GREEN SYSTEMS SOLAR SOLUTIONS
Solar combi connections with hydraulic separators
BY BRISTOL STICKNEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The most productive approach I have found for 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
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by focusing mostly on primary loop applications 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 components are widely available and easily site-assembled 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 primary loop is a doughnut shaped flow center that acts like a traffic circle for the flow from all the circulators. Today, there are an
Figure 34-1
solar combisystem is characterized by multiple heat sources providing heat to multiple loads, each with potentially different temperature characteristics.
secondary pumps are mounted, allowing flow from all the pumps to converge without interference. • Pipe connections can be
sequenced to allow the separation 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 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.
ever-increasing number of products that offer an alternative to the site-built P/S piping 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 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
connected in a standard way, each with two pipes, using a flow center. • The flow center provides manifold connections where
Figure 34-2
Hydraulic separator installation using Caleffi Hydrolink 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 primary 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
e Turn to STICKNEY on p 148
phc may 2011
www.phcnews.com
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