PIPE-FLO and Flow of Fluids can be a great asset for the design of an HVAC system.

Equipment Selection:
System inefficiencies can be a major source of undesirable HVAC system noise as well. Pumps and fans that run near their best efficiency points mitigate operating costs and are quieter than those that do not. Oversized pumps and improperly selected valves can lead to excessive pressure drop and therefore excessive noise and energy loss in the valve. PIPE-FLO (and Con-Val) can assist in the analysis and selection of system components to increase efficiency and keep noise related to improper sizing to a minimum.  These same tools can help lower operating costs and achieve environmental goals through reduced energy consumption.

Distribution Systems:
PIPE-FLO provides a hydraulic network analysis of piping and circular ducting distribution systems with results displayed in a graphical representation of the system.  This allows for the visualization of the system layout and how changes to the individual components affect performance of the entire network.  Design changes are easily implemented and studied to optimize hydraulic performance and physical location.

System Components:
PIPE-FLO includes specific tools to model many common system devices like pumps, valves, tanks, demands, meters and orifices. The flexibility to specify your own components is also included. Any device whose resistance can be described by a curve can be modeled in PIPE-FLO. This allows for the hydraulic modeling all manner of filters, strainers, heat exchangers and custom devices. The program ships with a large list of pipe and fluid tables including many refrigerants. New pipe and fluid tables can be easily created to fit the needs of a particular project using the included table manager.

Modeling a large multi-loop system can seem daunting, but making use of the features in PIPE-FLO can greatly expedite the process. Click on the video below to see how these features can be used.