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ASHRAE CH 12 (Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design)

This document discusses the design of hydronic heating and cooling systems. It defines different types of hydronic systems based on operating temperature, including low-temperature water systems below 120°C, medium-temperature water systems from 120-175°C, and high-temperature water systems over 175°C. It also defines chilled water systems for cooling below 13°C and dual-temperature water systems that provide both heating and cooling. The document covers components, design considerations, piping layouts, and procedures for designing low-temperature, chilled water, and dual-temperature hydronic systems.

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100% found this document useful (1 vote)
2K views18 pages

ASHRAE CH 12 (Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design)

This document discusses the design of hydronic heating and cooling systems. It defines different types of hydronic systems based on operating temperature, including low-temperature water systems below 120°C, medium-temperature water systems from 120-175°C, and high-temperature water systems over 175°C. It also defines chilled water systems for cooling below 13°C and dual-temperature water systems that provide both heating and cooling. The document covers components, design considerations, piping layouts, and procedures for designing low-temperature, chilled water, and dual-temperature hydronic systems.

Uploaded by

RIYANTO BEBET
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CHAPTER 12

HYDRONIC HEATING
AND COOLING SYSTEM DESIGN
Temperature Classifications ....... ..................... 12.1 Sizing Control Vulves ......................................
CLOSED WATER SYSTEMS ....... ..................... 12.1 Low-Temperature Heating Systems .................
Thermal Components .................. ..................... 12.2 Chilled Water Systems .......................................
Hydraulic Components ............................................................ 12.5 Dual-Temperature Systems ................................................... 12.12
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS ................................................. 12.8 Other Design Considerations ................................................ 12.13
Piping Circuits ...... ................................................... 12.8 Design Procedures ................................................................ 12.15
Capacio Control of Loud System ............................................ 12.9 Antifreeze Solutions ............................................................... 12.16

w ATER systems that convey heat to or from a conditioned


space or process with hot or chilled water are frequently
called hydronic systems. The water flows through piping that con-
low-temperature water. Low-temperature water systems are used in
buildings ranging from small, single dwellings to very large and
complex structures.
Medium-temperature water (MTW) system. This hydronic
nects a boiler, water heater, or chiller to suitable terminal heat trans-
fer units located at the space or process. heating system operates at temperatures between 120 and 175"C,
Water systems can be classified by (1) operating temperature, with pressures not exceeding 1100 kPa. The usual design supply
(2) flow generation, (3) pressurization, (4) piping arrangement, and temperature is approximately 120 to 160°C, with a usual pressure
( 5 ) pumping arrangement. rating of 1 MPa for boilers and equipment.
Classified by flow generation, hydronic heating systems may be High-temperature water (HTW) system. This hydronic heat-
(1) gravity systems, which use the difference in density between the ing system operates at temperatures over 175°C and usual pres-
supply and return water columns of a circuit or system to circulate sures of about 2 MPa. The maximum design supply water
water; or (2) forced systems, in which a pump, usually driven by an temperature is usually about 20û0C,with a pressure rating for boil-
electric motor, maintains the flow. Gravity systems are seldom used ers and equipment of about 2 MPa. The pressure-temperature rat-
today and are therefore not discussed in this chapter. See the ASHVE ing of each component must be checked against the system's
Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning Guide issued prior to 1957 for design characteristics.
information on gravity systems. Chilled water (CW) system. This hydronic cooling system nor-
Water systems can be either once-through or recirculating sys- mally operates with a design supply water temperature of 4 to 13"C,
tems. This chapter describes forced recirculating systems. usually 7"C, and at a pressure of up to 830 H a . Antifreeze or brine
solutions may be used for applications (usually process applica-
Principies tions) that require temperatures below 4°C or for coil freeze protec-
The design of effective and economical water systems is affected tion. Well water systems can use supply temperatures of 15°C or
by complex relationships between the various system components. higher.
The design water temperature, flow rate, piping layout, pump selec- Dual-temperature water (DTW) system. This hydronic com-
tion, terminal unit selection, and control method are all interrelated. bination heating and cooling system circulates hot and/or chilled
The size and complexity of the system determine the importance of water through common piping and terminal heat transfer apparatus.
these relationships to the total system operating success. In the These systems operate within the pressure and temperature limits of
United States, present hydronic heating system design practice orig- LTW systems, with usual winter design supply water temperatures
inated in residential heating applications, where a temperature drop of about 38 to 65°C and summer supply water temperatures of 4 to
(Ar)of 11 K was used to determine flow rate. However, almost uni- 7°C.
versal use of hydronic systems for both heating and cooling of large Terminal heat transfer units include convectors, cast-iron radia-
buildings and building complexes has rendered this simplified tors, baseboard and commercial finned-tube units, fan-coil units,
approach obsolete. unit heaters, unit ventilators, central station air-handling units, radi-
ant panels, and snow-melting panels. A large storage tank may be
TEMPERATURE CLASSIFICATIONS included in the system to store energy to use when such heat input
Water systems can be classified by operating temperature as devices as the boiler or a solar energy collector are not supplying
follows. energy.
This chapter covers the principles and procedures for designing
Low-temperaturewater (LTW) system. This hydronic heating and selecting piping and components for low-temperature water,
system operates within the pressure and temperature limits of the chilled water, and dual-temperature water systems. See Chapter 14
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for low-pressure boilers. for information on medium- and high-temperature water systems.
The maximum allowable working pressure for low-pressure boilers
is 1100 kPa (gage), with a maximum temperature limitation of
120°C. The usual maximum working pressure for boilers for LTW CLOSED WATER SYSTEMS
systems is 200 Ha, although boilers specifically designed, tested,
and stamped for higher pressures are frequently used. Steam-to- Because most hot and chilled water systems are closed, this
water or water-to-water heat exchangers are also used for heating chapter addresses only closed systems. The fundamental difference
between a closed and an open water system is the interface of the
The preparation of this chapter is assigned to TC 6.1, Hydronic and Steam water with a compressible gas (such as air) or an elastic surface
Equipment and Systems. (such as a diaphragm). A closed water system is defined as one

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m 075qb50 0 ~ 7 b b
959 m
12.2 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook (SI)

, & d‘7
EXPANSION
CHAMBER
D I S T R I T O N SYSTEM where
q = heat transfer rate to or from air,W
Q, = airflow rate, Us
pa = density of air,kg/m3
cF = specific heat of air, kV(kg.K)

-Q Q-
At = temperatureincrease or decreaseof air, K
SOURCE
For standard air with a density of 1.20 kg/m3 and a specific heat
of 1.0 kJ/(kg-K), Equation (1) becomes

q = 1.20QuAt (2)

Fig. 1 Hydronic System-Fundamentai Components The heat exchanger or coil must then transfer this heat from or to
the water. The rate of sensible heat transfer to or from the heated or
cooled medium in a specific heat exchanger is a function of the heat
with no more than one point of interface with a compressible gas or transfer surface area; the mean temperature difference between the
surface. This definition is fundamental to understanding the hydrau- water and the medium; and the overall heat transfer coefficient,
lic dynamics of these systems. Earlier literature referred to a system which itself is a function of the fluid velocities, properties of the
with an open or vented expansion tank as an “open” system, but medium, geometry of the heat transfer surfaces, and other factors.
such a system is actually a closed system; the atmospheric interface The rate of heat transfer may be expressed by
of the tank simply establishes the system pressure.
An open system, on the other hand, has more than one such
q = UA(LMTD) (3)
interface. For example, a cooling tower system has at least two
points of interface: the tower basin and the discharge pipe or nozzles Where
entering the tower. One of the major differences in hydraulics
q = heat transferrate through heat exchanger,W
between open and closed systems is that certain hydraulic charac- U = overaii coefficientof heat transfer, W/(m2.K)
teristics of open systems cannot occur in closed systems. For exam- A = heat transfer surface m a , m2
ple, in contrast to the hydraulics of an open system, in a closed LMTD = logarithmic mean temperature difference, heated or cooled
system (1)flow cannot be motivated by static pressure differences, medium to water, K
( 2 ) pumps do not provide static lift, and (3) the entire piping system
is always filled with water. ‘Coolingand Dehumidification. The rate of heat removal from
the cooled medium when both sensible cooling and dehumiditka-
Basic System tion are present is expressed by
Figure 1 shows the fundamental components of a closed
hydronic system. Actual systems generally have additional compo- qr = 1 m w A h (4)
nents such as valves, vents, regulators, etc., but they are not essen-
tial to the basic principles underlying the system. where
These fundamental components are qt = totai heat transfer rate from cooled medium, W
w = mass flow rate of cooled medium, kg/s
Loads Ah = enthalpy difference between entering and leaving conditions of
Source cooled medium, kJ/kg
Expansion chamber
Pump Expressed for an air-cooling coil, this equation becomes
Distribution system

Theoretically,a hydronic system could operate with only these five


components. which, for standard air with a density of 1.20 kg/m3, reduces to
The components are subdivided into two groups-thermal com-
ponents and hydraulic components. The thermal components con- qt = 1.20QuAh (6)
sist of the load, the source, and the expansion chamber. The
hydraulic components consist of the distribution system, the pump, Heat ’bansferred to or from Water; The rate of heat transfer to
and the expansion chamber. The expansion chamber is the only or from the water is a function of the flow rate, the specific heat, and
component that serves both a thermal and a hydraulic function. the temperature rise or drop of the water as it passes through the heat
exchanger. The heat transferred to or from the water is expressed by
THERMAL COMPONENTS
qw = loOOhcpAt (7)
Loads
The load is the device that causes heat to flow out of or into the where
system to or from the space or process; it is the independent variable qw = heat transfer rate to or from water, W
to which the remainder of the system must respond. Outward heat riz =mass flow rate of water, kg/s
flow characterizes a heating system, and inward heat flow charac- cF = specificheat of water, kJ/(kg.K)
terizes a cooling system. The quantity of heating or cooling is cal- At = water temperatureincrease or decrease across unit, K
culated by one of the following means.
Sensible Heating or Cooling. The rate of heat entering or leav- With water systems, it is common to express the flow rate as vol-
ing an airstream is expressed as follows: umetric flow, in which case Equation (7) becomes

