Splitting a monoflow system into two zones, worth it?

EBjeebee87

I have a ~1400 Sqft Ranch in New England and we have gutted the basement to refinish it. While the walls are down, I noticed our current monoflow system splits left and right at the outflow to one side of the house with the bedrooms and the other side with the living room and kitchen (the larger side). The system is one inch black iron piping around the exterior with jut outs for baseboard heat common for the 1950-60s which merges to 2" piping in and out of the boiler.

Because the bedrooms side of the house is always cooler. I was given the option to fully split the heating system create a new zone for the bedrooms and leave the kitchen and Living room on its own zone for a fraction more on top of a very large plumbing job running gas and switching to a Navian from our crown oil boiler.

Would splitting the system provide any benefit from an efficiency or energy saving standpoint?

Jamie Hall

First off -- we don't talk price here on the wall, at least not for jobs (we sometimes complain about fittings and tools and the like! So if you could edit that out please...

That said there's no reason why it shouldn't work -- if it's done correctly. And, honestly, I can see no reason why it should be that expensive... I mean, basically, two zone valves and maybe a new delta P pump... probably a couple of balancing valves...

EBjeebee87

@Jamie Hall Thanks for the heads up.

I know the split should work, the real question is would I receive any real world benefit from the change, or is it just a waste of money and added complication for the convenience of setting individual temperature for three rooms?

For more context, the master bedroom and bathroom baseboards at the corner of the house and the end of the right hand split is significantly less hot than the other baseboards. Would a split be a fix for that?

EBEBRATT-Ed

@EBjeebee87
The only gain will be comfort and the loss of a few $$$

Jamie Hall

EBjeebee87 said:

@Jamie Hall Thanks for the heads up.

...the master bedroom and bathroom baseboards at the corner of the house and the end of the right hand split is significantly less hot than the other baseboards. Would a split be a fix for that?

Possibly. Perhaps ot. If the baseboards themselves are cooler, that may be a balance problem in the piping to the baseboards -- monoflos can do that. On the other hand, if that whole right hand loop is a little cool then indeed splitting could make a big differece.

Robert_25

If your current setup results in one part of the house being overheated to achieve the desired temperature in the rest of the house...then yes, you may improve the efficiency of the system by splitting it into two zones. I did the same thing in my house and I am glad I did.

nicholas bonham-carter

Real efficiency will come from selecting a boiler which is the right size for the total heat loss of the structure.
Tuning up the flows to different areas will follow that.—NBC

Big Ed_4

Hmm baseboard . My guess, did the original in wall convectors had been changed over to baseboard ?

If so .. First the old convector will throw out 3x -4x the BTU's per foot then baseboard and the convector will not be blocked by furniture like baseboard tends to be .. Normally ,the baseboard were piped to the convector risers and the tees on the main were not moved or spaced to the length of the radiation as it should be . The increase distance of the tees will increase the flow... The coldest day of the year with the lack of flow the rooms will feel cool.

Another option for comfort which I would recommend is changing the baseboard with the new style panel radiators . I would slightly over size the units and add the pop on thermostat . The manufacture's diverter valve would also be needed on a mono flow system . With or without the thermostat ...