HVAC Design and Why It’s Important

Most homeowners need to realize how much work is put into designing an HVAC system to fit their home when installing it. Every home has a different size and layout and different electrical, plumbing, and HVAC needs. Because every home is so different, your HVAC system should be designed to fit your home and its heating and cooling needs. Here are some of the things that go into designing an HVAC system for your home.

Your Home Is a System

When designing your HVAC system, your house is considered a system made up of interrelated parts. Each part significantly impacts how your HVAC system will be laid out to best fit your heating and cooling needs.

The first part of the system is the building envelope. This is made up of the temperature and pressure barriers set up within your home. This includes the floors, walls, roof, windows, doors, and insulation. Within the envelope, some things can affect HVAC operation, including appliances that can emit heat. Heat-emitting appliances can often result in hot and cold spots within your home. For example, a kitchen is usually a hot spot in your home due to the oven, especially when in use. Certain kinds of lighting can also generate smaller pockets of heat.

Ventilation is the next component that goes into your home system. Ventilation is important because it regulates the air exchange within your home, ensuring that pollutants are removed and fresh air is provided indoors. Whole-house ventilation ensures that your home is provided with fresh air in a controlled manner. Leaks in your ventilation system can lead to irregular air distribution, as well as the introduction of pollutants back into your home environment.

Heating and cooling is also important part of the system in your home. Your HVAC system generally uses a forced-air ducted system, either heating or cooling air and dispersing it through ducts to the parts of your home that need temperature regulation. The air conditioner portion also plays a role in removing moisture and humidity from the air. This is done by blowing the warm, humid air across a cooling coil. The moisture begins to condense and is drained out of the house through a drainage system.

Preparing to Install

With the home’s needs out of the way, a few important steps must be taken before the HVAC system is installed. The first step is to have the heating and cooling load calculated. This shows how much energy and heat or cooling need to be applied to regulate your home’s temperature. Without calculating this correctly, your HVAC system could use more energy than it needs to. It could also be less effective at heating or cooling particular rooms because it needs more energy.

When calculating heating and cooling load, an HVAC technician will measure all of your interior spaces, accounting for ceiling height and other factors. They will also add the number of doors and windows into the calculation. Another important step is measuring the space for your ductwork to ensure that the duct sizing is appropriate.

Having either too small or too big ducts could lead to issues with heat distribution and energy efficiency. The ducts should also be laid out in a way so that there are no pinches, crimps, or kinks in the ducts, which is something that would be addressed in the installation process.

Testing the System

Once your HVAC system is installed, it should be tested by the installers to ensure that everything is working properly and there are no leaks in the duct system. The goal is to ensure that you have an HVAC system that distributes the right amount of conditioned air throughout your space without burning up excess energy or leaving spaces unevenly heated or cooled. During the testing process, your technician will also calibrate the thermostat to make sure that it is reading the temperature properly and keeping your space at the temperature you set.

Getting the Process Started

If you’re looking to get an HVAC system installed in your home or if your system needs to be fixed, the professionals at Puyallup Heating & Air Conditioning can help. We’ll inspect your home to calculate the proper system sizing and walk you through all of your options for heating and cooling systems. In addition to installation services, we provide heating and cooling repairs and maintenance. We also offer indoor air quality solutions and ductwork design and installation. Contact us today to set up an appointment in Puyallup, WA, or the surrounding area.