Optimising residential forced-air HVAC systems.

This study examines technical issues of residential forced-air space conditioning systems incorporating heating, ventilation and cooling in the context of increasingly energy efficient new housing. Current technologies and practices are reviewed and analyzed with a view to improvements. Potential existing and emerging technologies and strategies are examined. A comparison of conventional and improved design strategies are presented for a house with a 5 kW heating load. A performance model frame work is presented to enable comparative assessment of installed systems in terms of comfort, indoor air quality, energy environmental impact and life cycle cost. The report makes numerous recommendations to improve delivery of functions and affordability, such as use of shorter ductwork, duct sealing, flexibility of register location, and variable-flow, high-efficiency fans. The study also proposes changes to resource and training documents and regulations and identifies future research which would be required to accelerate the move to more optimized forced-air systems.