There are three major types of hydronic heating systems of which includes a single or double pipe system as well as a two pipe direct return system. Although in the most basic form the concepts are the same, the manner in how the flow is controlled differs mostly as a means of improving the systems efficiency.
The oldest and most simplified form of hydronic heating is the single pipe system of which we are all familiar with in older homes. This type of system directly delivers steam from a boiler to the radiators located throughout the building and then as the steam cools back into water, the water drips down the same pipe the steam went up through. This system is not very good for larger structures due to the fact that only one pope is used to both deliver the steam and accept the condensed water.
From here, we move onto the two pipe system which features a secondary pipe for which the condensed water has a return path to the boiler. Unlike the single pipe system, the two pipe system uses one pipe to deliver the steam to the radiator units and another pipe to return the water to the boiler where the process begins all over again. This system however, is not the best as the returning pipe will follow the same path as the steam pope and therefore is not as efficient as it could be.
The final hydronic system is the two pipe direct return system in which is just like the two pipe system it features a steam and condensed water piping. Unlike the two pipe system, the return pipe from each radiator goes directly back to the boiler through a main return pipe rather than back through each radiator that the steam goes through. The reason for this is that the condensed vapor will have less time to cool before returning to the boiler making the heating process faster. This two pipe direct return system is by far the most efficient hydronic heating system.
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