Fresh Air

Winter 2012

2011-09-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

Intelli-Hood^®Starts the Year Off Right - Earning a Major Award

Intelli-Hood demand ventilation controls has won the AHR Expo's 2012 Innovation Award in the Ventilation category. Only 10 awards are given out each year and we are proud our industry-standard Intelli-Hood is one of them! The Intelli-Hood system saves up to 90% in fan energy and up to 50% in conditioned air, making it one of the best investments a commercial kitchens can buy.

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In All the Corporations in All the World, She Walks into Multi-Color...

The Multi-Color Corporation in Batavia, Ohio, recently installed 2 pre-engineered Ingrid solar PV systems to help offset their energy costs. Each system provides Multi-Color Corporation with 2.16 kW of energy and by placing them at the front of the building, they show their commitment to sustainability. Interested in how they can help your company reduce costs?

Learn more

Condensed Scope Test and Balance (T&B)

Keep your existing facility running efficiently while saving money! The Melink Condensed Scope T&B helps you create a healthy, energy-efficient facility for 2012. We make sure your HVAC systems are running at optimal levels by inspecting the design, equipment, installation, operation, and maintenance of your building's systems.

What's included:

Verify Building Pressure - balance building for proper fresh air quantities and pressurization in all areas of the store.

Verify Smoke Capture - balance the kitchen exhaust system for proper heat and smoke capture removal. Verify proper performance with smoke emitter tests.

Verify proper installation and operation of rooftop HVAC and exhaust equipment during rooftop replacement programs.

Discuss Building Comfort Concerns with Operations - verify thermostat settings, eliminate drafts, stagnant areas, hot/cold spots, negative pressures, building odors, smoke problems, and condensate leaks - if applicable.

Note Any Preventative Maintenance Concerns - inspect general condition of equipment. Verify correct fan rotation, belt tension, and sheave alignment. Check for clean filters and coils.

Measure and record CFM, motor RPM and motor amp draw before and after any adjustments. This information will be compared to nameplate data and specifications.

This program can be implemented as problems arise in your store or if you are undergoing a rooftop equipment replacement program and want to keep your building healthy. Contact Steve Buelterman for more information.

Melink is Running on Batteries!

Two new additions have been added to the Melink Corporation's Green Features. Steve Melink has recently purchased a Chevy Volt, an alternative energy vehicle that offers two sources of energy, and we have installed a 25kW battery system in our headquarters to reduce peak-demand charges in the summer and winter. Find out more about these and other Green Features that make us a net-zero energy facility.

Summer 2011

2011-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Melink Solar Canopy dedication at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

On Monday May 9th, Melink Corporation was joined by members of the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, U.S. Senator Rob Portman, Assistant Treasury for Management Dan Tangherlini, and many others for the Zoo's solar canopy dedication.

Located in the heart of Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is now the greenest zoo in America. The 1.56 megawatt solar canopy consists of 6,400 solar panels and produces about 20% of the Zoo's annual energy needs. On a sunny day the system will produce enough energy to send back to the grid.

Greening The Heartland - Cincinnati June 22-24

The Greening the Heartland Conference is fast approaching. Located in Cincinnati at the Duke Energy Convention Center June 22-24, this event targets a 12-state region across the Midwest and is a smaller version of the annual Greenbuild Conference hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The purpose of the GTH Conference is to offer great speakers, exhibits, tours and other learning opportunities that will further inspire architects, engineers, manufacturers, contractors, and other professionals in the green building industry to raise their game to the next level.

Keynote speakers will include Keith Harrison, Chief Global Supply Officer of Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, OH; Julian Agyeman, PhD in Urban Environmental Planning from Tufts University in Boston, MA; and Scot Horst, Senior VP of LEED Programs in Washington, D.C.

We are pleased to announce that Melink Corporation will have a major presence at this conference. In addition to being a Silver Sponsor and exhibitor, it will host one of three tours during the conference at its Net-Zero Energy head quarters, and Steve Melink will speak on net-zero energy best practices.

Please register online at www.greeningtheheartland.org as space is filling up. We want to help make this the most successful regional conference ever, and truly make the Heartland of the U.S. a more sustainable place to live, work and play!

Harvard saves $300,000 with Melink Intelli-Hood®

Melink completed its last of Harvard University's kitchen hoods in January of this year. After a one year trial of the Melink Intelli-hood system in 2005, Harvard representative decided to retrofit their entire campus with the ventilations systems.

The Melink Intelli-hood system is expected to save HUHDS around $304,570 per year, and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being produced by 800 metric tons annually.

To see the entire Harvard case study click the link below.

Harvard case study

New Melink T&B Case Study

National QSR chain opens on time because Melink shows engineering and construction managers the value of specifying a national, certified, and independent commissioning firm.

Click Melink T&B to read case study

Upcoming Events

See Melink at these upcoming conferences and events

June 22-24 - Greening the Heartland at Duke Energy Center, Cincinnati, OH

August 7-9 - GovEnergy at Duke Energy Center, Cincinnati, OH

October 12-14 - WEEC/World Energy Engineering Conference at Navy Pier, Chicago, IL

Spring 2011

2011-04-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

This Spring brings the grand opening of the Melink Solar Canopy at one of the Greenest Zoos in America, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The system will be the largest urban, publicly accessible solar PV system in the country.

