[tmdustmd]

Greetings,

I stumbled across this site as I surfed the internet thingie looking for information and I am very impressed. I am hoping I can get some good advice.

I live in central Texas (outside of Austin) and have recently had a partial attic conversion done for a home office/guest room on my 1 story house. The addition is ~160 sq ft and is accessed by an external staircase—with no other interior connections to the house. The office is tied into my central HVAC (3 tons) with a 12 inch return and 2 ducts. The programmable thermostat is downstairs at the opposite end of the house (east side).

I think many of you can see where this is going. Even though the room is very well insulated, because of its location in the attic and facing towards the west, the ambient temperate in the room is anywhere from 5-10 degrees different from the thermostat (hotter in the summer, cooler in the winter). So, if I set my AC at 78 (as is normal), the house is very comfortable, but the office is running at ~83-85 degrees. I can get the attic office colder if I want by lower the temperature on the main thermostat.

So my question is what is the best way to resolve this issue?

Looking on the internet and consulting my common sense (which may not always agree), so far I have found:

1. Set the HVAC fan to “On” as opposed to “Auto” to help even the temps.
2. “Balance” the air flow in the house by closing off the registers downstairs to drive more air into the attic office (this seems common sense, but I am concerned about sacrificing the comfort level downstairs in the living space).
3. Install a Split Ductless HVAC unit for the attic office
4. Suffer

I should say that I work from home when I am not traveling, so the office is occupied during most days.


I appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Thanks,
Todd

 

[Todd S 2]

Greetings,

I stumbled across this site as I surfed the internet thingie looking for information and I am very impressed. I am hoping I can get some good advice.

I live in central Texas (outside of Austin) and have recently had a partial attic conversion done for a home office/guest room on my 1 story house. The addition is ~160 sq ft and is accessed by an external staircase—with no other interior connections to the house. The office is tied into my central HVAC (3 tons) with a 12 inch return and 2 ducts. The programmable thermostat is downstairs at the opposite end of the house (east side).

I think many of you can see where this is going. Even though the room is very well insulated, because of its location in the attic and facing towards the west, the ambient temperate in the room is anywhere from 5-10 degrees different from the thermostat (hotter in the summer, cooler in the winter). So, if I set my AC at 78 (as is normal), the house is very comfortable, but the office is running at ~83-85 degrees. I can get the attic office colder if I want by lower the temperature on the main thermostat.

So my question is what is the best way to resolve this issue?

Looking on the internet and consulting my common sense (which may not always agree), so far I have found:

1. Set the HVAC fan to “On” as opposed to “Auto” to help even the temps.
2. “Balance” the air flow in the house by closing off the registers downstairs to drive more air into the attic office (this seems common sense, but I am concerned about sacrificing the comfort level downstairs in the living space).
3. Install a Split Ductless HVAC unit for the attic office
4. Suffer

I should say that I work from home when I am not traveling, so the office is occupied during most days.


I appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Thanks,
Todd

#1 and #2 will help (a little) but I bet you'll need #3. They work very well and it would be way more efficient.

 

[sjones]

You hit a few on the head.

Always run the fan so its always sucking the hot air out of the room.
A seprate ductless split would be another

Other options
Put in some Zone dampers.
You could try a stat with a room sensor. So it would avarage between the office and the house but that would make the rest of the house cooler.

I think best bet would be a ductless split to control the office alone.

 

[flange]

#3

 

[skippedover]

Ductless HP will give you independent control to maintain the room at whatever setting you want. You can even set a program if you want and the HP will provide both heat & cool for comfort all year 'round. You can leave the existing ducts in place and let the mini-split pick up the slack too. Simple 1-day solution with great comfort. Inverter technology will only deliver the amount of heat or cool you need for the existing outdoor temps.

 

[energy_rater_La]

my understanding in hot humid climates is that leaving the fan on all the time
will re-circulate the moisture removed when system is operating back into the house
result will be increased RH and decreased comfort.
location of OP is to be consitered.
heat gain from attic if addition shares walls with the attic is also a factor.

 

[Todd S 2]

my understanding in hot humid climates is that leaving the fan on all the time
will re-circulate the moisture removed when system is operating back into the house
result will be increased RH and decreased comfort.
location of OP is to be consitered.
heat gain from attic if addition shares walls with the attic is also a factor.

This is true with older furnaces. My furnace blower, even with constant fan, will stop (for about 90 secs.) after the A/C cycle to allow the condensate to drain.

 

[tmdustmd]

Hello,

I ant to thank everyone for their feedback.

I got the Mini Split installed last Thursday and it is working great. For the first time this Spring, I was too cold in my office and had to adjust the thermostat up.

 

[papa_jo]

Hello,

I ant to thank everyone for their feedback.

I got the Mini Split installed last Thursday and it is working great. For the first time this Spring, I was too cold in my office and had to adjust the thermostat up.

good for you !!!!!!! #3 was my best bet!!!
glad everything worked out for you

 

[J_SIN]

Hello,

I ant to thank everyone for their feedback.

I got the Mini Split installed last Thursday and it is working great. For the first time this Spring, I was too cold in my office and had to adjust the thermostat up.

good choice, now you will be comfortable and not wasting energy cooling the unoccupied living space.

 

[Shophound]

Hello,

I ant to thank everyone for their feedback.

I got the Mini Split installed last Thursday and it is working great. For the first time this Spring, I was too cold in my office and had to adjust the thermostat up.

You made the best choice. The other choices would never have been satisfactory.

 

[ga-hvac-tech]

One more comment: It is almost impossible to keep balanced temps on different levels... However when one adds 'attic' and east/west to the equation... well one ends up with LARGE temp swings.

You will enjoy that mini in the attic room, good choice.