MECHANICALS
HVAC & PLUMBING PLANS
When sized correctly for your home, your furnace and water heater will provide long lives of efficient service. We estimated the Btu requirements for our furnace by multiplying our square footage by the heating factor for Climate Zone 6 (50 to 60 Btu per square foot). Working with our technician from American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning, we sized our furnace perfectly for our needs at the Getaway.
SAVE PROPANE WITH DUAL FUEL
We chose a dual-fuel air conditioner that supplements our furnace until the outside air temperature drops to around 20 degrees. Below that temperature, the variable-speed furnace will take over to efficiently heat the home. This reduces our annual propane usage.
NO BIG TANK TO HEAT!
We chose a high-efficiency, on-demand tankless water heater, eliminating the big water tank so we don’t need to heat 50 gallons of water while we are away from the Getaway. It was also easier and less expensive to install the necessary venting.
BREATHE EASY
Our system makes the most of the fresh air around us. The air exchanger enhances the efficiency of the system by removing stale air and replacing it with outdoor air. The American Standard whole-home air cleaner removes allergens and dust to maximize the quality of the air inside.
BALANCE SIZE WITH DEMAND
Sizing a tankless water heater involved a tricky balance. We looked at maximum demand (in gallons per minute), the incoming water temperature and the desired hot water temperature. Joel Myers of My Plumbers, LLC, helped us determine that 6 gpm is our maximum possible hot water demand. Groundwater in this zone is about 45 degrees, and we want our hot water to be 115 degrees. To accommodate a 70-degree rise at 6 gpm, we chose the gaspowered Navien NPE-240S2.
WELL WATER CHALLENGES
Yes, you can use a tankless water heater with well water, but it will require some maintenance. Sediment and lime scale buildup can be a problem. We will drain and flush our system once a year at least. We can add a sediment filter later on if we determine that annual draining and flushing aren’t doing the job.