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Heat recovery or salvage heat device


(e.g., water jacket of an internal combustion engine)
where Exhaust gas heat exchanger
Incinerator heat exchanger
Q, = water flow rate, L/s
pH, = density of water, kg/m3
Heat pump condenser
Air-to-water heat exchanger
For standard conditions in which the density is lo00 kg/m3 and Zooling source devices
the specific heat is 4.18 kJ/(kg.K), Equation (8) becomes Electric compression chiller
Thermal absorption chiller
qw = 4180Q,h
Heat pump evaporator
Air-to-water heat exchanger
Equation (8) or (9) can be used to express the heat transfer across Water-to-water heat exchanger
a single load or source device, or any quantity of such devices con-
nected across a piping system. In the design or diagnosis of a sys- The two primary considerations in selecting a source device are
tem, the load side may be balanced with the source side using these the design capacity and the part-load capability, sometimes called
equations. the turndown ratio. The turndown ratio, expressed in percent of
Heat Carrying Capacity of Piping. Equations (8) and (9) are design capacity, is
also used to express the heat carrying capacity of the piping or dis-
tribution system or any portion thereof. The existing temperature Minimum capacity
differential At, sometimes called the temperature range, is identi- Turndown ratio = 100 (10)
Design capacity
fied; for any flow rate Q , through the piping, qw is called the heat
carrying capacity.
Most load devices (in which heat is conveyed to or from the The reciprocal of the turndown ratio is sometimes used (for
water for heating or cooling the space or process) are a water-to-air example, a turndown ratio of 25% may also be expressed as a turn-
finned-coil heat exchanger or a water-to-water exchanger. The spe- down ratio of 4).
cific configuration is usually used to describe the load device. The The turndown ratio has a significant effect on the performance of
most common configurations include the following: a system; lack of consideration of the source system's part-load
capability has been responsible for many systems that either do not
Heating load devices function properly or do so at the expense of excess energy consump-
Preheat coils in central units tion. The turndown ratio has a significant effect on the ultimate
Heating coils in central units equipment and/or system design selection.
Zone or centrai reheat coils System Temperatures. Design temperatures and temperature
Finned-tube radiators ranges are selected by consideration of the performance require-
Baseboard radiators ments and the economics of the components. For a cooling system
Convectors that must maintain 50% rh at 24"C, the dew-point temperature is
Unit heaters 1 3 T , which sets the maximum return water temperature at some-
Fan-coil units thing near 13°C (16°C maximum); on the other hand, the lowest
Water-to-water heat exchangers practical temperature for refrigeration, considering the freezing
Radiant heating panels point and economics, is about 4°C. This temperature spread then
Snow-melting panels sets constraints for a chilled water system. For a heating system, the
maximum hot water temperature is normally established by the
Cooling load devices ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code as 120°C, and with space
Coils in central units temperature requirements of little over 24"C, the actual operating
Fan-coil units supply temperatures and the temperature ranges are set by the
Induction unit coils design of the load devices. Most economic considerations relating
Radiant cooling panels to the distribution and pumping systems favor the use of the maxi-
Water-to-water heat exchangers mum possible temperature range At.

Source Expansion Chamber


The source is the point where heat is added to (heating) or The expansion chamber (also called an expansion or compres-
removed from (cooling) the system. Ideally, the amount of energy sion tank) serves both a thermal function and a hydraulic function.
entering or leaving the source equals the amount entering or leaving In its thermal function the tank provides a space into which the non-
through the load. Under steady-state conditions, the load energy and compressible liquid can expand or from which it can contract as the
source energy are equal and opposite, Also, when properly mea- liquid undergoes volumetric changes with changes in temperature.
sured or calculated, temperature differentials and flow rates across To allow for this expansion or contraction, the expansion tank pro-
the source and loads are all equal. Equations (8) and (9) are used to vides an interface point between the system fluid and a compress-
express the source capacities as well as the load capacities. ible gas. By definition, a closed system can have only one such
Any device that can be used to heat or cool water under con- interface; thus, a system designed to function as a closed system can
trolled conditions can be used as a source device. The most common have only one expansion chamber.
source devices for heating and cooling systems are the following: Expansion tanks are of three basic configurations: (1) a closed
tank, which contains a captured volume of compressed air and
Heating source devices water, with an air water interface (sometimes called a plain steel
Hot water generator or boiler tank); (2) an open tank (Le., a tank open to the atmosphere); and (3)
Steam-to-water heat exchanger a diaphragm tank, in which a flexible membrane is inserted between
Water-to-water heat exchanger the air and the water (another configuration of a diaphragm tank is
Solar heating panels the bladder tank).

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12.4 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook (SI)

In the plain steel tank and the open tank, gases can enter the For closed tanks with aidwater interface,
system water through the interface and can adversely affect system
performance. Thus, current design practice normally employs dia-
phragm tanks.
Sizing the tank is the primary thermal consideration in incorpo-
rating a tank into a system. However, prior to sizing the tank,the For open tanks with air/water interface,
control or elimination of air must be considered. The amount of air
that will be absorbed and can be held in solution with the water is
expressed by Henry's equation (Pompei 1981): V,=2V, --1
1 1
[(i: -3aAt

x = p/H (11)
For diaphragm tanks,
where
x = solubility of air in water (% by volume)
p = absolute pressure
H = Henry's constant
where
Henry's constant, however, is constant only for a given temper- V, = volume of expansion tank,m3
ature (Figure 2). Combining the data of Figure 2 (Himmelblau V, = voiume of water in system, m3
1960) with Equation (1 1) results in the solubility diagram of Figure rl = lowertemperature, OC
3. With that diagram, the solubility can be determined if the temper- t2 = higher temperature, "C
ature and pressure are known. Pa = atmospheric pressure, kPa
Pl = pressure at lower temperature, kPa
If the water is not saturated with air, it will absorb air at the Pz = pressure at higher temperature, kPa
air/water interface until the point of saturation has been reached. v1 = specific volume of water at lower temperature, m3/kg
Once absorbed, the air will move throughout the body of water v2 = specific volume of water at higher temperature, m3kg
either by mass migration or by molecular diffusion until the water is CI = h e a r coefficient of thermal expansion, m/(m.K)
uniformly saturated. If the aidwater solution changes to a state that = 11.7 x lo4 m/(m.K) for steel
reduces solubility,the excess air will be released as a gas. For exam- = 17.1 x 1 0 6 m/(m.K) for copper
ple, if the air/water interface is at a high pressure point, the water Af = (rz - Il), K
will absorb air to its limit of solubility at that point; if at another
point in the system the pressure i s reduced, some of the dissolved air As an example, the lower temperature for a heating system is
will be released. usually normal ambient temperature at fili conditions (e.g., 1 0 T )
In the design of systems with open or plain steel expansion tanks, and the higher temperature is the operating supply water tempera-
it is common practice to utilize the tank as the major air control or ture for the system. For a chilled water system, the lower tempera-
ture is the design chilled water supply temperature, and the higher
release point in the system.
temperature is ambient temperature (e.g., 35°C). For a dual-temper-
Equations for sizing the three common configurations of expan- ature hotkhilled system, the lower temperature is the chilled water
sion tanks follow (Coad 1980b):

120

110

1O0

90

80

O.' 70
E-
$2 6o
50
I
40

30

20

10

O
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
TEMPERATURE, "C PRESSURE, kPa

Fig. 2 Henry's Constant Versus Temperaturefor Kg. 3 Soiubiiity Versus Temperature and Pressure for
Air and Water AidWater Solutions
(Coad 1980a) (Coad 1980a)

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Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design 12.5

