The 2009 code in many cold weather states require MUA systems for over 400 CFM M1503.4: "Exhaust hood systems capable of exhausting in excess of 400 cfm shall be provided with makeup air at a rate approximately equal to the exhaust air rate. Such makeup air systems shall be equipped with a means of closure and shall be automatically controlled to start and operate simultaneously with the exhaust system." "Makeup air required: Exhaust hood systems capable of exhausting in excess of 400 cfm (0.19 m3/s) shall be provided with makeup air at a rate approximately equal to the exhaust air rate. Such makeup air systems shall be equipped with a means of closure and shall be automatically controlled to start and operate simultaneously with the exhaust system." A2 is strictly enforcing this. I decided to go induction and stay under the 400 CFM. I was leaning toward induction and this just tipped the scale. I am probably going with a Broan evolution hood @ 350 CFM and 4 halogen bulbs using theater lighting. The zephyr genova is very discreet, but concerned that the single fan on the left might not do the trick (only 250 cfm). The ventahoods have a true HEPA filters. I figure A2 is pushing me into the future. If you go too high on CFM, there are dangers, so I plan to avoid the problems! Good luck!! PS - I plucked the Wolf induction on sale. Love the appearance of the surface and had no trouble with the controls - I used my knuckle to tap the power up and down when my fingers were slimed! I liked the large burner and the set up of the burners and only one cook as my husband only knows how to order pizza and not cook. I only tested it at the appliance dealer, so can't wait to the kitchen is done and I actually can really test it.

To answer your question about humidity, there is a significant amount of heat energy that is stored/released when something changes state. So, for example, when freon changes from a liquid to a vapor, it absorbs a large quantity of BTU's and gives them up when it changes back in the condenser. Likewise, water does the same thing. You can bring a pot of water to boil and the water will reach 212 at sea level. You can then apply additional BTU's but the water never changes temperature. The heat is being absorbed by the water as it changes state to a vapor. The reverse happens on your evaporator coil. You have to remove some of the moisture in the air - and the heat energy that is stored in that water vapor-- before it can begin to cool the air much. Most residential systems are designed "under-sized" to run longer so that they remove the humidity rather than blasting cold air and shutting off. Otherwise you can have a house that is cool, but clammy and humid.

We live in Texas also. The last house we had, we ran the temp at 81 constantly and the electric bill was still $300 one August. So, we paid $15k and replaced the entire A/C, conden.. ALL of it.. heater too. The only thing we kept was the ducting. We had all the ducts re-sealed, house pressure tested and sealed (even the electrical sockets were tested for leaks). We replaced the external doors with better ones, and we had the ENTIRE attic, including over the garage, sprayed with R49, more than required. We had radiant barrier sprayed into the entire attic as well. The loan cost us like $105 a month. The electric bill dropped to about $120 a month on the hottest days and that was with us running the temp at 74-76. In the winter, we had the electric bill below $60. Best money we ever spent. R

To mry193--YW, mry. Go ahead, take the plunge! Easy for me to commit you to all this agony, eh? :-) It is hard,sometimes, but it's fun, too, and so gratifying when you get something right. But that's the thing, as in cooking or buying a blouse we think is going to be absolutely perfect with "those" slacks...no matter how much practice we have, we all make mistakes now and then. We get "it" home and it doesn't look right, even if we have years of practice and have successfully executed color schemes before. So I say, don't be intimidated, jump in and when you mess things up, you can do what I still have to do often enough (even after thirty years, two apartments, one rental, five owned homes and probably, counting renos, a couple dozen color schemes): repaint or change the shower curtain. :-D What are you picturing in your mind's eye? What kind of colors do you see in your dream scheme? To hoosiergirl: Ditto your agent; you built a beautiful home, and I love the way you put everything together. [For skeet, if you see this and look at hoosier's pics, the very first photo I saw had a good example of the visual linking. Look at the way the finish on the door on the left side relates well to the floor color on the right, even though the wall colors are different and there's a different (carpet? rug?) color between the door and the other room's floor. So, even though the two areas are different, they're tied together with the same undertones and similar finishes.] To hoosier, again--That's a lovely kitchen, and you seem to have done a much better job than I have in using what look to be almost the exact same colors/tones (as nearly as I can tell from pics) in our kitchens. Aghhhh! Help me, hoosier! LOL I agree with you. We built this house not quite four years ago. The hardest part was picking the paint. I'm happy with a lot of the house, but so far I've repainted the kitchen twice, and as I noted above, I'm having to do it again. I hope I get it "right" this time! I was happy to see your cabinet color used with black appliances. That's what I have, except for the cooktop and fan (SS). I am struggling to get some cheer/energy in this room. The main difference is that I have the wooden cabinets on the perimeter of the room and the (soft) white cabinetry on the island. Do you have decent natural light in that kitchen? Mine's okay until about 2 p.m., then it gets dreary. There's a LOT of wood in here, with the cabs, the plank floors (a little darker than your tile, but the same reddish undertone), and a farmhouse table. There's a lot of warm painted furniture (chairs, pie keep, a linen chest), but it's still a heavy room. The walls were originally some kind of off-white (maybe...BM Ballet?). I thought it would be nice, because of all the (Early American) colors in the furniture, but, no. I think the white had too grey a base. Then I hand-mixed a soft green that looks close to the same hue as yours, except a bit lighter. I thought I liked it, but it became draggy as the weather got greyer. I also used matte, and maybe that was a problem. So...now I'm going to try a warm white (something like BM Navajo or Calming Cream) in *eggshell* on the walls) and a lighter, warm gold (like Marblehead Gold or Dorset Gold) on all the doors and trim. Like your house, there's a lot of trim/millwork. The palette on this floor mostly comes off of BM Philadelphia Cream/Guilford Green/Palladian Blue/Goldfinch. That's a beautiful fan hood, btw. Maybe warmer metal finishes would help around my kitchen. Anyway, nicely done!