Heat Pump Furnace -Require Chimney?

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    Jian Huang

    Hi Kawai,

    Those two pages mainly discuss the topic of "Forced Air Heating And Cooling", so the diagrams are about this main topic. Then the "Variations" part introduces "heat pump furnace", like other sections in this book (eg. Designing Spaces for Mech. and Elec. Services ), "Variations" always talking about some special points which are different from typical applications, while the diagrams do not reflect these special points.

    Sincerely,

    Jian

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    mermann

    It’s about the fuel used to create the heat: if there’s combustion from the burning of fossil fuels (natural gas, home heating oil, coal) you’ll need a chimney to exhaust combustion air so it doesn’t poison the occupants….if the furnace’s heat source is electricity (heat pump, which is an air conditioner that can run in reverse to make heat; or electric resistance heating, which is the same simple technology as an electric stove)….or solar hearted hot water as the heat source, no combustion so no chimney needed

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    Kawai Yam

    mermannThanks for replying. I do understand it's about the "fuel" used to create the heat. 
    If ARE exam is asking which kind of system can you use to avoid having a chimney? and "heat pump furnace" is one of the options. Can I safely assume that it is one of the correct answers? Because it can use without having a chimney. 

     

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    mermann

    Yes…correct.

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    Kawai Yam

    mermann Sorry, I just want to double-check again here. If forced air used electric furnace and Hydronic Heating use an electric boiler, does it mean it doesn't require a chimney?

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    mermann

    Yes. If there’s no fossil fuel biting in the building (like electric) there’s no need for a chimney. Your question reminds me of this commercial :) https://youtu.be/Nn__9hLJKAk

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    mermann

    Burning (not biting)

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    Kawai Yam

    Thank you so much for clarifying. so I guess the chart on the "The architects studio companion" is just really "rules of thumb" and applies to typical/ most use cases. but not for every case. Hopefully ARE exams will be clear with their wording on "what fuel" when they are asking this kind of question... 

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    mermann

    There is no discrepancy…“Forced air” and “hydronic heating” don’t describe the fuel used….they describe how the heat makes its way from the furnace (air) or boiler (water/hydronic) to the rest of the building….you could create that heat with natural gas (chimney) or heat pump (no chimney) ….—Michael Ermann, Amber Book creator

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    Kawai Yam

    So what if the exam is asking should you avoid having a chimney when the project has “Forced air” and “hydronic heating” without describing what fuel is used? should I assume "avoid having a chimney" like the chart showing in the book? 

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    mermann

    Imagine that the chart had food at the top: column categories of "lunch" "yogurt" "Italian food" and "peanuts" . . .and then on the left had a row category of "avoids milk products":

    "lunch" and "Italian food" may have milk products, but they are broader categories than the other two and, as they include all kinds of foods with and without milk products, they wouldn't have a dot in the box showing that they "avoid milk products."

    Kawai, I don't know you or know your study habits, but I've helped 15,000 study for these exams and for the last 10 years I talk to a dozen people a week who are taking the AREs. . . In my experience, folks who try to memorize the books without learning the content, and folks who over-focus on a particular theoretical question (or even a previously-seen question that was on an exam but is unlikely to show up on your next exam) have the toughest time passing these exams.

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