Brownstone - AC/Heating Recs
I’m looking for advice on heating systems. We’re doing a complete renovation/restoration on a 4 story 2 family brownstone and are trying to decide about a few items related to HVAC. These include: How to heat – currently has forced air How to cool – currently has nothing We’re debating traditional condenser on the roof…
I’m looking for advice on heating systems. We’re doing a complete renovation/restoration on a 4 story 2 family brownstone and are trying to decide about a few items related to HVAC.
These include:
How to heat – currently has forced air
How to cool – currently has nothing
We’re debating traditional condenser on the roof plus ducts A/C vs. something like a Mitsubishi city multi. We could use its headpump for heating and we could pump hot water to it for heating when it’s too cold out for the heatpump. Alternatively we could use the existing forced air system for heat. It’s old but it’s already in the walls.
We’re also wondering about using the existing heat ducts for cooling. I know it’s not advised but is it simply inefficient or is it just undoable?
Does anyone have advice on the various merits or demerits of any of these approaches?
Thank you
Thank you all for your comments. A few points of clarification and questions.
– By split system we don’t mean the kind that hang on the wall. We mean something like the Mitsubishi Citi Multi which is a step up from the mr. slims. Does anyone have familiarity with these? Has anyone used them for heat? If so as resistive or as a heat pump or both?
– I know it’s not efficient but has anyone added a return and then run AC through existing heat ducts?
– How have you all decided on which system to use? There are a lot of permutations and I haven’t met a HVAC person who really knows all of the options well enough to provide advice besides on the system they sell most often.
– Radiant isn’t a good option as we are preserving a lot of floors and ceilings.
Help in designing the system would be very helpful.
Thanks,
David
I already had ducted forced air when I put in central a/c. I’ve got one unit in the garden for the bottom floors & another on the roof ducted as dibs suggested. The ducts for the a/c are in chases I planned during other reno but two are in existing ductwork but w/ new grills up high & w/ cut-offs to redirect air depending on whether it’s hot or cold.
Make a quick check list – I’ll help with the first two items.
1. Air handlers
2. Radiant
Get your family good quality air and even heat.
3. Roof mounted A/C
+1 on get away from forced air. “you already have a ducted system in place” is a fair argument if you’re not doing a reno, but you are so everything’s on the table and you should do it right. Also +1 on the mini splits are ugly – ok if the goal is easy installation without a reno. I have forced air heat (and no AC) and will live it because I’m not doing a major reno. If I were, my dream home would be similar to what SteamMan describes with radiant flooring and radiators.
Only because you already have a ducted system in place, I would suggest keeping it and adding split system a/c’s. You can get recessed ceiling mounted units. We did that recently in a penthouse apartment and you don’t really notice the unit at all.
Jim Hill, RA, LEED AP
We installed on a Ft. Greene brownstone last year. 5 floors including the cellar and basement. 4 of those floors were conditioned spaces. Without boring you with the details the best system for the project was a ducted a/c with rooftop condensers. We floor mounted 2 air handlers and ceiling mounted 2 air handlers. Heat for the building was accomplished through radiant flooring and radiators in select locations. Solar thermal will be integrated in 2011.
The occupants are very happy and the rooftop condenser sound is only noticeable when you are directly below a skylight next to one of the condensers.
-SteamMan
Depends somewhat on what the style of the house is. If it’s a modern, contemporary clean look, the split ACs might look OK but frankly I think they look horrible. They would look really bad in a house that’s a restoration with the architectural detail all there.
If you’ve already got a ducted system, upgrade that to heat and AC…it will be a lot cheaper. Run high velocity ducts through the cockloft above the top floor ceiling and a few more strategically placed chases and soffits to the floors below.
With forced air, you can also add a humidifier for the winter months and this makes a huge difference.
Also, it will be a lot more expensive to put AC units on the roof as opposed to in the yard…get both estimates.
First off, properly insulate the entire house. I would stay away from forced air heating. Radiant or radiators are the way to go. A split system is better and quit when compaired with window units, but you still have a bunch of boxes hanging on the wall. If you have the money and ceiling height, put in a ducted system. If you don’t have the height look into a high velocity system, just make sure you can live with the noise.
I would go with hot water heating ans split AC units. multiple zones would be helpful and slim radiators/AC units would make rooms look nice.