Hot Water Circulator Pumps

By Mark J. Donovan

Do you have a hot water heating system? Have you ever wondered how the hot water makes it from your home’s boiler system up to and through the heating elements? Well it is a hot water circulator pump that makes it happen.

A hot water circulator pump plays an important role in a closed hot water home heating system. It is the device that forces the hot water from the boiler up through the heating elements.

Hot water circulator pumps are centrifugal pumps that are powered by electricity. They work in conjunction with the boiler, zone valves and thermostats to provide heat to your home.

When the thermostat indicates that the room needs heat, it sends a low voltage signal to the zone valve and the hot water circulator pump to open the gates and begin sending hot water up to the heating elements.

As the water cools, after flowing through the cold heating elements, it returns to the boiler where it is then re-heated and circulated back up to the heating elements. This process continues until the thermostat sends another signal back to the zone valve and hot water circulator pump indicating the room is at the desired temperature.

Hot water circulator pumps are also used for providing on-demand domestic hot water. By continuously circulator hot water through the domestic hot water system, hot water is immediately available. This is great for having instant hot shower water and it does help in not wasting water. On the other hand, energy is wasted due to the fact that the water needs to continuously be heated.

Hot water circulator pumps are rated by their flow performance. Besides their horsepower rating, the flow performance consists of two key parameters. First is the flow rate. Basically this is how much water can be passed through the hot water circulator pump per minute or hour. The second parameter is the head pressure rating. This is a measurement of how vertically high the circulator pump can lift water. This is an important parameter when you need to have hot water pumped up two or three floors. So when your circulator pump fails, and as the case with everything, make sure to replace it with one that can handle the job for your hot water heating system.