On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 20:39:14 -0400, Wolf Kirchmeir wrote:
> I know the first thing I'd do if I ever move to southern Texas (where
one
> of my daughters lives) is insulate whatever house I buy, add a heat
> exchanger / ventilator, and a ground effect heat pump.
Better yet, add a double layer roof, use white or light colored standing
seam roof panels over a continuous air gap from soffit to ridge, with a
continuous venting ridge cap. Inside the inner sheathing put foil-faced
rigid foam for radiant as well as conductive insulation.
I sometimes think I'd like to have a heat pump, but know a lot of folks
around here who've had less than satisfactory experience. We just had to
replace our furnace (cracked heat exchanger), and while we were at it
replaced the twenty year old A/C, originally a nominal SEER 10, surely
less
now and prone to problems as well as noisy. The new one is 19.5 SEER, has
dual compressors (large and small) and is much quieter. The furnace is
95%
efficient, and with a max exhaust temp of 114 F, they have to use poly
pipe
for the "chimney" - metal would rust out.
--
Steve
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