With few exceptions, the water demands of a Commercial Building are significantly overestimated, which has negative impacts on the long-term performance, reliability, and efficiency of a Booster System. At Cougar…
The primary purpose of a Pressure Boosting System is to maintain constant pressure in the building (surprising, right?!). In Part II of this Tech Talk, we explain the factors to…
Pressure Boosting Systems are essential for delivering water to high-rise buildings; however, the method for sizing these systems has not changed significantly in over 50 years! Cougar USA’s High-Performance Design…
A High-Performance Water Pressure Reducing (PRV) Station requires valves that are properly sized for the flow rate and pressure drop of the zone they serve. Also, the High Flow and…
Storm Sump Pump Stations protect the lower levels of buildings and parking garages from flooding. Check out this Tech Talk on the application and design of Storm Sump Pump Stations….
Rain isn’t the only way a building can flood. If there are Domestic or Fire Water Storage Tanks in the building, a flooding risk is always present. Cougar Systems Level…
In the city of Houston, we’ve had two major interruptions in water supply in the last 18 months. Unfortunately for many buildings, they didn’t find out until their tank and…
Fill Valves are the heart of a tank-level control system (making the control panel the brain). There are two common types of fill valves, Float, and Electronic, used in commercial…
We are excited to announce the promotion of Tim Zacharias to President of Cougar USA! Tim has been with the company since 2007, having worked in various roles, most recently…
Last August, the City of Houston’s Chief Recovery Office commissioned a one-year study to identify and recommend incentives to encourage the use of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) in private land…
June 1st marks the beginning of Hurricane Season, and the NOAA predicts 2020 will be busier than average. While many property & facility managers are still working through the building operations changes required…
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything about our lives in the last sixty days. With the “Stay Home, Work Safe” orders and school closures, many commercial buildings are now under-occupied…
At this point, you have received multiple emails regarding companies’ response to COVID-19, so this will be a brief update on how Cougar USA can be of service moving forward….
Reopening buildings that have been unoccupied or under-occupied for the last 30-60 days may create some water quality issues you may need to address. Here are some resources to help…
Water is the Life Blood of commercial buildings, used for consumption, comfort heating & cooling, and patient care & sterilization in Hospitals. Disruptions in the city water supply can cause…
According to ASHRAE 90.1, Domestic Water Booster Systems must shut down during periods of no flow demand. Operating pump systems when there is little or no demand wastes energy and increases…
Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) Stations are an important component of a water-distribution system in a commercial building. The 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code Section 608.2 states that PRVs are required at any point…
High-rise buildings present multiple challenges for water distribution due to the high pressures required to reach the top of the building. The high pressures in the lower levels of the building cause…
Cougar USA’s mission is to make buildings work, so the people inside can do theirs. Over the last few months, this has become a personal mission of mine as well. In…
Mission At Cougar USA we are proud to provide complete, tailored solutions for our customers. We have the technical knowledge and experience to identify their needs, wants and potential issues….
Many commercial buildings in Houston have large water storage tanks to meet city plumbing code requirements. These break tanks provide water for fire protection pumps and domestic (potable) water pumps to…
Many commercial buildings use storage tanks for Domestic (Potable) and Fire Water Applications, especially in Houston where it is required by Houston Amendments to the Uniform Plumbing Code Section 607. As…
Some call them House Tanks, others Break Tanks, Storage Tanks, or Buffer Tanks. If you have been in the pump room of a building in Houston, you’ve seen these large…
In Houston, there was a construction boom in the 1970s and ’80s, with hundreds of high-rise buildings adding to the skyline. Many of these buildings are still using the original…
More than 60 years ago, the late Dr. Roy B. Hunter developed a system for calculating water loads in commercial buildings. The estimated water demand of fixtures (water closets, sinks, etc.) is given a…
In 2017, about 39% of total U.S. Energy Consumption was consumed by the residential and commercial sectors. In a commercial building, HVAC equipment (i.e., chillers, boilers, cooling towers, etc.) and lighting are…
When you see photographs of Earth taken from space, water seems abundant. Most of that water, though, can’t be used for drinking or for growing crops. In fact, only 1…
