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Heating/Cooling suggestions for my home

N

NetWareHead

THAT guy
I've been thinking about my future house lately and would appreaciate any opinions offered in this thread. I've been debating my choices in heating and cooling systems. I've already decided that I want my house air conditioned. Therefore I would need the necessary ducts in my walls along with a unit in the basement or attic. No problem there.

The heating system is another story. I'm debating on whether I should use the ducts going to each room to also supply warm air in the cold season. The alternative is to spend the extra money and go for baseboard heating in every room. This would require an additional plumbing expenses to connect baseboard radiators in each room/zone to a boiler located somewhere in the house, most likely the basement.

I've had experience with each type of heating system and both can do the job well. I like the baseboard heating since it is alot quieter than forced air; all you hear when the system in on is the the expansion (ticking) of the radiators. But I'd like to approach this with an open mind and fairly evaluate each system.

Other relevant facts:

The house will be separated into multiple zones. Ideally I'd like each room or section of the house to have an independent temperature setting than other sections. I know this is possible with baseboard heating (an additional set of pipes to the radiators for each zone). Is this possible with forced air. Maybe through the usage of dampers to open/close ducts?

The living room of this house will be pretty large and have a high ceiling. I will most likely add 1 or 2 ceiling fans to assist with circulation and bring down the heat trapped on the ceiling. Additionally this room will also have a fireplace. I was thinking about one of those inserts that turn your fireplace into a high efficiency heater. I am giving serious consideration to burning either firewood or coal in this insert.

Anyway, opinions please?
 
We have dual zone HVAC in our house. The A/C portion works very well. The heating in the basement and first floor is gas and works great. Our top floor is electric heatpump and it sucks, very inefficient. For some reason they don't put gas furnaces in the attic, maybe a fire hazzard.
 
Originally posted by: CalvinHobbes
We have dual zone HVAC in our house. The A/C portion works very well. The heating in the basement and first floor is gas and works great. Our top floor is electric heatpump and it sucks, very inefficient. For some reason they don't put gas furnaces in the attic, maybe a fire hazzard.
Click to expand...

we have the same arrangement....

the heatpump does suck when it gets dark in the winter or is real cold (below freezing) and we have to set it at emergency heat (element)

however, the inspector said it is a good arrangement, since the hotter air of the lower two floors coming from the gas furnace heats up the air and the heatpump can use that and not work so hard...vice versa in summer for cooling

jC
 
our home was built in 2003 with a forced air heating / cooling system. we find it to be fairly efficient - it heats up the house pretty quickly. as for selective heating for specific rooms, exactly as you mentioned you can close the vents.

i just installed a programmable thermostat on Friday. our natural gas provider is going to give us a little discount on our next bill for doing so. they contend that you can save between $100-200 annually if you opt for the programmable thermostat.

best of luck with whichever system you choose.
 
I prefer baseboard to forced air. I suspect it is easier to zone as well. But what I'd really go for is hydronic - hot water pipes imbedded in the floors to provide the heat.
 
<------ Lives in Alaska

I've had both HWBB and forced air. Both work well, forced air works faster. If you're going to have an AC system you might as well used the existing ducts and go for the forced air.

BTW... the BEST heating system is in-floor radiant heat. Warm tootsies/no cold hard floors!

 
<----- Also lives in Alaska

In-floor radiant heat is awesome!

As for HWBB, I despise them because they pretty much ruin any plans you have to place furniture or what-have-you against the wall that they occupy. Long drapes also become a fire hazard if there's a window on that wall. If you have electronics on the wall, the cords become a fire hazard. And, they seem slower to work.

I have HWBB in my primary residence, and I hate it. But my other house, I put in a furnace with forced heat, and each room has a floor vent which I use to keep rooms at their ideal temperatures. I believe that the gas usage on the furnace/forced air system is more expensive, but it's worth it to me because I have far less concerns regarding how I can arrange my rooms and it heats faster.
 
Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead
<----- Also lives in Alaska

In-floor radiant heat is awesome!

