Building Science, HVAC- Health & Comfort, Passive House | ACH50, Airtightness, Building Enclosure, Dehumidification, Design Walkthrough, Ductwork, Energy Modeling, Energy Recovery Ventilator, ERV, Heat Pump, High-Performance Homes, HVAC, HVAC Design, Indoor Air Quality, Makeup Air, Panasonic, Passive House, Passive House Design, Rheia
In this Atlanta Passive House project, Matt Hoots of SawHorse joins Chris Laumer-Giddens of LG Squared to walk through the integrated mechanical design for a roughly 4,000-square-foot Craftsman home. Rather than treating HVAC as an afterthought, the system was coordinated with the home’s structure, architecture, lighting, and high-performance building enclosure.
The home was designed around a very airtight shell, dense-pack wood-fiber insulation, exterior stone wool, and an airtightness target of 0.5 ACH50 or lower. Reducing the heating and cooling loads allowed the mechanical system to be designed specifically around the performance of the house rather than relying on conventional rules of thumb.
In the video, Matt and Chris discuss load calculations, equipment selection, duct and return-air design, filtration, ERV ventilation, whole-house dehumidification, and kitchen exhaust with dedicated makeup air. They also look at how the ductwork was coordinated with the home’s floor trusses and structural system before construction.
The project demonstrates an important part of high-performance construction: HVAC design needs to begin as part of the design of the house, not after the architectural plans are complete. The building enclosure, mechanical equipment, ventilation, filtration, humidity control, ductwork, structure, and architecture all have to work together.
In This Video
- Passive House HVAC design
- Heating and cooling load calculations
- Right-sizing HVAC equipment
- Variable refrigerant flow equipment
- Duct and diffuser design
- Return-air pathways and transfer grilles
- Deep-media air filtration
- ERV ventilation
- Whole-house dehumidification
- Kitchen exhaust and dedicated makeup air
- HVAC and structural coordination
- How airtightness affects HVAC loads
Learn More
How We Design HVAC for a High-Performance Home in Atlanta
Learn how we approach HVAC as part of the design process, including load calculations, right-sizing, equipment selection, duct design, filtration, ventilation, humidity control, makeup air, and independent testing.
Why Passive House Works in Atlanta’s Hot, Humid Climate
See how airtightness, insulation, moisture management, ventilation, and mechanical-system design work together in Atlanta’s climate.
What Is an ERV? Why Atlanta Homes Need Controlled Ventilation
Learn why an airtight home needs intentional fresh air and how an ERV brings outdoor air into the house while exhausting stale indoor air.
What Is ACH50? Why Airtightness Matters for Atlanta Homes
Learn what ACH50 measures and why reducing uncontrolled air leakage affects comfort, humidity, energy use, indoor air quality, and HVAC design.
