Adding a zone

robert griggs

I am looking at an addition job where they want to add copper fin baseboard to the existing heating system. They want this to be a separate zone from the rest of the house. I did the heat loss calculations and the existing boiler can handle this additional load. The question I have is about piping this zone. The existing piping is all one zone, with the circulator on the return. Can I put the new zone with the circulator on the feed, and tie the return in after the existimg pump? Or should I put the circulator on the return? Or just use zone valves on both zones? I am not too familiar with zone valves, the companies I have worked for in the past never liked them, and always avoided using them whenever possible. Thanks for your input.

Bob Bona_4

depends:)

depending on the type,length, and size of the existing zone you may be able to zone valve it off. I prefer to use a circ for retrofit added zones to ensure flow, pumping away, of course. If a boiler re-pipe isn't in the cards, then, usually, yes, you can add that circ to the supply and leave the old one where it is.This all depends on piping the best you can around what's there.

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