[Greenbuilding] Question about Air Conditioning

RONALD CASCIO roncascio at verizon.net
Thu Oct 25 05:31:10 EDT 2007 

Kathy,
It looks to me like you might have some problems that need solving before 
you throw 3 tons of HVAC at a 67 year old home.

And be careful of the wisteria, it can pull your house apart over time.

Ron


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kathy Cochran" <kathys_old_house at goldrush.com>
To: "'Steve Houlihan'" <sho11 at comcast.net>
Cc: <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 11:24 PM
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Question about Air Conditioning


> ALL of my pipes broke last winter at 16-18 degrees.  Heat IS OBVIOUSLY
> important.  But when I came home from work at 6pm on July 3rd and wanted 
> to
> weave on my loom, and it was 108 degrees in the "loom room", I became a
> believer of A/C.  My "mini-climate" consists of being on top of a hill 
> ,with
> south exposure, west winds, and NO trees to shade on the south, as the 
> hill
> drops quite sharply down hill from there.  I anticipate planting a 
> wisteria
> vine on the south, with proper support, for shade in the summer. Probably 
> on
> the west side, as well.
>
> I appreciate all your comments.
>
> Kathys_old_house at goldrush.com
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org
> [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Steve 
> Houlihan
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 8:08 PM
> To: Greenbuilder list
> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Question about Air Conditioning
>
> People seem to think that all of Northern California is like San Francisco
> or Mendocino but the entire central valley from Bakersfield to Redding
> spends most of the summer over 100 F.  Even were I live in the redwoods
> above Santa Cruz we get a week or two of temps over 100.  We complain a 
> lot
> and say it didn't used to be this hot.  Nobody in my area has AC. I've 
> also
> had a few broken pipes in the Winter.Generally it is quite mild and
> pleasant.
>
> Steve
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Keith Winston" <keith at earthsunenergy.com>
> To: "Greenbuilder list" <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 10:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Question about Air Conditioning
>
>
>> Hi Kathy: you say "Summers can easily get to be 110F". Where exactly in
>> N. CA are you? Those are very unusually high temperatures for N. CA., I
>> think. We can find what your actual design temps are when we know where
>> you are located.
>>
>> Your questions are only about cooling. You are in a heating dominated
>> climate I THINK. If you do little cooling, then a higher efficiency unit
>> makes less sense. In any case, always attend to insulation and air
>> tightness first and foremost, and possibly consider (if you've been
>> successful at air tightness, especially) mechanical ventilation (an HRV
>> or ERV).
>>
>> All that said, SEER is a linear measure of efficiency, so a 17 SEER unit
>> will use 13/17's as much energy as a 13 SEER unit. If you can estimate
>> your cooling bills, you can figure out the payback period of the higher
>> efficiency unit.
>>
>> What is the house like? How big? How many rooms? Have you considered a
>> mini-split system? Might not be appropriate, or might...
>>
>> Keith
>>
>>
>> Kathy Cochran wrote:
>>> Hello, I am putting an old house built in 1940 back together.  I moved 
>>> it
>>> from 20 miles down the road (in 4 pieces).  I am in Northern California,
>>> where summers can easily get to be 110 degrees and winters down to 20
>>> degrees.  I am getting bids for Central heat (propane) and air, and have
>>> some questions about air conditioning.  I can get a 3 Ton high 
>>> efficiency
>>> furnace + installation, with digital programmable thermostat for $4500,
>>> plus
>>> the A/C.
>>>
>>> I have been quoted $1515 more for a 13 seer condensing unit, $2600 for a
>>> 15
>>> seer unit, and $3,086 for a 17 seer AC unit.  Is the 13 seer enough? 
>>> Is
>>> the 17 seer overkill?  I would appreciate any comments any of you might
>>> have.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Kathy Cochran
>>> Kathys_old_house at goldrush.com
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org
>>> [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Racheli 
>>> Gai
>>> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 7:52 AM
>>> To: Greenbuilder list
>>> Subject: [Greenbuilding] Advice on heating
>>> Tucson______________________________________________
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