HVAC for a studio on a budget

Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 11:32 pm

Hi, Gang-- First let me offer my apologies if this is beating a dead horse, as I can imagine that this topic has come up before, but given my limited tech abilities, it's easier for me to ask rather than to surf through the archives. I'm a remodeling contractor trying to complete a recording studio for my musician brother-in-law. We're converting an existing detached garage measuring 24 by 30 with an 8-foot ceiling. At this point, we're stalled out as I try to come up with a heating and cooling solution. I've been poring over Rod Gervais's book and am intimidated by the prospect of calculating and fabricating all the ductwork/damping. I doubt my brother-in-law can afford to have an experienced HVAC installer come out. So, that said, would PTAC units be a viable option, or do I just need to suck it up. My biggest concern with PTACs is that I assume they'd need to be turned off during recording, therefore potentially letting the studio warm up or cool down too much during sessions.

We're in Nashville, Tn, so it's a fairly moderate climate. The studio is quite well-insulated, and will have gobs of insulation in the attic. It also gets plenty of shade most of the year. As for the interior layout, we have the control room, a vocal booth and a powder room off the control room, then a large main booth with two smaller booths off it. If I were to utilize PTACs, I'd likely place one in the center of the back wall of the control room and one in the center of the back wall of the main booth. These would be at opposite ends of the building. I'd then just need to leave the doors open to all the smaller booths between sessions.

Does this sound reasonable? Is there some other system I should consider? If I should go the conventional route with a heat pump and over-sized ducting, how over-sized? Or should I just bag it altogether and tell him to save up and get an HVAC pro involved?

Thanks for any and all input.

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:27 am

Soundummy wrote:

Hi, Gang-- First let me offer my apologies if this is beating a dead horse, as I can imagine that this topic has come up before, but given my limited tech abilities, it's easier for me to ask rather than to surf through the archives. I'm a remodeling contractor trying to complete a recording studio for my musician brother-in-law. We're converting an existing detached garage measuring 24 by 30 with an 8-foot ceiling. At this point, we're stalled out as I try to come up with a heating and cooling solution. I've been poring over Rod Gervais's book and am intimidated by the prospect of calculating and fabricating all the ductwork/damping. I doubt my brother-in-law can afford to have an experienced HVAC installer come out. So, that said, would PTAC units be a viable option, or do I just need to suck it up. My biggest concern with PTACs is that I assume they'd need to be turned off during recording, therefore potentially letting the studio warm up or cool down too much during sessions.

We're in Nashville, Tn, so it's a fairly moderate climate. The studio is quite well-insulated, and will have gobs of insulation in the attic. It also gets plenty of shade most of the year. As for the interior layout, we have the control room, a vocal booth and a powder room off the control room, then a large main booth with two smaller booths off it. If I were to utilize PTACs, I'd likely place one in the center of the back wall of the control room and one in the center of the back wall of the main booth. These would be at opposite ends of the building. I'd then just need to leave the doors open to all the smaller booths between sessions.

Does this sound reasonable? Is there some other system I should consider? If I should go the conventional route with a heat pump and over-sized ducting, how over-sized? Or should I just bag it altogether and tell him to save up and get an HVAC pro involved?

Thanks for any and all input.

Some of the new through the wall systems with the air handler inside and the compressor outside are really very reasonable in price and some are very quiet. I think the compressor can be located some distance from the indoor unit in case you want to make it even quieter inside

Best of luck!

ps It is always better to get a good HVAC person involved no matter what you decide to do. They can size the system and do the install and most times they can offer solutions to problems that you may not have even have thought of.

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:20 am

DISCLAIMER: I'm not an HVAC guy, but I'm kinda where you are - researching.

I agree with Mr. Bethel, this might be a case where you're further ahead with a pro consultation. Even if you're doing the install yourself, an HVAC guy can calculate the amount of airflow you need, and get the BTUs right based on your local average temperatures. An HVAC expert will want to calculate the heat generated by the equipment you're using, and factor in the average number of people etc. Having the system properly sized will save you money in the long run.

