Primary-Secondary-Tertiary Pumping

In a primary-secondary-tertiary system (Figure 3), things start to get a bit more complicated, but the
principles are all the same. The common pipe (whether it is between the primary loop and the
secondary loop, or the secondary loop and the tertiary loop) acts as the decoupler, so flows act
independently of one another and there is extra degree of thermal isolation.

Pros/Cons: Primary-Secondary-Tertiary systems have long been applied to large campus-type

installations with long pipe runs. They give the designer the flexibility to separate far-off zones so
that the secondary pumps needn’t bear such high head loss burdens. They offer excellent design
flexibility because flow to each zone is independent, thus primary-secondary-tertiary pumping is a
good option for systems with diverse load patterns. First costs are higher given the extra pumps and
two way valves, but when properly designed primary-secondary-tertiary pumping offers significantly
lower operating cost. Such systems are also easily expandable because additions will not impact the
flow or balance of existing pumps.
Primary-Secondary-Tertiary Hybrid

Primary-secondary-tertiary designs may also be hybridized, meaning you don’t have to put a tertiary
loop on every zone. Rather, you can isolate a high head loss zone with a tertiary pump while
continuing to efficiently serve nearby zones with the secondary pumps. Figure 4 shows a primary-
secondary-tertiary hybrid design.

Pros/Cons: This approach offers all the efficiency and flexibility of a standard primary-secondary-
tertiary, but does eliminate some of the extra equipment costs.
Primary-Secondary – Zone

Finally, there is the primary-secondary- zone approach. In a primary-secondary zone design,

separate pumps serve each individual zone; there is not a dedicated secondary loop pump. As you
can see in Figure 5, there is no common pipe between the individual zones, therefore a change to
one zone willimpact flow through the other zones. For that reason, this is not the best choice for a
system that is likely to face future expansion or renovation, as changes in existing loads might
require resizing of all pumps.

This type of design has the potential for high energy savings, but with certain caveats, including slow
reaction time to changes in system demand. Because the pumps are in parallel, special attention
must the paid to the selection and performance curves must be compatible. Also, under certain load
conditions, the return pressure may be higher than the supply pressure, which could create
problems with the primary loop equipment.

Pros/Cons: The main advantage to this piping arrangement is significantly lower system pressures,
and reduced horsepower. Controllability, however, is a challenge because there is no decoupling
between zones. Expanding the system could also be quite costly.