HVAC Options

[ph0n33z]

Dear Fellow Cocooners,

I have some issues concerning my HVAC setup.

We are having the following setup:

Downstairs Left Wing:
1 3 Ton unit. This services the Master Bedroom area, Laundry, Second Master bed and bath suite, and corresponding hallway. It is setup to be zoned, but may not be right away.

Downstairs Right Wing:
1 3 Ton unit. This services the Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, Family Room, Breakfest Nook, and 3rd Bathroom.

Upstairs Zoned:
1 5 Ton Unit
Zone 1: The Dedicated Theater and Game/Concession Room
Zone 2: The Library, Guest Bedroom, and 2 other Bathrooms

These are my questions:
In this house, we have 3 separate areas that need special attention. The first is the main HUB, Node 0, Home Run Location, etc...... I call it the Batcave (just to clarify things). The second and third areas are in the Dedicated Theater, so I will get to them next.

The Batcave:
How should I cool this thing? The HVAC guy recommended getting a separate 1 1/2 ton unit that would only pump in cool air to all three locations. This sounded great!!!! until I got the price............$2200!!! That is way over budget, so it is not really an option.........

What do you guys think? Is there a more affordable solution to cool these areas than having to get a separate unit? What if I made these areas a separate zone? Say I placed a tstat in the theater closet, and another in the batcave.........would that work?

The Theater:
The first and most important area is the Equipment Closet. This is going to house all of the Theater goodies. (HTPC, reciever, xbox 360*hopefully*, etc). What is a good solution for this area? It is going to be a "sealed" in closet, so something for a small area.

I guess I am just trying to find a way to keep all these areas cool, without having to spend even close to $2200.

Thanks guys!

 

[huggy59]

Depending on the actual areas, you might look into a typical window-style AC unit, or a portable unit. The drawbacks would be where it dumps the heat, noise, esthetics...

You didn't say whether these three areas could be easily added (ducted) to ONE of your existing units. I'd put it on one of the existing units, as a zone. If they can't go on one unit, it will cost more to run two or three units for the special zones, assuming they would call for AC more than the normal parts of the house would.

On the other hand, if you use fans or blowers to circulate air from the cool floor of the theater into and through the equipment closets, through some baffling ducting for sound reduction, you might be able to keep the temps low enough in the closets to not need AC. It all depends on the heating/cooling equations and the gear you put in the space.

Does your AC guy have any suggestions?