by Unico Marketing Team | May 26, 2023 | Custom Homes, Energy Effeciency, Older Homes
Did you know that heating and cooling systems make up around 50% of a home’s energy usage throughout the year? Not only does having an energy-efficient HVAC system help reduce your home’s environmental footprint, but it also helps lower the energy costs for homeowners. In fact, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy says that installing or upgrading your HVAC system can reduce energy usage by up to 50%.
That’s one of the main reasons why The Unico System stands out. Join us as we take a closer look at how The Unico System was designed to make HVAC systems more energy efficient.
Ducts Play a Big Role in HVAC Energy Efficiency
When it comes to an HVAC system’s energy efficiency, you always hear about the SEER rating for central air conditioners and other efficiency ratings for mechanical systems like air handlers or blowers. While that’s important, the efficiency and overall effectiveness of the ducts are what’s most important in delivering conditioned air. This notion was one of the driving forces behind the creation of The Unico System.
With a traditional system, heat often leaks from the ducts within the walls through seams (duct leakage) as well as through the walls of the ducts themselves (thermal loss). The Unico System has roughly one-third of the surface area of conventional ducting, which automatically lowers the amount of thermal loss in a home. Plus, the tubing is wrapped with an insulation barrier and an outer vapor barrier that keep nearly all the thermal energy in the ducts.
The Unico System is designed for air tightness. Third-party testing identified that traditional systems could lose up to 25% of the air put through ductwork. With The Unico System, that number goes down to just 5%.
Creating Even Room Temperature for Increased Energy Efficiency
Traditional HVAC systems use ducts to dump air into a room. Unfortunately, this process often creates wide swings in temperature across the room. When a room has pockets of varying temperatures, the HVAC system must work harder and use more energy to keep the space at a reasonable comfort level.
The Unico System uses smaller ducts placed throughout the room, creating a more consistent temperature thanks to the air coming out fast and quiet. The variable speed motor in the system helps ensure that energy doesn’t go to waste through overheating or overcooling an area. This is part of the reason why The Unico System costs an average of 22% less than a traditional HVAC system to keep a room comfortable.
The system itself isn’t the only way Unico helps custom homes become more energy efficient. Through free design services, Unico will take the hard part out of making your HVAC system more energy efficient by:
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- – Doing a BTU calculation on each room, which will identify the optimal amount of Unico outlets needed for peak comfort and energy efficiency.
- – Accounting for the thermal envelope ratings in the room, such as windows, wall insulation, and more.
- – Looking at the recommended amount of air changes per hour according to the ASHRAE manual for older residences and custom homes.
Electricity Usage of Traditional HVAC vs. The Unico System
Homeowners, contractors and many government regulators have an interest in HVAC systems that use less electricity. Traditional systems need to run longer in a 24-hour period to maintain the same temperature level compared to The Unico System. That fact is due partly to the efficiency of the ducts that we mentioned above. The Unico System also manages to maintain humidity levels without requiring long run times.
Given the amount of power that’s needed to run HVAC systems, it’s important that we discuss vampire power (the power that’s consumed when the system is completely off). While every home appliance has some level of vampire energy loss, traditional HVAC systems can be one of the highest contributors in a home. The Unico System roughly uses three times less vampire power, helping homeowners save on monthly energy bills.
Get Comfort and Energy Efficiency with The Unico System
If you’re planning to build a custom home, The Unico System is a great way to make your HVAC system more energy efficient. Contact our free Design Services team today to learn more about the advantages Unico offers your home.
by Unico Marketing Team | May 26, 2023 | Design Flexibility, Older Homes
The process of getting an HVAC solution that provides lasting comfort and energy efficiency for an older home can be a challenge. Many older homes relied on steam systems for heat or weren’t built with ductwork for air conditioning. These homes often lack the necessary space to run traditional ducts without major renovations or compromises to the living space. The good news is that there is a solution for missing ductwork in older homes.
Consider a Small-Duct/High-Velocity System
While older homes have classic charm and detail, they often don’t have the internal wall space to run traditional ductwork. Plaster and lathe walls can limit the interior wall cavity space, and floor joists may be built to different standards compared to modern building practices. This makes putting in traditional ductwork, which is 8 inches by 12 inches in diameter, a challenge that often requires significant renovations. However, The Unico System uses small ducts that are only 2 inches in diameter, making it easy to work them into almost any older home structure.
