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John Siegenthaler, P.E.

John Siegenthaler, P.E., is a consulting engineer and principal of Appropriate Designs in Holland Patent, New York. In partnership with HeatSpring, he has developed several online courses that provide in-depth, design-level training in modern hydronics systems, air-to-water heat pumps and biomass boiler systems. Additional information and resources for hydronic system design are available on Siegenthaler’s website, www.hydronicpros.com.

Articles

ARTICLES

Piping for radiant panel heating

The Glitch and The Fix, May 2015

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

May 11, 2015

The piping strapped to the bottom of the floor joists is supposedly part of a primary loop.

Looking back to early visions of hydraulic separation

Back to the future in hydronics

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

April 24, 2015

Back in 1996, the hydronics market was expanding at a good pace, largely driven by growing interest in radiant panel heating.

Radiant floor panels supplied by pellet-fired boiler

April 2015 The Glitch and The Fix

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

April 13, 2015

An installer is asked to use a pellet-fired boiler to supply heat to two zones of low-temperature radiant floor panels. The system includes a three-way motorized mixing valve to reduce the supply water temperature to the distribution circuits.

Year-round radiant

Opportunity awaits but it has to be controlled in radiant heating

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

March 30, 2015

Hydronic radiant panel heating has long been known for providing superior cold weather comfort.

First attempt at wall-mounted modulating-condensing boiler

The Glitch and The Fix, March 2015

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

March 12, 2015

A heating contractor who’s trying out his first wall-mounted mod/con boiler installs it as shown above. When buying the boiler, the contractor was told to use a pair of closely spaced tees to separate the boiler and distribution system.

Low-temperature opportunities for duel-fuel systems

In situations like this, it makes sense to prioritize use of the lower-cost energy wherever possible.

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

February 20, 2015

A unique detail for preheating domestic water.

Connecting an indirect water heater to multiple boiler system

February 2015 The Glitch and The Fix

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

February 16, 2015

A designer needs to tie in an indirect water heater to a multiple boiler system. He selects a hydraulic separator for the project and connects the piping of the indirect water heater on the same side as the boilers.

Creating an ideal balance-of-system with modern biomass boilers

Several of the pellet-fired boilers now available in North America can operate at steady state combustion efficiencies of at least 85%.

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

January 23, 2015

Beyond biomass boilers.

Radiant floor heating with pellet boiler

The Glitch & The Fix, January 2015

John Siegenthaler, P.E.

January 15, 2015

The designer’s intent was to supply a low-temperature floor-heating zone, as well as a higher-temperature baseboard zone and air handler, from a thermal storage tank heated by a pellet-fueled boiler.