Originally Posted by
ctdd
I've been doing a lot of reading, and the common wisdom says before I hire a contractor to install a new heating and cooling system, I need to have a room by room load calculation done, and also a duct design and equipment list wouldn't hurt. Am I correct in calling these manual d, j, and s? My question is, who do I pay to do them, and how much? I've seen websites where I can gather the info and enter them myself like energyvanguard, but I don't have the knowledge to do this myself and would like to pay them for their time to come to my home and do it and professionally design a system for me that is right sized and efficient. I'm guessing the companies that come to free quote me aren't going to do all of this for free because why would they, so who can I pay to do it in person?
Now is also the time to consider adding supplemental dehumidification to handle the moisture from the occupants and infiltration/ventilation moisture air during evenings/rainy days when the a/c does not do enough sensible cooling to maintain 50%RH. The moisture load many times is near design conditions whereas the sensible cooling load goes from peak to near zero evening and rainy days. Contractors do not like to mention the fact that a/cs will not remove moisture without significant sensible cooling loads. Also hard to believe customers would spend extra money to actually maintain <50% through the mild seasons of the year.
Consider a small whole house dehumidifier like the Ultra-Aire 70H which is connected to the a/c and home.
This provides <50%RH during all weather conditions in a green grass climate.
It is the humidity more than the temperature.
Glad to deal with any questions.
Regards Teddy Bear
Bear Rules: Keep our home <50% RH summer, controls mites/mold and very comfortable.
Provide 60-100 cfm of fresh air when occupied to purge indoor pollutants and keep window dry during cold weather. T-stat setup/setback +8 hrs. saves energy
Use +Merv 10 air filter. -Don't forget the "Golden Rule"