The Unico System was designed with small spaces in mind. Unico ducts are engineered to fit within small areas in existing walls and ceilings. They’re also flexible, which gives contractors the ability to thread them through spaces that can’t fit traditional ducts. Plus, every Unico duct is made with an insulated nylon core, which prevents thermal loss, to make every room more comfortable by delivering consistent temperatures.
Installing Small Ducts in Older Homes
Another advantage The Unico System has for older homes with missing ductwork is the air handling unit (AHU). With traditional HVAC systems, the AHU is often large and box-shaped, which makes it difficult to find space that accommodates it. The AHU used in The Unico System is small enough to fit in the attic or other out of the way spaces in older homes. It’s just another way Unico makes older homes more comfortable without the need for extensive renovations.
Equipment Placement in Missing Ductwork HVAC Solutions
To get a better understanding of why The Unico System is such a good fit for older homes with missing ductwork, we’ve laid out some of the key equipment placements including:
Air Supply Outlets: Contractors with support from Unico will go room to room and figure out the optimal placement for the air supply outlets. Many owners of older homes like them to be in the corners of the room. The flexibility of the nylon-core ducting allows for more possibilities.
AHU: As we mentioned above, the Unico AHU is compact and can fit easily in the attic, basement, or closet of older homes. These units are also modular, so different arrangements can be used to make performance and maintenance easy for the specific layout of your home.
Ductwork: The ductwork we’ve engineered as part of The Unico System is small. It can be fed through confined spaces without leaking air to keep your older home as energy efficient as possible. With our small duct system, there’s no need to worry about costly renovations for your older home to maintain comfortable temperatures year-round.
The Unico System is Made to Match Your Older Home’s Style
The Unico System has a wide range of outlet vent designs that will match the style of your older home without compromise. They can be painted or stained to match almost any interior design look to help them blend into the room. The unique aesthetics of your older home will stay the same since the Unico ducts will hardly be noticeable in the room.
Make Your Older Home More Comfortable with The Unico System
Older homes that have missing ductwork still have the potential to be more comfortable thanks to The Unico System. Your older home has an appeal that’s worth preserving, and our small ducts can be threaded through the existing infrastructure without major remodeling. Find a contractor near you who has experience installing The Unico System in older homes.
by Unico Marketing Team | Feb 27, 2023 | News, Press Releases
ST. LOUIS (February 27, 2023)— Unico, Inc., maker of small-duct central heating and air conditioning systems, announced the creation of a new division to specifically answer the needs of the custom homebuilding industry.
“After decades of being the go-to HVAC system for thousands of custom home designers, builders, subcontractors, and owners we’re very excited to create a business division completely dedicated to this unique market,” said Ashton Gavelek, Unico brand marketing manager. “As their name implies, custom homes occupy their own specialized niche in the residential homebuilding industry, and we feel this requires a specialized team of professionals familiar with the wants and needs of this market’s key players.”
Spearheading the manufacturer’s efforts is Ken Ware, Unico custom sales manager. Mr. Ware comes to Unico with a twenty-year history of providing specialized product solutions for the custom home market, having started with his own contracting business, then working his way up to sales manager for a large building product supplier and, most recently, launching several divisions of a regional design-build firm.
Joining Mr. Ware is Maura Intagliata as custom home coordinator. Representing the third generation of the company’s ownership, Ms. Intagliata’s duties include overseeing the infrastructure of the division’s process flows and reporting.
Completing the custom home division is Ms. Gavelek who will handle all manner of marketing activities, communications, and outreach to the custom homebuilding community and ensure they harmonize with Unico’s larger branding efforts.
Mr. Ware states he is “most excited to help architects, builders, subcontractors, and end users of custom homes with their indoor comfort solutions. These professionals and enthusiasts are more informed, innovative, and passionate about their craft than their counterparts in production building and we look forward to forging lasting relationships with this caliber of individuals and companies.”
In addition to the new division, Unico will be adding content and navigation tools specific to the custom home industry to their corporate website.
About Unico Inc.
The Unico System is a small-duct central heating and air conditioning system manufactured by Unico Inc. Ideal for custom and new home construction, older home retrofits and historic preservation, as well as commercial applications, The Unico System takes less than one-third the space of a traditional HVAC system. Unico is an active member of the U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit www.unicosystem.com.
To learn more about how The Unico System is the perfect solutions for your custom build contact Ken Ware: [email protected]