The hotel PTAC type thing might be OK, but I don't see a lot of 24 x 30 x 8 hotel rooms. (maybe I don't stay in nice enough hotels). I'm not sure even two of the typical units would be enough to evenly heat or cool the space divided up. And they aren't at all quiet, so as you say - you'd have to be switching them on and off during recording sessions.

Mini-splits seem to be great for AC and some do Heat, but I haven't seen any that infuse fresh air - how could they? after all they are ductless. That's the only problem I've found in researching the mini-split systems like the Mr-Slim by Mitsubishi, and the other good ductless systems, is the lack of fresh-air. And I don't think you can ignore the V in HVAC. If you don't circulate in a reasonable amount of fresh air everyone will start to feel the effect of mild oxygen deprivation after a while.

You don't say if this is a commercial studio or a home studio. That might be the deciding factor.

If it was just for the brother-in-law and/or his bandmates, they would be more likely to be happy sweating it out. If nobody is on the clock, the minor inconveniences aren't much of an issue, it is what it is. With people who inherently want to have fun, a certain amount of grief can be turned into a positive thing that makes for good stories for the liner notes and creates a bond between band members. Others will biiiitch and moan the whole time. But with a project studio, you expect some trade-offs for the cost and convenience.

If I was paying for studio-time at a commercial studio, I wouldn't want to wait while we started and stopped AC air, and opened and closed doors to different areas that had air and have the temperature fluctuating all over the place. It wouldn't leave me with a good professional impression. Lord knows there are plenty of studios in your area for them to choose from. A good commercial studio has to have a pleasant productive work-environment and a professional vibe. So the basic things like heat, ventilation, and air-conditioning should be a seamless part of the operation.

my 2-cents

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:50 pm

Air-conditioning ducts need to make numerous right angle turns. You should also be using quiet flexible ducting. Some HVAC systems utilize a plenum which is a long narrow outlet that the cold air basically falls out from. The smaller your outgoing vent size, the more air noise you'll get. There is actually a mathematical equation that is easily obtained to ascertain how many BTU's of cooling you may need. I can't remember the formula right off but I needed to utilize that in the last couple of control rooms I've designed & built, which was 20 years ago. But I can tell you this much, my 8 ft. by 8-foot by 24 ft. box of my remote truck needed 19,000 BTU. So I purchased a 24,000 BTU air-conditioner. The unit I purchased was manufactured by Bard in Ohio and is referred to as a "wall mount" air-conditioner. You've seen these units before on all of those mobile offices at construction sites. Very convenient. Self-contained. Just add ducts. And it requires 208-240 volts AC.

Quack
Mx. Remy Ann David

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:06 am

Thanks for the responses, Fellas. Just found out that a friend of ours who's converting his basement has tracked down an HVAC contractor who has experience doing this, so I guess I'll schedule a consult. I'm sure it'll pay for itself when I'm not standing there dithering and second guessing myself while running ducts. I've been reluctant to call an HVAC guy because I haven't been impressed with any of the work I've seen thus far. Most systems are severely over-sized, the duct work is sloppy, no one runs multiple cold-air returns (just one giant one near the center of the house with a filter slapped over it). And for this level of effort and workmanship, it'll cost you as much as a full-blown install in Ohio. Anyway. . .

As far as whether it's a pro studio or not, I'm not sure. My brother-in-law has been a professional musician since his early teens. He's a technical wizard on the guitar (finger-style prodigy), and works at it relentlessly, but he can't quite be bothered to perfect all the other aspects of professionalism. He's very willing to make do with most things, so for this studio, I'm the one who's trying to get it all correct. I'd certainly rather take it beyond what he thinks he needs than to rework it later.

DVDHawk, I really appreciate all the info you've offered up on your studio build. I've been researching ICF's for a building on my parents' farm up in Ohio and am quite intrigued by them. Not a whole lot of info out there on them in terms of user experience which surprises me since their use is carefully detailed in my 2006 IRC code book. They certainly appear to be a very competitive option for anyone looking to build a tight, energy-efficient structure. I'll keep up with your postings.

Thanks again [/i]

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