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Heating, Cooling and Ventilation
Energy Efficiency, Comfort, and Health | Components and Options | Thermostat and Controls | Forced Air | Radiant Heat | Water Heating | Cooling and Air Conditioning | Ventilation and Air CleaningQuick Facts
- A heating, cooling and ventilation system can only function effectively after the building envelope has been properly engineered, reducing the heating, cooling, and air treatment needs
- Provides the active regulation of temperature, humidity and fresh air to make your home comfortable
- Assures that the air in your home is clean and healthy
- Water heating systems supply hot water to the home; high efficiency water heaters can be combined with forced air or radiant heating systems to efficiently produce space heating and hot water
Energy Efficiency, Comfort, and Health
An occupant’s interaction with any heating, cooling, or ventilation system can feel more tangible since it directly regulates temperature and other factors of indoor comfort (such as relative humidity, fresh air ventilation, and air filtration). Once the building envelope has been properly engineered, streamlining the system which regulates air temperature and quality is the best way to maximize the energy efficiency, comfort and health of the home. If the whole system is considered, instead of compartmentalized into isolated components, and engineered for performance using the principles of building science, temperature regulation will become acutely less energy intensive. If this whole-system approach is applied to a traditional, poorly functioning system, comfortable, even temperatures and clean healthy air will go from being casualties of the heating system to its primary products. When considering the home as a system, the result is a more energy efficient, comfortable and healthy home.
Components and Options
Thermostat and Controls | Forced Air | Radiant Heat | Water Heating | Cooling and Air Conditioning | Ventilation and Air Cleaning
All systems are made up of functional components. Like any system, the value of the whole is worth much more than the sum of the parts. The components cannot be considered independently of the others.
Thermostat and Controls
This is the main point of interaction an occupant has with the systems which regulate the temperature and air quality of the living spaces. Whether the heat is delivered through a forced air or radiant heating system, thermostats and more sophisticated controls can allow the occupant to interact with the home’s environmental regulation systems to tailor and automate temperature as well as humidity and ventilation. Options for increased comfort and energy efficiency include zoned heating and cooling and a programmable thermostat (if used to set back temperatures at night or during the day when the home is empty. However, the energy efficiency and comfort levels attainable with a programmable or zoned thermostat are limited by the efficiency of the forced air or radiant heating system it controls, as well as the building envelope of the home in which it operates. [+] MORE
Forced Air
The forced air system is the most common type of heating and cooling system in the United States. Known also as the HVAC system, a properly functioning and calibrated forced air system uses the convective properties of moving air to deliver temperature conditioned air to the living spaces from a central furnace or air conditioner through a network of ducts to the living spaces throughout the house. As a more comfortable and energy efficient alternative, heat can be supplied to the ducts through a hydronic air handler instead of a furnace. No matter the energy efficiency of the individual components of a forced air components, whole system efficiency can only be optimized if the components are considered together by applying building science to correctly engineer the appropriate size and load of the system to the home’s needs. While an inefficient, poorly designed system will waste energy and create uneven temperatures, a well designed forced air system with efficiently provide even and constant temperatures. [+] MORE
Radiant Heat
An alternative to forced air heat is radiant hydronic heat which can be delivered with radiators or tubes to areas in the living space either locally or in a centralized, and possibly zoned, control system. Modern radiant hydronic heat can be a particularly efficient means of delivering heat to a home, since conduction and radiation are much more effective and long lasting means of delivering heat than is convection (which is used by forced air systems and only provided heat as long as air is blowing), and since water is a much more effective heat exchange medium than air. However, since radiant systems do not create air circulation, homes using only radiant heat will need additional fresh air ventilation for occupant safety and comfort. [+] MORE
Water Heating
Although a water heater may usually be thought of as separate from the heating system, high efficiency models may double as a provider of heat for forced air or radiant heating systems (replacing the gas furnace or boiler). This is an ideal situation because it increases natural gas efficiency by reducing gas combustion appliances from two to one and because it reuses hot water, effectively saving energy. However, as with any home system, its efficiency is dependent on the optimal functioning of other components and systems. In addition, The highest levels of comfort and energy efficiency will be attained only if the building envelope and ducts have been correctly sealed, insulated and engineered.
In special cases, where the system is expertly designed to accommodate excess summer heat, hydronic (hot water) home heating can be integrated with solar hot water applications. This takes expert engineering and is not always possible due to climate, home, and site constraints. [+] MORE
Cooling and Air Conditioning
Lowering a home’s cooling needs reduces the amount of air conditioning needed. Improvements that reduce cooling needs include air sealing, insulation, high performance windows, window film, shading, and radiant barriers. If some form of AC is still needed to keep the house comfortably cool there are several options for efficient cooling beyond high efficiency air conditioners such as ductless mini split or evaporative coolers. [+] MORE
Ventilation and Air Cleaning
A well sealed and insulated building envelope will make better use of heating and cooling energy, but it is also important that well sealed homes have adequate ventilation and functioning air filters. Filters can be independent of or included in the forced air system, in which case a clean filter is vital to furnace of air handler efficiency, since a dirty filter will restrict air flow. Optimal and highly efficient forms of ventilation include HRVs(Heat Recovery Ventilators) and ERVs(Energy Recovery Ventilators) which bring in fresh air and expel stale interior air and moisture wasting the energy used to heat or cool inside air. [+] MORE