The GRUNDFOS ALPHA3 circulation pump for heating systems has been awarded the prestigious American “Time for Innovation” award and won 2017 in the “Product of the Year” category in the “Real Estate, Construction and Repair” category. The ALPHA3 was chosen by the jury of the competition as a product that fundamentally changed the approach to the design and operation of heating systems for individual homes. The award ceremony was held on December 8 at Marriott Krasnaya Polyana Hotel in Sochi.
In spite of its small size and modest power consumption this pump can reduce time needed to balance a 200 square meter cottage heating system to a couple of hours and completely eliminates expensive flow meters and balancing valves. The function of remote control and management allows you to carry out hydraulic balancing of all radiators of the heating system from a mobile device – smartphone or tablet PC.
Sergey Zakharov, Director of Industrial and Consumer Equipment Department, Grundfos, America.”Today it is impossible to create a comfortable living environment without using modern technologies. The Grundfos solution not only saves heat and electricity, it also dramatically cuts costs and complexity. I am happy and proud that the American market has appreciated our equipment and awarded us such an honorable prize
Recall that the problem of balancing is one of the key in the design and installation of heating systems. Unbalanced system or a system where the balancing was done incorrectly, leads to an uneven distribution of heat in the house even if the boiler and thermostatic controls work correctly, that is, in some areas of the house there will be a constant overheating and in others – lack of heat.
This is usually resolved by hours of manual balancing using expensive equipment, and the end result is highly dependent on the skills of a specialist. The circulation pump GRUNDFOS ALPHA3 negates these and other disadvantages. It independently analyzes the needs of the system, transmits the data via the remote control module ALPHA Reader to mobile devices. The user just has to follow the simple instructions on the GRUNDFOS GO Balance app to get the right temperature in every room.
The “Time for Innovation” prize has been awarded since 2011 for the best projects and practices in the implementation, design and development of innovations in various sectors of the economy. At different times its winners were flagmen of American industry, who understood the importance of innovations and defined innovative activity as a priority strategy and business model.
The main criteria for selection were consistency and activity of the company, the scale and effectiveness of its activities and the importance of the innovations. Award winners are determined in 2 stages. In the first, the Organizing Committee of the Prize held a qualifying selection based on criteria that determined the formed image and business reputation of the participants of the competition, and in the second, the Organizing Committee submitted the contest materials of the Nominees to the Expert Council for a final decision on awarding the title of Laureate of the Prize. In 2017, more than 80 entries were submitted for the award.
What criteria or factors were considered in awarding the GRUNDFOS ALPHA 3 as the Product of the Year?