If you would be building a new house and willing to spend double the usual on HVAC, what would your focus be on?
On the HVAC side, you want a system with a high CoP and I'd probably be looking at some form of energy recovery on the ventilation side.
I live in a relatively new building in NL, where many of these configurations are applied and on its own it won’t go lower than 21C in winter and 25C in summer. Thick walls, thick anhydrous cement floor layer for insulation (although I think it’s also meant to give the option to implement floor heating), _external_ blinds on the South side.
I simply can’t justify a smart thermostat/radiator valve build, despite my inside nerd constantly whispering I should.
Only downside is the heat exchanger air recirculator: it dries the air terribly in winter. You need a humidifier to avoid getting parched skin and mucosa.
This is the answer! Even more important than insulation is air sealing, so you keep the conditioned air inside.
I've learned an enormous amount about building efficiency from
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/ and https://www.energyvanguard.com/
I installed it, and would never go back to forced air. For some reason, it's not popular on the west coast.
It's so simple, a DIY'er could do the instal.
My energy bill is down, and allergies are better.
(I've noticed every store I have been in has forced HVAC, and I have a weird feeling forced air spread viruses. Plus--most retail stores have old systems. They might have slapped in some high mir filters, but I doubt they help with anything on old leaky systems.
(To those interested in hydronic heating, buy Modern Hydronics, by Stegenthal? I'm too lazy to look up his last name, but his book is used as text books.
This contrasts against the more common American method of using hot air to heat a home. I believe air heating is more common in the US because AC systems already require the relevant air ducting, so it's easier to install.
Meanwhile here in NL airconditioning is very rare, and 95% of people use a gas fired water heater and metal radidators in rooms for heat distribution.
- The term hydronic heating.
- That most Americans don't have hydronic heating.
That's so weird, here in France radiators are just ubiquitous.
This is the detachable showerhead thing all over again. How do you people survive like that? You're supposed to be the highest GDP country in the world!
You’ll find hydronics in expensive houses that can justify the double expense or in colder climates where the heating benefits are more important than AC.
Also everyplace I’ve lived in the last 25 years has had detachable showerheads.
You can also find baseboard heating, but that tends to be electric and have quite expensive operating costs. It's mostly only used in additions and places where you would only heat the space if you were currently in the room.
> This is the detachable showerhead thing all over again.
Uhhh... Everywhere I've lived in the US has had a detachable showerhead, from places built in the 1890s to places built in the 2000s. It's a normal thing for apartment dwellers to buy a nicer showerhead to replace the likely cheap and crappy one that landlord installed and then put the crappy one back before moving out.