Solar Energy at the Cincinnati Zoo

1.56MW of solar PV supplies 20% of the Zoo's energy needs

Melink Solar has quickly emerged as a premier developer of solar PV systems in the Midwest. This is because in the next few weeks it will complete the second largest solar array in Ohio and the largest urban, publicly accessible solar array in the country.

It all started about 18 months ago at the Greenbuild Conference in Phoenix when Mark Fisher with the Cincinnati Zoo met Jeremy Chapman with Melink Corporation to discuss ways to incorporate solar PV on a large-scale.

Since the Zoo's parking lot was the only large-scale space available, Melink proposed a solar canopy that would not only generate clean renewable energy but also provide visitor vehicles with shading during their peak seasons.

The heart of the deal is a power purchase agreement whereby Melink will sell power to the Zoo. Melink is also financing the investment by selling solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) to First Energy Solutions and obtaining new market tax credits from Uptown Consortium and National Development Council. PNC Bank is the lending partner on this unique project.

Construction was started in December 2010 and completed in April 2011. Some of the other people from Melink involved with this project include: Donna Jones - financing; Dave Boezi - operations; Craig Davis - project management; and Jason Brown, Jon Sawyer, Eric Webb, Nolan MacGregor, Rodney Cook - construction.

An educational kiosk was also installed to provide visitors with information about how solar panels work and the amount of power they are generating at any point in time. Melink also provided scholarships to local students to further promote education in this growing field.

"The Melink Solar Canopy will help put Cincinnati and Ohio on the map as a national leader in the adoption and promotion of clean energy," states Steve Melink, President of Melink. It will also put his firm on the map as one of the top developers in the solar PV industry.

Learn more about Melink Solar

Reduced Scope T&B

Save money while keeping your building healthy

Melink Corporation provides HVAC Testing and Balancing services to a majority of National Account stores throughout the US. As the leading national, independent and certified T&B provider to the restaurant industry, Melink inspects the design, equipment, installation, operation, and maintenance of the systems and makes sure your employees and customers are comfortable and your equipment is running properly.

To accommodate our customer's requests, Melink has developed a Reduced Scope Rebalance Program to make sure their stores are operating at optimal levels. The general scope of work performed is as follows:

Verify Building Pressure - balance building for proper fresh air quantities and pressurization in all areas of the store.
Verify Smoke Capture - balance the kitchen exhaust system for proper heat and smoke capture removal. Verify proper performance with smoke emitter tests.
Discuss Building Comfort Concerns with Operations - verify thermostat settings, eliminate drafts, stagnant areas, hot/cold spots, negative pressures, building odors, smoke problems, and condensate leaks - if applicable.
Note Any Preventative Maintenance Concerns - inspect general condition of equipment. Verify correct fan rotation, belt tension, and sheave alignment. Check for clean filters and coils.
Measure and record CFM, motor RPM and motor amp draw before and after any adjustments. This information will be compared to nameplate data and specifications.

This program can be implemented as problems arise in your store or if you are undergoing a rooftop equipment replacement program and want to keep your building healthy. Contact us for more information.

Learn more about Melink T&B

PG&E Rebates

Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Rebates Available

Through funding by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in January 2010, Honeywell launched the money-saving GreenVent program, designed to incentivize owners of food service establishments to reduce their energy usage and save operational costs by using the Melink Intelli-Hood® controls. By varying the speed of the exhaust and MUA fans based on the cooking load, Intelli-Hood can provide a 1-3 year ROI.

The GreenVent program is scheduled to run through the end of 2012. Broken into four categories, the rebates are set based on commercial kitchen use:

Restaurants - $1000/hp rebate

Universities, colleges & corporate campuses - $600/hp rebate per total exhaust and MUA horsepower

Supermarkets - $450/hp rebate

Hotels - $350/hp rebate for both total exhaust and MUA horsepower

Learn more about Intelli-Hood

Upcoming Events

See Melink at these upcoming conferences and events

April 26 & 27 - UCEAO Conference, Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel, Columbus, OH

April 28 - Green Summit at the Cincinnati Zoo

June 22-24 - Greening the Heartland at Duke Energy Center, Cincinnati, OH

August 7-9 - GovEnergy at Duke Energy Center, Cincinnati, OH

Fresh Air

Winter 2012

Intelli-Hood® Starts the Year Off Right - Earning a Major Award

In All the Corporations in All the World, She Walks into Multi-Color...

Condensed Scope Test and Balance (T&B)

Melink is Running on Batteries!

Summer 2011

Melink Solar Canopy dedication at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

Greening The Heartland - Cincinnati June 22-24

Harvard saves $300,000 with Melink Intelli-Hood®

New Melink T&B Case Study

Upcoming Events

Spring 2011

Solar Energy at the Cincinnati Zoo

Reduced Scope T&B

PG&E Rebates

Upcoming Events

Intelli-Hood^®Starts the Year Off Right - Earning a Major Award