Quote:
Originally Posted by LWJ
I hang out with a bunch of very smart HVAC contractors in a trade association. Radiant heat is the bomb. I will do this if / when I build. The draw back? Air conditioning still needs to run via air. That may mean duct work.
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This is true.
You may be able to go with multi head systems in a mini split to eliminate the ductwork issue in a home with radiant floor heat.
Floor heat you still need to get fresh air into the building. For new construction or large renovation projects, look at a good quality heat recovery ventilator or energy recovery ventilator. All the exhaust air from the home is piped through to pre heat or cool outdoor air entering the space. Example below.
Heat & Energy Recovery Ventilators | Zehnder America
Guy, you may have very poor filtration on your furnace system. Have a sheet metal contractor build a filter box that will hold a common filter size for the commercial HVAC industry.
When I renovated a few years back I re routed the ductwork changed the aspect ratio for clearance height in the basement and added new returns to all the rooms upstairs at the time. As part of that I asked for canvas connectors for the ductwork to reduce noise transmission, and a filter box.
The filter box has rails and a hinged door. I first tried the commonly available 20x24x2 inch thick 40% high density pleated filter. It is not quite hepa quality of filtration. The filters are dirt cheap though through a commercial supplier and I buy them a box a time. I have found this to be a good economical solution. The box was sized so that if the two inch thick filters were not enough, I could switch to a 4 inch thick pleated filter. More pleats and more thickness = more filter area and less air pressure restriction through the filter.
The hepa filters available at the big box stores are usually 1" thick and load incredibly fast and are very expensive. These can also increase the temperature of the air off the furnace too much due to flow restriction.
Look into how much fresh air you have coming in and also have the system checked for exchanger cracks.
I put one of the UV lamps into my return ducting.
I think it works... Maybe that is all that matters!
Sorry for the long reply but I would look at infloor if I was going to build and would make sure to have a fresh air HRV.