four, or six heaters are combined, the multiple tankless units are carefully positioned within the aluminum frame to conserve space while maintaining all the necessary clearances for service.

The TTS is available in 10 different configurations: from two to six tankless water heaters with and without a 120-gallon storage tank. The latter is for commercial applications involving large spikes in demand, usually for short durations, that are best met through storage rather than directly from a multi-unit tankless setup. Check valves are included, fully installed, to eliminate any chance of backflow contamination.

As with the other pre-installed components, completing the storage-tank installation involves a single connection to an ECM system pump, which moves heated water from the tankless heaters to the tank. With the ECM technology, gas flow through the burner is continuously modulated to match actual demand, rather than running all-out all the time. Besides maximizing efficiency and storage-tank recovery, combining tankless with storage also helps extend component life cycles.

“The system is designed to deliver the benefits of both tankless technology and hot-water storage,” said Wirick. “Coupling tankless with a storage tank means less wear and tear on the water heaters over time. The pressure-loss characteristics across a storage vessel are also more favorable.”

Meanwhile, even with the addition of a storage tank, the TTS needs only a small fraction of the footprint a comparably sized, conventional commercial system with multiple tank water heaters would require.

Converting from a tank-type or boiler arrangement to a centralized, tankless water heating system is a major challenge for any commercial facility. Facility managers are understandably concerned about the extended downtime — and the heavy costs — such a changeover might entail.

“We have leveraged our knowledge and experience with commercial hot-water systems at FRG to engineer a total tankless solution that fully empowers facility managers to quickly and successfully complete a complex, high-level installation and be operational again within a half-day,” said Wirick. “With its superior efficiencies, compact footprint, easy mobility and streamlined installation, the TTS Synergy Series, we believe, represents a new paradigm in centralized hot-water delivery for commercial applications.”

For more information, visit www.webfrg.com.