Somewhat disappointed in air distribution

[beelzerob]

Well, that didn't do anything.

So, I had the HVAC guy out, and we're attacking it from 2 perspectives (at least as far as an estimate goes). He suggested a zoned system...upstairs and downstairs. We hadn't considered a zone system when we originally bought the house because it is so open. But dividing it by up and down makes some pretty good sense...heat just the downstairs in winter, and cool just the upstairs in summer. The duct going to the upstairs is easy for them to get to to put in a damper.

Of course, having to control dampers means a new HVAC controller. So much for the RCS TR-15 I made do with.

The other thing we're looking at is going the geothermal route. Now that's a hefty price increase, but it certainly adds some benefits. We'll see....that may end up in the 2 to 3 year plan. The good news is that if we go with dampers now, they'll still be useful if we go geothermal later.

 

[Lagerhead]

Of course, having to control dampers means a new HVAC controller.

But, but, but... a damper is just another control opportunity for your HA technologies.

 

[beelzerob]

But, but, but... a damper is just another control opportunity for your HA technologies.

Oh oh oh...I know. I actually greedily rubbed my hands together after meeting with the guy and said "Ahhh, more controls and mechanisms. Yessssssssss."

So speaking of which, since I'm sure they're going to include the cost of a damper control thermostat that I'll then have to replace....what is the cheapest controllable thermostat out there that operates a heat pump and (it appears) 4 dampers?

 

[AnthonyZ]

But, but, but... a damper is just another control opportunity for your HA technologies.

Oh oh oh...I know. I actually greedily rubbed my hands together after meeting with the guy and said "Ahhh, more controls and mechanisms. Yessssssssss."

So speaking of which, since I'm sure they're going to include the cost of a damper control thermostat that I'll then have to replace....what is the cheapest controllable thermostat out there that operates a heat pump and (it appears) 4 dampers?

Why not use conditional logic instead of dedicated stat? Seems cheaper (relays are cheap) and a hell of a lot more fun/rewarding.

 

[lorenkoeman]

I am pretty sure that I have seen powered cold air returns somewhere. This may be a solution to put a fan in the cold air return coming from the warmest rooms to force this heated air back through the air handler.

 

[beelzerob]

Why not use conditional logic instead of dedicated stat? Seems cheaper (relays are cheap) and a hell of a lot more fun/rewarding.

Hmmm...true, but my goal with HA is to have a system that works even when my control doesn't. So at least a thermostat will still do what it needs to, even if the master server is down for repairs. I guess there's always the option of just manually overriding the damper, should I need to take my system offline.

 

[drozwood90]

Why not use conditional logic instead of dedicated stat? Seems cheaper (relays are cheap) and a hell of a lot more fun/rewarding.

Hmmm...true, but my goal with HA is to have a system that works even when my control doesn't. So at least a thermostat will still do what it needs to, even if the master server is down for repairs. I guess there's always the option of just manually overriding the damper, should I need to take my system offline.

I completely agree. What I'm going to do (when I get to that point), is just leave the builder installed thermostat in the house...but set it's set points farther out. During the day, I want 68degF...so, I'll set my automation system to try to keep 68...set the thermostat to start to look at say...66 or 65 (maybe lower depending on how I feel about my control code!!)...just as a backup. If things workout, it should not ever kick on...but if something happens when we are not home, at least this way the device can keep the house warm enough.

 

[beelzerob]

I'm not sure if it's part of a thermostat's logic, but I'd hate to do something wrong that accidentally closes ALL the dampers. If that logic is built into the thermostat, then it'd be worth going through a thermostat to control the dampers.

Does the standard heat-pump Aprilaire controllable t-stat do dampers too?

 

[dougmeredith]

The other thing we're looking at is going the geothermal route. Now that's a hefty price increase, but it certainly adds some benefits. We'll see....that may end up in the 2 to 3 year plan. The good news is that if we go with dampers now, they'll still be useful if we go geothermal later.

Keep in mind that the ducts are typically sized to be larger for geothermal than for, say, a gas furnace. This is because geothermal can't get the air as warm as a furnace (typically only 110-120 F). As a result, a greater volume of air is required to deliver the same amount of heat. If the ducts aren't up-sized accordingly you will have increased noise. I'm not sure how big of an issue this really is, but it is something that you may want to look into.

Doug

 

[beelzerob]

Well, I have a standard air-exchange heatpump now, so I'm not coming from a furnace type system. It should be just right as far as that goes.

Man, I'd LOVE 110 to 120! The hottest I've seen the air in the duct from our heat pump was 100 on a 50deg day.