{"id":840,"date":"2019-05-20T18:48:54","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T18:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buymeinc.com\/?p=840"},"modified":"2021-06-21T06:27:53","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T06:27:53","slug":"what-is-the-best-piping-layout-for-maximum-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/blog\/what-is-the-best-piping-layout-for-maximum-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Best Piping Layout for Maximum Efficiency?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"We all know that designing an efficient heating system is essential for your clients. So, we wanted to share a recent post from one of our top product lines, Patterson Kelley where they take a stand on the debate between variable primary or primary secondary piping and even offer a third, new option with their NURO\u00ae Touch Screen Control System.<\/p>\n

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Hydronic Boilers Piping Arrangements<\/h2>\n

Just like we would debate over sports, music, or politics, engineers have long held strong opinions about piping arrangements for hydronic heating systems.\u00a0 Which is better:\u00a0 Primary-Secondary or Variable Primary?\u00a0 They each have their benefits, but most boiler manufacturers tend to side with Primary-Secondary.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t it be nice to have a different choice?<\/p>\n

What is a Variable Primary Piping System?<\/h3>\n

In Variable Primary piping systems, there is one set of system pumps, generally piped in parallel, that distribute water through the heating equipment and terminal units.\u00a0 Heat generated by the boilers is sent directly to the terminal units.\u00a0 A Variable Primary piping arrangement can result in lower initial costs due to the installation of fewer pumps, less piping, less electrical, etc.\u00a0 Variable Primary systems are generally considered to be more energy efficient. This is based solely on the concept that fewer pumps use less energy.\u00a0 For any given installation these assumptions may or may not be true, but they are accepted when choosing between Variable Primary and Primary-Secondary piping arrangements.<\/p>\n

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What is a Primary-Secondary\u00a0Piping System?<\/h3>\n

The Primary-Secondary piping arrangement includes two sets of pumps, system pumps and boiler pumps.\u00a0 The system pumps distribute water to the terminal units and the boiler pumps circulate water through a loop that serves the heating equipment only.\u00a0 The two piping systems are decoupled through what is commonly referred to as a \u201czero pressure bridge\u201d, which hydraulically separates the boiler from the system. Traditionally, Primary-Secondary piping arrangements have meant full flow in the boiler loop and variable flow in the system loop.\u00a0 Manufacturers tend to prefer Primary-Secondary because it ensures proper flow through the boiler.\u00a0 Although a few manufacturers have boasted \u201cZero Flow\u201d capabilities for their boilers, engineers know that no flow means no heat transfer; this begs the question, \u201cwhy is the boiler firing?\u201d\u00a0 Engineers have begun to shy away from Primary-Secondary due to the perceived excessive pumping energy; but is that really the case?<\/p>\n

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A Third Option<\/h3>\n

With the advancement of on-board boiler controls like the\u00a0NURO\u00ae<\/sup><\/a><\/strong> Touch Screen Control System, there is now an additional option: Variable Primary-Variable Secondary<\/strong>.\u00a0 The NURO\u00ae can vary the speed of your boiler pump, equipped with either a VFD or EC motor. As the boiler firing rate varies, the pump speed and flow adjust accordingly.\u00a0 It\u2019s the best of both worlds; flow rate ensured through the boiler, and energy savings associated with variable flow.\u00a0 One might argue\u2026 “what about installation cost?”\u00a0 Yes, there is slightly more piping associated with a Variable Primary-Variable Secondary<\/strong>\u00a0piping arrangement, however, the installation cost is not significantly more.\u00a0 Variable primary systems require a two-way control valve on each boiler to prohibit flow through an unfired boiler.\u00a0 A boiler circulator with an EC motor is marginally more expensive than the control valve.<\/p>\n

Next Step?<\/h3>\n

Interested in more information on the Nuro system and how it might help your clients? Give us a call at 800-355-7061 and we’d be happy to answer any questions or help you with the engineering specifications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know that designing an efficient heating system is essential for your clients. So, we wanted to share a recent post from one of our top product lines, Patterson Kelley where they take a stand on the debate between variable primary or primary secondary piping and even offer a third, new option with their… Continue reading What is the Best Piping Layout for Maximum Efficiency?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[97,68,47,98],"class_list":["post-840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-heating-control-system","tag-nuro","tag-patterson-kelley","tag-piping-layout-design","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1195,"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions\/1195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buymeinc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}