ᐅ Retrofitting an air conditioning system – will that affect KfW funding?
Created on: 10 Jun 2021 21:02
H
Helado
Good evening everyone,
Since October, we have been living in a prefabricated house built by Hanse Haus. We have been living here for about 5 months now and are very pleased.
However, at the moment, the indoor temperature in each room is between 26°C and 28°C (79°F and 82°F), even though it is similarly warm outside. The only way we can lower the temperature is by opening the windows at night.
We have a KFW55 standard and a Stiebel Eltron LWZ 5s Plus. Unfortunately, it does not have an active cooling function, but we have installed and activated the summer cassette in the menu settings. So far, this has not produced the desired result. The temperature remains the same.
We are now considering adding air conditioning, but we have been clearly advised that this might mean no longer meeting the KFW energy-saving regulation standards, and therefore, it might affect the eligibility for subsidies. Fortunately, it is not very hot outside at the moment, but when it reaches 35°C (95°F) outdoors, the temperature inside the house can easily rise to around 30°C (86°F), which is not exactly comfortable.
Does anyone have advice or experience with retrofitting air conditioning (in specific rooms) or with the same heating system?
Thanks & best regards
Helado
Since October, we have been living in a prefabricated house built by Hanse Haus. We have been living here for about 5 months now and are very pleased.
However, at the moment, the indoor temperature in each room is between 26°C and 28°C (79°F and 82°F), even though it is similarly warm outside. The only way we can lower the temperature is by opening the windows at night.
We have a KFW55 standard and a Stiebel Eltron LWZ 5s Plus. Unfortunately, it does not have an active cooling function, but we have installed and activated the summer cassette in the menu settings. So far, this has not produced the desired result. The temperature remains the same.
We are now considering adding air conditioning, but we have been clearly advised that this might mean no longer meeting the KFW energy-saving regulation standards, and therefore, it might affect the eligibility for subsidies. Fortunately, it is not very hot outside at the moment, but when it reaches 35°C (95°F) outdoors, the temperature inside the house can easily rise to around 30°C (86°F), which is not exactly comfortable.
Does anyone have advice or experience with retrofitting air conditioning (in specific rooms) or with the same heating system?
Thanks & best regards
Helado
R
Reltaw202116 Jun 2021 17:21Mycraft schrieb:
Whether you have 30°C (86°F) or 28°C (82°F) inside the house doesn't really make much difference. Others have already experienced that.
The truth is, many systems can handle various intermediate settings, and if you call a system yours, you can certainly adjust the output to what works best for you and your housemates. Problems usually arise from poor maintenance, large temperature fluctuations, or simply from devices being set incorrectly.
Those would be extreme temperatures, of course. If we were talking about those, I’d agree with you. But the difference between 24°C (75°F) and 27°C (81°F) can definitely affect comfort and wellbeing.
When I’m on vacation, I often have the chance to control an air conditioning system according to my needs. I have to say, it usually ends with cooling during the day when no one is in the rooms, and switching it off at night when people are present. Even at a low setting, I find it uncomfortable to be exposed to a cold airflow. At least in simple systems, the control is pretty much “digital” — either “cold” or “off.” It’s not that the compressor outputs the exact target temperature, but that the air is always discharged at a constant low temperature and then mixed with the existing room air to reach the desired temperature.
In my S-Class (just kidding!), air is mixed beforehand, but most cars have systems that simply deliver either a lot or a little very cold air — but always at maximum cold.
R
Reltaw202116 Jun 2021 17:23BBaumeister schrieb:
Is your garden finished, or is it still possible to build an earth tube for the mechanical ventilation system?Sounds interesting. What is that?
B
BBaumeister17 Jun 2021 10:26Reltaw2021 schrieb:
Sounds interesting. What is it? Basically, you dig a large hole where you lay pipes with holes radiating out like a star, which are connected to the intake of the ventilation system. The hole is then filled with gravel and covered with a geotextile membrane. In winter, this uses geothermal heat because at a depth of 1.5 meters (5 feet) it is warmer than the outside air when temperatures are below freezing. In summer, the earth’s coolness is used, as the gravel at this depth stays relatively cool even during the day. This results in pre-cooled air coming from the ventilation system. The effect is not huge but noticeable, and the whole setup is not expensive.
R
Reltaw202117 Jun 2021 14:05To take advantage of one aspect while avoiding the other, you would need to build an air well that draws air from a higher altitude rather than from the ground, but still passes this air through the cool underground. However, that would likely look quite unattractive. Alternatively, you could turn this necessity into a virtue by creating a nice, multi-armed garden sculpture.
Similar topics