by High Performance HVAC | Thermostats |
HVAC Products Containing Mercury and Proper Disposal - Mercury is extremely harmful to the environment and causes severe health problems in humans and animals. For many years HVAC and HVAC Controls manufacturers have used mercury in switches.
Mercury is a liquid metal and provides a good source used in many switches because of its fluidity and conductivity. From thermostats to boiler controls the liquid metal provides a reliable and efficient switching mechanism to start and stop certain sequences in HVAC applications. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Boilers |
Boiler Types - There are many different types of boilers in the boiler room today in a variety of heating applications. There are two main categories of boilers among the different boilers and those two categories are steam boilers and hot water boilers. Either of those categories can be fueled by oil, gas, or electric (although electric is uncommon for steam boilers). (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Boilers |
Boiler Circulator Pump: The boiler circulator pump induces the flow of hot water through the boiler and the boiler loop. Usually, the boiler circulator pump is controlled by the aquastat. However, there are various levels of control that can be found that control pumps.
One way is by the aquastat as mentioned above. Another way is an end switch in a zone valve. A thermostat in a particular zone will call for heat and the thermostat calls for the zone valve to open.
When the zone valve is fully open, an end switch closes the circuit to energize the circulator pump. Typically, the circuit is a control circuit so when the end switch closes it closes the circuit for a relay to energize the circulator pump (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Boilers |
Hot Water Boiler Expansion Tanks - There are two types of expansion tanks used on hot water boiler systems. The steel expansion tank and the bladder-type expansion tank. These expansion tanks are used to provide a cushion for the expansion of water when it is heated.
Without this cushion of air, the pressure in the boiler system would exceed the setting on the pressure relief valve. Finally, this will cause the pressure relief valve to open and discharge water to relieve the pressure. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Boilers |
Boiler Components Controls - All hot water boilers must have an expansion tank. Water expands when it is heated. There must be a place for it to expand so that the pressure in the boiler loop remains constant. Without a hot water boiler expansion tank, the pressures in the boiler loop system would vary wildly.
Most likely, the pressure will exceed the maximum pressures designed for the boiler hot water loop system. This will result in setting off the pressure relief valve. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Commercial HVAC |
Domestic Hot Water Mixing Valve and Domestic Storage Tank - This domestic hot water mixing valve offers a way to temper the hot water coming from a hydronic hot water loop and boiler. It is very important to maintain the appropriate and desirable temperatures of water used for domestic water use.
First, you want to maintain a safe temperature so people are not scalded by extremely hot water temperatures. Once the temperature is safe it needs to be reliable. Since the boilers operate or are on standby 24/7 - 365, the availability is there to reliably make domestic hot water on demand. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Commercial HVAC |
Hot Water Boiler Economizer PreHeater | Energy Efficiency - This is a hot water economizer and is a big preheater for domestic hot water use. This hot water boiler plant serves a large community for heating and domestic hot water use. Domestic hot water is used for showers, washing dishes, laundry, etc, etc, etc….
The cold water supply from the city is routed through the economizer to be pre-heated before it goes through a heat exchanger and then the hot water storage tank. (more…)
by High Performance HVAC | Buyers Advice |
Boiler Systems Installation - It is very important to get it right the first time!
Boiler Systems Installation - Purchasing a boiler can be daunting for most people. Many people do not understand boilers and do not know certain components of boiler systems. Typically they trust the installing contractor to outfit and install the boiler with all the proper boiler components.
That includes making recommendations for optional boiler components that increase efficiency and performance. There are resources you can use to try to understand boiler components such as High Performance HVAC. However, overall, this research or study will not make one an expert in boiler installation. We have to trust the boiler installer and the skills of the contractor.
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