Balancing valve: the principle of operation. Balancing valve: classification, types, installation rules

Whichever the heating system is, it involves setting up, which can be done in a certain way. This is necessary to ensure that the parameters in individual sections are close to the calculated ones. Thus, it is possible to achieve an effective work. To adjust, you can use different means, but the most common and modern is a balancing valve, the principle of which is presented in the article.

Need to use

Heating systems assume the need for balancing, which is a hydraulic adjustment. The purpose of these manipulations is to bring the flow of water along the individual branches of the circuit to the required value, only in this way each radiator will receive the required amount of heat. If we are talking about simple systems, the required coolant flow is ensured with the help of properly selected pipe diameters.

Use in complex systems

Complex systems in their work provide for adjustment by special washers, the size of the passage of which ensures the flow of water in the required volume. The listed methods are obsolete, today the modern method is used, which is expressed in the installation of balancing valves. These devices are manual valves, through which the flow of the coolant is controlled. The mechanism has an addition that covers the flow, for this, fittings are used.

Principle of operation

After you have learned what a balancing valve is used for, the principle of operation of which will be described below, you can proceed with the installation of the device. First, you need to understand the principle of balancing the heating system. To do this, you can imagine a dead-end branch that has several radiators, the latter act as energy consumers. A certain volume of the heat-carrier, heated up to the design temperature, is fed through them to the pipes. It is determined depending on how much heat energy will be needed to heat the premises.

A manual balancing valve is used when the radiators are devoid of a thermostatic valve and the water flow for each of them is constant. The device mentioned should be on the return pipeline, in the place where it can be cut into the common highway. This allows you to make the necessary measurements by placing the valve at the desired number of revolutions. A certain constant water flow in the regulated branch will be guaranteed. However, users often encounter the fact that the flow rate varies, this can happen when thermostatic regulators are installed on radiators. They are designed to control the intensity of heating the room and create an obstacle in the way of water, reducing the volume of its receipt. In this case, the flow of the heat carrier volume will change in the reverse common pipeline.

For reference

A manual balancing valve will guarantee a certain amount of coolant, which will achieve the desired effect when the number of batteries is small and does not reach 5 pieces. If you limit the thermostat control limits, then the existing circuit can be easily adjusted. If the number of radiators is more than mentioned, they will go pie-wise. The thermostat installed on the first battery will cover the flow of the coolant, which will cause an increase in the flow on the second radiator. It will close the valve, the flow will go to the third radiator and so on. Ultimately, such work will lead to the fact that some batteries will excessively overheat, while others will remain cold, and unbalance of the branch will occur. An automatic balancing valve should be installed on a riser or branch with a sufficiently large number of heaters, only then the system will work clearly.

The principle of operation of the valve on a riser with a large number of radiators

If an automatic balancing valve is used in the conditions described above, the operating principle here is somewhat different. The valve is adjusted to the maximum design water flow. In the course of work, when a thermostat of any kind of battery will reduce the consumption of hot water, the pressure on the site will grow. The automatic controller will receive a pulse through the capillary tube, this will allow the device to react quickly, correcting the water flow, then the remaining thermostats will not have time to work, the flow overlap will not occur, and the system will remain hydraulically balanced.

Classification

The balancing valve, the principle of operation of which has been described above, is available for sale in a wide range. Before you make an acquisition, you need to understand the classification. Thus, when selecting, it is necessary to take into account the design parameters of the system at the installation point. The master must pay attention to the maximum pressure of the working medium and the nominal parameter, and also take into account the difference in pressure in the return and supply circuit.

The valve can belong to a particular class, depending on the field of use. So, devices are applied on objects of individual construction, housing and communal services, in conditions of industrial facilities and on sections of main pipelines. A balancing valve, the principle of operation of which you should be aware of before purchasing the device, can be chosen by the type of pipeline system that is designed for air conditioning, hot or cold water supply, cooling or heating. Among other things, the described devices differ in the type of heat carrier, such as steam, water or glycol solution. By type of installation, the valves are divided into fixed and adjustable.

The main types of valves

If you are interested in the balancing valve MSV, then it is available for sale in a wide variety, among other models you can see devices with manual adjustment, through which it is easy to adjust individual sections of the system and the entire pipeline, determining the pressure and flow rate of the medium at control points. With the help of manual balancing valves, it is possible to disconnect individual sections, releasing them from the operating coolant. The main advantage is low cost, but you should pay attention to some shortcomings. Among the main - the ability to set a balance only for the average design parameters of DC. When the flow fluctuates, which occurs in the water supply systems, the balancing may be disturbed.

Automatic balancing valve, the price of which is 6000 rubles, can be automatic, it is installed on the reverse and input circuit. Another variety of valves provides the possibility of adjusting the temperature of the working medium.

Features of the installation

If you decide to purchase a Danfoss balancing valve, you should first familiarize yourself with the installation features. In order to guarantee the accuracy of the measurements, before and after the device, pipe sections that are devoid of bends should be located. The length of the section will depend on the diameter. Before the valve, the length of the straight pipe should be equal to 5 pipe diameters, after the valve the length should be two diameters or more. If you do not take into account these recommendations, when the balancing valve "Danfoss" is installed, the error in the measurements can reach 20%.