November, 2006
Self-Balancing Hydronic
Systems
There is a growing consensus in the HVAC systems
design community that if a hydronic system is
properly designed, and control valves and actuators
are properly sized and selected, then the system is
self-balancing and does not require mechanical
balancing valves. Elimination of mechanical
balancing valves enhances controllability of the heat
transfer coil and reduces pumping energy costs.
Properly sized and controlled two-way, pressuredependent, high-performance control valves will
adequately balance the system such that at least
80% of the valve stroke is available for coil control.
Further, if only the maximum flow and pump head
are known, a high-performance, pressure-dependent
control valve can be effectively sized such that it will
properly balance the system and have sufficient
stroke available for precise coil control. Pressureindependent valves are relatively easy to size
properly, and if installed on every circuit of a water
distribution system, will eliminate the need to know
the distribution system branch design flows and
pressure losses needed to most accurately size a
high-performance control valve. However, the first
cost of these valves is as much as four to five times
greater than that of a comparably-sized pressuredependent control valve.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Document No. 149-990
Balancing Variable-flow
Hydronic Systems
How, and indeed whether, to balance variable-flow
hydronic systems with two-way valves has been
debated in the industry for many years (Avery, et. al.
1990, Avery 1993, Hegberg 1997, Taylor
2002). 1,2,3,4 The ASHRAE 2003 HVAC Applications
Handbook 5 continues to recommend two basic
methods for balancing hydronic systems, including
those that are variable-flow:
(1)
3960 wwe
Piping circuit
Pump or pumps
Control valves
10
190
170
150
closest circuits
130
110
furthest circuit
90
70
pump suction loss
50
Distance
Balancing Options
Most recently, Taylor (2002 14 and 2003 15 ) analyzed
eight of the most commonly used methods for
balancing hydronic systems. Two hydronic
distribution systems were analyzed, one chilled
11
Ibid.
12
13
14
15
No Balancing (Option 1)
Two questions arise with this design:
1. What happens when control valves cannot meet
setpoint and are wide open, as occurs during
transients such as warm-up (heating systems) or
cool-down (cooling systems) when setpoints are
beyond attainable levels, or if the coils are
simply undersized?
2. What is the impact on controllability caused by
control valves having to be partly closed at
design flow?
The computer simulation of this option showed that
when all the control valves are wide open, the coils
hydraulically closest to the pump had a flow rate
substantially above design (143% for chilled water
and 212% for hot water), while those farthest from
the pump had flow rates approximately 25% below
design.
For equal percentage valves selected with an
authority 16 of 0.5, in the case for chilled water
systems, for those coils closest to the pump, the
valve would have to close to about 85% of full open
to reduce the flow to design flow, and for hot water
systems, the valve would have to reduce to 75% of
full open to reach design flow. It is unlikely that
reducing the effective control range of the valve by
15% to 25% will cause problems if the valves have
been properly selected, particularly with todays
controllers and actuators. However, for systems
larger than the ones studied, reducing excess flow
for coils near the pump may require further
reductions in valve stroke. The more pressure the
control valve has to absorb to achieve design flow
rates, or the larger the difference between the
pressure drop through the hydraulically farthest
circuit and that through the closest circuit, the more
likely control problems will result from direct-return
systems using control valves for balancing.
Therefore, for large systems, or those zones (control
valves) that experience a high degree of pressure
variation, other balancing options described later
should be considered.
17
18
19
Advantages
Disadvantages
No balancing labor
Low first cost and energy use
Coils may be added/subtracted without
rebalance
Valves can be used for future diagnosis (flow
can be easily be measured)
Reduced over-pressurization of control valves
close to pumps
No balancing
No balancing labor
Coils may be added/subtracted without
rebalance
Reverse-return piping
No balancing labor
Coils may be added/subtracted without
rebalance
No significant over-pressurization of control
valves close to pumps
Usually lower pump head due to reversereturn piping having lower pressure drop than
mains (due to larger pipe)
No balance labor
Coils may be added/subtracted without
rebalance
Reduced over-pressurization of control valves
close to pumps
Lowest pump head/energy due to oversized
piping
Increased flexibility to add loads due to
oversized piping
No balancing labor
Coils may be added/subtracted without
rebalance
Reduced cost of smaller piping
Reduced over-pressurization of control valves
close to pumps where piping has been
undersized
Over-pressurized means that the pressure differential across the control valve is greater than its rated differential pressure due to its
proximity to the pump(s) (see Figure 1). Control valves that are over-pressurized will require a greater percentage of the valve stoke for
balancing the circuit, thereby reducing the valve stroke available for control.
20 Taylor (2002) states this as a disadvantage in his ASHRAE Journal article. If the control valve is properly sized with or without the
balancing valve the branch pressure drop will be the same at design flow.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Document No. 149-990
Page 5 of 26
Balancing Option
7
Advantages
Disadvantages
No balancing labor
Coils may be added/subtracted without
rebalance
Reduced cost of smaller control valves
Reduced over-pressurization of control valves
close to pumps where control valves have
been undersized
Improved valve authority which could improve
controllability where control valves have been
undersized
No balancing labor
Coils may be added/subtracted without
rebalance
No over-pressurization of control valves close
to pump
Perfect valve authority which will improve
controllability, making valve selection easier.
