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I am now at the design phase of heating and cooling my HT room. I don't want to spend $5000 on another HVAC unit just for one room. (OK, I agree it will be THE most important room, but.....
).
So here is my idea. I buy a 2 zone controller and some dampers from www.smarthome.com. I then make the HT room one zone, and the other zone will be the rest of the house.
This idea is nothing new, but the problem that arises is when the small zone (HT room) is calling for air, but the big zone is not. An example; that lets say it is winter time. When both zones are calling for heat there are no problems, but when the rest of the house has warmed, the HT may still be calling for heat. The main zone will shut off but the HT room will remain on. This is a MAJOR problem because the HVAC blower will become stressed because ALL of its air is trying to be crammed into the HT room. This will damage the HVAC. I read you need to allow at least around 85% of the air to flow.
So the solution is to somehow maintain the airflow going through the unit. One solution is to install a Barometric Pressure Relief Bypass Duct that would sense the extra pressure and route it back to the return system. But this can be bad for your unit because it is cycling air outside its normal temperature range.
So how about this solution; I would install 2 large (14" ?) supplies and 2 returns to the HT room. I would also NOT put all the non-living areas (bathrooms, hallways, laundry) on a zone at all (i.e. supplies would not have dampers). So in our example; When the main zone is off and the HT zone is on, we still have lots of air flowing through the system (HT room, bathrooms, hallways, and laundry). Problem solved. Right?
Here are the advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages
---------------
*Cheap (~$500)
*Low wind noise in HT because of large supplies
*Large supplies will heat and cool room quicker, minimizing the time the zone needs to be on.
Disadvantages
-------------------
*Will make non-living areas uncomfortable at times (but thats their problem right?
)
Any thoughts on this idea?
So here is my idea. I buy a 2 zone controller and some dampers from www.smarthome.com. I then make the HT room one zone, and the other zone will be the rest of the house.
This idea is nothing new, but the problem that arises is when the small zone (HT room) is calling for air, but the big zone is not. An example; that lets say it is winter time. When both zones are calling for heat there are no problems, but when the rest of the house has warmed, the HT may still be calling for heat. The main zone will shut off but the HT room will remain on. This is a MAJOR problem because the HVAC blower will become stressed because ALL of its air is trying to be crammed into the HT room. This will damage the HVAC. I read you need to allow at least around 85% of the air to flow.
So the solution is to somehow maintain the airflow going through the unit. One solution is to install a Barometric Pressure Relief Bypass Duct that would sense the extra pressure and route it back to the return system. But this can be bad for your unit because it is cycling air outside its normal temperature range.
So how about this solution; I would install 2 large (14" ?) supplies and 2 returns to the HT room. I would also NOT put all the non-living areas (bathrooms, hallways, laundry) on a zone at all (i.e. supplies would not have dampers). So in our example; When the main zone is off and the HT zone is on, we still have lots of air flowing through the system (HT room, bathrooms, hallways, and laundry). Problem solved. Right?
Here are the advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages
---------------
*Cheap (~$500)
*Low wind noise in HT because of large supplies
*Large supplies will heat and cool room quicker, minimizing the time the zone needs to be on.
Disadvantages
-------------------
*Will make non-living areas uncomfortable at times (but thats their problem right?
Any thoughts on this idea?