Residential HVAC Design

We offer third party HVAC designs that include a load calculation (how much heat gain/loss a house has) and recommendations for properly sized systems for that load. Additionally, we identify and recommend ancillary systems as necessary, specify a duct system designed to deliver the air, a filter selection to ensure the air is clean, terminal selection to ensure the air is mixed well in the home, a proper ventilation system to ensure good indoor air quality, and a control strategy to make it all work together. We follow ACCA Manuals J, D, S & T with industry best practices and knowledge. Our team has worked closely with ACCA on multiple manuals and have worked in R&D for HVAC manufacturers, giving us an edge on how equipment performs best. We can perform additional modeling to look at part-load performance of the equipment and give you an estimate as to what sort of latent control you can expect to avoid high humidity. Our goal is to design systems that can easily be installed and maintained, providing long lasting comfort and IAQ for your project.

Passive and high-performance homes can create challenges in air distribution and mixing, proper dehumidification, and filtration.  Furthermore, traditional equipment often cannot be utilized because the loads are so low. We have experience with these projects and can work with the project team to design and specify the proper HVAC equipment to ensure comfort and IAQ.

We believe every home should have mechanical ventilation. It does not need to be expensive or overly complex, but it does need to be appropriate for the climate and project. We have worked on the product and research side of ventilation systems and understand the positives and negatives of different ventilation systems which enables us to specify a good, better, and best ventilation system for your specific project.

Ensuring proper humidity control is very difficult in humid climates. Current building practices often reduce the amount of sensible heat in our structures but fail to properly handle latent heat. We can help determine what your comfort/IAQ threshold is for humidity (latent heat) and determine whether your system will provide you adequate latent control. If not, we can design a supplemental dehumidification system for your project.

Our team has experience sizing and implementing designs for mini-split systems.  We have been involved with early research on this technology and best practices in design.   Let us help you avoid the common pitfalls that lead to unhealthy and uncomfortable conditions.

See David's Green Building Advisor article on how to duct ERVs, dehumidifiers, and heat pumps:  Ductwork for ERVs, Dehumidifiers, and Forced-Air Heating Systems - GreenBuildingAdvisor