design supply temperature, and the higher temperature is the heat- design pressure drop is the relationship between the economics of
ing water design supply temperature. first cost and energy costs.
For specific volume and saturation pressure of water at various Once the distribution system is designed, the pressure loss at
temperatures, see Table 3 in Chapter 6 of the 1997 ASHRAE Hand- design flow is calculated by the methods discussed in Chapter 33 of
book-Fundamentals. the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals. A system curve
At the tank connection point, the pressure in closed tank systems (Figure 4) can also be plotted.
increases as the water temperature increases. Pressures at the expan- The system curve changes if anything occurs that changes the
sion tank are generally set by the following parameters: flow/pressure drop characteristics. Examples of this are a strainer
that starts to block or a control valve closing, either of which
The lower pressure is usually selected to hold a positive pressure increases the pressure loss at any given flow rate, thus changing the
at the highest point in the system [usually about 70 kPa (gage)]. system curve in a direction from curve A to curve B in Figure 4.
The higher pressure is normally set by the maximum pressure
allowable at the location of the safety relief valve(s) without Pump or Pumping System
opening them. Centrifugal pumps are the type most commonly used in hydronic
Other considerations are to ensure that (1) the pressure at no systems (see Chapter 39). Circulating pumps used in water systems
point in the system will ever drop below the saturation pressure at can vary in size from small in-line circulators delivering 0.3 Us at
the operating system temperature and (2) all pumps have sufficient about 20 kPa to base-mounted or vertical pumps handling hundreds
net positive suction pressure available to prevent cavitation. of litres per second, with pressures limited only by the characteris-
tics of the system. Pump operating characteristics must be carefully
Example 1. Size an expansion tank for a heating water system that will be matched to system operating requirements.
operated at a design temperature range of 80 to 104°C. The minimum Pump Curves and Water Temperature. Performance charac-
pressure at the tank is 170 kPa and the maximum pressure is 270 kPa. teristics of centrifugal pumps are described by pump curves, which
(Atmospheric pressure is 101 Wa.) The volume of water is IO m3. The plot flow versus pressure, as well as by efficiency and power infor-
piping is steel. mation. The point at which apump operates is the point at which the
1. Calculate the required size for a closed tank with an aidwater inter- pump curve intersects the system curve (Figure 5). Chapter 38 dis-
face. cusses system and pump curves.
Solution: For lower temperature t , , use 4°C. A complete piping system follows the same water flow/pressure
From Table 3 in Chapter 6 of the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook-Fun- drop relationships as any component of the system. Thus, the pres-
damentals, sure required for any proposed flow rate through the system may be
determined and a system curve constructed. A pump may be
w,(at 4°C) = 0.001oOO m3/kg selected by using the calculated system pressure at the design flow
w2(at 104°C) = 0.001047 m3/kg rate as the base point value.
Figure 6 illustrates how a shift of the system curve to the right
Using Equation (12). affects system flow rate. This shift can be caused by incorrectly cal-
culating the system pressure drop by using arbitrary safety factors or
[ (0.OO1~7/0.0010~)
- 1 ] - 3( 11.7 x IOs6)( 104- 4) overstated pressure drop charts. Variable system flow caused by
v, = lox
(101/170) - (101/270) control valve operation or improperly balanced systems (subcircuits
3 having substantially lower pressure drops than the longest circuit)
V , = 1.98 m
can also cause a shift to the right.
2. If a diaphragm tank were to be used in lieu of the plain steel tank,
As described in Chapter 39, pumps for closed-loop piping sys-
what tank size would be required? tems should have a flat pressure characteristic and should operate
slightly to the left of the peak efficiency point on their curves. This
Solution: Using Equation (14). characteristic permits the system curve to shift to the right without
causing undesirable pump operation, overloading, or reduction in
v, = lox
[(0.001047/(0.001000))- I ] - 3(11.7 x 10% 104-4) available pressure across circuits with large pressure drops.
1 - (170/270) Many dual-temperature systems are designed so that the chillers
V , = 1.17 rn3 are bypassed during the winter months. The chiller pressure drop,
which may be quite high, is thus eliminated from the system pres-
sure drop, and the pump shift to the right may be quite large. For
HYDRAULIC COMPONENTS
Distribution System
The distribution system is the piping connecting the various
other components of the system. The primary considerations in
designing this system are (1) sizing the piping to handle the heating
or cooling capacity required and (2) arranging the piping to ensure
flow in the quantities required at design conditions and at all other
loads.
The flow requirement of the pipe is determined by Equation (8)
or (9). After Ar is established based on the thermal requirements,
either of these equations (as applicable) can be used to determine the
flow rate. First-cost economics and energy consumption make it
advisable to design for the greatest practical At because the flow rate
is inversely proportional to b,that is, if Ar doubles, the flow rate is
reduced by half. FLOW RATE
The three related variables in sizing the pipe are flow rate, pipe
size, and pressure drop. The primaryconsideration in selecting a Fig. 4 Typical System Curves for Closed System

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12.6 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook (SI)

PUMP Cum7 /
EACH WMP OPERATES
/-AT THIS POINT-BOTH

SYSTEMOPERATING
POINT-BOTH
PUMPS ON
PUMP AND SYSTEM
OPERATINGPOINT PUMP CURVE
ON€ PUMP ON
SINGLE PUMP

FLOW RATE FLOW RATE

Fig. 5 Pump Curve and System Curve Fig. 7 Operating Conäitions for Parallel Pump Installation

PUMP C U M
OPERATING POINT
-IpAED] / / SERIES OPERATON 7
SICToLiI
OPERATING POINT

PUMP AND SYSTDI


omnffi POINT -
ONE PüüP ON

OPORATES AT
IHIS POINT
BOTHPUMPSON
-
FLOW RATE

Fig. 6 Shift of System Curve due to C i d t Unbalance FLOW RATE

such systems, system curve analysis should be used to check winter Fig. 8 Operating Conditions for Series Pump installation
operating points.
Operating points may be highly variable, depending on (1) load Series Pumping. When pumps are operated in series, each pump
conditions, (2) the types of control valves used, and (3) the piping operates at the same flow rate and provides its share of the total
circuitry and heat transfer elements. In general, the best selection pressure at that flow. A system curve plotted across the series pump
Will be curve shows the operating points for both single and series pump
operation (Figure 8). Note that the single pump can provide up to
For design flow rates calculated using pressure drop charts that 80%flow for standby and at a lower power requirement.
illustrate actual closed-loop hydronic system piping pressure
Series pump installations are often used in heating and cooling
drops
systems so that both pumps operate during the cooling season to
To the left of the maximum efficiency point of the pump curve to provide maximum flow and pressure, while only a single pump
allow shifts to the right caused by system circuit unbalance, operates during the heating season. Note that both parallel and
direct-return circuitry applications, and modulating three-way series pump applications require that the actual pump operating
valve applications points be used to accurately determine the pumping point. Adding
A pump with a flat curve to compensate for unbalanced circuitry pressure for safety, using improper pressure drop charts, or incor-
and to provide a minimum pressure differential increase across rectly calculating pressure drops may lead to an unwise selection.
tweway control valves
Multiple-Pump Systems. Care must be taken in designing sys-
Parallel Pumping. When pumps are applied in parailel, each tems with multiple pumps to ensure that if pumps ever operate in
pump operates at the same pressure, and provides its share of the either parallel or series, such operationis fully understood and con-
system flow at that pressure (Figure 7). Generally, pumps of equal sidered by the designer. Pumps performing unexpectedly in series
size are used, and the parallel pump curve is established by doubling or parallel have been the cause of performance problems in
the flow of the single pump curve (with identical pumps). hydronic systems. Wcaiproblems resulting from pumps function-
Plotting a system curve across the parallel pump curve shows the ing in parallel and series when not anticipated by the designer are
operating points for both single and parallel pump operation (Figure the following.
7). Note that single pump operation does not yield 50% flow. The
system curve crosses the single pump curve considerably to the PuruElel. With pumps of unequal pressures, one pump may create
right of its operating point when both pumps are running. This leads a pressure across the other pump in excess of its cutoff pressure,
to two important concerns: (1) the pumps must be powered to pre- causing flow through the second pump to diminish significantly
vent overloading during single-pump operation, and (2) a single or to cease. This phenomenon can cause flow problems or pump
pump can provide standby service of up to 80% of design flow; the damage.
actual amount depends on the specific pump curve and system Series. With pumps of different flow capacities, the pump of
curve. greater capacity may overflow the pump of lesser capacity, which

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Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design 12.7

PUMPNO 1 PUMPNO 27
7

A CLOSED TANK AIR/ B. OPEN TANK C DIAPHRAGM TANK


WATER INTERFACE

Fig. 10 Tank Pressure Related to “System” Pressure


Fig. 9 Compound Pumping (Primary-SecondaryPumping)

