Hydraulic modeling is seldom used in the day-to-day design of closed-loop or open-loop heating and cooling systems. I believe this is because engineers are too busy cranking out contract drawings and not focusing on looking ahead at the big picture.
Analogous to CAD when it first came out years ago, CAD was a drafting tool. It’s since been proven to be a design tool, a.k.a. computer-aided design drafting. Producers of this software, through research and development, expanded the programs’ ability to serve not only the design community but also the construction industry and facility management. One often overlooked feature of the software is its time management feature when the original consultant firm’s set-up person layers the computer-generated drawing. For example, drawn once, a piping system layout starts out showing the pipe distribution with a separate layer to show only pertinent components such as shut off valves, equipment, or control devices to mention three useful layers for the HVAC contractor and/or the facility technician.