Tips for Performing Your Own HVAC Installation
Looking for some tips for performing your own HVAC installation? The heat during the summer season seems like a punishment to us all. It is getting increasingly hotter every year, making us rely on our home’s air conditioner to cool the interior of our house. However, if your house has old, noisy, and dripping window-type air conditioners, it might be time for you to replace them with a more efficient, centralized air-conditioning system.
While you are planning on a centralized air-conditioning system, it would be ideal to consider installing a HVAC system to be fully prepared for our extreme weather conditions. If you want to do your installation, here are some tips for how to do it.
Choosing the Right HVAC System
Before you start your project, you need to choose the right HVAC system to cater to your needs with efficiency and functionality. These are some factors that you need to consider:
Heat-Gain Computation
You need to know how to compute the heat gain that your house has. This procedure will let you determine the size of the unit that you need to install. Measure the total floor area that your system needs to cover, along with how your home prevents trapping heat. These details will determine the size of the HVAC unit that you need for your house. You will feel the efficiency of your system through how it performs and saves energy.
Types of Units
After learning how to compute your house’s heat gain, you can choose the type of system you can install. Two kinds will help you decide; one is a package system, and the other is a split system.
A package system includes the condenser and the fan-and-coil system in one housing. The condenser works as a component that cools the refrigerant and leads the warm air towards the house’s exterior, while the fan-and-coil system pushes the cool air towards the interior.
The split system has separate housing for its condenser, and it is commonly installed outside the house. Its fan-and-coil system should be inside the house and connect to the condenser by using pipes where refrigerant travels. However, package systems are rare today. It would be best to use the split system for its availability and aesthetic purposes.
Determine the Best Location and start Your HVAC installation
We all want to feel comfortable during extreme weather conditions, which includes having a quiet system that won’t disturb us during our rest. However, all condensers produce noise, even the best ones. You need to determine the best location for your condensers outside your house where you won’t be able to hear its noise. An ideal place would be a location with no airflow restrictions to maximize its efficiency. Do not install your condensers in an enclosed space because it will warm the area due to its exhaust.
Installing Ducts
One of the challenges you may encounter in installing your HVAC system would be the air distribution throughout your house. Your fan-and-coil unit might not be able to spread the air entirely in your home. Installing ducts will be the best solution for this, where you need to determine the best locations for the vents to pass through. Such areas would be between the attic floor joists or behind closets going to the upper floors. Ducts that run in closets can take up less space, and it is better than exposing the system, which can be an eyesore to some.
Doing your own HVAC installation can be complicated, but if you have the correct information and tools, you will be able to do it. If you are already having a hard time with this project, it is also ideal to hire a professional contractor, providing you benefits, such as warranty and faster installation.
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