When to Use a PICV Valve for AHU in HVAC Installations
PICV Valve for AHU Flow control in an HVAC system isn't complicated in theory. Each terminal unit gets the flow it needs, nothing more, nothing less, and the whole system performs the way it was designed. In practice, it's rarely that clean. Pressure fluctuates, loads shift, and circuits that were balanced at commissioning drift out of spec as conditions change. That's the gap a PICV Valve for AHU is designed to close, but it's not the right answer for every job. Knowing when it makes sense, and when a traditional balancing valve does the job just as well, saves both cost and complexity. What Is a PICV Valve for AHU? A PICV Pressure Independent Control Valve combines three functions in one body: modulating control, dynamic flow limitation, and differential pressure regulation. In an AHU application, it sits in the water circuit serving the heating or cooling coil and maintains a consistent flow rate to that coil, regardless of what's happening elsewhere in the syst...