Thermostat/Solar Control

Jay_14

I'm all for tinkering with your heating system, but you will likely find the system that you are proposing to be uncomfortable during the shoulder heating season (warm during the day, cold at night). It also hurts the value of your residence when you sell because nobody can fix or trouble shoot the system when things go wrong. Most of these custom systems get removed by the next owner.

Instead, you may want to consider an off the shelf tekmar control 363 that includes a solar water heating option to heat your system. It requires a solar storage tank, twin injection pumps and a backup boiler to heat your floor. See the tekmar website and download the application drawing A363-4 for more information. It's been successfully installed in many locations.

- Jay

Martin Romero

Thermostat/Solar Control

Friends,

I'll be installing a Drainback-Solar Radiant-Floor Heating System that will work along with my Boiler. The system will use the floor mass as the heat storage medium. I want to set the system up so that even if the zone thermostats are not calling for heat, the zone valves will still open if the solar controller starts the solar loop. However, I still want the thermostats to be able to call for heat and open the valves (and fire the boiler) when the solar loop cannot provide adequate heat. I've got a very vague idea of how to wire this up, but I would appreciate any input or leads. By the way, I've read the entire Tom Lane book as well as the Bob Ramlow book, but I didn't pick up anything specific about this type of control issue.


Many Thanks,

Martin Romero

carol_3

You're 'way beyond me. I'd say to draw up what you have a vague idea of, and see if it makes logical sense on paper. And maybe you'll be able to answer your own question. Best of luck. You might also post your quesstion on the main part of "the wall" on this site and see if any of those smart guys have any ideas.

Martin Romero

Thermostat/Solar Controller

Carol,

Thanks for the reply. I'll go to the big board.


Peace,

M. Romero