HVAC Recommendation

We are renovating a two-unit row home with forced air. The ducts need major work and we desperately want to increase the efficiency of the system. We are looking for an HVAC installer that can work sizing the system appropriately along with increased insulation to create a more comfortable and energy efficient living environment. We need to renovate the whole property and have been told a gut renovation is the way to go since all the systems need updating. I love the idea of a Passive House but the time and money is out of our reach. I would like to tighten things up as much as possible. Any recommendations for HVAC companies in the Ridgewood area would be very much appreciated.

mezzogrl

in Heating and Air Conditioning 11 years and 6 months ago

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coolman | 10 years and 11 months ago

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We too are looking for an HVAC company/person in the Ridgewood Queens area. Did you have any luck?

3l7e2t5i | 11 years and 6 months ago

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If you have access to natural gas, I advise going with a natural gas furnace. If you don’t have access to natural gas, I advise going with ductless minisplits. If it were my house, I’d start out with as few ductless minisplits as possible (because I’m cheap). If you’re uncomfortable, you can always add electric resistance space heaters in the colder rooms. However, if you really want very even comfort in every room, with no possibility of temperature variations, you could go with one of the U.S. made air source heat pumps that operate at low temperatures; these are ducted units that work with conventional ductwork. Try posting a free inquiry at myezbz.com and local HVAC contractors will reply with their bids. I always use EZBZ when I need someone local and reasonable.

hawaiismurf | 11 years and 6 months ago

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the incremental costs of passive house arent that much, if you are already doing a gut renovation – you will be adding air sealing and an ERV, while subtracting a fair bit of HVAC capacity. for a row house, the air sealing on just the front and rear exposed facades is not too much square footage. The triple pane windows are the biggest investment involved, but if youre ok with PVC frame vs wood, that is not too much of a premium. Note that air sealing is just as, or more, important than insulation, and is the real specialized aspect of passive house. You can check out 475 building products, they have some good info on their site.

steam_man | 11 years and 6 months ago

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August put it right. My two cents is that you should insulate the heck out of your home and install good windows and doors. As for the HVAC, ditch the forced air and ducts if they need that much work. Install a heat pump mini-split system and an ERV. Upfront cost will be high but it will pay for itself after a few years of not needing to heat your house with a boiler or cool it with an inefficient old furnace/ac.

Augustiner | 11 years and 6 months ago

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If you are interested in getting a properly sized system, you need to specify what you will be doing to the shell of your house, and if you want to heat/cool or cool only. And even if you don´t go Passive House, you can still get your R Values and airtightness to a high level. The approach is different depending on your type of house. – If you look for cheap airtighness: just spray foam the whole thing. – Buy great windows, preferably european tilt&turn – if you seal your shell, put in an ERV system for air exchange If you have a goal of airtighness you can get away with a fairly small Ductless Split Heatpump and save money on purchase and operating cost. Insulation and HVAC are two things that (should) naturally go together. But while insulation is done by your GC and planned by either a savvy architect or an energy consultant, HVAC systems are usually planned by a mechanical engineer and executed by the installer. Your challenge is the norm: In the US energy efficiency is far from being a streamlined part of the building process. You need 3 trades on the same page, which is only possible if you are on top of it. And on top of that they will advise against your plans and think you are crazy 🙂