Thermally Boring: Mini Splits & HRV
Advantages of Ductless Heating and Cooling
Peckham Architecture’s LEED Platinum, Phius Certified home office uses ductless heating and cooling (mini splits) and heat recovery ventilation (HRV) to maintain clean, comfortable indoor air and perform at Net-positive energy. During the hottest May on record (2016), we earned a negative electric bill (-$176)!
Although Ductless heating and cooling is far more efficient and flexible than typical ducted systems, many Americans still don’t know about these technologies.
in Episode 6 of Our Green Building Series, Jamie Callahan of Columbia-based Air & Water Solutions talks about our Mitsubishi Electric Mini Splits (another name for ductless heating and cooling).
“The United States is the only place that uses duct work,” Callahan says. “Everywhere else in the world has been using mini splits for over 40 years. So we’re just behind on the technology.”
Ventilating a Green Building
Our home office is sealed and insulated to the point of being airtight, which poses unique ventilation challenges. Our Zehnder HRV system was custom designed for the needs of this building.
“With this house being so tight, you have to control moisture, smells, VOCs,” Callahan says.
The HRV system replaces the stale, humid indoor air with fresh air from outside. Inside the energy recovery core, energy from the “old” air heats the incoming “new” air to nearly the same temperature before distributing it in the home. This creates constant indoor climate stability.
“It’s complete comfort control, as well as energy savings,” Callahan says. “So we’re far above and beyond a standard construction home on efficiencies.”
Thermally Boring means Energy Efficient
Later In Episode 6, green building expert Dave Horton uses a thermal imaging system to detect heat transfer in our eco house.
Buildings are full of thermal bridges, or areas where energy typically escapes: the slab foundation, doors and windows, walls and ceiling, and the roof.
green building insulation can dramatically reduce heat transfer. This is one time when boring is best: Horton’s thermal imager showed very little activity.
“If it’s thermally boring like that, that’s what you want,” Horton said. “You want it to all just look the same.”
Horton says this project “could very well be the greenest house that I’ve ever worked on, if not the greenest house anyone has ever worked on.”
Get a closer look in Episode 6 of our green Building series:
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