DIY Network

Heating Up and Cooling Down: Introduction From "Home IQ" episode DHIQ-109

When it came to heating the Oberg's new custom built-home, the heating and cooling system is a direct result of how they plan to live in the house. Because one daughter was already off to college and the other would soon be working toward her degree, Brad and Lynn Oberg wanted a system that would give them complete control over heating and cooling their home.

They turned to the building-consulting firm, Ibacos, which will incorporate new technologies into the design of the home. The Obergs chose a high performance, more energy efficient heating and cooling system. It's a forced air system where both the heat and air condition run through a network of shared ducts. Another component of the Oberg's heating-and-cooling strategy is to have a radiant floor in the basement to accommodate Lynn's costume storage.

In DIY's new Home IQ series, you'll follow the Oberg family during the decision-making process of building this beautiful new home.

In this week's episode of Home IQ, we show you how the Oberg home stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

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When it comes to heating and cooling a home, Eric Newhouse, systems integration designer for Ibacos, talks about what makes for a higher level of performance in a home:

• Durability

• Energy efficiency

• Comfort

• Health and safety

These are the primary features that home builders and innovators tend to focus on to make improvements in new homes.

For the Oberg home, in particular, Ibacos, the home owners and the builder wanted to create an air barrier for the home. The air barrier is simply the group of components that work together to make sure that the inside air remains inside and that the outside air remains outside.

To create an air barrier, the Oberg house features the following components:

• House Wrap -- This is an exterior wrap (figure A) that's added during the framing stage of construction (for more information on framing, click here for episode 105 of Home IQ). The house wrap is utilized in order to eliminate drafts from penetrating the house.

• Two Above-grade Insulation Systems -- The Oberg home utilized two insulation systems: 1) Icynene, a foam insulation in the walls and ceiling and 2) Fiberglass insulation system (figure B), which also was used in some walls. The basement walls received more than the above-grade walls, in fact, with at least 2-1/2" of insulation on the outside and another inch of foam on the inside.

• High-performance Heating-and-Cooling System -- The Obergs chose a high-performance, forced-air system where both the heat and the air-conditioning run through a network of shared ducts (figure C).

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

Figure D