A/C advice for an addition to a house

jim lockard

> We have an 80-year old brick house. A few years <BR>
> ago we had conventional A/C installed in our <BR>
> second floor (air handler in the attic, the A/C <BR>
> vents in the ceilings). A couple of years ago we <BR>
> had a Unico system installed in our first floor. <BR>
> The upstairs is 2.5 tons for almost 1,000 sq <BR>
> feet. The downstairs has a little more than 1,000 <BR>
> sq feet and it has a 3 ton system. We have a <BR>
> sunroom addition that is between the basement and <BR>
> first floor. It has big windows and is poorly <BR>
> insulated. We had three Unico outlets put in the <BR>
> sunroom (through a garage window that is covered <BR>
> over by the sunroom. We would eventually like to <BR>
> tear down the sunroom and rebuild with <BR>
> insulation, better windows, etc. It is about 300 <BR>
> sq feet. Should we rebuild and use the existing <BR>
> Unico system, and perhaps go to a 3.5 or 4 ton <BR>
> system, or should the room have a separate <BR>
> cooling zone. Our current Unico system has 18 <BR>
> outlets, including the three in the sunroom. <BR>
> Since the room is poorly insulated, the outlets <BR>
> don't help too much. I could add some more <BR>
> outlets in the main part of the first floor in <BR>
> the meantime. Please advise. <BR>
<BR>
Chuck the best return for your buck is "insulate, insulate, insulate." Do a proper heat loss/cooling gain caulation on your home--the whole house. Once you have done so you will know how and where you need to insulate. Take a look at the ventilation in you attic so as to avoid the heat of the day from stacking up in there. The 2nd floor duct system is located in the attic (outside of the insulated part of the home) going thru and checking for air leaks and sealing any you find with metal foil tape. Make sure your duct system is well insulated.
Chuck my point is that you will gain some cooling capacity on you 1st floor if your 2nd floor system is as tight as you can get it, and your home is well insulated.
As for those 80 year old windows try using a little rope caulk to stop the drafts and keep the cool in.
Currently you have 5.5 tons of A/C in a 2000 square foot 2 story brick home. Having this system run long enough to remove the humidity from the home could start to be a concern, so do the math.
Best Wishes J.Lockard

chuck_6

A/C advice to an addition on a house.

We have an 80-year old brick house. A few years ago we had conventional A/C installed in our second floor (air handler in the attic, the A/C vents in the ceilings). A couple of years ago we had a Unico system installed in our first floor. The upstairs is 2.5 tons for almost 1,000 sq feet. The downstairs has a little more than 1,000 sq feet and it has a 3 ton system. We have a sunroom addition that is between the basement and first floor. It has big windows and is poorly insulated. We had three Unico outlets put in the sunroom (through a garage window that is covered over by the sunroom. We would eventually like to tear down the sunroom and rebuild with insulation, better windows, etc. It is about 300 sq feet. Should we rebuild and use the existing Unico system, and perhaps go to a 3.5 or 4 ton system, or should the room have a separate cooling zone. Our current Unico system has 18 outlets, including the three in the sunroom. Since the room is poorly insulated, the outlets don't help too much. I could add some more outlets in the main part of the first floor in the meantime. Please advise.

Eugene Silberstein 3

Jim Nailed It

Once you have the final plans for the new sunroom, have a complete heat gain/loss calculation performed on the home. Once this is complete, you will be able to determine the best way to proceed with conditioning the sunroom.

Best of luck and keep us posted.