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I'm in Dallas- don't quite have the humidity Houston has :)

Will definitely be talking it thru with them!

Will definitely register, and good to know about the rebate side of it- hadn't thought about that.

My concern is (which I failed to note originally), I'm not really getting a 2-stage equipment...

I do, and I will, but I enjoy being able to understand it (and appreciate the diversity of opinions and experience I get here!).

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Hello! We're doing new construction, are in the middle of framing, and have had a few discussions with the HVAC sub (builder is acting as GC and has his own subs). My first question was,...

Yes- saw you had ran those- thank you.

And I had asked them to design for 72 degrees as we all like it chilly!

Completely understand the importance of centrally located equipment. I'll check in with them to make sure they're following Man D.

The far side faces ESE so that's a good thing.

I'll ask for a...

I'll take all the suggestions you've got :)

The second floor will have some vaulted ceilings. There's a walk-in attic at one end where the equipment will go- from the mid-point of that space to...

To close this one out, they're going with a 2-stage (Gold 17). House will be foamed, with a standalone dehumidifier and energy recovery ventilators. Confirmed they've gone thru at least a manual J...

Well, now that I know I can get a funky top... :)

I'm meeting with the HVAC guy early next week and will see what he's planning on.

I've got zero knowledge of what tonnage they plan on putting in; I was putting the 4 ton per floor out there just as an assumption to see what the price difference might be (1 ton vs 1 ton, the price...

Excellent information- appreciate it!

Besides that the 18 is an up to 18 SEER and the 20 is an up to 22 SEER.

This is in Dallas, new construction, 4,000 sqft 2 story. Builder is closing in on final plans and I'm going to have a quick...

Energy- awesome info, thank you!

Shop- will be going with RB; made a noticeable difference in my previous home here. Did most myself and had a pro finish the rest. The biggest difference was, on...

Appreciate the input!

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Given the hail storm we had recently in Dallas, we had the insurance adjuster come out, and, we need a new roof. House is 4,000sqft with asphalt shingles. We're going to be using a roofer...

George- let me take my own stab at this- the power vent will keep the house cooler in the summer. But at what expense is the question. It will draw in outdoor air through the soffit baffles to help...

I've got 14 returns today (with 11 wall chases;3 chases being split into two grills on opposite sides of the same wall), and will go down to 4-6, so same location- no, but evenly distributed (looking...

Dash- thanks for the help!- before discussing if they'd make the trip, we got to a rough quote and it looks like blocking off the existing returns and putting in new ones at the ceiling will be a lot...

I never got past the front desk, so let me give that a shot...

The duct blaster I had done couldn't even get a solid reading, we're confident everything's sealed up EXCEPT the returns at ground...

Wanted to get a quote on Aerosealing my ductwork; I'm too far away for the closest listed contractor on Aeroseal's website. Did some searching, and the only shop I found that had it listed as one of...

Original install was 4 years ago; the entrie triangle was replaced last year when I noticed it was leaky. Do I still have recourse at this point? And would the (minimally, at least) acceptable...

681- supply plenum, 2 18" round lines, the closer one does a 180 degree curve and comes to...
682- the triangle
683- a close-up of some of the twists on the left-hand side (on which there are 4...

Thanks for the replies! Will see if I have a pic to post or will take one in the morning.

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Going to have some return ducts added (sealing off the returns that run through the wall cavities and putting in return grills in the ceiling); debating getting some quotes on rejiggering...

There's actually a good deal of board down, just not as close as visible in the pics (excpet for those 3 or so boards that are seen, that come in handy when changing the filter :))

I'd love to, but let's see what the quote comes back as... and the closest Aeroseal contractor (based on the Aeroseal website search) won't come to my area (too far- I've called in the past to at...

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Recently had a duct blaster test done, and wouldn't you know it, we couldn't even get a reading. I'm thinking (as well as the tech) that the return air setup is the culprit- all return...

So, the one key piece of information I left out was that there are two 90 degree turns in the blocks- sort of like a squared-off bay window. Techically an exterior storm window could be built, but...

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Have a 5'x8' section of glass block wall in our master bath. In Dallas, it's been getting into the 40s at night. IR thermometer tells me it's just 10 degrees warmer on the inside-facing...

me75006 - thanks for the info- didn't know Oncor incentives were available...

Good to know- thanks!

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Sealing up the last of my supply vents (mastic between the drywall and the sheetmetal boot). Vents and boots are 30 years old (with the house), all-new AC/furnace/air handler and flex duct...

That makes sense, they're all pulling from a common handler thus at the same pressure...

That's funny- just last night I was passing a tissue over all my return vents, to see if any pulled stronger or weaker than the others (given that the larger-ducted, larger-registered returns will...

From a temp gun at least, the temps at the supply vents for the longer runs are warmer than the temps for the shorter runs, by 6-7 degrees F. The longest runs go through a 40' 18" run, triangle, 20'...

Didn't think about checking the temp difference between the handler and the triangle- will definitely do that :)

Yes- when the AC folks checked for leaks, it was feeling for air flow with the AC...

Oh yes- I've been getting quotes and plan to do this soon.

But, it still won't help the heat load on the ductwork in the attic...

I've got anywhere from R-11 to R-19 right now.

Most of the ductwork (the larger/longer runs, anyway) is hanging, bottoms 18" or more off the floor, so burying isn't an option unfortunately.

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So I burned 3700 kWh cooling my 3,000 sqft house last month. I'm halfway through my radiant barrier job (stapling foil to the rafters myself, but with the heat in Dallas I'm going real...

Our previous 12-month contract expried and we paid 24.9 cents for the month of June :(, shame on me for not keeping on top of it.

Along the same lines, we keep our house 73 all day long (we like...

Wow, lots of great info here- thank you. Service tech will be out this week, sealing up a leaky triangle- will ask about the discharge air sensor and a wiring check. As far as duct sizing, the...

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We've got a single unit dampered for dual zones. That is the supply side is dampered, the return side pulls from the whole house regardless. Is this correct, or should the return side be...

Hound- what did you use to seal the gaps between the supply boots and the drywall? I'm about to do the same thing (as much as from above as from below because of ceiling heights), and thinking about...

Thank you.

Great- thank you for that. Should I ask that the box be replaced, as it seems like shallow board and it's definitely soft and pliable at this point? Or is it enough that they seal up the leak?

First off, my apologies for the poor use of terminology here :) I'm going to have the company that installed our AC system four years ago (new equipment across the board minus partial re-use of...

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Thanks for the great advice and knoweldge- much appreciated, once again!

Pateman- I was debating getting some quotes on that as well...

Cap- help me out on this one- you suggesting CFLs, and with the lower heat output, I can seal them all off (and cover with...

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I'm collecting quotes for additional spray-in attic insulation. All of the quotes involve a count of the can lights and work to block the top of the cans in the attic space. There wasn't...