Moved into a new house and not happy with some of the duct work, west side of the house gets blasted in the afternoon and doesn't have adequate ducts with the A/Cs on the east side. Any HVAC companies that are recommended to come out and give me a quote? I don't want a 'just live with it' approach.

Thanks

Are we bypassing simple possible solution trials and will ductwork redos really solve the problem, considering distance & West heat?

Thinking out loud from cheap to mo'money

• insulate over attic ducts R-38
• window ACs West windows on thermostats
• mini-splits West side
• West side new small HVAC system w/new ducts

Future
Plant fast/short-lived Ch.Pistache shade trees West side with Live Oaks slow/long lived ... a proper mature distance away
or pergola shading of West roof/walls + solar screens

The ductwork is definitely poorly thought out.

Regarding the layout of the house, driveway, neighbors home, etc none of options 2-4 are feasible

Dill-Ag13 said:

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Moved into a new house and not happy with some of the duct work, west side of the house gets blasted in the afternoon and doesn't have adequate ducts with the A/Cs on the east side. Any HVAC companies that are recommended to come out and give me a quote? I don't want a 'just live with it' approach.

Thanks

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man good luck with this. We lived with this problem for years and could never quite get it worked out....we ultimately upsized our entire downstairs AC unit from a 3.5 ton to a 4 ton and finally got some relief.

Ironically THIS also proved to pamper us finally since 1980
+ Trane pros install, variable heat pump system ...
only wishing upon a star for two thermostats in command of duct dampers 80/20 split to each wing (sleeping/other)

but my racquetball buddy installed ideal metal duct layouts back then
then Aeroseal came 1999

tgivaughn said:

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Ironically THIS also proved to pamper us finally since 1980
+ Trane pros install, variable heat pump system ...
only wishing upon a star for two thermostats in command of duct dampers 80/20 split to each wing (sleeping/other)

but my racquetball buddy installed ideal metal duct layouts back then
then Aeroseal came 1999

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I did the same thing for my 3 story townhome downtown in Houston. Had multiple AC companies out and they all said basically the same thing.....more insulation (didn't help), ducts are fine, AC is fine, it's just hot in Houston, 3 story convection, etc.

I called out another company, upsized from a 4 ton to a 5 ton with a variable motor....finally it's nice in my townhouse!

That Texas heat just hits different.....I think the sizing rule book goes out the window down here!

I moved a mile down the street. Old house 1-story 1800sq ft serviced by a 3-ton. Cooling and humidity were awesome. New house is 3300 sq ft, serviced by a total of 5 tons. Definitely think 5.5 tons would be better but will have to make do.

FYI
TAMU Dr. Bill Kellett HVAC/Mech eng before turn of century, hi-tech insulation and all that jazz ....
that prior to software/computer analysis, simply apply the rule of thumb
475sf/ton
unless there's an insulated floor above it, then
525sf/ton

Ergo if you are one story?? 3300/5=660 sf/ton
soooo gotta have a lot of high-tech, shading, et al. working for you to cool in that high ratio neighborhood
BUT
plenty have done it and the greedy power companies (not ours) will give rebates to those doing this.


Why? I was told this and not fact-checked with an honest power co pro. Food for thought.
This means all those HVAC run most of the time ... so does their generators.
If all the HVAC only ran sometimes and when super hot, then power co has to buy much larger generators that run only part-time at heat spikes = not good for profits.

Dill-Ag13 said:

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Moved into a new house and not happy with some of the duct work, west side of the house gets blasted in the afternoon and doesn't have adequate ducts with the A/Cs on the east side. Any HVAC companies that are recommended to come out and give me a quote? I don't want a 'just live with it' approach.

Thanks

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I would add solar screens to all of the west facing windows. Have seen 3-5 degree room temps drops from doing this on multiple houses that lack natural shade on those windows.

Also have you tried dampering down the east side ducts while leaving west full open ?

A good installer puts them on the plenum at the start of the duct run. If they didn't you can still adjust them at each room register.
The best way to do is is get about five separate thermometers and put in each bedroom and living area. Then it is a game of adjusting airflow from there until you get the rooms close to the same temps. I would start with the thermometers and establish a temp baseline in the afternoon and adjust from there.

What part of houston are you in ?

Dill-Ag13 said:

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I moved a mile down the street. Old house 1-story 1800sq ft serviced by a 3-ton. Cooling and humidity were awesome. New house is 3300 sq ft, serviced by a total of 5 tons. Definitely think 5.5 tons would be better but will have to make do.

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like 1 unit 5 tons ?

or 2 units ?


is this a single story or 2 story ?


is the house spray foam insulated ?

2 units, 3 ton down and 2 ton up. 2 story. Traditional blown insulation

I'm in the woodlands