Hvac question

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timwheat
Posts: 41
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2004 12:25 pm
Location: Peoria, IL

Hvac question

Post by timwheat »

OK, I've got plenty of ideas for my hvac and have read the stickies, but still have a question. Why can't I tap into my existing hvac? From what I read if I use superduct and add multiple 90 degree turns the sound should dissipate. The run to my main studio room will be appx 25 feet to the point of entry and one of the rooms it would travel through is the room with the hvac system in it. I could add as many 90 degree turns in this room as my heart desires and maybe add an inline fan to boost the airflow a little. So my questions are this. Why can't I tap into the existing hvac? If I do should I just add many extra 90 degree turns, like 10?

Thanks guys

Tim Wheat

p.s. Oh, there will be a vent in the room that actually goes out of the house to stabilize the pressure in the room. I'm mostly worried about getting fresh air in. Thanks again
AVare
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Post by AVare »

Why can't I tap into my existing hvac? From what I read if I use superduct and add multiple 90 degree turns the sound should dissipate
In practice, once you figure the cost of isolating the duct until the internal damping and turns have matched the partition TL, it is cheaper to do separate runs.

Andre
rod gervais
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Post by rod gervais »

AVare wrote:
Why can't I tap into my existing hvac? From what I read if I use superduct and add multiple 90 degree turns the sound should dissipate
In practice, once you figure the cost of isolating the duct until the internal damping and turns have matched the partition TL, it is cheaper to do separate runs.

Andre
Andre,

I have a lot of respect for you - but you lost me on this one.

Regardless of whether it's the presently installed system or a new system - the isolation issues remain the same - thus the cost for adding onto an existing system (assuming it's capable of carrying the added load) is the cost of the duct.

The added cost of an air handler unit and condenser add a lot to the cost. I can't see an added system being less money. Perhaps I am misunderstanding your post......... :?:

My answer would be that you can indeed do this - however you are talking 2 very different needs between the existing home and the new studio.

If the system can carry the additional load - it may not be as easy as just adding some duct.

The house system may have longer run times than the studio needs - which would cause it (the studio) to have lower humidity levels than you want. Thus the studio would have to have motorized dampers to handle turning off the air flow - but in super tight construction (such as studios) you want the fan to run constantly when occupied - so you have a conflict.

By the same token - the house could have shorter run time than the studio - in which case you would have to add seperate controls for the studio - and some sort of morotized dampers to turn off the flow of air to the house.

Fresh air is a seperate issue - and should be pulled in on the return air side of the system (to properly dehumidify by passing immeadiately through the coils as well as being properly treated during summer and winter months).

If you feed the fresh air directly into the space you may have to add dehumidification to the room as well.

Balancing seems to always be the biggest issue - but you should start with investing a few hundred dollars to get an HVAC Engineer to make a simple assessment of your existing system to verify you won't be overloading it.

They can also lead you into the best direction to go to handle the special needs of a room of this type.

Make certain they understand the extent of insulation and airtightness this room will have - so they don't look at gains and losses as they would with a normal building.

Rod
Ignore the man behind the curtain........
AVare
Confused, but not senile yet
Posts: 2336
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 1:56 pm
Location: Hanilton, Ontario, Canada

Post by AVare »

Rod wrote:
I have a lot of respect for you - but you lost me on this one.
Thanks as I do for you. IF there is a loss with what I wrote then it is either terribly written, or wrong.

From how describe required TL, I am wrong. Thanks for catching it and correcting me.

Andre
timwheat
Posts: 41
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2004 12:25 pm
Location: Peoria, IL

Post by timwheat »

Thanks guys. I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and go with a pro on this one. I don't want to suffocate or have my whole studio turn to mold because I messed up the hvac. THanks again
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