I am builidng our retirement house on Horseshoe Lake in Woodland Washington. It is framed, roofed, adn the windows and doors are installed. I have seen high velocity HVAC on HGTV (e.g. This Old House). I like what I have seen because of the small , nearly unoticeable vents instead of large ugly grills. But I have received conflicting opinions about the system. Some informatiion says that it mixes the air better and eliminates hot and cold spots and stratification. Some say that the high velocity through small ductwork is noisy and burns out motors sooner.
Has anyone out there had actual experience, good or bad, with high Velocity HVAC?
Thanks
Replies
I know of Horse shoe lake in Purdy I didn't know there was one in Woodland---- learn sumpin everyday.
Well I'm not a big fan of them ---- no pun intended
Noise problem is over rated but it's not as quiet as a tradional system.
I've mainly delt with them in an AC application not a heating one.
As far as mixing better that depends on the lay-out, cieling height, unobstructed space etc......
Oh yeah welcome to BT
Thanks for the responce. A little clarification; the heating will be by radiant heat in the floor. The HVAC will be mainly for AC, with a heatpump for backup heat just in case.
This Horseshoe Lake used to be part of a big S in the Lewis River. When they built the I-5 freeway in the '60s, they put a bridge over the south end and cut off the upper loop creating a horseshoe shaped lake. Water is pumped in at the NE end and empities back into the Lewis on the SE end through a coffer dam.
I have two houses, both more than 80 years old. I put a standard system in the older one (1893), and a Unico system in the newer one (1921). I had concerns about the Unico system re noise and drafty feelings, but my fears were allayed when I visited my next door neighbor's house. So I went with it for the advantages you cite. And I got the reversible compressor for heat backup too.
The AC guys who put in the Unico were exceptionally good. The installation took 6 weeks, and hardly disturbed the house at all. The indoor unit is mounted on rubber shocks on top of a new plywood platform that sits on the ceiling joists in the attic. On the day that they first fired up the system, it was noisy. They spent a half a day tuning it, and now you cannot even tell when it's on. I do not know what they did to tune it (balanced a flywheel or something? --- i'm kidding) as my wife was the only one home while they were tuning it. With the spacing of the outlets that they did in all the rooms, it works great. I cannot speak to the motor life issue, as both systems are quite new.
Where you notice the noise most is near the intake register. Of course they are in differently constructed houses, but if you stand equally close to each of the intake registers, I have to say that the standard system is considerably louder than the high-velocity system.
In summary, I believe that the Unico system (and probably other high-velocity systems as well) has come a long way since the early days, therefore the concerns raised in earlier articles and posts probably do not apply anymore. Experience of the installer with the type of system you choose is probably critical (as with many new technologies); you don't want to be the first guinea pig in the Pacific NW.
Rick (ohio)
I installed two Unico systems in my home: one for third floor, one for second floor (first floor never gets hot in the summer). I have been very pleased with these systems. I can hear it when it runs, but I can hear ANY A/C system when it's on, so that's OK. This is no worse in my view.
This is the first time that we have had central air (used to have a couple of window units). It's hard to imagine how we lived without it, now! It's amazing how quickly it goes from nice-to-have to necessary.
Bob
Hi Bob,
While every application is different, I'm a big fan of the High Velocity systems especially with radiant heat. All the reasons you stated, unobtrusive, almost unnoticeable, very flexible on installation wether on new installation or existing. Also after they're setup and airflow is balanced they can be very quiet.
What are you using for a heat source on your radiant? If it's hydronic and you're using a boiler or heat pump you can put an extra water coil in your duct work for auxiliary heat. This can save a little cost on additional equipment. You can also get controls to just bring on the fan and hot water coil in the shoulder seasons (Spring and Fall) when you only need a little heat and it's not as practical to do the floor heat. Make sure whoever installs this system for you does a through heat loss analysis for you house and has experience with these type systems.
After installing these and other systems for quite a few years now, hydronic radiant - high efficiency boiler with a High Velocity air handler is what I'm installing in my new house this summer!
Best Regards, Rich
Thanks Rich,
The radaint heat will be hydraunic. I don't have the system yet. The guy that is doing the estimate and all the calcs will be giving me a bid on the radiant as well as the HVAC. We have discussed putting a hot water loop in the air handler, as you suggest.
I hadn't thought of the Spring and Fall seasons between heating and cooling. Your suggestion sounds like a low energy use solution.
Thanks,
Bob