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Not to hijack, but wouldn't it be nice to have Yamaha inject some of that stuff into their hulls!
I had a spray polyurethane business in the early 2000's and did a few custom homes with 1lb density foam. We actually had a problem with a few of them by making them too "tight". The humidity was too high and the windows started sweating. Created a potential mold problem. We found out later through a few more of these that it's a delicate balance between air barriers and HVAC tonnage. If you seal the house too tight and have too much AC the AC won't run enough and won't dry the air.
That is very true, and both of these guys I am talking about have and outside fresh air return supply line that is triggered by humidity of all things, just like you mention. I think it is even code in some cities to have that fresh air return. Let's face it, having a drafty house vs a tight house, just to have the a/c run enough is money being thrown away. If I have to pay to have to condition more air than necessary, just to dehumidify, why not incorporate a dehumidifier? I will also add, that a tight house doesn't take on near as much outside air humidity as a drafty house. You are absolutely right that there is a balance, but there are ways to achieve that balance without running an a/c continuously. My house is 6" walls, with tyvek wrap, R-21, the roof is protected by Coolply Radiant barrier, continuous ridge vents, Hardi perforated soffits, 4 huge gable vents (that are blocked with foam board because I have too much ventilation), R-40 level blown in fiberglass insulation, that sets the tone for the two Trane Geothermal indoor (installed in attic) compressor sections that are supported by 5-250' deep geothermal closed loop wells. My units don't run near as much as conventional units, and I do not have a fresh air supply. The humidity level in the house is very comfortable summer and winter, but the spring and fall can be a little humid, when the units don't run at all, due to the house being well insulated. So we will turn on the a/c just to remove humidity. But I suspect all of us in north Texas, have that same issue at that time of the year. It is the same time of year that you can't decide whether to run the a/c or the heat! We don't have programmable thermostats and have to make a decision which is active. And the reason is that it cost more to drop the temp and bring it back up, in a well insulated home, than it does to maintain the temp 24/7...the exception for us, is if we are going to be gone for more than a little less than 72 hours, then raising it 4 or 5 degrees can be a savings. But we have pets, so it isn't often we will do that. Because a geothermal home is pretty cheap to cool and heat. I have not purchased a dehumidifier, and haven't felt the need, but if I built another house, I would definitely foam it. A controlled humidity level between 35-55% is ok. You may see condensation on the inside of windows with greater than 40% humidity in winter months...IF you don't have thermally broken window frames and very good insulated glass. We have those too, argon gas filled and LowE coated, but the bad news is that argon dissipates before the seals fail and I think the argon is very beneficial. Nate, I think a gathering is a good place, beer in hand, to chew the fat and discuss subjects just like this. I have always been interested in energy efficiency and enjoyed it. And you guys that put together systems and know the benefits are great at what you do!
Minisplits are the way, if I could do my house all over I would go this route but with ducted indoor air handlers.
Actually, the barn is tight, and those big doors are insulated steel and do have an R value, although I don’t know what it is. Even the entryway walk door is insulated. The R Value of the foam is R7. It is about an inch and a half. It is thickernin the ceiling as it was ajoce them and harder to layer evenly, so when finished they told me it ended up thicker. And the quantity of product used figured to be more. Be that as it may, the heat loss or gain rate in the building is good, but it doesn’t prevent it from dropping to freezing in long stretches below freezing. Nor does it keep the inside from climbing in the summer eventually. My big issue, is that once the temps climb by late afternoon in a day over 100F outside, in the 90’s inside, and then at night, the temp falls outside, but don’t drop much inside and the humidity is trapped in the building. So I need to condition the air. The question is, could I get a inside temp window of 40 to 80 year round out of a smaller split, or do I need to get the 3 ton?
Makes sense @Bruce . My house is efficient via geothermal units but my heat load is higher than yours as it is not SIP construction. The barn is certainly a greater heat load. I have no desire to pay to heat cool the outdoors. But I want to preserve the coach and make the interior barn comfortable in extreme conditions outside when I am in there. It’s nit a workshop per se, but...