One of the “delights” of designing hydronic systems is looking for synergistic opportunities, where one device provides multiple functions or benefits that would otherwise require two or more separate devices. For example, it’s possible for a buffer tank to provide hydraulic separation of the circulators in a system while it also adds stabilizing thermal mass. The latter was the intended function of the tank, the former was a synergistic benefit that eliminates the need for other hardware to provide a necessary function (e.g., hydraulic separation). Such opportunities usually reduce installed cost, complexity and time.