The goal for your heating solutions is to provide proper air flow, heating and cooling to each room. This page sets out key criteria that describe a quality system, key design and installation considerations that should be met to achieve this goal.

• Properly sized to provide correct air flow, and meet room-by-room calculated heating and cooling loads.
• Installed so that the static air pressure drop across the handler is within manufacturer and design specifications to have the capacity to meet the calculated loads.
• Have sealed supply ductwork that will provide proper air flow.
• Installed with a return system sized to provide correct return air flow.
• Have sealed return ductwork that will provide proper air flow to the fan, and avoid air entering the HVAC system from polluted zones (e.g., fumes from autos and stored chemicals, and attic particulates).
• Have balanced air flows between supply and return systems to maintain neutral pressure in the home.
• Minimize duct air temperature gain or loss between the air handler and room registers, and between return registers and the air handler.
• Properly charged with refrigerant.
• Have proper burner operation and proper draft.

The following steps should be followed in the design and installation of the HVAC system to ensure efficiency and comfort (for details, see Appendix 1):

• Determine room-by-room loads and air-flows
• Layout duct system on floor plan, accounting for the direction of joists, roof hips, fire-walls, and other potential obstructions. Determine register locations and types, duct lengths, and connections required to produce layout given construction constraints.
• Size equipment to sensible load Install equipment and ducts according to design specifications, using installation requirements and procedures · Charge the system appropriately, and verify charge with the evaporator superheat method or sub cooling method (or substantially equivalent).
• Check for proper furnace burner operation and fire-box drafting.
• Test the system to ensure that it performs properly by determining (1) that the system is properly sized, (2) it does not leak substantially, and has either (3a) proper air handler fan flow, and proper plenum static pressures, or (3b) proper room and return air flows, and proper plenum static pressures.