load is between the supply water temperature from the source and
the return water temperature from the load.
could cause damaging cavitation in the smaller pump and could
For example, if Pump No. 1 circulates 1.5 Us of water leaving
actually cause a pressure drop rather than a pressure rise across that
the source at 9 5 T , and Pump No. 2 circulates 3 L/s of water leaving
pump. In other circumstances, unexpected series operation can
the load at 3 5 T , then the water temperature entering the load is
cause excessively high or low pressures that can damage system
components.
íload = 95 - (1.5/3)(95 - 35) = 65°C
Standby Pump Provision. If total flow standby capacity is
required, a properly valved standby pump of equal capacity is The following are some advantages of compound circuits:
installed to operate when the normal pump is inoperable. A single
standby may be provided for several similarly sized pumps. Parallel 1. They enable the designer to achieve different water temperatures
or series pump installation can provide up to 80% standby, which is and temperature ranges in different elements of the system.
often sufficient. 2. They decouple the circuits hydraulically, thereby making the
Compound Pumping. In larger systems, compound pumping, control, operation, and analysis of large systems much less com-
also known as primary-secondary pumping, is often employed to plex. Hydraulic decoupling also prevents unwanted series or
provide system advantages that would not be available with a single parallel operation.
pumping system. The concept of compound pumping is illustrated 3. Circuits can be designed for different flow characteristics. For
in Figure 9. example, a chilled water load system can be designed with two-
In Figure 9, Pump No. 1 can be referred to as the source or pn- way valves for better control and energy conservation while the
mary pump and Pump No. 2 as the load or secondary pump. The source system operates at constant flow to protect the chiller
short section of pipe between A and B is called the common pipe from freezing.
because it is common to both the source and load circuits. Other
terms used for the common pipe are the decoupling line and the neu- Expansion Chamber
tral bridge. In the design of compound systems, the common pipe As a hydraulic device, the expansion tank serves as the reference
should be kept as short and as large in diameter as practical to min- pressure point in the system, analogous to a ground in an electrical
imize the pressure loss between those two points. Care must be system (Lockhart and Carlson 1953). Where the tank connects to
taken, however, to ensure adequate length in the common pipe to the piping, the pressure equals the pressure of the air in the tank plus
prevent recirculation from entry or exit turbulence. There should or minus any fluid pressure due to the elevation difference between
never be a valve or check valve in the common pipe. If these con- the tank liquid surface and the pipe (Figure 10).
ditions are met and the pressure loss in the common pipe can be As previously stated, a closed system should have only one
assumed to be zero, then neither pump will affect the other. Then, expansion chamber. The presence of more than one chamber or
except for the system static pressure at any given point, the circuits of excessive amounts of undissolved air in a piping system can
can be designed and analyzed and will function dynamically inde- cause the closed system to behave in unexpected (but under-
pendently of one another. standable) ways, causing extensive damage from shock waves or
In Figure 9, if Pump No. i has the same flow capacity in its cir- water hammer.
cuit as Pump No. 2 has in its circuit, all of the flow entering Point A With a single chamber on a system, assuming isothermal condi-
from Pump No. 1 will leave in the branch supplying Pump No. 2, tions for the air, the air pressure can change only as a result of dis-
and no water will flow in the common pipe. Under this condition, placement by the water. The only thing that can cause the water to
the water entering the load will be at the same temperature as that move into or out of the tank (assuming no water is being added to or
leaving the source. removed from the system) is expansion or shrinkage of the water in
If the flow capacity of Pump No. 1 exceeds that of Pump No. 2, the system. Thus, in sizing the tank, thermal expansion is related to
some water will flow downward in the common pipe. Under this the pressure extremes of the air in the tank [Equations (12), (13),
condition, Tee A is a diverting tee, and Tee B becomes a mixing tee. and (14)].
Again, the temperature of the fluid entering the load is the same as The point of connection of the tank should be based on the pres-
that leaving the source. However, because of the mixing taking sure requirements of the system, remembering that the pressure at
place at Point B, the temperature of the water returning to the the tank connection will not change as the pump is turned on or off.
source is between the source supply temperature and the load return For example, consider a system containing an expansion tank at
temperature. 200 kPa (gage) and a pump with a pump pressure of 70 kPa (gage).
On the other hand, if the flow capacity of Pump No. 1 is less than Figure 11 shows alternative locations for connecting the expansion
that of Pump No. 2, then Point A becomes a mixing point because tank; in either case, with the pump off, the pressure will be 200 Wa
some water must recirculate upward in the common pipe from Point (gage) on both the pump suction and discharge. With the tank on the
B. Under this condition, the temperature of the water entering the pump suction side, when the pump is turned on, the pressure

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PUMP OFF PUMP ON PUMP OFF PUMP ON


A B

Fig. 13 Series Loop System


SOURCE
G
0

v ONE-PIPE RETURN FITTING

dT LDOWNFEED

Fig. 14 One-Pipe Diverting Tee System

Diverting Series. The simplest diverting series circuit diverts


some of the tlow from the main piping circuit through a special
diverting tee to a load device (usually standing radiation) that has a
low pressure drop. This system is generally limited to heating sys-
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS tems in residential or small commercial applications.
Figure 14 illustrates a typical one-pipe diverting tee circuit. For
PIPING CIRCUITS each terminal unit, a supply and a return tee are installed on the
main. One of the two tees is a special diverting tee that creates a
Hydronic systems are designed with many different configura- pressure drop in the main flow to divert part of the flow to the unit.
tions of piping circuits. In addition to simple preference by the One (return) diverting tee is usually sufficient for upfeed (units
design engineer. the method of arranging the circuiting can be dic- above the main) systems. Two special fittings (supply and return
tated by such factors as the shape or configuration of the building, tees) are usually required to overcome thermal pressure in down-
the economics of installation, energy economics: the nature of the feed units. Special tees are proprietary; consult manufacturer’s lit-
load. part-load capabilities or requirements. and others. erature for flow rates and pressure drop data on these devices. Unit
Each piping system is a network; the more cxtcnsive the net- selection can be only approximate without these data.
uork, the more complex it is to understand, analyze. or control. One-pipe diverting series circuits allow manual or automatic
Thus, a major design objective is to maintain the highest degree of control of flow to individual heating units. On-off rather than flow
simplicity. modulation control is preferred because of the relatively low pres-
Load distribution circuits are of four general types: sure drop allowable through the control valve in the diverted flow
Full series circuit. This system is likely to cost more than the series loop
Diverting series because extra branch pipe and fittings, including special tees, are
required. Each unit usually requires a manual air vent because of
Parallel direct return
the low water velocity through the unit. The length and load
Parallel reverse return
imposed on a one-pipe circuit are usually small because of these
Series Circuit. A simple series circuit is shown in Figure 12. limitations.
Series loads generally have the advantage of both lower piping costs Because only a fraction of the main flow is diverted in a one-pipe
and higher temperature drops that result in smaller pipe size and circuit, the flow rate and pressure drop are less variable as water
lower energy consumption. A disadvantage is that the different cir- flow to the load is controlled than in some other circuits. When two
cuits cannot be controlled separately. Simple series circuits are or more one-pipe circuits are connected to the same two-pipe mains,
generally limited to residential and small commercial standing radi- the circuit flow may need to be mechanically balanced. After bal-
ation systems. Figure 13 shows a typical layout of such a system ancing, sufficient flow must be maintained in each one-pipe circuit
with two zones for residential or small commercial heating. to ensure adequate flow diversion to the loads.

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Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design 12.9

SOURCE

A B C D I I I I I I
DIRECT RETURN

SOURCE
IWI
1 %
J I
OT,
H G I-
REVERSE RETURN

Fig. 16 Direct- and Reverse-ReturnTwo-Pipe Systems


Fig. 15 Series Circuit with Load Pumps
systems. In smaller systems where the entire building is a single
zone, control is accomplished by cycling the source device (the
When coupled with compound pumping systems, series circuits boiler or chiller) on and off. Usually a space thermostat allows the
can be applied to multiple control zones on larger commercial or chiller or boiler to run, then a water temperature thermostat (aqua-
institutional systems (Figure 15). Note that in the series circuit with stat) controls the capacity of the chiller(s) or boiler(s) as a function
compound pumping, the load pumps need not be equal in capacity of supply or return water temperature. The pump can be either
to the system pump. If, for example, load pump LP-1 circulates cycled with the load device (usually the case in a residential heating
less flow (ISLpI) than system pump SP-1 (espi). the temperature system) or left running (usually done in commercial hot or chilled
water systems).
difference across Load 1 would be greater than the circuit temper-
ature difference between A and B (Le., water would flow in the In these single-zone applications, the piping design requires no
common pipe from A to B). If, on the other hand, the load pump special consideration for control. Where multiple zones of control
LP-2 is equal in flow capacity to the system pump SP-1, the tem- are required, the various load devices are controlled first; then the
perature differentials across Load 2 and across the system from C source system capacity is controlled to follow the capacity require-
to D would be equal and no water would flow in the common pipe. ment of the loads.
If QLp3exceeds Qspi. mixing occurs at Point E and, in a heating Control valves are commonly used to control loads. These valves
system, the temperature entering pump LP-3 would be lower than control the capacity of each load by varying the amount of water
that available from the system leaving load connection D. flow through the load device when load pumps are not used. Control
Thus, a series circuit using compound or load pumps offers many valves for hydronic systems are straight-through (two-way) valves
design options. Each of the loads shown in Figure 15 could also be and three-way valves (Figure 17). The effect of either valve is to
a complete piping circuit or network. vary the amount of water flowing through the load device.
Parallel Piping. These networks are the most commonly used in With a two-way valve (Figure 17A), as the valve strokes from
hydronic systems because they allow the same temperature water to full-open to full-closed, the quantity of water flowing through the
be available to all loads. The two types of parallel networks are load gradually decreases from design flow to no flow. With a three-
direct return and reverse return (Figure 16). way mixing valve (Figure 17B) in one position, the valve is open
In the direct-return system, the length of supply and return piping from Port A to AB, with Port B closed off. In that position, all the
through the subcircuits is unequal, which may cause unbalanced flow is through the load. As the valve moves from the A-AB posi-
flow rates and require careful balancing to provide each subcircuit tion to the B-AB position, some of the water bypasses the load by
with design flow. Ideally, the reverse-return system provides nearly flowing through the bypass line, thus decreasing flow through the
equal total lengths for all terminal circuits. load. At the end of the stroke, Port A is closed, and all of the fluid
Direct-return piping has been successfully applied where the will flow from B to AB with no flow through the load. Thus, the
designer has guarded against major flow unbalance by three-way mixing valve has the same effect on the load as the two-
way valve-as the load reduces, the quantity of water flowing
1. Providing for pressure drops in the subcircuits or terminals that
through the load decreases.
are significant percentages of the total, usually establishing pres-
sure drops for close subcircuits at higher values than those for The effect on load control with the three-way diverting valve
the far subcircuits (Figure 17C) is the same as with the mixing valve in a closed sys-
2. Minimizing distribution piping pressure drop (In the limit, if the tem-the flow is either directed through the load or through the
distribution piping loss is zero and the loads are of equal flow bypass in proportion to the load. Because of the dynamics of valve
resistance, the system is inherently balanced.) operation, diverting valves are more complex in design and are thus
more expensive than mixing valves: because they accomplish the
3. Including balancing devices and some means of measuring flow
same function as the simpler mixing valve, they are seldom used in
at each terminal or branch circuit
closed hydronic systems.
4. Using control valves with a high pressure loss at the terminals
In terms of load control, a two-way valve and a three-way valve
perform identical functions-they both vary the flow through the
CAPACITY CONTROL OF LOAD SYSTEM load as the load changes. The fundamental difference between the
The two alternatives for controlling the capacity of hydronic sys- two-way valve and the three-way valve is that as the source or dis-
tems are on-off control and variable-capacity or modulating control. tribution system sees the load, the two-way valve provides a vari-
The on-off option is generally limited to smaller systems (e.g., res- able flow load response and the three-way valve provides a constant
idential or small commercial) and individual components of larger flow load response.