Pressure-independent
control valves
24
Ibid.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Document No. 149-990
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
VF0304R1
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
60
50
70
80
90
100
100
90
Design
T, F
TOTAL HEAT
180
220
260
300
340
SENSIBLE HEAT
90
60
40
30
70
50
40
30
20
10
20
61.5
52.3
46
41.5
____
____
40
76
68.9
63.7
58
52.5
47.6
60
___
74.7
70.5
66.5
62.3
58.4
80
___
___
76.5
71.5
67.6
63.5
100
___
___
78
73.4
70.7
68
60
LATENT, %
50
80
20
10
50
LATENT HEAT
40
30
20
10
20
40
60
80
100
TEMPERATURE RISE, %
DESIGN FLOW, %
VF0305R1
140
100
70
SENSIBLE, %
80
25
20
15
10
5
20
40
60
80
100
DESIGN FLOW, %
25
26
Page 7 of 26
Circuit No. 1
Design flow at
low circuit
differential
pressure
40
45
50
Supply
flow
56.7
63.5
68.6
64
68.4
74/3
10
69
73
78.5
12
73
77
82.1
14
76
79.8
84.8
16
78.7
82.3
87.2
VF0306R1
27
Page 8 of 26
Circuit No. 2
Design flow at
high circuit
differential
pressure
1.0
o
95 %
0.9
w through
f design flo
cuit
high PD cir
0.8
low PD circuit
Ratio of PD,
high PD circuit
90%
0.7
0.6
80%
0.5
0.4
70%
0.3
0.2
0.1
100
Ratio,
VF0307R1
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0
low PD circuit design flow
high PD circuit design flow
VF0308R1
90
QUICK OPENING
80
70
60
LINEAR
50
40
30
20
EQUAL
PERCENTAGE
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
10
29
30
31
100%
90%
HEAT OUTPUT
FLOW
50%
VF0309R1
HEAT OUTPUT
90%
50%
10%
0 10%
50 %
FLOW
100%
50%
10%
50 %
STEM TRAVEL
90% 100%
0 10%
50 %
STEM TRAVEL
90% 100%
Figure 7. Coil Characteristic Curve Combined with Valve Characteristic Curve Produces a
Theoretically Linear Heat Output with Stem Travel.
the wide open valve with a one psi pressure drop
across it. 33
(2)
GPM
p
Cv
(3)
Where:
32
33
34
100
90
0.
1
70
60
80
50
2
0.
0.
40
1.
30
20
VF0310R1
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
10
35
Ibid.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Document No. 149-990
36
Pv
pVR
p valve fully closed
Example:
Pv = pV100/pVR = 0.25
pV100 = 50 kPa
Valve Rangeability
37
38
The critical coil is the coil that will typically drive the flow
requirements of the distribution pumps. The critical coil is
usually the coil farthest from the distribution pumps in a directreturn distribution piping system.
Ibid.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Document No. 149-990
(4)
Qmin
100
Rangeability Pv
(5)
Where:
40
41
Petitjean, Robert, 1994. Total Hydronic Balancing, pp.152155, Printed 1994 by Responstryck, Boras, Sweden.
Page 13 of 26
44
45
V100
pV100
pVR
2
Figure 12. Basic Valve Sizing Rule.
Page 15 of 26
Plant Schedule
Coil
AHU1
AHU2
AHU3
AHU4
AHU5
AHU6
Flow V100 2
pVR
V100
m3/h
23
11
46
25
12
30
gpm
100
50
200
110
55
130
kPa
225
200
160
130
110
90
Sizingp
pV100,calc
psi
32.6
29
23
19
16
13
kPa
113
100
80
65
55
45
psi
16.3
14.5
11.6
9.4
8.0
6.5
Valve Sizing
CV,calc
gpm
24.6
13.2
58.8
35.8
19.3
51.0
Cv
gpm
25
16
63
40
25
63
pV100
psi
15.8
9.8
10.1
7.6
4.8
4.3
PV
0.49
0.34
0.44
0.40
0.30
0.33
Pump Design
Head and Flow
Control
Curve
VF0312R1
Pump
Curve
at
100%
Speed
Flow
Ibid.
48
49
Ibid.
Page 18 of 26
DP
20h
20h
26h
4h
P-1
P-2
P-3
4h
Coil
10h
T
P- 4
42h
Pump
Chiller
Valve
Control
Panel
Coil
10h
T
34h
Coil
10h
T
50h
4h
4h
Chiller #3
Coil
10h
20h
4h
18h
4h
4h
Chiller #2
Coil
10h
4h
4h
10h
4h
Chiller #1
Coil
10h
200
60h
180
VFD
160
System Pressure (ft)
P-5
VF0313R1
Flow
Sensor
Note: h = head (feet of water)
Low 6
140
120
100
Low 8
20 ft drop
across
coils and
control
valves
Design 12
80
60
expansion tank pressure
50
40
Distance
High-Performance Control
Valves and Actuators
A high-performance valve and actuator combination
must have the following characteristics:
Ibid.
