"Here's one for the group. What specific brands/models of gas, oil, and
electric furnaces, heat pumps, AC equipment do people really like and
really dislike (and why)? Is there a listing of reliability in some industry
trade magazine I've never found?"
Dave: The best answer to that question was given by my colleague Leon
Neal: "Whichever one you can get installed and maintained properly."
There's a growing body of data (some from us here at AEC in NC, from
John Proctor in CA, and others) that most HVAC equipment is not
installed per manufacturers specs, leading to substantial reductions in
efficiency, durability, and reliability. It's not unusual, for instance, to find a
SEER 10 Heat Pump operating at a SEER 6, given improper charge, duct
leakage, mismatching of indoor/outdoor units, etc.
As with insulation, the specific product is probably less important than
the quality of the installation. And, as with insulation, getting a quality
installation is far from the norm.
Arnie Katz
__________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by Oikos (www.oikos.com)
and Environmental Building News (www.ebuild.com). For instructions
send e-mail to greenbuilding-request@crest.org.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by Oikos (www.oikos.com)
and Environmental Building News (www.ebuild.com). For instructions
send e-mail to greenbuilding-request@crest.org.
__________________________________________________________________