Solar Solutions Continued from page 30
secondary pumps are mounted, allowing flow from all the pumps to converge without interference. • Pipe connections can be sequenced to allow the sepa-
ration or stratification of hot and cold temperatures to be enhanced and maintained. • Any heat source or heat load may be added or deleted
at any time and for any reason in a modular way using the two-pipe plug-in design. • Any heat source may provide heat to any load (or
when it is available. It is an unconventional use of the top pipe connections on the Hydrolink, but it works much like the Combi 101, with one additional circulator.
Hydraulic separator installation using PAW modules Figure 34-3 shows a piping diagram taken from a group
of solar heating installations that were all designed around the brass modular equipment manufactured by PAW. This line of equipment provides hydraulic flow separators, pump modules and manifolds that can be joined directly together with integral unions or spaced apart using connective piping. As you can see in the diagram, we did a little of both, so that our solar heat exchanger could be mounted in a series flow path between the cool return manifold and the hydraulic separator. By using this configuration, we were able to maintain the same functions and performance as our standard Combi 101 system, with the same number of pumps, using the same control system and control strategies that have proven most effective over the years. The three piping configurations
Figure 34-3
loads) whenever available and deemed appropriate by the controls. • Heat loads may also act as heat sources, when allowed
by the control system. • Any heat source or any load may be bypassed when it
is not wanted or needed. • All equipment connected to the flow center can be managed by a central control system that can be just as standardized and modular as the plumbing components.
Hydraulic separator installation Figure 34-2 shows the schematic piping details for a
series of installations where a hydraulic separator was used as the flow center instead of a Combi 101-style pri- mary loop. For these jobs, the installers preferred using a Caleffi Hydrolink as the flow center because it eliminates the need to assemble a primary loop piece by piece. In some installations, the Caleffi pump modules that were used “plug” right on to the Hydrolink with two threaded pipe connections. The Hydrolink 2+2 model, seen at the center of Figure
34-2, was configured to provide the same heating functions and advantages that a primary loop system would have done. The result is a piping system that resembles a Combi 101 system with a very compact flow center with a built-in pump manifold. As a unique variation, this design requires a circulator pump on the water side of the solar heat exchanger to deliver solar heated fluid to the flow center
Page 32/Plumbing Engineer
described here all provide the same heating functions and the same eight design advantages as a Combi 101 solar heating system. All of these heating designs have been installed in different variations multiple times and exist today
in functioning buildings. All of them have been outfitted with the same types of control functions, without much modification of the controls systems from one installation to another. Both the older style controls, using differential thermostats and relays, and our newer SLIC (computer based) control systems have been applied to primary loop and hydraulic separator configurations alike with equal success. This bodes well for more and better modular solar heating systems in the near future. These articles are targeted toward residential and small
commercial buildings smaller than 10,000 square feet. The focus is on pressurized glycol/hydronic systems, since these systems can be applied in a wide variety of building geome- tries and orientations with few limitations. Brand names, organizations, suppliers and manufacturers are mentioned only to provide examples for illustration and discussion and do not constitute any recommendation or endorsement. n
Bristol Stickney has been designing, manufacturing,
repairing and installing solar hydronic heating systems for more than 30 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed mechanical contractor in New Mexico. He is the chief technical offi- cer for SolarLogic LLC in Santa Fe, N.M., where he is involved in development of solar heating control systems and design tools for solar heating professionals. Visit
www.solarlogicllc.com for more information.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not reflect those of Plumbing Engineer nor its publisher, TMB Publishing.
May 2011
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