Page 26 - Green Builder Sept-Oct 2016

size than what has typically been installed in the past 10 to 15 years,” CREDIT: IBACOS
says Anthony Grisolia, managing director of innovation programs
for IBACOS. “That requirement is changing the dynamics of how Rightsizing. Plug-n-Play will distribute smaller,
you distribute air.” more appropriate amounts of air throughout a
home using a one-size-fits-all approach to ducts.
The problem is design methodologies are not regularly enforced,
so there’s no standard way ducts must be routed in a home, Grisolia www.greenbuildermedia.com
says. Instead, most companies install ductwork using rules of thumb,
and usually in an attic, which results in wasted heat and energy. So
IBACOS is working on designing a new methodology that works
better with today’s smaller systems.

“We’re looking at distributing smaller amounts of air, because the
heating appliance is smaller,” Grisolia says. “Typically, they used to
move 1,200 cubic feet of air, but now it’s half of that air volume. So
that means duct sizes need to reduce.”

The system IBACOS is developing, called Plug-n-Play, uses a
one-duct-fits-all approach. Currently, there are many sizes of duct
available. Plug-n-Play will use just one size duct to keep the system
as simple as possible. Under this approach, a builder would evaluate
the characteristics of a home and do a Manual-J load calculation
to determine how much air is needed for a particular room. That
calculation would tell the builder how many ducts are needed in
each room.

Because new construction demands

and energy codes promote lower

energy usage in a home, space

conditioning will be a smaller size

than what has typically been installed

in the past 10 to 15 years. That

requirement is changing the dynamics

of how you distribute air.

For example, if a builder is installing ducts in a large room and a small
room, the same size ducts could be used for each. However, the larger
room might need two duct pieces instead of one for proper air flow.

“It would be similar to plumbing, which is centrally controlled
with lines hooked up to the central control and much easier to install
and service,” Werling says. “The idea is to do the same for HVAC
duct systems.”

BENEFITS
Rightsizing air ducts would improve energy efficiency in a few ways.
Instead of blowing small amounts of air in big duct, Plug-n-Play
would appropriately engineer a duct to the correct size. It would
be more efficient from a distribution standpoint by allowing for
more flexibility, as Plug-n-Play would be routed throughout the home
instead of staying in the attic. It also would be more efficient from a
manufacturing standpoint, since only one size duck would be used.

It also would make the construction process more efficient. Builders
will only need to purchase one type of duct, versus determining the

24 GREEN BUILDER September/October 2016