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12.10 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook (SI)

COMMON 7 COMMON -i COMMON?

A. TWO-WAY B. 3-WAY MIXING C . 3-WAY DIVERTING

A B C
Fig. 17 Load Control Valves
Fig. 19 Load Pumps with Valve Control

CONSTAN1 Configuration B differs from C in that the pressure required


FLOW, through the three-way valve in Figure 19B is provided by the
VARIABLE
load pump, while in Figure 19C it is provided by the distribution

'
AT
pump( s 1.

R LOW-TEMPERATURE HEATING SYSTEMS


B D
These systems are used for heating spaces or processes directly,
Fig. 18 System Flow with Two-way and Three-way Valves with standing radiation and Drocess heat exchangers. or indi-
I

rectly. through air-handling unit coils for preheating, for reheating,


or in hot water unit heaters. These systems are generally designed
According to Equation (9), the load q is proportional to the prod-
with supply water temperatures from 80 to 115°C and temperature
uct of Q and Ar. Ideally, as the load changes, Q changes, while At
drops from 10 to 55 K.
remains fixed. However, as the system sees it, as the load changes
with the two-way valve, Q varies and At is fixed, whereas with a In the United States, hot water heating systems were historically
three-way valve, Ar varies and Q is fixed. This principle is illus- designed for a 93°C supply water temperature and an 1i K temper-
trated in Figure 18. An understanding of this concept is fundamental ature drop. This practice evolved from earlier gravity system
to the design or analysis of hydronic systems.
designs and provides convenient design relationships for heat trans-
fer coefficients related to coil tubing and finned-tube radiation and
The flow characteristics of two-way and three-way valve ports for calculations. Because many terminal devices still require these
are described i n Chapter 37 of the 1997 ASHKAG Handbook-Fun- flow rates, it is important to recognize this relationship in selecting
dmc.ntal.s and must be understood. The equal percentage character- devices and designing systems.
istic is recommended for proportional control of the load flow for However, the greater the temperature range (and related lower
two-way and three-way valves; the bypass flow port of three-way flow rate) that can be applied, the less costly the system is to install
valves should have the linear characteristic to maintain a uniform
and operate. A lower flow rate requires smaller and less expensive
flow during part-load operation.
piping, less secondary building space, and smaller pumps. Also,
smaller pumps require less energy, so operating costs are lower.
SIZING CONTROL VALVES
For stable control, the pressure drop in the control valve at the Nonresidential Heating Systems
full-open position should be no less than one-half the pressure drop Possible approaches to enhancing the economics of large heat-
in the branch. For example, in Figure 18. the pressure drop at full- ing systems include ( I ) higher supply temperatures, (2) primary-
open position for the two-way valve should equal one-half the secondary pumping, and (3) terminal equipment designed for
pressure drop from A to B, and for the three-way valve, the full- smaller flow rates. The three techniques may be used either singly
open pressure drop should be half that from C to D. The pressure or in combination.
drop in the bypass balancing valve in the three-way valve circuit Using higher supply water temperatures achieves higher ternper-
should be set to equal that in the coil (load). ature drops and smaller flow rates. Terminal units with a reduced
Control valves should be sized on the basis of the valve coeffi- heating surface can be used. These smaller terminals are not neces-
cient. For more information, sec the section on Control Valve Sizing sarily less expensive, however, because their required operating tem-
under Automatic Valves in Chapter 42. peratures and pressures may increase manufacturing costs and the
If a system is to be designed with multiple zones of control such problems of pressurization, corrosion, expansion, and control. Sys-
that load response is to be by constant flow through the load and tem components may not increase in cost uniformly with tempera-
variable At, control cannot be achieved by valve control alone; a ture, but rather in steps conforming to the three major temperature
load pump is required. CIassifications. Within each classification, the most economical
Several control arrangements of load pump and control valve design uses the highest temperature in that classification.
configurations are shown in Figure 19. Note that in all three config- Primary-secondary or compound pumping reduces the size and
urations the common pipe has no restriction or check valve. In all cost of the distribution system and also may use larger flows and
configurations there is no difference in control as seen by the load. lower temperatures in the terminal or secondary circuits. A primary
Houever, the basic differences in control are pump circulates water in the primary distribution system while one
or more secondary pumps circulate the terminal circuits. The con-
1. With the two-way valve configuration (Figure 19A), the distri- nection between primary and secondary circuits provides complete
bution system sees a variable flow and a constant At, whereas hydraulic isolation of both circuits and permits a controlled inter-
with both three-way configurations, the distribution system sees change of water between the two. Thus. a high supply water tem-
a constant flow and a variable At. perature can be used in the primary circuit at a low flow rate and

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Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design 12.11

n 100

90

IL
40
z
W

I I I I I
y
h
30
7sc 7SC ESC Bsc esc 20

Fig. 20 Example of Series-Connected Loading 10

high temperature drop, while a lower temperature and conventional O


temperature drop can be used in the secondary circuit(s). O 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PERCENT OF FULL FLOW
For example, a system could be designed with primary-second-
ary pumping in which the supply temperature from the boiler was
Fig. 21 Heat Emission Versus Flow Characteristic of
115"C, the supply temperature in the secondary was 95"C, and the
Qpical Hot Water Heating Coil
return temperature was 85°C. This design results in a conventional
10 KAZin the secondary zones, but permits the primary circuit to be
of control can be obtained only with equal percentage two-way
sized on the basis of a 30 K drop. This primary-secondary pumping
valves and can be further enhanced if piped with a secondary pump
arrangement is most advantageous with terminal units such as con- mangement as shown in Figure 19A. See Chapter 45 of the 1999
vectors and finned radiation, which are generally unsuited for small
flow rate design.
ASHRAE Handbook-Applications for further information on auto-
matic controls.
Many types of terminal heat transfer units are being designed to
use smaller flow rates with temperature drops up to 55 K in low-
temperature systems and up to 85 K in medium-temperature sys-
CHILLED WATER SYSTEMS
tems. Fan apparatus, the heat transfer surface used for air heating in Designers have less latitude in selecting supply water tempera-
fan systems, and water-to-water heat exchangers are most adaptable tures for cooling applications because there is only a narrow range
to such design. of water temperatures low enough to provide adequate dehumidifi-
A fourth technique is to put certain loads in series utilizing a cation and high enough to avoid chiller freeze-up. Circulated water
combination of control valves and compound pumping (Figure 20). quantities can be reduced by selecting proper air quantities and heat
In the system illustrated, the capacity of the boiler or heat exchanger transfer surface at the terminals. Terminals suited for a 6 K rise
is 600kW, and each of the four loads is 150 kW. Under design con- rather than a 4 K rise reduce circulated water quantity and pump
ditions, the system is designed for a 40 K water t e m p e r a m drop, power by one-third and increase chiller efficiency.
and the loads each provide 10 K of the total At. The loads in these A proposed system should be evaluated for the desired balance
systems, as well as the smaller or simpler systems in residential or between installation cost and operating cost. Table 1 shows the
commercial applications, can be connected in a direct-return or a effect of coil circuiting and chilled water temperature on water
reverse-retum piping system. The different features of each load are flow and temperature rise. The coil rows, fin spacing, air-side per-
as follows: formance, and cost are identical for all selections. Morabito (1960)
showed how such changes in coil circuiting affect the overall
1. The domestic hot water heat exchanger has a two-way valve and system. Considering the investment cost of piping and insulation
is thus arranged for variable flow (while the main distribution versus the operating cost of refrigeration and pumping motors,
circuit provides constant flow for the boiler circuit). higher temperature rises, (i.e., 9 to 13 K temperature rise at about
2. The finned-tube radiation circuit is a 10 K At circuit with the 18 to 27 miís per kilowatt of cooling capacity) can be applied on
design entering water temperature reduced to and controlled at
95°C. Table 1 Chilled Water Coil Performance
3. The reheat coil circuit takes a 55 K temperature drop for a very
low flow rate. Chilled Coil Chilld Chilled
4. The preheat coil circuit provides constant flow through the coil coil Water inlet Pressure Water Flow, Water Temp.
Cireuiüng Temp., "C Drop, kPa mLl(s*kW) Rise, "C
to keep it from freezing.
Fuiia 1.2 6.9 39 6.1
When loads such as water-to-air heating coils in LTW systems Hal@ 7.2 37.9 30 8.3
are valve controlled (flow varies), they have a heating characteristic Fulla 4.5 3.4 25 9.5
of flow versus capacity as shown in Figure 21 for 10 K and 30 K Halfb 4.5 17.2 20 12.1
temperature drops. For a 10 K At coil, 50% flow provides approxi-
Note: Table is based on cooling air from 27°C dry bulb, 19°C wet bulb to 14°C dry
mately 90%capacity; valve control will tend to be unstable. For this bulb, 13'C wet bulb.
reason, proportional temperature control is required, and equal per- aFull circuiting (also called single circuit). Water at the inlet temperature flows simul-
centage characteristic two-way valves should be selected such that taneously through all tubes in a plane transverse to m o w ; it then flows simulta-
10% flow is achieved with 50% valve lift. This combination of the neously through ail tubes, in unison, in successive planes (¡.e., rows) of the coil.
bHalf circuiting. Tube connections are arranged so there are haif as many circuits as
valve characteristic and the heat transfer characteristic of the coil there are tubes in each piane (row) thereby using higher water velocities through the
makes the control linear with respect to the control signal. This type tubes. This circuiting is used with small water quantities.

