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Old 04-11-13, 09:37 PM   #1473
michael
Michael
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: mendocino, california
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevehull View Post
The buffer tank is absolutely necessary to prevent short cycling. Steve
OK, I get it, but it just seems to me that if the circulation rate of the heated loop matched the circulation rate of the radiant floor, and the heat pump could raise the 85 d return water from the floor to 110 d in one pass, it ought to work without the dread rapid cycling. As long as the thermostat called for heat, the heat pump and the floor would run in synch unless there's some sort of modulation that goes on with the heated output loop from the heat pump, but even that may not make a difference. It's possible that the buffer is needed in complex radiant systems where one finds zones or mixed heating methods with some chance of slowing down the passage of heated water through the heat pump, but if that's not the case, I don't quite get why a buffer tank is necessary. It might be nice to have, but perhaps not necessary. Michael

Last edited by michael; 04-11-13 at 09:41 PM..
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