Hydronic radiant floor, wall, and/or ceiling thermal control systems are typically used for heating a space, such as a room in a dwelling or commercial building, usually for human and creature comfort. Typical hydronic heating systems require a supply of hot water, or other fluid, from a boiler, for example, and valves for controlling the quantity of the water from the supply that is fed to heating loops, which include tubing and/or heating elements. These heating loops are in thermal contact with the space or rooms to be heated or cooled. It is often necessary to control the temperature of the water in the heating loops. For example, if the supply water temperature is set to about 180° F. (80° C.) for laundry, it must be modulated down to about 100° F. or 40° C., (or lower) for radiant systems. On the other hand, chillers can be used to supply cold water during the summer months for cooling.
A suitable system for reducing and controlling the supply water temperature is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,988, issued Jun. 9, 1992, entitled “Hydronic Heating Water Temperature Control System”, to Joachim Fiedrich, the inventor herein. In that patent, a three-way, modulated diverting or by-pass valve is provided, in the return line to the boiler, for diverting some of the cooler return water to the hot supply water to reduce the temperature of the supply water feeding the heating loop supply header. This is sometimes called temperature dilution and the diverting valve is modulated by a feedback signal derived from the diluted water temperature.
A number of approaches are available for distributing the tubing in the space to be heated to form the heating loops. In one such approach, the tubing is set in the concrete flooring. In other cases, the heat loop tubing is installed between the floor or ceiling joists using metal radiation plates.
A preferable approach for forming the heating loops in floors relies on modular panel heating elements. Some examples are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,065, issued Mar. 8, 1994, entitled “Radiant Floor and Wall Hydronic Heating Systems”, to Joachim Fiedrich, the inventor herein. The panel elements include integral metal radiation plates or sheets that are attached to two spaced apart boards, which cooperate to hold the tubing in intimate thermal contact with the radiation plate, so that the plate is heated by conduction of heat from the tubing. The plate then provides a surface that radiates heat into the room. Thermal conduction from the tubing to the plate and mechanical attachment of the tubing to the panel can also be ensured by using a resilient, thermally-conductive filler material as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,996, issued Dec. 3, 1996, entitled “Radiant Floor and Wall Hydronic Heating Systems”, also to Joachim Fiedrich, the inventor herein.
These hydronic thermal control systems can also be used for cooling. The cooling is accomplished by feeding cool water or fluid to the tubing to reduce the temperature of the radiation plate in the modular panel, to below room temperature. As a result, heat is radiated from the room to cool water in the tubing. This heats the water slightly, and the water is then fed to a heat exchanger or chiller, for example, where it gives up the heat and is fed back to the panels.
More recently, the instant inventor described a system of installing the tubing in sheets of gypsum or cement wallboard as described in U.S. Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2004/0026525 A1, entitled “In radiant wall and ceiling hydronic room heating or cooling systems, using tubing that is fed hot or cold water, the tubing is embedded in gypsum or cement wallboard in intimate thermal contact therewith so that the wallboard heats or cools the room”, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference.
Often, these modular panel systems use a number of different types of panels to create the continuous tracks required to hold the tubing of the radiant loops. Most commonly, straight, lateral run track panels are connected end-to-end to provide tubing tracks that extend laterally across the room floor to be heated or cooled. At the end of the tracks on each of these lateral run panels, “U” turn or return track panels are usually used. These return track panels comprise arcuate tracks that allow the tubing to be routed between successive tracks in the lateral run track panels by laying the tubing through the 180 degree arc of the return track. Using the combination of the straight tracks of the lateral run track panels and the return tracks of the return track panels, large serpentine radiant tubing loops can be created in the floors of rooms or other spaces.
In order to complete the radiant heating/cooling loops, connections must be further made between the tubing loops and the manifold, circulating pump, and/or injection valve control assemblies that are located, for example, in a closet or other area near or in the room or space to be heated or cooled. This routing between the typically serpentine layout of the tubing in the floor, for example, and the manifold, pump, and injection valves of the control assemblies can be performed either in-plane and/or out-of-plane.
In in-plane routing, the connections are routed, at least in part, in the plane of the floor. Often, the long runs to the control assembly can be made in tracks constructed from the lateral run track panels. This has advantages since the tubing routed in this connection can also contribute to the heating and/or cooling of the space.
Routing between the serpentine tubing layout on the floor and the control assembly can also be performed out-of-plane. In this case, a hole is usually drilled through the floor, for example, and then the tubing is routed between or through the floor joints to connect the serpentine layout with the control assembly.