More than Hot, Cold

HVAC pros have many ways to bring comfort to homes

Often when people are building a new home, they don’t give much thought to its heating, ventilation and air conditioning. But, say two experts at Auer Steel, a major supplier of equipment to HVAC contractors, more research on that subject can bring great benefits to the owners of a new home.

“You’ve got all these decisions to make,” says Tina Seibold, Auer’s marketing manager, describing the process of building a home. “What type of wood do you want, your cabinet style, your sinks and faucets, what’s the color of your walls, where do you put your electrical outlets...? A lot of the times, the homeowner goes, ‘I’ve got a furnace; do I get air? Awesome,’ and they’re done. But that conversation can be so much bigger.”

That’s because, as Seibold says, “Today’s HVAC contractors really are experts not just in temperature, but in total home comfort.” That means that with rapidly advancing HVAC technology, you can also assure that your home doesn’t have any cold spots or hot spots, that its humidity is kept at the right level and that the quality of the indoor air is optimal. And, with your contractor’s help, you can even automate the place.

Seibold and Regan Krupp, product specialist at Auer, spoke recently about this rapidly expanding field. And though Auer Steel supplies equipment from numerous companies, they focused on Carrier products. Here are some of the ways these products can make your new home safer and more comfortable.

• INDOOR AIR QUALITY

“There’s a big misconception on indoor air quality where people think air inside is just naturally clearer than the air outside,” says Krupp. “But the EPA actually says that the average American home is two to five times dirtier in the air inside, than outside.” This is a concern that can be even more important for new home owners than for residents of “this old house.” That’s because some of the materials used in new home construction emit volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) for the first few years of the house’s life. Meanwhile, he says, energy-conscious homes are built so air-tight that fresh air doesn’t get in to replace stale air. “So all those chemicals and particles and allergens and viruses and bacteria that would naturally get filtered out of an older home with plenty of natural ventilation, now we’re actually locking them in with all of our tighter windows, tighter doors, better insulation.”

So how to fix that? Ventilation is a key measure. “There’s no easier way to get cleaner air in your house than actually bringing in that outside air in a controlled way – not just opening your windows,” says Krupp. An advanced ventilation system can bring in outside air without making it colder inside in winter or hotter in summer, Krupp says. In addition, purification or filtration can do a great deal to scrub the air clean. Advanced filters can clear the air of particles down to microns in size – “bacteria size,” says Seibold. Some air-purifiers even can kill flu viruses, she says. That kind of filtration can be a lot more expensive than the two-inch, $10 furnace air filter, says Krupp. Still, says Seibold, it’s a conversation worth having for new and existing home owners.

• HUMIDITY CONTROL

Controlling the humidity in your new house can also affect air quality, Krupp says – as bacteria and viruses can grow in the dry winter air, and mold can grow in the humid air of summer.

But humidity control is also good for the house itself. If it’s too dry, new wood can develop cracks, and if it’s too damp, mold can grow. “There are even some hardwood floor manufacturers who will put in their warranty nowadays that you need to maintain a [certain] umidity level ... otherwise the warranty’s void,” Krupp says.

In addition, controlling the humidity can make it more comfortable inside the house at night, so you don’t have to crank the air conditioning down in summer or the heat up in winter.

Humidifiers and dehumidifiers can control humidity, and it helps save money if you install them during the construction stage – that way, a plumber can install a feeder line to the humidifier, Seibold says. Even if you don’t want to install a humidifier during construction, she adds, you can save a lot of money later if you plan ahead for it.

• DUCTLESS HEATING AND COOLING

Another problem with both new construction and existing homes is that some rooms can be colder or hotter than elsewhere in the house. These hot spots or cold spots can be fixed with a fast-growing technology called ductless heating and cooling. With ductless, you can install room units served by a small coolant line from an exterior heat pump that can provide either heating or cooling to a room.

This is an especially good solution when you’re adding rooms to your house – a ductless system will save you the expense of installing ductwork and matching it up with your home’s existing heating and cooling systems. This technology has been advancing rapidly, Krupp says. “Carrier units have been rated down to minus 22 degrees,” he adds.

• HOME AUTOMATION

Another rapidly growing technology is home automation, which Seibold and Krupp say can be installed by qualified HVAC contractors. They can install smart thermostats, smoke and CO detectors, and set them up so you can control and monitor them from your smartphone. “Carrier has put together a home-automation system that looks similar to your home security systems like ADT or Guardian but can be monitored by the homeowner without a monthly fee,” says Krupp. These systems can include sensors to tell whether doors and windows have been left open, or whether there’s a water leak, and they can allow you to remotely open a garage door, lock or unlock house doors, turn on and off lights, and even turn up your thermostat, all from one app on your phone.

Krupp says a new generation of tech-savvy millennial homebuyers are increasingly interested in this kind of system, and that it adds to your home’s eventual resale value.

In summary, Seibold says, people building new homes don’t need to put in all the HVAC bells and whistles, but they should know what’s available. “They just need to have the conversation at the new construction planning phase,” says Seibold. “If it’s not in the budget or the homeowner doesn’t want to discuss their options, at least they were informed.”