Hydronic Plumbing Techniques

Hydronic Heating Systems

• Hydronic heating systems warm your home by transferring heated fluids throughout the house via a system of pipes. These systems generally use either heated water or steam as their primary means of supplying heat. All hydronic heating systems contain a boiler. This boiler heats large amounts of water, transporting the boiling water or evaporated steam throughout a building via a plumbing system. Some hyrdonic heating systems only put out steam and water, while others possess the ability to receive unused water and steam sent back to the boiler by appliances.

Hydronic Plumbing Systems

• Hydronic plumbing systems work just like the plumbing system that attaches to your toilets, sinks, bathtubs, dishwasher and other water-fueled appliances. The boiler constitutes the starting point of this system. Pipes rise from the boiler into the home. A system of vertical and lateral pipes transports steam or water to heating appliances such as radiant floors or ceilings, radiators, baseboard heaters and more. Usually, a system contains lateral pipes that run along the course of an entire floor of your house. Vertical pipes rise from these lateral pipes, transferring the steam or water in the lateral pipes to heating appliances.

Pipes and Installation

• Hydronic heating systems use the same basic type of pipes as a standard plumbing system. You can purchase these pipes at hardware or plumbing supply stores, although the contractor installing the system usually deals with the acquisition of pipes. When building a house, contractors install the hydronic plumbing system at the same time they install the regular plumbing system, and in the same manner. Installation techniques begin from the ground, creating connections from the boiler and building up from there. Installing a hydronic system in an existing house requires extensive and complex work, and you may need to remove sections of floors and open walls.

Handling Pressure

• The techniques used to install a hydronic system differ slightly depending upon the pressure involved. Some hydronic systems use a similar degree of pressure found in a standard plumbing system. In such cases, any master plumber can install your hydronic plumbing system, using the same techniques used on regular plumbing jobs. However, some hydronic systems use lower pressure than standard plumbing systems. These systems require installation from plumbers or sub-contractors who specialize in the installation of low-pressure systems. Low-pressure systems require certain provisions, such as special connections, to ensure that fluids move through the system in the correct manner.