IÂ’ve recently obtained a few quotes for a new HVAC system in my SoCal home. I live in Ventura County about 15 miles from the coast of the ocean. Currently I donÂ’t any HVAC system, other than a forced air unit thatÂ’s original to the home.
My home was built in ~1978 and is fairly tight for the age of the home. I recently had a home energy audit performed by a BPI licensed inspector and he determined I had a 0.33 natural air changes per hour in my building envelope. We determined air sealing my cathedral attic at the ceiling level and blowing in cellulose to ~R-38 would improve my envelope enough to allow a very small sponge Low Static pressure Ducted mini split system for the entire home. I have all new dual pane windows around the entire home, and the south side of the house has plantation shutters. The rest of the windows have blackout curtains so shading is only on the inside of the envelope.
The BPI inspector completed a manual J for after the envelope sealing and insulating improvements Are completed, and recommended a single 18,000 btu ducted mini split for my homes heating and cooling needs. This system will also be “buried” into the blown in cellulose to minimize duct load in the attic space. Also I have an original forced air furnace that we determined to be only 35% efficient with our duct leakage testing.
The problem is with the custom tuned ductwork, registers, dampers and insulation wrap around the system, the cost is a huge premium compared to a conventional system. The conventional system was a local HVAC guy that quoted a 2 ton conventional system and a high efficiency gas furnace in the attic.
I will do the envelope sealing/ insulation regardless of whatever system I choose, but what IÂ’m concerned about is will the premium price of a tuned, smaller ducted mini split be worth the ~$7000 price premium. I need help!
My home was built in ~1978 and is fairly tight for the age of the home. I recently had a home energy audit performed by a BPI licensed inspector and he determined I had a 0.33 natural air changes per hour in my building envelope. We determined air sealing my cathedral attic at the ceiling level and blowing in cellulose to ~R-38 would improve my envelope enough to allow a very small sponge Low Static pressure Ducted mini split system for the entire home. I have all new dual pane windows around the entire home, and the south side of the house has plantation shutters. The rest of the windows have blackout curtains so shading is only on the inside of the envelope.
The BPI inspector completed a manual J for after the envelope sealing and insulating improvements Are completed, and recommended a single 18,000 btu ducted mini split for my homes heating and cooling needs. This system will also be “buried” into the blown in cellulose to minimize duct load in the attic space. Also I have an original forced air furnace that we determined to be only 35% efficient with our duct leakage testing.
The problem is with the custom tuned ductwork, registers, dampers and insulation wrap around the system, the cost is a huge premium compared to a conventional system. The conventional system was a local HVAC guy that quoted a 2 ton conventional system and a high efficiency gas furnace in the attic.
I will do the envelope sealing/ insulation regardless of whatever system I choose, but what IÂ’m concerned about is will the premium price of a tuned, smaller ducted mini split be worth the ~$7000 price premium. I need help!
source https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?2223445-Help-choosing-HVAC-systems-in-SoCal-home&goto=newpost
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