Superior Radiant Products Infrared Heating Technology for Today

<h3 class="modhdgblue">1. What are the primary markets for the gas fired infrared heating technology?</h3> <p>Our gas infrared heating technology is best applied in applications that require high thermal and radiant efficiency, and the resultant improved comfort and fuel economy that results. We have applications in most types of commercial and industrial facilities. To meet that need we deploy a variety of special technologies (see below in products offering descriptions). Some examples include: aviation hangars, greenhouses, poultry houses, fire stations, schools, auditoriums, ice and other sports arenas, light and heavy manufacturing plants, public transportation garages, residential garages and a variety of specialty applications, where we apply specific technology to meet the requirement.</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">2. Tell us about your existing product offering</h3> <p>SRP manufactures one of the broadest product lines in our industry. We have low-intensity equipment, which includes our custom-designed Premier vacuum systems (Models VS, VS-VH) systems with fully condensing thermal efficiencies and a variety of unitary heaters, which have thermal efficiencies from ~80% to upwards of 85%. We have equipment that can be operated as single stage (Series U), 2 stage (Series T) or fully modulating (Series AM) heaters. We also have specialty low-intensity models (Series L and LT) that eliminate the hot spot typically associated with unitary heaters. Our newest line (Series 750) is purpose designed and built to limit heat exchanger temperatures to a maximum of 750F as required by NFPA 30 for use in CNG facilities. Our residential garage heaters (Model GR and Series UAG) are also high efficiency. Furthermore, we manufacture high intensity infrared heaters, from our standard efficiency (Series S) models up to our high efficiency (Model KMI) units, which boast some of the highest radiant factor measured according to EN-419-2.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">a. Size ranges: Premier System &ndash; 20 MBH to 250 MBH; single and 2 stage unitary heaters &ndash; 40 MBH to 220 MBH; Modulating Unitary from 80 MBH to 200 MBH; High Intensity Heaters &ndash; 21 MBH to 160 MBH; residential heaters from 35 MBH to 60 MBH</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">b. Efficiencies: We have high efficiency equipment in each segment of our market &ndash; systems that operate full condensing efficiency (90+%), modulating heaters that operate up to 85% efficient, single or 2 stage unitary equipment that operates up to 80% efficient, and residential heaters operating up to 82% efficient. Our radiant efficiencies are some of the best in the industry &ndash; low intensity radiant efficiency up to 65%, and high intensity radiant efficiency up to 83%.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">c. Best market applications: Any application that has large volume or air change rates can benefit from our infrared technology. But these are not required to take advantage of infrared heating technology. Infrared&rsquo;s ability to be directed can benefit an almost limitless variety of industrial and commercial applications.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">d. Approximately how many do you sell per year? We do not disclose direct sales figures; however, the company continues to experience growth as it has done in our 20 year history. This past year our growth is &gt;40%.</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">3. What are the competitive advantages of your product compared to other conventional air heating or competitive infrared technologies?</h3> <p>In our low intensity products, our competitive advantages over other technologies revolve around our high thermal and radiant efficiencies and include our 100% efficiency reflector system, which directs virtually all infrared energy created by the heat exchanger into the space. This augments the burner and tube system technologies which maximize tube temperatures to create the most infrared energy from the gas input supplied. Improving the Mean Radiant Temperature in the space is key to realizing fuel savings and improving comfort in the space when compared to other heating technologies. AHSRAE has long since recognized the ability of infrared heating systems to save users from 35 to 50% or more fuel over conventional heating methods. Our highest efficiency high intensity heaters utilize pre-heating technology to maximize radiant output from the heat exchanger also, allowing us to install fewer heaters to maintain the desired radiant environment.</p> <p>In specialty applications such as a poultry application or greenhouse, our low-even output (&quot;no hot spot&quot;) Series L allows uniform coverage at very low mounting heights. This is something competition cannot do. Even our systems incorporate technology we call &quot;position tuning&quot; which maximizes the radiant output from a continuous system, allowing us to achieve high thermal efficiency with less tubing length. In the end, it&rsquo;s all about saving the end user fuel dollars, and providing the most comfortable environment possible. We do this while providing the best warranty in the industry.</p> <p>Numerous other advantages exist with our equipment &ndash; a few of them being:</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">&bull; Ability to reduce the number of envelope penetrations in a space with our Premier system.<br /> &bull; Chrome plated &quot;jet stream&quot; or cast iron burner assemblies provide longevity, and a fire shape conducive to heat transfer within a 4&quot; tube<br /> &bull; 14 ga. and 12 ga. (heavy duty) burner housing construction<br /> &bull; Isolation of burner controls from incoming air supply<br /> &bull; Direct spark ignition systems which reduce the required electrical supply over hot surface ignition <br /> &bull; A variety of innovative controls are available &ndash; as an example we can provide BACNet communicating thermostats in lieu of cumbersome and more complicated master/slave control panels offered by some of our competition.