“It is imperative that you understand where the heat loss/gains
are in your home if you want to lower your energy bills.”
When you decide to build a new home or renovate an existing, one of your highest priorities should be to have a load calculation performed on your home. NO, the builder will not perform this for you. Builders tend to put the cookie cutter AC unit in the home- whatever’s hot at the moment.
It is imperative that you understand where the heat loss/gains are in your home if you want to lower your energy bills. Your HVAC should be sized according to load calculations which are also the best source for understanding the current condition of your existing home. Your new renovation can benefit from a heat load calculation, along with different types of construction techniques and materials, such as roofing, doors, windows, and insulation. These can all be used on your project to reduce the carbon footprint and make your heat load less.
There are software programs on the market that can assist you in doing a load calculation such as Wrightsoft, or Right_J. Both of these programs are based from the ACCA manual J method. Most of you have used some sort of Income Tax software in the past, the same principal apples to this case. Remember, this calculation will stay with your home until you are required to replace the unit. This is a major investment in your home, so my suggestion is that you do it right the first time. Any of these programs will catch the common math errors, which will keep you on track to the order of what goes in & how.
My suggestion is to hire a “Third Party Consultant” to do the load calculation for you. There are several out in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, the one I recommend often is www.myacguy.com.
If you choose to work with a builder or a contractor, make sure they have experience with both the load calculation software they are using and the basic general building construction techniques too. A contractor can make the result of the load calculation come out to whatever they want it to be. As a homeowner, it would be in your best interest to read up on load calculation methods and terminology, or attend a workshop that can help you become more familiar with them.
Become a smart home buyer or owner and take advantage of this valuable step when building or remodeling your next home.
Ricky Ellis |Safety First Home Inspections | Professional Real Estate Inspector TREC # 9032 | 214.533.2536
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