Heat Pipe Technology (HPT), a division of MiTek® Industries, opened a new laboratory at its Tampa, FL location. With 3,800 sq ft of new testing and research space, the company now has the capability to test to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Standard 1060. Company officials said HPT’s facilities are comparable to those offered by Intertek (AHRI’s official test agency) for energy recovery ventilator (ERV) testing. Although HPT’s products may still be subject to the third-party AHRI testing and approval process, HPT can now pre-test its products to AHRI standards. The company said this not only dramatically compresses the product development cycle-time, it also opens up more time and capability for HPT personnel to create new product innovations.

Situated on-premises, the new HPT lab is fully equipped to support heat pipes testing up to 16 ft in length. The facility’s automation and data-acquisition system offers the capability to run tests overnight and on weekends without human oversight.

“This new lab is a quantum leap in capability for HPT,” said HPT’s Dr. Onieluan (“Tam”) Tamunobere, a resident scientist and engineer. “Our capability to innovate has been expanded, and our time to move innovations from concept to market has been compressed to a fraction of what it was before we had the lab.”