AN OVERVIEW ON HVAC

HYDRONIC BALANCING
By

Ahmed Abdel Ghani Metawie

Consultant

Why Balancing?
Satisfy requirements of cooling or heating
coils.
Conserve on pumps power consumption.
Conserve on chiller power consumption.
Coil performance alone cannot be used as an
index for correct flow rates.
Significant change in flow rate is required to
effect a minor change in the coil output.

Why Balancing?

Types of HVAC Systems

Two Basic System arrangements:
Direct Return
Reverse Return

Direct Return

Direct Return

Direct Return
Most suitable for buildings utilizing energy
saving variable volume.
Requires a minimum of piping and usually has
less pipe friction than equivalent reveres return.
Pump head can be exerted across the
temperature control valves.

Reverse Return

Reverse Return
Used to balance the friction to terminal of same pressure loss

in constant flow systems.

Can be useful in low-rise buildings.
Seldom used in high-rise buildings due to extra vertical

weight of extra piping.

One advantage is reduction in max pressure drop across the

temperature controller.
With same pressure drop across each temperature controller,

balancing is much easier.

No longer needed with most of variable volume systems.

Flow Types & Pressure Gradients

Constant flow

- Three way valves.

Flow Types & Pressure Gradients

Constant flow

- Three way valves.

Flow Types & Pressure Gradients

Variable flow

- Two way valves.

Flow Types & Pressure Gradients

Variable flow

- Two way valves.

Market Available Balancing Techniques

Manual or Static Balancing

To adjust by hand p across coil and control valve circuits.
Tools used are balancing valves and commissioning sets.

Automatic balancing
To maintain constant, a water flow rate independently of the

changes of the differential pressure.

Types of flow controllers
- Automatic variable orifice.
- Self-acting valve.

Automatic Variable Orifice

Description
And
Operation:

Automatic Variable Orifice

Limitations and disadvantages:

Automatic Variable Orifice

Limitations and disadvantages:
No possibility to measure the flow rate.
Minimum differential pressure required is

relatively high.
Remain locked on position due to scaling.

These disturbances are not measurable.

Dirt in water reduces the section area of the orifice,

with a much higher deviation in the flow.

Automatic Variable Orifice

Limitations and disadvantages:
Noisy
Have to be removed during flushing
Cartridge must be replaced when flow changes
Overpressure is taken away in the small flow

controllers in series with the terminal units.

Very sensitive to the particles in the water.
Essential to protect with an efficient filter.

A Self-Acting Valve Maintains

Constant the p Across a Fixed Orifice

Description and operation:

A Self-Acting Valve Maintains

Constant the p Across a Fixed Orifice

Limitations and Disadvantages:

No possibility to measure the flow rate for

diagnostic purposes.
The minimum differential pressure required is

relatively high.
Remain blocked on position due to scaling. These

disturbances are quite difficult to find because the

flow rates are normally not measurable.
During flushing operation, the flow controllers

have to be removed and replaced correctly

afterwards.

A Self-Acting Valve Maintains

Constant the p Across a Fixed Orifice

Limitations and Disadvantages:

If the flow rate has to be changed, the cartridge

must be replaced or readjusted.

Flow rate can be chosen at any value between 0
and a maximum, without being obliged to remove
any part of the device.
Flow can be measured with the balancing valve.
During flushing, it is just sufficient to open fully the
balancing valve.
The maximum possible pressure drop is 200 kPa.
Flow range from 300 to 3500 I/h (0.03 to 0.972 I/s).
Minimum operating pressure drop between 15 and
35 kPa.

Comparison Between Flow Controllers

and Balancing Valves
Constant flow distribution

Comparison Between Flow Controllers

and Balancing Valves
Constant flow distribution

- With flow controllers

Flow rate is maintained constant independently on the port characteristics

of the three-way valve.

No balancing procedure is required and balancing of branches and risers

is obtained naturally.
The balancing procedure, which

detects most of the hydronic

anomalies, is not carried out.
The flow is not measurable.
More costly than balancing valves.
As a constant flow distribution is

charachterised by an absence of
disturbances, a controller is in fact
not necessary.

Comparison Between Flow Controllers

and Balancing Valves
Constant flow distribution

- With balancing valves

Two balancing valves are required
The balancing procedure is necessary and partner valves are

required in branches and risers.

Balancing valves including the

balancing procedure remain the

cheapest solution and give

always the possibility to measure
the flows for diagnostic purposes.

