27/01/2019 Flow Balance Valve Location: Supply or Return Side of the Coil —

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January 14, 2013 Archives

By Jamie Edmondson Please click the links below to

view indexes of posts grouped
Most agree (including those of by date and title, categories,
us at JMP) that flow balancing and tags:
valves should be placed on
the return side of coils Main Archive - Title & Date
whenever possible. Why? Because this location helps Archive of Categories
reduce air and noise problems within the system. Archive of Tags

ASHRAE states that "water velocity noise is not caused Series

by water but by free air, sharp pressure drops,
turbulence, or a combination of these, which in turn Air Management and
cause cavitation or flashing of water into steam" (2009 Pressurization
ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, Chapter 22). Commercial Sewage Lift
Compared with placement on the supply side, flow Stations
balance valves on the return side will reduce the

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27/01/2019 Flow Balance Valve Location: Supply or Return Side of the Coil —

amount of free air in the coil and thus the potential for Condensing Boiler Plant
noise. Piping
Cooling Tower and
Flow Control Isn’t Compromised Condenser Water Design
Domestic Hot Water
Recirculation
At a given temperature, the
Energy Efficient Hot Water
amount of air in water
Boiler Plant Design
depends on pressure. If the
How to Pick a Centrifugal
water pressure is reduced, air
Pump
is released. This phenomenon
How to Pick a Cooling
is experienced by a diver if he
Tower
quickly decreases the pressure on his body by
How to Read a Pump
ascending quickly to the surface. A rapid decrease in
Curve
pressure will cause gases to come out of solution of
Humidification Basics
blood and tissue, causing pain and possible damage.
Hydronic Balancing
This is known as "the bends".
Modern Pump Selection
Flow balance valves placed on the return side will Parallel Pumping in
result in higher water pressures within the coil, which Condenser Water
means that more air will remain in the solution and out Applications
of the coil (see Figures 1 and 2). Part Load Efficiency
Values
In each figure, the coil pressure drop is 20 ft. Note that Pump Efficiency Standards
the flow balancing effect of the valve is the same in Steam Basics Series
either case so there is no compromise with respect to Understanding Primary
controllability. The overall circuit pressure drop is the Secondary Pumping
same, which will result in the same flow through the Variable Speed Pump
coil. Control

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