Hydronic Heating System Design
The hydronic heating system design is one of the most common types of central heating system found in a majority of homes in the US. However, only a few people are aware of its functioning and the stages involved in hydrnoic heating. You can get a better idea about this system by understanding its working principle. Older models of hydronic systems depended solely on the fundamental property of hot water being lighter than cold water and thereby rising to the surface from where the radiators dissipated the heat.
On the other hand, modern models of hydronic heaters use a pump to aid in the circulation of water and offer quicker heating. While this is the gist of how a hydronic heating system works, a more detailed explanation of the entire process has been provided in the paragraphs below. But before discussing the various stages of heating involved in this system, you need to know about its main components. These include a feed and expansion tank from where water from the mains enters the heating system, a boiler that heats the water, a pump that circulates heated water through the distribution and return pipes, and radiators that dissipate the heat.
Stages of Hydronic Heating Systems
The heating process begins with water entering the system though the feed. This feed also serves as an expansion tank that accommodates increased volume of heated water. There is a ball float and ball cock present in the system that is designed to control the level of water in the system. Once an adequate amount of water collects in the heater, it travels down to the boiler via the feed pipe and is heated. Once the water present in the boiler reaches the proper temperature, it is pumped to the radiators through the feed pipe.
Slowly, the water in the radiator cools down and returns to the boiler by traveling through return pipes present in the heater. Once in the boiler, water is reheated so that it can be pumped back to the radiators when it reaches a certain temperature. Sometimes, the boiler overheats the water present and it expands in volume. The additional volume of water is accommodated in the expansion tank and it travels there through expansion pipes and reenters the boiler after cooling down. You can use the drain cock present on the return pipe of a hydronic heating system design to drain the system for cleaning or repairing it. This sums up all the stages involved in a common design of hydronic heating systems.