President's Report

President’s Message: A Heat Pump Renaissance?

As we head into a strong spring and wrap up the ASPE year, I want to remind everyone about the Women of ASPE event Mary has organized for April 2nd. This is a great opportunity to connect, and the event is open to all chapter members, not just women. I hope to see you there.

Heat Pumps: Old Concept, New Life

To keep things interesting in these monthly messages, I try to look at trends emerging in plumbing design and the built environment. Lately, heat pump water heaters have been experiencing a bit of a renaissance. While heat pumps themselves were a hot topic a few years ago, the technology around them is evolving in ways worth paying attention to.

For years, it felt like the heat-pump water-heating market was split into two camps:

1. Heat-pump manufacturers trying to break into plumbing.

2. Plumbing-focused manufacturers expanding into heat pumps.

I’ve generally been more comfortable with the latter. Those companies tend to have a better grasp of issues like Legionella control and the operational realities of domestic hot water systems.

The CO₂ Question

Refrigerants and system configuration (multi-pass vs. single-pass) have also been major points of differentiation. CO₂-based systems, in particular, have long been promoted as the premium option:

· They operate in sub-zero ambient temperatures,

· They can produce water above 140°F, and

· They have negligible global warming potential compared to synthetic refrigerants.

However, CO₂ systems require extremely high pressures, which drive up material and labor costs. That reality has made many clients hesitant to invest, and the market appears to be shifting away from CO₂ solutions for domestic water heating—not due to performance, but due to cost and maintenance.

Challenges in Low-Demand Facilities

In grocery and distribution projects—my primary sectors—the biggest hurdle is simple: not enough hot-water demand or physical space to justify full heat-pump systems. While I would love to use pure heat-pump water heating on every project, the economics only work

when there is a baseline minimum demand or when a client is deeply committed to sustainability goals.

For many of my clients, the most practical option has been hybrid heat-pump water heaters. These are essentially electric storage heaters with a small integrated heat pump. From my back-of-the-napkin math, the heat-pump portion often only offsets standby losses. It’s environmentally better than nothing, but the impact is modest.

Heat-pump systems were originally developed for high-demand facilities—hotels, apartments, hospitals. Trying to scale these systems down for warehouses or retail is inherently difficult.

Restaurants and Grocery: The Middle Ground

Restaurants and grocery stores do use more hot water, but here the limiting factor is real estate. Because heat pumps warm water more slowly than traditional heaters, they require more storage to meet peak demand. That extra storage tank footprint is a tough sell in buildings where every square foot needs to generate revenue.

A Shift in the Market

The good news is that the industry appears to recognize these challenges. In addition to the trend away from CO₂ refrigerants, we’re starting to see the emergence of “instantaneous” heat-pump concepts—systems designed for lower BTU output and smaller footprints.

Some of the innovations I’ve encountered recently include:

· Heat-transfer liquids with superior thermal properties, capable of storing energy well beyond setpoint

· Phase-change materials, used almost like a thermal battery

· Smaller, modular heat-pump units targeting moderate-demand facilities

These approaches allow systems to handle smaller, more variable loads without requiring massive storage tanks or large equipment pads.

I’m currently digging deeper into these technologies and evaluating whether they offer a better path forward than the hybrid heat pumps I’ve been relying on. I’m optimistic.

A Promising Future

Bottom line: It’s a good time to revisit heat-pump technology on your projects. There are new solutions available in this space, and innovation doesn’t appear to be slowing down. I

expect heat-pump water heating to grow significantly in the coming years—and eventually become the industry standard.

Joe Poplinger
American Society of Plumbing Engineers
Kansas City Chapter President

Kansas City Chapter President

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Women of ASPE

Come support Women of ASPE at our next happy hour event - bowling! All are welcome! Sponsored by Summit Sales/Delta Commercial.

Thanks, Mary

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AD - Johnson and White

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VP Technical

Hello ASPE members! Thank you to those who were able to attend the February meeting over Wastewater Pumps, Control Panels, and Systems. The remainder of our spring presentations (including March) will remain at the Merriam Community Center on the second Monday of this month. The March meeting will cover Smart Restrooms For Smart Cities: How IoT Technology Can Improve Sustainability and is sponsored by Toto. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Thanks,
Jack Klapper P.E.

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VP Membership

Hey Kansas City ASPE folks!

We are looking out for new members!!  Please recommend ASPE to colleagues and coworkers or bring them out to a meeting!  For potential new member your first meeting and lunch is on us!  Our technical sessions are a great way to earn PDHs for maintaining licensure, our local events and chapter meetings are great networking opportunities with our group, and the technical resources and other special ASPE programs are just some of the benefits of membership!! 

