Design

• 1). Think about how you use the rooms in your house. Consider which rooms you occupy the most at different times of day. Which activities do you do in each room? What is a comfortable temperature for each room's use? For example, bedrooms may be kept at a cooler temperature than the living room. A child's room or nursery may be heated more than a pantry or other storage room.
  
  
• 2). Determine which areas of your house have similar heat loss, as well as internal heat gains and losses. For example, cooking generates heat within a kitchen. Mechanical equipment gives off heat. Entryways lose heat when doors are opened. Rooms with large windows lose heat overnight or when it is not sunny, while rooms with south-facing windows gain heat on sunny days.
  
  
• 3). Decide which floor coverings each room will have. Concrete slabs covered with tile take longer to heat up and retain heat longer. Suspended wood floors heat up more quickly and lose heat more quickly. If your home has different types of floor construction, plan a separate zone for each construction type.
  
  
• 4). Plot the different heating zones on your house floor plan. The piping for all zones must begin and end at the same place, so allow enough room for pipes to run to zones that are the furthest away from your heat source.
  
  

Installation

• 1). Run the tubing for each zone. Complete one zone at a time. Label both ends of the tubing for each zone to match the map of your floor plan. Install a control valve for each zone in the return line at the manifold.
  
  
• 2). Designate a control board or area near the boiler to mount the electronics needed for your zoning system.
  
  
• 3). Wire a 24-volt transformer to supply power for thermostats, control valves and control module. Attach the control module and switching relay to the wall or control board. Connect the 24-volt transformer, thermostats, control valves and switching relay to the control module. Follow the wiring diagram provided by the control module manufacturer.
  
  
• 4). Install a thermostat in each area that is a separate zone. When the thermostat calls for heat, it sends a signal to the control module. The control module activates the zone control valve and switching relay, which turns on the recirculation pump.