HVAC Right-sizing Part 3

Air Distribution and Duct Design

January 20, 2012 11:00am-12:00pm (ET)

Price: FREE

hvac 3

As homebuilding codes and standards push for higher levels of insulation and reduced air infiltration, demands on a home’s HVAC system are changing dramatically. The higher performance a home gets, the lower its heating and cooling loads are. Less air volume is needed to condition the space. Even if you’ve properly calculated loads (step 1) and selected and sized your equipment (step 2), you’ll face additional challenges and opportunities when it comes to designing your air distribution system.

During the final session in our 3-part webinar series, we explored air distribution and duct design in depth, covering:

Integrated Design – When should HVAC be introduced into the design process? How can a centrally located HVAC system help you improve performance (efficiency and comfort) and reduce overall system costs? What are the impacts on framing? Space planning?
Performance Criteria – How should temperature, noise and uniformity factor into the equation?
Design Principles – What are the best practice approaches for designing return air outlets, supply air outlets, and duct layouts?

This session was led by Arlan Burdick, a Building Performance Specialist with IBACOS and the author of “Advanced Strategy Guideline: Air Distribution Basics and Duct Design”, a publication created in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program. Arlan was joined by Anthony Grisolia, IBACOS' Expert Services Manager.

An archive of the session is available in two video segments below. The first (approximately 9 minutes) covers the big picture of why right-sizing HVAC is so important and discusses the concept of integrated design. The second segment (roughly 25 minutes) covers performance criteria and design principles. A snapshot of the audience Q&A from the session is also available in the "Articles" section of this website.