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12.12 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook (SI)

m r COMMON PIPE 7

EiE!
BALANCE VALVE
LOAD 1 LOAD 2

Fig. 22 Constant Flow Chilled Water System


J
I I I l i I I I

Fig. 23 Variable Flow Chilled Water System


I

One design issue illustrated in Figure 23 is the placement of the


common pipe for the chillers. With the common pipe as shown, the
chillers will unload from left to right. With the common pipe in the
alternate location shown, the chillers will unload equally in propor-
chilled water systems with long distribution piping runs; larger tion to their capacity (¡.e., equal percentage).
flow rates should be used only where reasonable in close-coupled The one-pipe chilled water system, also called the integrated
systems. decentralized chilled water system is another system that has seen
For the most economical design, the minimum flow ratc to each considerable use in campus-type chilled water systems with multi-
terminai heat exchanger is calculated. For example, if one terminal ple chillers and multiple buildings (Coad 1976). A single pumped
can be designed for a i0 Krise. another for 8 K,and others for 7 K, main circulates water in a closed loop through all the connected
the highest rise to each terminal should he used, rather than design- buildings. Each of the loads andor chillers is connected to the loop,
ing the system for an overall temperature rise based on the smallest with the chillers usually downstream from a load connection. The
capability. loop capacity is limited only by the fact that the flow capacity for
The control system selected also influcnces the design water any single load or chiller connection cannot exceed the flow rate of
flow. For systems using multiple terminal units, diversity factors the loop. Because the loads arc in series, the cooling coils must be
can be applied to flow quantities beforc sizing pump and piping sized for higher entering water temperatures than are normally used.
mains if exposure or use prevents thc unit design loads from occur-
ring simultaneously and if two-way valves are used for water flow DUAL-TEMPERATURE SYSTEMS
control. If air-side control (e.g, face-and-bypass or fan cycling) or
three-way valves on the water sidc arc used, diversity should not be Dual-temperature systems are used when the same load devices
a consideration in pump and piping design, although it should be and distribution systems are used for both heating and cooling (e.g.,
considered in the chiller sclcction. fan-coil units and central station air-handling unit coils). In the
A primary consideration with chilled water system design is the design of dual-temperature systems, the cooling cycle design usu-
control of the source systcms at reduced loads. The constraints on ally dictates the requirements of the load heat exchangers and dis-
the temperature parameters are (1) a water freezing temperature of tribution systems. Dual-temperature systems are basically of three
o"C, (2) economics of the refrigcration system in generating chilled different configurations, each requiring different design techniques:
water, and (3) the dew-point tempcrature of the air at nominal 1. Two-pipe systems
indoor comfort conditions (13°C dew point at 24°C and 50% rh). 2. Four-pipe common load systems
These parameters have led to the common practicc of designing for
a supply chilled water temperature of about 7°C and a return water 3. Four-pipe independent load systems
temperature between 13 and 18°C.
Historically, most chilled water systems have used three-way Two-Pipe Systems
control valveb to achieve constant water flow through the chillers. In a two-pipe system, the load devices and the distribution sys-
However, as systems have become larger, as designers have turned tem circulate chilled water when cooling is required and hot water
to multiple chillers for reliability and controllability, and as energy when heating is required (Figure 24). Design considerations for
economics have become an incrcasing concern, the use of two-way these systems include the following:
valves and source pumps for the chillers has greatly increased.
A typical configuration of a small chilled water system using two Loads must all require cooling or heating coincidentally; that is, if
parallel chillers and loads with three-way valves is illustrated in Fig- cooling is required for some ioads and heating for other loads at
ure 22. Note that the flow is essentially constant. A simple energy a given time, this type of system should not be used.
balance [Equation (9)] dictatcs that with a constant flow rate, atone- When designing the system, the flow and temperature require-
half of design load, the water tempcraturc differential drops to one- ments for both the cooling and the heating media must be calcu-
half of design. At this load, if one of the chillers is turned off, the lated first. The load and distribution system should be designed
return water circulating through the off chiller mixes with the sup- for the more stringent, and the water temperatures and tempera-
ply water. This mixing raiscs the temperature of the supply chilled ture differential should be calculated for the other mode.
water and can cause a loss of control if the designer does not con- The changeover procedure should be designed such that the
sider this operating mode. chiller evaporator is not exposed to damaging high water temper-
A typical configuration of a large chilled water system with mul- atures and the boiler is not subjected to damaging low water tcm-
tiple chillers and loads and compound piping is shown in Figure 23. peratures. To accommodate these limiting requirements, the
This system provida variable flow, essentially constant supply tem- changeover of a system from one mode to the other requires con-
perature chilled water, multiple chillers. more stable two-way con- siderable time. If rapid load swings are anticipated. a two-pipe
trol valvcs, and the advantage of adding chilled water storage with system should not be selected, although it is the least costly of the
little additional complexity. three options.

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Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design 12.13

Four-Pipe Common Load Systems flow into the heating water circuit. The probability of this occurring
increases as the number of loads increases because the number of
In the four-pipe cornmon load system, load devices are used for control valves increases.
both heating and cooling as in the two-pipe system. The four-pipe
common load system differs from the two-pipe system in that both Another disadvantage of this system is that the loads have no
heating and cooling are available to each load device, and the individual capacity control as far as the water system is concerned.
changeover from one mode to the other takes place at each individ- That is, each valve must be positioned to either full heating or full
ual load device, or grouping of load devices, rather than at the cooling with no control in between.
source. Thus, some of the load systems can be in the cooling mode Because of these disadvantages, four-pipe common load systems
while others are in the heating mode. Figure 25 is a flow diagram of should be limited to those applications in which there are no inde-
a four-pipe common load system, with multiple loads and a single pendent load circuits (i.e., radiant ceiling panels or induction unit
boiler and chiller. coils).
Although many of these systems have been installed, many have
not performed successfully due to problems in implementing the
Four-Pipe Independent Load Systems
design concepts. The four-pipe independent load system is preferred for those
One problem that must be addressed is the expansion tank con- hydronic applications in which some of the loads are in the heating
nection(s). Many four-pipe systems were designed with two expan- mode while others are in the cooling mode. Control is simpler and
sion tanks-one for the cooling circuit and one for the heating more reliable than for the common load systems, and in many appli-
circuit. However, with multiple loads, these circuits become cations, the four-pipe independent load system is less costly to
hydraulically interconnected, thus creating a system with two install. Also, the flow through the individual loads can be modu-
expansion chambers. The preferred method of handling the expan- lated, providing both the control capability for variable capacity and
sion tank connection sets the point of reference pressure equal in the opportunity for variable flow in either or both circuits.
both circuits (Figure 25). A simplified example of a four-pipe independent load system
Another potential problem is the mixing of hot and chilled water. with two loads, one boiler, and two chillers is shown in Figure 26.
At each load connection, two three-way valves are required-a Note that both hydronic circuits are essentially independent, so that
mixing valve on the inlet and a diverting valve on the outlet. These each can be designed with disregard for the other system. Although
valves operate in unison in just two positions4pening either Port both circuits in the figure are shown as variable flow distribution
B to AB or Port A to AB. If, for example, the valve on the outlet systems, they could be constant flow (three-way valves) or one vari-
does not seat tightly and Load 1 is indexed to cooling and Load 2 is able flow and one constant flow. Generally, the control modulates
indexed to heating, return heating water from Load 2 will flow into the two load valves in sequence with a dead band at the control mid-
the chilled water circuit, and return chilled water from Load 1 will point.
This type of system offers additional flexibility when some
selective loads are arranged for heating only or cooling only, such as
TWO-POSITION
CHANGEOVER VALM 7 unit heaters or preheat coils. Then, central station systems can be
designed for humidity control with reheat through configuration at

B the coil locations and with proper control sequences.

OTHER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS


Makeup and Fill Water Systems
Generally, a hydronic system is filled with water through a
valved connection to a domestic water source, with a service valve,
a backfiow preventer, and a pressure gage. (The domestic water
source pressure must exceed the system fill pressure.)

8 Because the expansion chamber is the reference pressure point in


the system, the water makeup point is usually located at or near the
expansion chamber.
Many designers prefer to install automatic makeup valves, which
Fig. 24 Simplified Diagram of Two-Pipe System consist of a pressure-regulating valve in the makeup line. However,

Fig. 25 Four-Pipe Common Load System Fig. 26 Four-Pipe Independent Load System

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12.14 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook (SI)

TANK AIR CHARGE VALVE

i- -- (OPEN TO ATMOSPHERE)

