Released on: January 9, 2008, 7:30 am

Press Release Author: Jamie Gerdsen

Industry: Consumer Services

Press Release Summary: James Gerdsen estimates his company, Apollo Heating and
Cooling, has installed several thousand mini-duct systems over 20 years. However,
his company's most recent project was, as he described it, "the most challenging
from the standpoint of coordination and job site conditions."

Press Release Body: Gerdsen and Apollo had the task of installing the heating and
cooling system at a historic dairy property. Three barns were put together to form a
unique, 12,000-square-foot home. Apollo, which has been family owned and operated
for the last three generations, turned to the Unico System, manufactured by Unico
Inc., to supply the needed HVAC equipment.

"The system was chosen due to space constraints," explained Gerdsen.

"Traditional ductwork for this process would have not been physically possible.
Unico's advantage was that it took one-tenth of the space of a
conventional system. This led to the best overall installation and finished product.

"By not choosing this mini-duct system on this project, there would have been
numerous changes to the look and feel of this beautiful home."

The project was described as challenging due mainly to the way the contractor had to
stage the delivery of equipment, the overall man-hours it
took to complete the system, and working with the general contractor and homeowner.

"We had multiple subs to contend with," said Gerdsen. "The coordination was more
than we typically deal with. We found all of the subs, and the general contractors
were easy to coordinate. However, the magnitude of the
project was more interacted with the amount of the systems.

"In addition, when changes did occur, we had to be able to react and coordinate
those correctly."

THE BEST CHOICE

According to the Cincinnati-based contractor, the homeowner chose the property
because of its unique architecture style, location, and overall beauty.

"I am not really sure why they decided to go the route they did, but the property is
beautiful," said Gerdsen. "It is a historic dairy farm, with over five acres of
land, including a 2,000-square-foot conservatory and guest home."

Because the homeowner wanted to have exposed beams and trusts throughout the home,
the Unico System was selected to fit the bill. The second floor, for example, has
completely beamed ceilings. Gerdsen opted to install six mini-duct systems, creating
six separate zones.

The Unico System is a high-velocity, mini-duct system that, according to the St.
Louis-based manufacturer, has been installed in over 100,000 homes and businesses
across the United States, in Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. Simply, it fits
where conventional systems can't. According to Unico, its system's modular air
handlers and coils can be installed in ceilings, floors, crawl spaces, and closets.
It said its flexible 2-inch supply tubing can be routed through ceilings, floors,
and wall cavities.

"We find that there are specific applications for mini-ducts," said Gerdsen.

"Typically, homes that are retrofitted - and without ductwork - are perfect
candidates because mini-duct systems allow you to install without major changes to a
home's structure, including soffits, drop ceilings, etc.

"Also, you are able to get to the outside perimeter of the rooms to blanket the
outside wall, preventing the hot humid summer air from getting in and the cold air
in the winter. There is one centralized return per system, which
makes it a lot easier in older homes."

According to Gerdsen, the Unico System is 30 percent greater in its ability to
dehumidify, too.

"You can use zoning with the system, along with indoor air quality products, which
we believe, make a strong choice for any home," he explained.
If there is a drawback, Gerdsen said the system cannot have an ECM motor for the air
handler.

"But, overall, I think the drawbacks are not enough to prevent proposing mini-duct
systems in custom new home construction and retrofit
applications," he said.

The mini-duct system utilizes condensing units, or heat pumps, similar to a
traditional duct system. The indoor air handler and coil are equipped with electric
heat packs, designed "to give the same overall range of heating and
cooling capabilities as a traditional system," said Gerdsen.

"You can use any outside condensing or heat pump unit with the system," he explained.

In this case, Gerdsen chose 14 SEER outdoor heat pumps from Trane, with two-stage
filtration and ultraviolet (UV) lights throughout. He said each
system has a safety redundancy built into it, with secondary drain pans and wet
switches.

"We chose our heat pumps for the reliability and efficiency interface with the
mini-duct system," said Gerdsen.

PLANNING HELPS

In all, there is a total of 26 tons of cooling and heating, broken up over six
systems. The entire project took Apollo, which has been in business since 1910,
nearly 14 weeks to complete.

"We were installing multiple systems with all new ductwork and equipment," said
Gerdsen.

"It took approximately two weeks per system, with an additional two weeks of
detailed wrap up, which included air testing, adjustment, quality check, and
factory-trained technician commissioning.

For the most part, the project ran smoothly, mainly because of Apollo's planning.

"We spent about a third of the project in the planning phase," said Gerdsen.

"This included making proper heat loss/heat gains. We even had a scaled blueprint of
the property laying out where all of the supplies and returns were. We went over
this with the homeowner prior to starting, to make sure
they understood the process. Once approved, this is when we moved forward."

Prior to starting, the contracting firm ordered 110 percent of all needed materials,
which were delivered in stages to the site. Prior to starting, the firm reviewed the
blueprints and job specifications with the installation team.
"The project manager visited the job site several times to make sure all of the
material and project were going according to plan," said Gerdsen. "At the end of
every project, it went through a commissioning phase, which included an air test to
doublecheck cfm requirements, as well as a 15-point factory startup."

That's not to say the homeowner did not make matters complicated. At times, he made
several revisions in his architectural drawing, which forced changes throughout the
process. The floor plans would change, which caused some of the framing to change,
"which effected where we would put the supplies and returns."

"The property's exposed beams and lack of space to conceal traditional ductwork
could have made the changes an issue," said Gerdsen. "However,
due to the flexibility of the mini-duct system, we were able to make changes without
incurring any additional cost or losing any efficiency. If we had traditional
ductwork, it would have been a much larger issue because of the lack of flexibility
in the metal ductwork system."

For more information please visit our website at http://www.apollo-hvac.com.

Web Site: http://www.apollo-hvac.com

Contact Details: Apollo-HVAC
Attention: Jamie Gerdsen
1730 Tennessee Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45229
(513) 242-5522
Website: http://www.apollo-hvac.com