Articles by John Siegenthaler, P.E.

Combining low supply water temps with low-mass panel radiators.

An installer is asked to provide a relatively simple single-zone, slab-type floor heating system supplied by a geothermal water-to-water heat pump. He’s heard that a hydraulic separator is a good component in such systems.

How to combine an air-to-water heat pump with a boiler.

An installer uses an unpressurized thermal storage tank for drainback protection of a solar thermal system, and carefully slopes all the collectors and collector array piping for 1/4 in. per ft. drop.

Why I prefer drainback solar thermal systems.

An engineer is planning underground insulated piping for a small district heating system, which receives heat from a central boiler plant and distributes it to three separate buildings. He is planning what he calls a “primary/secondary” piping system.

Myths and methods for protecting boilers against flue gas condensation.

A significant temperature change is needed for effective thermal storage.

Every elegant hydronic piping assembly deserves an equally elegant control system.