51
Page 19 of 26
52
Pressure-Independent
Control Valves
Pressure-independent control valves have been
touted since the early 1990s (mainly by their
manufacturers) as a means of assuring the proper
balancing of hydronic (chilled or hot water) systems
and eliminating the need for separate balancing
valves, bypass valves, three-way valves, pressurereducing valves, and reversed-return piping
53
Theory of Operation
Figure 17 shows a comparison between a highperformance control valve and a pressureindependent control valve. Note that a pressureindependent control valve is really two valves in
seriesthe upstream valve is the control valve, while
the downstream valve functions as a pressureregulating valve. The first valve is the Cv section.
This section changes the flow rate through the valve
54
Currently, there are three major manufacturers of pressureindependent control valves: (1) Flow Control Industries, Inc.
who introduced their Delta P valve in 1992, (2) Belimo, who
introduced their PICCV valve in 2003, and (3) Griswold, who
introduced their PIC valve in 2003.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Document No. 149-990
Page 21 of 26
CONTROL SHAFT
ROTATES TO MODULATE FLOW
SPRINGS
PISTON
FLOW
P1
P1
P3
FLOW
FLOW
P2
FLOW
VF0317R1
CONTROL SURFACES
SEAL
total across valve
41.5 psi
P1-P2
2 psi
P2-P3
39.5 psi less
coil and pipe
losses
Valve on Right Courtesy: Flow Control Industries, Inc. and Pumping Solutions, LLC
25
20
Infinitely
Variable
Flow
Setting
25. 00
Cv = 25
20. 00
Cv = 40
3" Valve
15
10
30. 00
15. 00
Pressure-regulating
valve pressure drop
(20 psid)
pmin = 10 psi
Equivalent
pressuredependent
2" valve
pW = 7 psi
10. 00
5. 00
SAG0002R1
5
Control valve pressure drop
(5 psid)
0
50
100
150
Flow (gpm)
20
40
60
80
100
120
Page 22 of 26
Advantages
If pressure-independent control valves are installed
throughout a chilled or hot water system, the system
will definitely be balanced. Therefore, one of the
chief advantages of installing these valves is that no
balancing labor is ever required. This means that
coils can be added or removed from the system
without rebalancing the system. However, as we
have seen, if pressure dependent valves are sized
correctly, the water circuits are self-balancing, and
no balancing labor is required on these systems
either.
Another advantage of pressure-independent control
valves is that as long as the differential pressures
across the valve are within their specified range (the
valve dynamic pressure rating), no overpressurization of control valves close to the pumps
will occur. As Table 1 shows, failure to accurately
control the flow to zones close to the pumps on large
systems is one of the disadvantages of the no
balancing option, which Taylor (2002) 55
recommends in most cases. For this reason, he
55
Disadvantages
A major disadvantage of the pressure-independent
valve is its expense. It is estimated that the first cost
of pressure-independent valves can be as much as
four to five times greater than that of a comparably
sized high-performance pressure-dependent valve. 58
Also, Flow Control Industries states that pressureindependent valves have to be installed on every
chilled or hot water circuit in order to gain the
increased water T performance for the entire water
distribution system. 59 However, the claim of higher
water T performance compared to an
56
57
Ibid.
58
59
Page 23 of 26
60
61
62
Page 24 of 26
Conclusions
Maximizing control valve performance for variableflow hydronic systems means maximizing the water
distribution system supply and return Ts, as well as
responding quickly to changes in load and dynamic
pressure across the valve. Unfortunately, this is a
complicated subject, involving issues of hydronic
system design, hydronic system balancing, valve
and actuator sizing, and the inherent characteristics
of pressure-dependent valves versus pressureindependent valves. Citing credible sources
throughout this report and starting from a careful
review of basic control valve and coil theory, this
report leads the reader through procedures to
assure a self-balancing hydronic system, proper
valve and actuator selection, how pressureindependent valves work, and how highperformance, pressure-dependent control valves
can be optimally sized. Assimilating this material
leads one to the following conclusions:
1. For a system designed to be self-balancing (see
sections Balance Valves in Hydronic Systems
and Selecting Control Valves and Coils to
Assure a Self-balancing System) balance valves
are unnecessary. This is the most cost-effective
approach (taking into account first costs and
energy costs) for balancing a variable-flow
hydronic system.
2. Pressure-independent valves are not necessary
for optimal control valve sizing. Optimal valve
sizing can be obtained with high-performance,
two-way pressure-dependent control valves.
Optimal valve sizing means that for all loads on
a given hydronic branch circuit, at least 80% of
the valve stroke is available for control, while
less than 20% of the valve stroke is used for
balancing.
3. The Siemens Valve Sizing Tool can be used to
obtain good valve sizing such that nearly 80% of
the valve stroke is available for control, even if
only the pump design flow and the design pump
Page 25 of 26
Product or company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. 2009 Siemens Industry, Inc.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Building Technologies Division
1000 Deerfield Parkway
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-4513
USA