When I was looking into heating and cooling options for a very old house, I’d never heard of high velocity systems. My home has been around for nearly two hundred years. The walls were built with the studs turned sideways to maximize living space. This makes for very narrow walls and not enough room to accommodate standard ductwork. Plus, most of the walls are still the ancient plaster and lathe which is a giant mess to replace. For the first year we lived in the house, my wife and I got by with portable heating and cooling options. We had space heaters plugged in all over the place. Having extension cords stretched across the floor is aggravating. The space heaters were ugly to look at, took up valuable space and we worried about safety. With outdoor temperatures well below freezing during the winter, our house was always chilly. In the summer, we fared a little better with window air conditioners. We weren’t happy about sacrificing the view and the security risk, but at least the air conditioners were able to provide some relief from the heat and humidity. I decided we needed a permanently installed whole-house HVAC system and started researching online. I eventually came across high velocity systems. This type of temperature control utilizes flexible air ducts that are only two to three inches in diameter. The ducts are inserted into the walls and snaked around obstacles without causing damage or requiring remodeling. Small vents are available in all sorts of shapes and styles to suit any decor. The system delivers conditioned air at a very high velocity of speed which creates a gentle suction. This suction mixes the heated/cooled air with the existing air quickly and rapidly raise or lower room temperature.