If you are interested in joining or needing to renew, visit the ASPE website here: Join ASPE

FREE STUFF!!

We are going to be having raffle giveaways for KC ASPE branded Swag for attendance at upcoming chapter meetings!  Members attending in person will be entered into a raffle to win!  Golf Polos and Quarter Zip pullovers are available.  Come join us at a meeting, network, learn some things, and get free stuff!

ASPE CONNECT

Members have access to ASPE Connect forums!  This is a wealth of knowledge from contributors across the country!  If you have some unique issue or question on a particular design??  Chances are there is some discussion of it on these forums or someone willing to provide some advice for any questions you might post.  Try it out!!   https://connect.aspe.org/home

Members have access to education resources and CEUs via webinars and past resources that help to keep you current on maintaining licensing and credentials.  Check it out:  https://education.aspe.org/

Any questions related to membership, please contact me at [email protected].

Mike Oliva
VP Membership

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Affiliate Liason

Hello KC ASPE! 

 Totally unrelated to chapter business, I just got back from a mission trip to Croatia.  I’ve attached a couple of pictures from the Plitvice National Park (don’t ask me how to pronounce that).  It was so beautiful, I just had to share!

 I apologize for not getting out the survey I’ve mentioned recently but will make that a priority this month.  This is for all Affiliate Members.  Please keep an eye out for it.  In the meantime, please be thinking about things we can do to make our ASPE Chapter stronger, better informed and engaging.  Anything from events we could sponsor, better methods of engagement with our engineers, vendor fairs and partnering with other local associations like MCA and ASHRE.  What things work with other associations you are partnered with?  We don’t want to add things for the sake of doing more things, but intentionally do things that make our Chapter stronger and more effective.  The board wants to hear from you! 

Thank you,
Stacy Ferguson 

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AD - ZURN

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Education Committee

Education Committee

Applications for the 2026 ASPE Alfred Steele Scholarship 

If you, your spouse, or your child would like financial assistance toward a degree in engineering, apply now for the ASPE Alfred Steele Scholarship! Up to $5,000 in scholarship monies are awarded to qualified applicants each year. Refer to the website for additional requirements https://aspe.org/membership-global-community/membership/alfred-steele-scholarship-application/. The application deadline is April 30, 2026.

Kansas City ASPE Member Publication and Appreciation of ASPE

See below for Jake Hamilton, Assistant Professor at Kansas State University, and his publication from his presentation at the AEI Conference 2025, along with his collaboration with the Kansas City ASPE Chapter.  We appreciate Jake reaching out and continuing to maintain a relationship with our chapter and supporting opportunities for his students.

 Certified Plumbing Design (CPD) Exam;

If you are considering taking the exam, see below for book of the month discount for the CPD Study Guide.  I know the Certified Plumbing Design (CPD) exam is not until April 13-24 2026, but it will be here before you know it.  Are you considering taking the exam?  We are working on getting study material for the exam and would like to get a list of people who are going to take the test.  Please contact me or any board member if you are taking the test so we can support you. Refer to the website for additional information https://aspe.org/education-credentialing/cpd/exam/

Get the most of your membership and use the ASPE Education

Get the most of your ASPE membership and use all the educational opportunities ASPE https://education.aspe.org/

Ann Braden
KC ASPE Education Committee Chair

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Ad

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Vice President Legislative

If you haven't heard the news, Overland Park is updating their codes to 2024 ICC come July 1st, 2026. Stay tuned for some specific code updates. 

Thanks, Mary

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Corresponding Secretary

Happy March Birthdays!

Adam Scott York P.E., GPD
Amy L. Stadler P.E.
Blake Koehn 
Brandon D. Taylor P.E., CPD
Daniel Gramer P.E.
David Patrick Streiler 
Eryn Samuelson 
Greg H. Swafford CPD, GPD
Joel Thomas Wood 
Larry Tatum LEED AP, CPD
Ruben J Salinas P.E.
Seth P. Reust 
Thomas B. Woods 
Tucker Hewitt

Congratulations to people with ASPE Anniversaries!

Allen R. Evans P.E.
Brian Jon Rogers 
Brian Keith Campbell 
Caroline Rose Kabus P.E.
Daniel Ray Mapes 
James Noah Aziere 
Malvin Jamal Warrick P.E.
Mary E Kaster P.E.
Matthew A. McCalla GPD
Rebecca L. Henderson LEED AP
Richard John Kaestner 
Riley Johnson P.E.
Stacy M Ferguson 
Wyatt Dempsie

Larry Tatum, CPD, LEED AP 
KC ASPE Corresponding Secretary

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