Solar Solutions Bristol Stickney, chief technical director, SolarLogic LLC, Santa Fe, N.M.
Bristol’s Six Principles for Good Solar Hydronic Design Solar combi connections with hydraulic separators
A
solar combisystem is characterized by multiple heat sources providing heat to multiple loads, each with potentially different temperature characteris- tics. The most productive approach I have found for
features and benefits of that proven design.
Combi 101 — Primary loop solar heating advantages A diagram of the venerable Combi 101 primary check- loop can be seen in Figure 34- 1 and has been discussed in more detail in previous columns. This configuration has been duplicated many times in our solar heating installations because (among other reasons) it provides the following eight basic design benefits: • Multiple heat sources and multiple heat loads are all con- nected in a standard way, each with two pipes, using a flow center. • The flow center provides
manifold connections where Continued on page 32
Figure 34-1
designing and installing these systems is to arrange all of this different equipment around a “flow center” that allows any number of heat sources and heat loads to be attached with two pipe connections. In previous articles I have been illustrating this approach by focusing mostly on primary loop appli- cations using primary/secondary (P/S) piping. The primary loop configuration is a generic way to install solar hydronic combisystems, where the flow paths are relatively easy to visualize and the plumbing com- ponents are widely available and easily site-assem- bled using the familiar “closely spaced tees.” The primary loop is not the only way to create a
flow center, which is basically a large container where all the flow from all the secondary pumps can come together without interfering with each other. The pri- mary loop is a doughnut shaped flow center that acts like a traffic circle for the flow from all the circulators. Today, there are an ever-increasing number of prod- ucts that offer an alternative to the site-built P/S pip- ing by using hydraulic flow separators, manifolds and pump modules pre-fabricated “off the shelf” from manufacturers such as Caleffi, PHP, Taco or PAW. The potential for labor savings and rapid site installation holds great promise. Following are some examples of combisystem installations where we broke away from our primary loop habit, without sacrificing any of the
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Figure 34-2 May 2011
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