The rapidly expanding use of hydronic heating, especially radiant floor heating, has drawn many new people into the industry over the last few years. They are faced with designing increasingly complex systems that often blur the lines between residential and commercial applications. Combine this with recent advances in hardware, and the stage is set for lots of questions. In this article, I'll address a few of the questions I periodically receive.
Q: Will a manually set four-way mixing valve used as part of a radiant floor system adequately protect a boiler from low return water temperature?