[Greenbuilding] New HVAC unit

Bob Waldrop bwaldrop at cox.net
Wed Jun 1 18:49:27 CDT 2011


We used cellulose in the attic and in the walls.  It was the easiest for 
do-it-yourselfers and also I think it is the greenest.

Our system admittedly does nothing for air filtration, since if it cools 
down at night we turn off the AC and open the windows and doors and turn on 
the whole house fan and ventilate.

If you want more insulation in your walls, don't demolish the existing 
interiors on your exterior walls.  We left then in place, filled them with 
insulation, then built new walls 5-1/2 inches out from all our existing 
exterior walls. We covered that will drywall and then filled the new 
cavities with insulation, plugged them and finished them with either paint 
or paneling. That's how you get 9 inches of insulation in the walls of a 
house built in 1929.

Since with your health issue you probably do need the AC and its filtered 
air, it would likely be worth it to consult an engineer to make sure it is 
properly sized for your house.  Too much or too little is an issue.

Bob Waldrop, OKC

-----Original Message----- 
From: Bobbi Chukran
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2011 4:28 PM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] New HVAC unit

Hi Bob,

I'm also on the Austin Permaculture list with you, and have read the
posts about your home with interest.

That's amazing about your AC use!  We have several issues--mostly
health related.  I have severe allergies to almost everything,
including molds which are almost always high in this area.  So
dehumidification and air filtering is essential.  We are planning on
blowing in insulation in the outer walls of the house, which as far
as we know are framed with 2x4's.  So that's the most we could get in
the walls without some major demolition and reframing to make them
deeper.  We didn't plan on changing the walls much since they are
made of planks on both sides of the studs in addition to wallboard.
There are already ceiling fans in each room.  We do plan on adding
lots of insulation to the attic.

We have awnings over every window in the house, it's well shaded with
huge old pecan trees, and there are 25 windows and three doors.

What kind of insulation did you use in your attic?

If we could downsize the system, that would be great.  But I'm pretty
sure that one window unit won't do it for us, given that the house is
not an open plan, and we don't plan on opening it up much from what
it already is.

bobbi c.



On Jun 1, 2011, at 3:37 PM, Bob Waldrop wrote:

> We are in Oklahoma City.  We have 9 inches of insulation in the  walls, 14
> inches in the attic, ceiling fans in every room, R-20 insulated  shutters 
> for
> all our windows (and some of the doors), some other miscellaneous 
> interior
> fans>

_______________________________________________
Greenbuilding mailing list
to Send a Message to the list, use the email address
Greenbuilding at bioenergylists.org

to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page
http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_lists.bioenergylists.org


-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 10.0.1375 / Virus Database: 1511/3674 - Release Date: 06/01/11 





More information about the Greenbuilding mailing list