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As a Midwesterner, it is absolutely bonkers to me how common it appears to be for HVAC systems to get installed in attics.
Don't do that. Stop doing that! WTF?
That's bad enough, but then you go and run the ducts up there, too?
Y'all.
If you keep the system and the ducts within the space you're trying to heat and cool, you don't have to account for any losses, now, do ya?
Put the air handler in a utility closet. Run ducts /below/ the ceiling. Enclose with soffiting if you must.
The end.
This is a test rant for a future video that may or may not happen.
But seriously, I cannot fathom how HVAC stuff in attics (or crawlspaces!) got normalized. Especially in new construction.
You virtually never see that around here (the most common application is old homes with radiators for heat who want to add central air) and for good reason!
@TechConnectify I just got through the whole thread, and you are mostly correct. The attic floor is really best for insulation, not the slopes of the roof, and because of this ducts should avoid being placed in the attic. The nuance of what alternatives make sense is a lot more complicated.
I’ve been an energy auditor and QC inspector for insulation and energy efficiency projects for 13 years, if you want me to go over the details with you at some point hit me up.
@junio I can tell there's a lot of nuance, especially with noise, heating/cooling prevalance, etc. but I'm relieved to know the attic thing is as bonkers as it seems!
Methinks ductless mini-splits are going to be quite the game changer for retrofits. Once HVAC contractors stop being allergic to them...
@TechConnectify ductless mini splits are great, especially for adding AC to a house that wasn’t set up for it, but here in the US they actually don’t make systems for small rooms. We have 6000 BTU units and if you’re going to install one in every room like every HVAC contractor will recommend we need sub 2000 BTU systems.
If I were building new, I’d install ducted heat pumps to manage per room loads appropriately and keep the system efficient.
@junio But most of them can run at that output, no?
I think a lot of conventional wisdom is about to be thrown out the window once vari-speed compressors and EEVs become normalized.
And, what irritates me endlessly, is that those are pretty much standard equipment now in commodity mini-splits from Asia but for some reason the domestic manufacturers hardly build any.
@TechConnectify The good systems can produce very low percentages of their rated capacities, but for small rooms or efficient homes, they can still be oversized. And the worse systems might only be able to go down to 50% capacity.
If heat pumps were inexpensive, this wouldn't be an issue, but where I am the average home install for one unit in each bedroom and one in the living room and maybe the dining room is well over $30,000.
@TechConnectify
This is a website that lists and shows the efficiency info for dozens of manufacturers' products. You can get lost on it for hours. https://ashp.neep.org/#!/product_list/
@junio This is actually something I'm hoping to tackle with a video topic.
There's a lot of flat-out price gouging going on in the space. The actual equipment cost for a three-head Mitsubishi split system is about $4K wholesale. Even the most elaborate systems don't tickle $10K, so installers are absolutely profiting on the /sale/ of the equipment in addition to the work to install it.
@TechConnectify@mas.to @junio@mastodon.social It was tough to find someone who would just install the heat pump and air handler. When I was looking into them for my place everyone wanted to sell them as well.