another canadian studio build thread - hvac help

Keire · 8th November 2007

after months of designing, building and working most of the major work in my studio is done. im going to post some pics for you guys to check out. in the mean time ill try to explain the situation as best i can. the studio is two rooms. one large room (1500 sq/ft) where the board sits and most of the tracking is done...then we have built a smaller room (600 sq/ft) that is floating, dbl walled...etc. generally me and my partner like to work with our clients in one room. the communications advantages are huge. but in some instances we want to have a dead room. the reasons should be obvious. we are in the process of installing the hvac system. the furnace is installed in the hall way. the idea is to split the duct at the furnace and have one larger duct slowly pushing alot of air into our main room and than have a smaller duct running to the iso room. also, the majority of the run will be happening in the hall way. as it will be quieter there than the live room. but what about air hiss and the ducts resonance. what kind of duct should we use. i would really appreciate any advice in regards to materials and methodologies. thanks alot. cant wait to show you the pics.
mike

soundbarnfool · 8th November 2007

You really need to research this. HVAC in the studio is a pretty big deal. There is a chapter in "The Master Handbook of Acoustics" that deals with it. Amazon.com for a few bucks. Well worth the investment. Basically you need lots of extra ductwork to cut down on the air flow velocity, round insullated ducts, as much seperation/isolation between rooms as possibloe in the ductwork itself, etc. I am just finishing up installing HVAC in my studio... I built a little closetfor the furnace in the corner of the building and floated it to cut down on vibration. My HVAC guy is installing a furnace that has a special switch on it that makes it come up to speed slowly so you don't get that lovely JOLT when it goes on...

Good luck. If the Republicans win the election again I'm movin' to Canada!

mikeg · 8th November 2007

The previous post is spot on and;

Some of the newer better furnaces use speed controlled fan motors, the advantages are obvious.

Isolation is the biggest issue. Round ducts as stated with as much insulation as you can. Think in terms of a port on a speaker... Use the biggest vents possible into the rooms.

The 2 keys are;
cut down on motor/fan noise and you want to ducts as smooth as possible internally to cut down on air turbulance. One trick that can be used is to add into the ducts vanes in parallel to the duct. This is to make the air flow all in one direction, kinda like columating a beam.

If you're not sure/certain then get ahold of a HVAC engineer. Not an installer. Call Trane,Carrier, whomever and ask for someone locally. There will be somebody that has done the TV stations, concert halls... in your area that will know what to do.

Be cautious, you can spend a lot of money fast on this issue so only spend what you need. Meaning, if it was me I would take one issue at a time to make certain something was an issue before spending money on it.

8th November 2007	#1
Keire Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 776 Thread Starter	another canadian studio build thread - hvac help after months of designing, building and working most of the major work in my studio is done. im going to post some pics for you guys to check out. in the mean time ill try to explain the situation as best i can. the studio is two rooms. one large room (1500 sq/ft) where the board sits and most of the tracking is done...then we have built a smaller room (600 sq/ft) that is floating, dbl walled...etc. generally me and my partner like to work with our clients in one room. the communications advantages are huge. but in some instances we want to have a dead room. the reasons should be obvious. we are in the process of installing the hvac system. the furnace is installed in the hall way. the idea is to split the duct at the furnace and have one larger duct slowly pushing alot of air into our main room and than have a smaller duct running to the iso room. also, the majority of the run will be happening in the hall way. as it will be quieter there than the live room. but what about air hiss and the ducts resonance. what kind of duct should we use. i would really appreciate any advice in regards to materials and methodologies. thanks alot. cant wait to show you the pics. mike

8th November 2007	#2
soundbarnfool Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Nashville Posts: 851	The Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Everest You really need to research this. HVAC in the studio is a pretty big deal. There is a chapter in "The Master Handbook of Acoustics" that deals with it. Amazon.com for a few bucks. Well worth the investment. Basically you need lots of extra ductwork to cut down on the air flow velocity, round insullated ducts, as much seperation/isolation between rooms as possibloe in the ductwork itself, etc. I am just finishing up installing HVAC in my studio... I built a little closetfor the furnace in the corner of the building and floated it to cut down on vibration. My HVAC guy is installing a furnace that has a special switch on it that makes it come up to speed slowly so you don't get that lovely JOLT when it goes on... Good luck. If the Republicans win the election again I'm movin' to Canada!

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8th November 2007	#3
mikeg Gear nut Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 115	The previous post is spot on and; Some of the newer better furnaces use speed controlled fan motors, the advantages are obvious. Isolation is the biggest issue. Round ducts as stated with as much insulation as you can. Think in terms of a port on a speaker... Use the biggest vents possible into the rooms. The 2 keys are; cut down on motor/fan noise and you want to ducts as smooth as possible internally to cut down on air turbulance. One trick that can be used is to add into the ducts vanes in parallel to the duct. This is to make the air flow all in one direction, kinda like columating a beam. If you're not sure/certain then get ahold of a HVAC engineer. Not an installer. Call Trane,Carrier, whomever and ask for someone locally. There will be somebody that has done the TV stations, concert halls... in your area that will know what to do. Be cautious, you can spend a lot of money fast on this issue so only spend what you need. Meaning, if it was me I would take one issue at a time to make certain something was an issue before spending money on it.