I l I

\ QUICK FILL MAIN


/ BYPASS
L. TANK DRAIN
VALVE I
HYDRONIC SYSTEM
PIPING

Fig. 27 Typical Makeup Water and Expansion Tank Piping


Configuration for Plain Steel Expansion Tank
O 5 10 15 20 25
TEMPERATURE INCREASE, K

the quantity of water being made tip must be monitored to avoid


scaling and oxygcn corrosion in the system. Fig. 28 Pressure Increase Resulting from Thermal
Expansion as Function of Temperature Increase
Safety Relief Valves
Safcty relicf valves should be installed at any point at which were to incrcase by 10 K.the pressure would increase between 2.8
pressures can be expected to exceed the safe limits of the system and 3.4 MPa, depending on the average pipe size in the system.
components. Causes of excessive pressures include Safety relief should be provided to protect boilers, heat exchang-
OverpressuriLation from fill system ers, cooling coils, chillers, and the entire system when the expansion
Pressure increases due to thermal expansion tank is isolated for air charging or other service. As a minimum, the
Sugcs caused by momentum changes (shock or water hammer) ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requires that a dedicated
safety relief valve be installed on each boiler and that isolating or
Overpressurization from the fill system could occur due to an service valves be provided on the supply and return connections to
accident in filling the system or due to the failure of an automatic fill each boiler.
regulator. To prevent this, a safety relief valve is usually installed at Potential forces caused by shock waves or water hammer should
the fill location. Figure 27 shows a typical piping configuration for also be considered in design. Chapter 33 of the 1997 ASHRAE
u system with a plain steel or airhater interface expansion tank.
Hundbook-Fundamentais discusses the causes of shock forces and
Noie that no valves are installed between the hydronic system pip- the methodology for calculating the magnitude of these forces.
ing and the safety relief valve. This is a mandatory design require-
ment if the valve in this location is also to serve as a protection Air Elimination
against pressure increases duc to thermal expansion.
An expansion chamber is installed in a hydronic system, to If air and other gases are not eliminated from the flow circuit,
allow for the volumetric changes that accompany water tempera- they may slow or stop the flow through the terminal heat transfer
ture changes. However, if any part of the system is configured such elements and cause corrosion, noise, reduced pumping capacity, and
that it can be isolated from the expansion tank and its temperature loss of hydraulic stability (see the section on Principles at the begin-
can increase while it is isolated, then overpressure relief should be ning of the chapter). A closed tank without a diaphragm can be
provided. installed at the point of the lowest solubility of air in water. When a
The relationship between pressure change due to temperature diaphragm tank is used, air in the system can be removed by an air
change and the temperature change in a piping system is expressed separator and air elimination valve installed at the point of lowest
by the following equation: solubility. Manual vents should be installed at high points to remove
all air trapped during initial operation. Shutoff valves should be
installed on any automatic air removal device to permit servicing
without draining the system.

where Drain and Shutoff


Ap = pressure increase. kPa All low points should have drains. Separate shutoff and draining
ß = volumetric coefficient of thermal expansion of water, K-' of individual equipment and circuits should be possible so that the
u( = linear coefficient of thermal expansion for piping material, K-' entire system does not have to be drained to service a particular
.It = water teniperature increase, K item. Whenever a device or section ofthe system is isolated. and the
U = pipe diameler, rnm water in that section or device could increase in temperature follow-
E = rnodulus of elasticity of piping material, kPa ing isolation, overpressure safety relief protection must be pro-
y = volumetric comprcssibiiity of water, in2/kN vided.
Ar = thickness of pipc wall, inm

Figure 28 shows a solution to Equation (15) demonstrating the Balance Fittings


pressure increase caused by any given temperature increase for Balance Fittings or valves and a means of measuring flow quan-
15 iniii and 250 inm steel piping. If the temperature in a chilled tity should be applied as needed to permit balancing of individual
water system with piping spanning sizes between 25 and 250 nim terminals and subcircuits.

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Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design 12.15

Pitch piping be a minimum of 10 diameters in length to reduce the likeli-


Piping need not pitch but can run level, providing that flow hood of unwanted mixing resulting from velocity (kinetic) energy
velocities exceeding 0.45 m/s are maintained or a diaphragm tank is or turbulence.
used.
DESIGN PROCEDURES
Strainers
Preliminary Equipment Layout
Strainers should be used where necessary to protect system ele-
ments. Strainers in the pump suction must be checked carefully to Flows in Mains and Laterals. Regardless of the method used to
avoid cavitation. Large separating chambers can serve as main air determine the flow through each item of terminal equipment, the
venting points and dirt strainers ahead of pumps. Automatic control desired result should be listed in terms of mass flow on the prelim-
valves or other devices operating with small clearances require pro- inary plans or in a schedule of flow rates for the piping system. (in
tection from pipe scale, gravel, and welding slag, which may readily the design of small systems and chilled water systems, the determi-
pass through the pump and its protective separator. Individual fine nation may be made in terms of volumetric flow).
mesh strainers may therefore be required ahead of each control In an equipment schedule or on the plans, starting from the most
valve. remote terminal and working toward the pump, progressively list
the cumulative flow in each of the mains and branch circuits in the
Thermometers distribution system.
Thermometers or thermometer wells should be instailed to assist Preliminary Pipe Sizing. For each portion of the piping circuit,
the system operator in routine operation and troubleshooting. Per- select a tentative pipe size from the unified flow chart (Figure 1 in
manent thermometers, with the correct scale range and separate Chapter 33 of the 1997ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals), using
sockets, should be used at all points where temperature readings are a value of pipe friction loss ranging from 80 to 400 Pa per metre of
regularly needed. Thermometer wells should be installed where pipe.
readings will be needed only during start-up and infrequent trouble- Residential piping size is often based on pump preselection using
shooting. If a central monitoring system is provided, a calibration pipe sizing tables, which are available from the Hydronics Institute
well should be installed adjacent to each sensing point in insulated or from manufacturers.
piping systems. Preliminary Pressure Drop. Using the preliminary pipe sizing
indicated above, determine the pressure drop through each portion
Flexible Connectors and Expansion Compensation of the piping. The total pressure drop in the longest circuits deter-
Flexible connectors are sometimes installed at pumps and mines the maximum pressure drop through the piping, including the
machinery to reduce pipe stress. See Chapter 46 of the 1999 ASH- terminals and control valves, that must be available in the form of
RAE Handbook-Applications for vibration isolation information. pump pressure.
Expansion, flexibility, and hanger and support information is in Preliminary Pump Selection. The preliminary selection should
Chapter 41 of this volume. be based on the pump’s ability to fulfill the determined capacity
requirements. It should be selected at a point left of center on the
Gage Cocks pump curve and should not overload the motor. Because pressure
Gage cocks or quick-disconnect test ports should be installed at drop in a flow system varies as the square of the flow rate, the flow
points requiring pressure readings. Gages permanently installed in variation between the nearest size of stock pump and an exact point
the system will deteriorate because of vibration and pulsation and selection will be relatively minor.
will, therefore, be unreliable. It is good practice to install gage cocks
and provide the operator with several quality gages for diagnostic Find Pipe Sizing and Pressure Drop Determination
purposes. Final Piping Layout. Examine the overall piping layout to
determine whether pipe sizes in some areas need to be readjusted.
Insulation Several principal circuits should have approximately equal pressure
Insulation should be applied to minimize pipe thermal loss and to drops so that excessive pressures are not needed to serve a small
prevent condensation during chilled water operation (see Chapter portion of the building.
22 of the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals). On chilled Consider both the initial cost of the pump and piping system and
water systems, special rigid metal sleeves or shields should be the pump’s operating cost when determining final system friction
installed at all hanger and support points, and all valves should be loss. Generally, lower pressures and larger piping are more econom-
provided with extended bonnets to allow for the full insulation ical when longer amortization periods are considered, especially in
thickness without interference with the valve operators. larger systems. However, in small systems such as in residences, it
may be most economical to select the pump first and design the pip-
Condensate Drains ing system to meet the available pressure. In all cases, adjust the
Condensate drains from dehumidifying coils should be trapped piping system design and pump selection until the optimum design
and piped to an open-sight plumbing drain. Traps should be deep is found.
enough to overcome the air pressure differential between drain inlet Final Pressure Drop. When the final piping layout has been
and room, which ordinarily will not exceed 500 Pa. Pipe should be established, determine the friction loss for each section of the piping
noncorrosive and insulated to prevent moisture condensation. system from the pressure drop charts (Chapter 33 of the 1997 ASH-
Depending on the quantity and temperature of condensate, plumb- RAE Handbook-Fundamentals) for the mass flow rate in each por-
ing drain lines may require insulation to prevent sweating. tion of the piping system.
After calculating the friction loss at design flow for ail sections of
Common Pipe the piping system and all fittings, terminal units, and control valves,
In compound (primary-secondary) pumping systems, the com- sum them for several of the longest piping circuits to determine the
mon pipe is used to dynamically decouple the two pumping cir- pressure against which the pump must operate at design flow.
cuits. Ideally, there is no pressure drop in this section of piping; Final Pump Selection. After completing the final pressure drop
however, in actual systems, it is recommended that this section of calculations, select the pump by plotting a system curve and pump

