[Greenbuilding] New HVAC unit

[Reuben Deumling]

On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 2:44 PM, Bobbi Chukran <bobbi at bobbichukran.com>wrote:

> Are there any real alternatives IF you aren't building from the ground up?
>  It would be much different if we were doing that.  This is a traditional
> stick-built house with no insulation right now.
>
> The perfect alternative has to cool the house, dehumidify the air, filter
> the air and pollutants coming in from the outside and also heat in the
> winter.
>
I appreciate that it is a tall order, but I also don't think it's
impossible. We sometimes forget the 'done well' part of all of this. I
insulated my 2x4 walled 1894 house with cellulose, but I took my time and I
did it right. When I compare the change in fuel consumption, temperature
stability before and after with what my friends and neighbors who also had
their 2x4 houses professionally insulated with blown in cellulose, the
difference is surprising. I reduced my fuel consumption for heating purposes
by 45% and the interior (non-thermostatically regulated)overnight min temps
went up by an average of 4F. And that is just for a measly 2x4 wall.
The short answer in your case, or in any case where AC is thought necessary,
would be to go the route Corwyn did with his house but as a retrofit. Adding
exterior wall thickness isn't necessarily cheap or easy, but trying to live
comfortably in your climate without more insulation and with climate change
well underway seems risky to me.

>
> That smell in your window unit was probably mold or dust, just guessing.
>
It was a nasty chemical-ly smell that I encounter in airplanes too. I'm not
around AC much, but it is definitely something generated by the unit. Sort
of a cross between new-car smell and what you get walking down the ramp onto
a plane.
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