We came across an article recently that gave tips for improving the efficiency of a hydronic heating system.  Among the recommendations made in that piece was the advice that the system be properly sized.  This is an issue that many homeowner’s and commercial properties contend with, and they may not even realize that an undersized system is responsible for the high utility bills.

If you have found that you cannot keep your home comfortable, or that your utility bills are outrageously high, then you may want to consider hiring a professional to ensure that your hydronic heating system is properly sized for your home.

There is much to consider when looking at how to size a hydronic heating system correctly.   There are a number of questions that should be asked about the property before a residential system is recommended.  These inquiries should consider the number of windows, sizes of those windows, and house position (i.e. facing north versus south).  These are all components of properly sizing a heating system.

It’s not just the residential home, though, that can suffer from lack of efficiency.  The size of the system is important, and so are the means of controlling the system.

In large scale spaces, heating temperature sensors and pressure sensors are used to determine how much heat to add to the system, and how much liquid needs to be supplied to the terminal units to properly heat the space. Temperature sensor like Ultra Electronics Spring-Loaded RTD with 1/2″ x 1/2″ NPT Hex Nipple can be used to measure supply and return hot water temperatures, which will help improve overall efficiency of the properly sized system. Meanwhile, a pressure sensor like the NoShok 100 series pressure transmitter can be used to control pump speeds.  This is done by communicating system pressure, based on demand, and then modulating pump speeds to maintain the predetermined flow set point. All these controls will help operate a more efficient heating system.