Older house - duct issues - heating suggestions.

11 years ago

I live in Henderson Nevada (Las Vegas) and purchased a home build in 1953. My elderly parents are living in it now. The home looks like it has been added on to at least 3 times. The cooling system is two swamp coolers on the top of the house that apparently have different duct work for different parts of the house. The heating, however, is a single gas wall heater somewhat in the center of the house and needless to say it doesn't heat up the house enough in the winter. I had an HVAC guy come to the house today to see what my options were. After going into the attics, etc. They told me that the swamp coolers should be removed, new heating/cooling unit(s) placed on the top of the house and new duct work run through the house as the old duct work was old, inefficient, leaking, etc. They also said that in some cases holes may need to be punched through the walls so duct work could be run through out, etc.

They also said that they didn't have the staff to do that kind of work and recommended another company. I called that other company and they said they didn't do that kind of work either. I have used the first company mentioned before so I know they wouldn't try to mess with me but now I have a couple of questions:

1) does anyone know who I would need to call to get this duct work stuff done? (like a construction company?)

2) really, I just don't want my parents to be cold this winter, are there other options that I just haven't explored? (They have used the fireplace and electrical heaters but that is lots of work and the electrical furnaces only heat up a small area)

3)(this one is a long shot) - does anyone know of anyone in the Las Vegas, Nevada area that does this kind of work?

Thanks in advance for your helpful ideas.

Tommie Sue

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Comments (6)

energy_rater_la
11 years ago
what about mini split units?
condensing unit outside multiple air handler units
in rooms. no ductwork.

might be your cheaper option.
I'd look into heatpump minisplits
with a company with experience in these
installs.

best of luck.
tswiii
Original Author
11 years ago
Awesome!! Thank you for the direction. I have been researching them after your post and I really think this is something that would work for us. I had no idea about mini splits. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I think this will work perfectly and apparently less expensive than a full HVAC rework. Thanks again!
Tommie Sue
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Hi ionized and thanks for your reply, Our original house was not built without cooling, our home is in the final stages of framing for an addition out back and moving of walls/major renos in the front portion. Prior to our large addition/remodel we had forced air heating and AC. The HVAC contractor has almost finished up the in floor hydronic heat which will replace the forced air. He started to work on the AC a few months ago, and to our shock installed large 9-10 inch main trunks in our great room and dining room (I posted about the issue at the time and I think you kindly responded). The contractor then explained for the first time we would have lots of these ducts all over the main level. The contractor stopped the progress as we wanted a new AC plan that would minimize the drop downs (contractor went on to some other jobs, and we focused on other aspects of the build as well). We definitely need AC here, our weather would be like Michigan or Buffalo -- lots of brutally hot days for 3-4 months per year. As per the mini-splits we are definitely still considering using them (or ducted mini-splits too). We have heard mixed reviews about mini-splits. I think the main draw back we have been told is the mini-splits need replacing say every 10 years or even sooner, so they don't last as long as central air (hence seen as a less permanent kind of AC). Also, if we go ductless, it will be harder to tie in the HRV unit. Not sure if these warnings are justified or not. The architect and HVAC contractor were down on the mini-splits so made as weary. Cost may also be high with mini-splits, but so is making a conditioned area in the attic I am discovering (not sure yet which is a higher priced solution). A high velocity unit might also be worth investigating. Carol
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energy_rater_la
11 years ago
welcome welcome welcome.
and welcome again.

just a direction for you to to in..you
still have to find out what sizes you'll need,
what brand the contractor is familiar with
installing and do your homework there.

Ionized has minisplits, he may can share some
of his information he used to make his choices.

if you abandon the swamp coolers, and ducts
you want to make sure any openings into
the house are properly sealed and insulated.
same with duct openings into rooms. seal air
tight, insulate.

best of luck.
ionized_gw
11 years ago
For starters, it probably won't be less expensive than your typical AC install unless the ducts are very hard to place. That said, I think that retrofits are where mini splits can shine. Look at the manufacturers' web sites for more info, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, and Sanyo for starters. Ask here if you have questions.

Keep in mind that having ducting outside the house envelope, in the attic or in a crawlspace included, is not the best which would favor mini splits. The reason that having ducts outside is bad is that ducts leak. That means that you are then using your HVAC blower to make relatively uncontrolled air exchange with the outside.

If this were my house, I would be considering keeping the swamp coolers. Keep in mind that my knowledge of evaporative cooling is 20 years stale. I had one in my house in Tucson. At that point it was an inexpensive way to cool and that is all that a lot of people had. When the relative humidity got over 30% for a several weeks in "monsoon season", it was uncomfortable. If you have hot, humid periods in LV, this might be an issue.

I am not sure what I would do about the heat if you keep the evaporative cooling. Heat pump mini splits might still be a good idea even if you use them only for heat, but given gas prices right now, it might be expensive to run them. Have you considered adding some newer, direct-vent gas wall heaters?

A local energy rater might be a good way to find out what works best in your particular climate.
tswiii
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks much for all the suggestions. I have been researching the mini splits. I don't know how expensive they are considering power usage but that definitely will be something I'll need to look at.
I contacted someone who is going to come out and look at the possibility of mini splits. Then a guy called me this afternoon and said he would come out and look at the duct work to see if that could be reworked/patched so we'll see what happens.
So ionized - I too had a house in Tucson and found that the swamp cooler was just the ticket (except on hot, muggy, monsoon days) :o)
I'm not sure how to achieve the heating if I leave in the swamp coolers and I have thought about new gas wall heaters but didn't know if that is an option nowadays. I'll have to check that out too.
Tommie Sue
ionized_gw
11 years ago
If the swamp cooler ducts leak some, so what? The question is, does it cool well enough? If the ducts leak a lot, look into fixing them. It is a cheap way to cool. You know the drawbacks and advantages. My system in Tucson (a rental) had swamp cooler and a gas furnace. The duct system was used for both. There was a central return. Sheet metal stops were slid in to alternately block air from the roof cooler or the furnace in a closet.

There are three types of gas "wall heaters"
1) unvented: These are no good in a home.
2) vented with a chimney and room air. These suck a lot of indoor air out the chimney. They must be supplied with make-up air and are not very efficient. Chimney installation will likely be difficult.
3) Direct vent, sealed to the indoors flame. This is the best. You just need to poke a hole through the wall. Combustion air and products just go out with concentric pipes. They are most efficient.

Let us know what the contractor tells you. I will be curious about what the current state of the art is in your hot, arid climate.

Older house - duct issues - heating suggestions.

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Older house - duct issues - heating suggestions.

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