More on HVAC

Here's a little item I forgot to mention about our Tallahassee Green Home construction.
We fired our Heat and Air subcontractor. He was about as crooked as a dog's hind leg. Let me explain.

Every new home construction in Florida requires an energy form be completed. I also had a Manual J form done. This basically models your home, including orientation to the sun, amount of shading, window area, insulation type, etc. and then spits out numbers that basically tell the tonnage of air conditioning that you need. My original contractor showed me the report that said I needed two units totaling 6 tons. Who was I to question his professional judgment? Later on, he said I also needed another small system for the room over the garage. The final straw came when he wanted to charge me a crazy amount for that small system. I told him to hit the road, jack (his name's not jack).
So I was suspicious of his work and contact my green home certifying agent, Alex Mordas. He confirmed what I suspected so I decided to throw down the extra $150 for another Manual J calculation. Good thing I did this b/c my new numbers came out to 4.5 tons of A/C. The $150 spent saved me triple that in the unit costs.
Oh well, moving on.
Since we are using Icynene sprayfoam insulation for the walls and ceiling, there is a real concern with not getting enough fresh air into the house. So we need some way of introducing fresh air into the ducting system. The best way is to install an expensive Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) or a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV). I don't understand the difference between the two, but I know that both are too expensive for us right now. They work great because they condition the air before bringing it into the house.

The next best thing, and what we are installing, is a Honeywell fresh air damper. It works automatically to open and close at the appropriate time to bring in just the right amount of fresh air for the house. When we win the lottery we will buy an ERV, but for now the damper will work.