DC hydronics (was Energy efficient pumps) [RE-wrenches]

[Allan Sindelar]

Wrenches,
Sorry for the delayed response; I was out in the field all day yesterday.

It is we who do the DC hydronic systems. Basic info is available at
http://www.positiveenergysolar.com/hydronic.html. Last year at the Dankoff
dealer training, Bristol Stickney presented general information about his
experiences over 20+ years of solar thermal and DC hydronic systems, but
there was purposely very little mention of SETH as a specific product.  At
the upcoming Dankoff dealer training next month, Boaz has asked Bristol and
I to present a section on this topic, as they wish to begin carrying it.
Bristol and I share the patent on the design.

The biggest holdup has been getting a good design manual and installation
manual written. Tiny pumps require more efficient and careful heat
distribution system design, as well as boiler or hot H2O tank selection,
than conventional AC systems, so good documentation is critical. We expect
to have Rev.1.0 out by then.

Last fall I installed a basic 5-zone baseboard hydronic SETH system in my
off-grid home. I used a March 809BR/24 primary loop pump and 5 El-Sid 10B/24
zone pumps. My existing Slant-Fin Victory 90K btu boiler has a powered
exhaust fan when it's firing, so it's not as efficient as it could be. My
power consumption is:
131 W when the boiler is firing and two zones are calling for heat;
51 W when the boiler is not firing and two zones are calling for heat.

The El-Sids draw 14W each, to more or fewer zones will adjust wattage
consumption accordingly. The 809BR/24 draws 13.34 watts in this application,
and has a higher pumping head, but is noisier. I find the El-Sids to be very
quiet. We used LUX programmable electronic thermostats from Home Desparate
to control each zone.

Twice an El-Sid has failed to circulate. In each case I was working (=^) and
my wife identified the stuck pump (by two LEDs lit rather than four), rapped
the pump with a stick to dislodge whatever speck of crud was lodged in the
impeller, and there have been no further problems.

I am not a plumber, and this is the only hydronic system I have ever done,
so I now know it takes careful design and effort, but it's not rocket
science. Tomorrow Tim will put up some pictures of this hydronic layout on
the web page noted above, that will show what worked for me in a fairly
visually-logical layout. The existing photos on the web page are somewhat
misleading, as they are of a custom system on steroids that we did last
year.

Hope this helps.

Allan at Positive Energy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dana Orzel" <dana at solarwork.com>

> Bristol Stickney was the presenter.

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Berdner" <jberdner at sma-america.com>
> >
> > A while ago I was at a Dealer seminar held by Dankoff Solar.
> > Allan at +E was there but I do not think he made the presentation.
> > Unfortunately I do not recall the name of the guy who did - sorry.

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: John Blittersdorf, Cent. VT Solar & Wind [mailto:cvsolar at aol.com]
> > Probably a year or so ago, someone in our group mentioned doing lots
> > of
> > work coming up with energy efficient pumping designs... pumps, manifolds
> > etc.
> > for radiant floor heating and/or baseboard hot water heat.  I would like
> > to
> > contact that person as I am finding that pump loads are getting out of
> > hand
> > with some of my off grid systems... It seems that plumbers think that a
> > whole
> > wall full of pumps is normal!!!!
> > I think that 500 to 600 watts to move a little water around is too much.
> > I
> > know that the ELCids can be used in some applications but would like to
> > know
> > what other pumps are available. Any info would be appreciated.
> >
>

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