4 ms·
The US doesn't like to do too much upfront HVAC costs, and for whatever reason generally just wants something simple. I used to work for a company that resold E
by th0ma5 13y ago
The US doesn't like to do too much upfront HVAC costs, and for whatever reason generally just wants something simple. I used to work for a company that resold European systems that seemed to be about greater upfront costs in things like room occupancy sensing, humidity control, airflow analysis of the room, etc, which would've saved a lot of people money but they just didn't want the upfront cost.
- joezydeco 13y agoAre you referring to residential HVAC systems or commercial ones? In my limited exposure, forced-air systems don't really exist in the majority of European homes. They tend to be radiator-based heating loops with individual thermostatic valves on the radiators. Air conditioning, if it's installed at all, is limited to single-room or area units, not whole-house units. Zone control is indeed expensive, and I'm definitely interested in Ecovent's idea about putting flow control at the floor vents (or is it just the registers). But unless these units are battery-driven, I see more complexity in just getting the silly things wired up, not to mention making sure doors are closed and pressure is regulated to keep those nasty dust lines from appearing on the carpets under your doors.
- th0ma5 13y agoYeah it was mostly all commercial, but there were some select few larger residential. I am interested though too in what all could be possible with this device. Pressure is a huge huge consideration especially in factories. Heck they need more consideration in the high rise office I work in now too around pressure, but it is all perhaps an iterative process closer and closer to ideals, and eventually a trade off with cost.
- dangrossman 13y ago> But unless these units are battery-driven, I see more complexity in just getting the silly things wired up Opening/closing the vent very occasionally shouldn't require more than some AA batteries in each vent. Lithium batteries ($5-8 for a 4-pack) would last months or even years. I have some powering the keypad & deadbolt on my front door, which is both remote controllable like these vents would be, and has to operate a motor to turn the bolt, and it's rated for 1-2 years use on a single set of batteries.
- joezydeco 13y agoOf course, but I'm also counting in the radio stage of the unit. If it's one-way that's cool, if it's two-way then there are other concerns about power usage.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- MertsA 13y agoAnother thing to note, the vents would only need to be adjusted when the heat load in a particular room changed too much which might mean only slight changes every now and then to adjust air distribution in response to changing seasons or a cold spell. You could still reap tons of benefits by getting the air flow close to optimum and not constantly readjusting to exactly meet the maximum. The video mentioned the vents closing when it reaches the proper temperature but I can't see why they wouldn't also open them partially to save on needless opening and closing vents.
- Tharkun 13y agoForced-air systems are on the rise in Europe, mostly due to stricter regulations in regards to energy performance (insulation and ventilation). Many new low-energy homes (and passive houses) now have forced-air systems. You can get tax cuts and other subsidies in some areas.