Comparison Between Flow Controllers

and Balancing Valves
Variable flow distribution

Comparison Between Flow Controllers

and Balancing Valves
Variable flow distribution

Comparison Between Flow Controllers

and Balancing Valves
Variable flow distribution

- With flow controllers

One flow limiter is in series

with each control valve.

A balancing procedure is

not required. However, the

actual flow cannot be
measured.
The control valve authority

can be destroyed by the

increase of differential
pressure leading to
unstable control loops.

Comparison Between Flow Controllers

and Balancing Valves
Variable flow distribution

- With balancing valves

Balancing valve gives the

possibility to measure the

flow rate and to adjust it at
the correct value.
The partner valve creates the
main pressure drop
corresponding for instance
with the overpressure created
on a riser close to the pump.
It is only when all control
valves shut simultaneously
that the increase of the
differential pressure is as
dramatic as for flow controllers.

MYTH & FACT

MYTH:
The coil-modulating valve will control better if some of
the drop can be taken across the balancing valve.
FACT:
The coil-modulating valve will always control better if the
balancing valve is not used and the drop across the control
valve is increased by the drop that would be allocated to the
balancing valve. The control valve will then be smaller and
the rangeability and close-off rating will be greater.

MYTH & FACT

MYTH:
The control valve can close against higher pressure
drops if balancing valves take some of the drop.
FACT:
The balancing valve has nothing to do with the close off
rating of the 2-way modulating valve. The balancing
valve only takes a drop when there is flow. When the
modulating valve is seating or unseating, all the drop is
across this valve. None of the drop is across the
balancing valve.

MYTH & FACT

MYTH:
The modulating control valves will be quieter if
balancing valves are used.
FACT:
The balancing valves have no bearing on control valves
noise.
Control valves are the noisiest when they are seating or
unseating that is when the pressure drop across the
control valve is greatest, because there is no drop
across the balancing valve or any of the other
components in the branch circuit.

MYTH & FACT

MYTH:
The coils will not get their design flow if balancing valves
are not used.
FACT:
If the control valves are sized properly and actuators
are large enough to position the valve plugs properly,
the system is self-balancing. Each coil will receive only
enough flow to satisfy the load.

MYTH & FACT

MYTH:
The coils nearest the pump will "rob" flow to the other coils
when the system is first started.
FACT:
On start-up, there may be a brief flow unbalance but this lasts only until
the thermostat takes over and repositions the coil valve. When the flow
unbalance occurs, the excess flow through the coil should bring the valve
under thermostat control very quickly. As an option, a high limit differential
pressure sensor can be connected across each coil to limit the flow
through the control valve to the design G.P.M. This sensor could be field
adjusted for the design differential, or it could be set at the factory to avoid
having to make field adjustments.

MYTH & FACT

MYTH:
The valves nearest the pump will not modulate because
much of the valve stroke will be lost in balancing the flow.
FACT:
If properly selected valves (those with equal percentage ports
and with correct actuators) are used, 20% or less of the stroke
will be used to balance the flow. The rest of the stroke will still
be available to modulate the flow within the design limits.

Dynamic Balancing with P Controllers

Keep Constant the p across the Control Valve

A self-acting valve maintains constant the differential pressure across the

control valve V differential pressure controller V1 is chosen to obtain the
design flow measurable through the balancing valve. V2.

Dynamic Balancing with P Controllers

Keep Constant the p across the Control Valve

Main Characteristics:
No need for other balancing devices in the branches and risers.
As the differential pressure across the modulating control valve is practically

constant, its authority is close to one and the control valve is never oversized.
The p control device does not work against the control valve, as flow controllers do,

but dynamically maintains the best conditions for the stability of the control loop.
The use of a balancing valve with a differential pressure controller can be considered

as a little bulky, however, this combination has the following advantages:

The modulating control valve works in the best conditions with an authority of one.
The flow rate remains measurable for diagnostic purposes.
The Control valve is never oversized and the design flow is always obtained for the

control valve fully open.

There is no need of balancing the branches and risers if all control loops are equipped

with this device.

Keep constant the p across

branch with several circuits

When several terminal units are close to each other, it can be sufficient to stabilise

the differential pressure on the entire set.

No need for balancing valves upstream the differential pressure valve. However,

balancing may be made downstream the valve unless the coils are identical with
small distances between the circuits.

Keep constant the p across

branch with several circuits

Keep constant the p across

branch with several circuits