<br /> &bull; Very high reliability &ndash; tube warranty up to 10 years</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">4. Tell us about your new/newer products you are bringing to the market this year?</h3> <p>This year we introduced our Trigomax heater accessory &ndash; a specially designed highly effective heat exchanger which can be coupled to any of our unitary heater products.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">a. What are the key benefits of these new products - Trigomax allows users to obtain thermal efficiency up to 98% from previously lower efficiency unitary heaters. It simply replaces a portion of the vent, extracts additional heat which can benefit the space in a variety of ways (to take advantage of any natural solar load that occurs, as an example), and allows the flue products to be vented over long distances using low temperature vent materials.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">b. Any specific target market you plan to pursue with these new products &ndash; Trigomax will be best utilized where high thermal efficiency is most desirable, whether it be for Green or LEED initiatives, or to qualify for special rebates or financing. It could also be deployed as a retrofit device to improve the thermal efficiency of existing installations of gas fired infrared equipment.</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">5. Can your product(s) reduce impacts on the environment and, if so, how?</h3> <p>Reducing fuel consumption has a correspondingly positive reduction in the carbon footprint of any gas appliance. Our high thermal efficiency appliances help accomplish this when compared to conventional heating methods. Infrared systems can maintain comfort within a space with less input than more conventional air heating systems (even high thermal efficiency air products).</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">6. What misconceptions do you deal with when talking to potential customers about your product?</h3> <p>There are still many engineers and other heating professionals who do not fully understand the comfort &amp; mean radiant temperature benefits of applying infrared. For example, the &quot;requirement&quot; to keep infrared heaters close to the ground and occupants is totally false. Infrared is not absorbed by air, and therefore can be mounted at any height. A properly applied infrared heating system will provide sufficient energy density for occupants to maintain comfort, and can be as distributed or focused as is required by the space.</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">7. Who is your direct customer &ndash; a property/homeowner, a contractor or a distributor, and why?</h3> <p>Superior Radiant sells its products through distribution agents which consist of full service buy/sell organizations and wholesale dealers. We typically do not sell direct to end users. We believe that the ability to provide knowledgeable local professionals who understand our products and their proper use, allows us to provide the best service possible to contractors and other end users of our equipment.</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">8. What are your corporate strategies to communicate with and educate potential customers about your products?</h3> <p>SRP has recently completed a multi-month overhaul of our brand, including an interactive website (www.superiorradiant.com). Our website incorporates a blog for our VIP customers where topics of interest can be shared among them.<br /> <br /> We conduct a series of on location training sessions for our distribution each year, and also execute a multi-week series of training webinars each year to re-familiarize our distribution partners with products and strategies for application of our equipment. We maintain industry visibility through a series of major and regional tradeshow attendance, regional program events with our partners, a variety of industry conferences (for example TMAF and HARDI) and an ever growing use of social and professional service media. Coming soon will be an application for your phone to access information on everything SRP.</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">9. What are the market barriers to greater deployment of your product?</h3> <p>Sufficient knowledge of proper use and application of infrared is one area that prevents a wider consciousness to use of our heating products. Infrared heating is not generally taught or known to contractors, utilities etc. during their formal training. Consequently IR does not get consideration that it deserves in many instances. Even many of the rebate programs available at utilities fail to realize the fuel savings benefits of creating mean radiant temperature within the space. They rely solely on a thermal efficiency benefit which does not recognize the ability of IR to heat spaces effectively with less input capacity than air heating methods. As a result, infrared is often not included, or included on a less than equivalent level than conventional heating in many of these programs.</p> <h3 class="modhdgblue">10. What could gas utilities do to promote the deployment and acceptance of your product?</h3> <p>Working with companies such as SRP to raise the education level of utility employees on the nuances of infrared would be a great help. SRP is committed to spreading knowledge about the use and benefits of IR. We would be happy to work with any utility interested in constructing a curriculum to teach what IR is all about. While we believe we have some definite product advantages, such an education program would be more about infrared heating as a technique, and a little less about specific products.</p> <p style="line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</p> <h3 style="color: red;">&nbsp;</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p>