An experienced commercial grade mechanical contractor was hired for the mechanical install. Rigorous inspections were conducted and installation was guided/coordinated with the manufacturer's (Bosch/Buderus) assistance . Blower door tests were undertaken both before and after drywall installations. Flow hoods used to balance and adjust.

A dedicated make-up air system (exterior hood, duct, gravity damper and floor level diffuser) was designed and installed in the mechanical room for negative pressure associated with the use of the range hood. The range hood is served by an in-line Fantech fan located in the mechanical room that discharges directly to the exterior (not to the ERV). Intake hoods (2) are located on the west wall. Discharge hoods (2) are located on the north wall.

Two floor inspection/measuring ports are installed in the 4" concrete floor in the mechanical room using 4"dia PVC tubes with screw caps. Sensors are located within the tubes to measure ground (sand bed) temperatures at the geothermal tubing level and the solar thermal glycol tubing levels in the ground.

Hand control dampers are installed in the air supply ducts for the master bedroom wing to allow reduction of heat to create cooler room temperatures in the winter months, if desired.

Heating and cooling are provided by two Bosch 2 ton ground-source heat pumps connected to a horizontal ground loop system. One heat pump is a Bosch water-water model and the other a Bosch water-air model. The water-water unit is solely devoted to heating the ten zone radiant floor system on two floor levels, a Runtal hydronic towel warmer/radiator in the master bath, and the 198 gal Bosch/Buderus PL750/2S Solar DHW/Space Heating Combi Tank (i.e.-12 zones total). The solar tank is kept at a minimum of 100 deg F by the heat pump during periods of poor weather when the on-demand Seisco electric heating then boosts the water temp to 130 deg F for domestic distribution.

The water-air heat pump serves a single upper level ducted distribution system located within the lighting soffits. The upper level air system is controlled by a centrally located “smart” Ecobee thermostat and a mechanical room Ecobee control panel, which is also accessible on-line via a PC or smart phone app, to provide both heating and cooling control at all times. Nine of the ten radiant zones are controlled by simple heat only wall thermostats, and the largest open space 1st floor zone is controlled by the Ecobee thermostat which decides how best to heat that large living area (i.e. - capable of running both heat pumps simultaneously), to supply both hot air and a radiant warm floor if required during severe cold conditions.

A simple PVC under slab ventilation loop with 4" dia vertical exit stack was installed for potential Radon mitigation, but later testing proved to not require radon mitigation. The stack dead head is accessible behind a drywall access panel for any possible future need.

On both the east (laundry room and 2nd bath) and south (kitchenette) walls of the lower level, the interior finished walls were bumped out from the ICF using 2x4 studs to create a 12' wide continuous access chase to run wiring and plumbing with permanent access and cleanouts.

In addition to the HVAC systems (heat pumps) and the fresh air system (HRV), there are three isolated in-line Fantech fans that can be manually controlled by adjustable fan speed wall mounted dials at the first floor level. They each consist of an intake louvre near the ceiling of the vaulted space on the upper level, ductwork, in-line fan w/access hatch, and discharge box located near floor at the lower level. Each can be used to move warm air (den, livingroom, and master bedroom) from upper level spaces to add heat to the lower level at times of the year (swing seasons) when daytime temps may be higher than desired at the upper level, but outside night time temps might otherwise call for heat (i.e- storing the heat internally to the building).