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12.16 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook (SI)

curve and selecting the pump or pump assembly that operates clos- tends to create corrosion problems unless suitable inhibitors are
est to the calculated design point. used, it may be the only practical solution in many cases.
Solutions of triethylene glycol, as well as certain other heat transfer
Freeze Prevention fluids. may also be used. However, ethylene glycol and propylene gly-
AI1 circulaiing water systems require precautions to prcvcnt col are the most cominon substances used in hydronic systems be-
freezing, particularly in makeup air applications in temperate cli- cause they are less costly and provide the most effective heat transfer.
mates í I j where coils are exposed to outdoor air at bclow-freezing
tcnipcratures, (2) where undraincd chilled water coils are in the win-
Effect on Heat Transfer and Flow
ter airstream, or (3) where piping passes through unheated spaces. Tables 6 through 13 and Figures 9 through 16 in Chapter 20 of
Frccziiig will not occur as long as flow is maintained and the water the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals show density, spe-
is at Icut warm. Unfortunatcly, during extremely cold weather or in cific heat, thermal conductivity, and viscosity of various aqueous
the event of a power failure. water flow and temperature cannot be solutions of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. Table 4 and Table
guaranteed. Additionally, continuous pumping can bc cncr,y 0 -inten-
' 5 of that chapter indicate the freezing points for the two solutions.
sivc anti causc system wear. The following are precautions to avoid System heat transfer rate is affected by relative density and spe-
iluw stoppage or damage from freezing: cific heat according to the following equation:
I . Select all load devices (such as preheat coils) that are subjected
to outdoor air temperatures for constant flow, variable Ar control.
2. Fojition the coil valves of all cooling coils with valve control where
that are dormant in winter months to the full-open position at q,, = total heat transfer rate, W
those times. Q = flow rate. L/s
3. II' intermittent pump operation is used as an economy measure. p = fluid density, kgim'
use :in automatic ovcrridc to operate both chilled water and heat- = specific heat of fluid, kJ/(kg.K)
ing water pumps in bclow-freezing weather. At = temperature increase or decrease, K
4. Sclcct piimp starters that autoinatically restart after power failure
(¡.e., maintain-contact control). Effect on Heat Source or Chiller
5 . Select n«noverloading pumps. Generally, ethylcne glycol solutions should not be used directly
6. Instruct operating personnel never to shut down pumps in sub- in a boiler because of the danger of chemical corrosion caused by
freezing weather. glycol breakdown on direct heating surfaces. However, properly
7. Do not use aquastats, which can stop a pump. in boiler circuits. inhibited glycol solutions can be used in low-temperature water sys-
8. Avoid sluggish circulation, which may cause air binding or dirt
tems directly in the heating boiler if proper operation can be
deposit. Properly balance and clean systems. Provide proper air ensured. Automobilc antifreeze solutions are not recommended
control or ineaiis to eliminate air. because the silicate inhibitor can cause fouling, pump seal wear.
fluid gelation, and reduced heat transfer. The area or zone requiring
9. Install low temperature detection thermostats that have phasc
the antifreeze protection can be isolated with a separate heat
change capillaries wound in a serpentine pattern across the leav-
exchanger or converter. Glycol solutions are used directly in water
ing face of the upstream coil.
chillers in many cases.
I n fan equipment handling outdoor air. take precautions to avoid Glycol solutions affect the output of a heat exchanger by chang-
siratification of air entering the coil. The best methods for proper ing the film coefficient of the surface contacting the solution. This
niixing of indoor and outdoor air are the following: change in film coefficient is caused primarily by viscosity changes.
Figure 29 illustrates typical changes in output for two types of heat
1 . Select damper5 for presure drops adequate to provide stable exchangers, Curve A for a steam-to-liquid converter and Curve B
control of mixing, preferably with dampers installed several for a refrigerant-to-liquid chiller. The curves are plotted for one set
cquivalcnt diameters upstream of the air-handling unit. of opcrating conditions only and reflect the change in ethylene gly-
2. Design intake and approach duct systems to promote natural col concentration as the only variable. Propylene glycol has a sim-
mi x ing . ilar effect on heat exchanger output.
3. Select coils with circuiting to allow parallel flow of air and water.
Frcezc-up may still occur with any of these precautions. If an I O0

antifreeze solution is not used, water should circulate at all times.


Viilve-controlled elements should have low-limit thermostats, and
sensing elcmcnts should be located to ensure accurate air tempera- + 80
ture readings. Primary-secondary pumping of coils with three-way 5
valve injection (as in Figures 19B and 19C) is advantageous. Use t:
R
outdoor rcsct of water temperature wherever possible. U-
p
o
60
ANTIFREEZE SOLUTIONS U

$
In systems in danger of freeze-up. water solutions of ethylene gly- 2
col and propylene glycol are comnionly used. Freeze protection may % 40
be needed í 1 ) in sriow-nielting applications (see Chapter 49 of the
I 999 ASHRAE H~ri7dhook-Ai>~licarions);(2) in systems subjected
to 100% outdoor air, where the methods outlined above may not pro-
vide absolute antifreeze protection; (3) in isolated parts or zones of a
20 I
O
I l
I
10
I
1
20 30
I
I
40
I
l
I
I
50
I
I
60
heating system where intermittent operation or long runs of exposed PERCENT ETHYLENE GLYCOL BY MASS

piping increase the danger of freezing; and (4) in process cooling


applications requiring temperatures below 4°C. Although using cth- Fig. 29 Example of Effect of Aqueous Ethylene Glycol
ylene glycol or propylene glycol is comparatively expensive and Solutions on Heat Exchanger Output

COPYRIGHT American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AC Engineers


Licensed by Information Handling Services
~

M 0757b50 0598783 Lb5 D

Hydronic Heating and Cooling System Design 12.17

1.6 I I l l l I I I I l

95

I-
w
$90
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85

80 -20 -10 O 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
10 20 JO 40 50 60 TEMPERATURE, 'C
VISCOSITY. rnPa.s 1.6

Fig. 30 Effect of Viscosity on Pump Characteristics 1.5


z
O
Because many other variables, such as liquid velocity, steam or F 1.4
refrigerant loading, temperature difference, and unit construction 2U
affect the overall coefficient of a heat exchanger, designers should 5 1.3
o
consult manufacturers' ratings when selecting such equipment. The 8U 1.2
curves indicate only the magnitude of these output changes. o
a 1.1
Effect on Terminal Units 3

Because the effect of glycol on the capacity of terminal units i'


o
may vary widely with temperature, the manufacturer's rating data 0.9
should be consulted when selecting heating or cooling units in gly-
col systems. "."
-20 -10 O 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
TEMPERATURE, O C

Effect on Pump Performance


Centrifugal pump characteristics are affected to some degree by
Fig. 31 Pressure Drop Correction for Glycol Solutions
glycol solutions because of viscosity changes. Figure 30 shows
these effects on pump capacity, pressure, and efficiency. Figures 12
and 16 in Chapter 20 of the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamen- glycol solutions should be taken to extend their service life and to
tais plot the viscosity of aqueous ethylene glycol and propylene gly- preserve equipment:
col. Centrifugal pump performance is normally cataloged for water
1. Before injecting the glycol solution, thoroughly clean and flush
at 15 to 25°C. Hence, absolute viscosity effects below 1.1 mPa.s
the system.
can safely be ignored as far as pump performance is concerned. In
intermittently operated systems, such as snow-melting applications,
2. Use waters that are soft and low in chloride and sulfate ions to
prepare the solution whenever possible.
viscosity effects at start-up may decrease flow enough to slow
pickup. 3. Limit the maximum operating temperature to 120°C in a closed
hydronic system. In a heat exchanger, limit glycol film temper-
Effect on Piping Pressure Loss atures to 150 to 175°C (steam pressures 830 W a or less) to pre-
vent deterioration of the solution.
The friction loss in piping also varies with viscosity changes. 4. Check the concentration of inhibitor periodically, following pro-
Figure 3 1 gives correction factors for various ethylene glycol and cedures recommended by the glycol manufacturer.
propylene glycol solutions. These factors are applied to the calcu-
lated pressure loss for water [Equation (15)]. No correction is REFERENCES
needed for ethylene glycol and propylene glycol solutions above
70°C. ASME. 1998. Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes. American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, New York.
Installation and Maintenance Carlson, G.F. 1981. The design influence of air on hydronic systems. ASH-
RAE Transactions 87(1):1293-1300.
Because glycol solutions are comparatively expensive, the Coad, W.J. 1976. Integrated decentralized chilled water systems. ASHRAE
smallest possible concentrations to produce the desired antifreeze Transactions 82( 1):566-74.
properties should be used. The total water content of the system Coad, W.J. 1980a. Air in hydronic systems. Heating/Piping/Air Condition-
should be calculated carefully to determine the required amount of ing (July).
glycol (Craig et al. 1993). The solution can be mixed outside the Coad, W.J. 1980b.Expansion tanks. Heating/Piping/Air Conditioning (May).
system in drums or barrels and then pumped in. Air vents should be Coad, W.J. 1985. Variable flow in hydronic systems for improved stability,
watched during filling to prevent loss of solution. The system and simplicity, and energy economics.ASHRAE Transactions 91( lB):224-37.
the cold water supply should not be permanently connected, so Craig, N.C., B.W. Jones, and D.L. Fenton. 1993. Glycol concentration
requirements for freeze burst protection. ASHRAE Transactions
automatic fill valves are usually not used. 99(2):200-09
Ethylene glycol and propylene glycol normally include an inhib- Himmelblau, D.M. 1960. Solubilities of inert gases in water. Journal of
itor to help prevent corrosion. Solutions should be checked each Chemical and Engineering Data 5(1).
year using a suitable refractometer to determine glycol concentra- Hull, R.F. 1981.Effect of air on hydraulic performance of the HVAC system.
tion. Certain precautions regarding the use of inhibited ethylene ASHRAE Transactions 87( 1):1301-25.

COPYRIGHT American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AC Engineers


Licensed by Information Handling Services
0759b50 0 5 4 8 7 8 2 U T 1 M

12.1s 2000 ASHRAE Systems and Equipment Handbook (SI)

Lockhart, H.A. and GE Carlson. 1953. Compression tank selection for hot Pierce, J.D. 1963. Application of fin tube rlidiation to modern hot waterheat-
hater heating systems. ASHVE Joirrnaí 25(3):132-39. Also in ASHVE ing systems. ASHRAE Journal 5(2):72.
Trurr.ruction.s 59:55-76. Pompei, E 1981. Air in hydronic systems: How Henry’s law tells us what
Morahito, R.P. 1960. How higher cooling coil differentials affect system happens. ASHRAE Trunsuciiuns 87(1): 1326-42.
economics. ASHRAE Journal 2(8):60. Stewart, W.E. and C.L. Dona. 1987. Water flow rate limitations. ASHRAE
Transactions 93(2):811-25.

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