As for HWBB, I despise them because they pretty much ruin any plans you have to place furniture or what-have-you against the wall that they occupy. Long drapes also become a fire hazard if there's a window on that wall. If you have electronics on the wall, the cords become a fire hazard. And, they seem slower to work.

I have HWBB in my primary residence, and I hate it. But my other house, I put in a furnace with forced heat, and each room has a floor vent which I use to keep rooms at their ideal temperatures. I believe that the gas usage on the furnace/forced air system is more expensive, but it's worth it to me because I have far less concerns regarding how I can arrange my rooms and it heats faster.
Click to expand...


I never even thought about the furniture placement issues and fire hazards. Its been a real long time since I've lived in a house with HWBB.

As far as forced air systems, would it be better to have the air grates on the ceiling or along the wall closer to the floor? I've also seen many house that have them on the floor.
 
Run gas to your fireplace(s) and use UNVENTED GAS FIREPLACE LOGS.

Run gas to other parts of the house and use VENT-FREE GAS SPACE / ROOM HEATERS.

Use the forced air for everything else. The unvented heaters are nearly silent and produce lots of moisture, so there's no need for humidifiers. They're 99.99%+ efficient, which is unbeatable. Grab a couple carbon monoxide alarms for peace of mind (you need one anyway).

I set my furnace to run just enough to keep the windows from being soaked with all the moisture produced by the unvented appliances.
 
Originally posted by: NetWareHead
Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead
<----- Also lives in Alaska

In-floor radiant heat is awesome!

As for HWBB, I despise them because they pretty much ruin any plans you have to place furniture or what-have-you against the wall that they occupy. Long drapes also become a fire hazard if there's a window on that wall. If you have electronics on the wall, the cords become a fire hazard. And, they seem slower to work.

I have HWBB in my primary residence, and I hate it. But my other house, I put in a furnace with forced heat, and each room has a floor vent which I use to keep rooms at their ideal temperatures. I believe that the gas usage on the furnace/forced air system is more expensive, but it's worth it to me because I have far less concerns regarding how I can arrange my rooms and it heats faster.
Click to expand...


I never even thought about the furniture placement issues and fire hazards. Its been a real long time since I've lived in a house with HWBB.

As far as forced air systems, would it be better to have the air grates on the ceiling or along the wall closer to the floor? I've also seen many house that have them on the floor.
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on your climate. As I live in Alaska, we have cool winters and during the summer in my area, it almost never reaches 80 F. For my area, it makes sense to place the grates in the floor because 95% of the air coming out of it will be hot air, which will rise on its own. Hot air coming from ceiling vents seems like it would be less effective. Conversely, if you live in a hot area, you might want ceiling vents so that the colder a/c air can sink down into the room.

That's just my take on it anyway... maybe an expert on this stuff is lurking and will chime in with the lowdown on it.
 
Seems like the floor stuff won't be very efficient if you have carpet. Even wood is an insulator, so you'd be heating the ground as much as your house.
 
well we have a dual system.. it blows thru the ducts.. both heat and ac in one unit. Its by Trane. Very effecient, and it has dual zones..

good stuff..

ducts on a forced air is much better than baseboard heaters that take ages to warm up the room. I have had baseboard based heaters, no use.
 
Do you mean the in-floor heating? That's not intended to heat your house; that's more for putting in the kitchen or bathroom where you might normally have linoleum or something that is cold to walk on bare-foot. I've never seen it under wood or carpet.
 
A boiler system is great for heating but you can not humidify or filter the air with a boiler. Both are available at 80% to 90 % efficiency. If you are putting in air conditioning, you might as well go with forced air heat. Get the highest efficiency furnace available (90% range). Come January 1, 2006, the lowest efficiency A/C that can be sold and installed will be a 13 SEER. Currently we can install 10 SEER units but the warehouse isn't stocking them. If you go with a heat pump, back it up with a 90% furnace rather than electric strip heat. Heat pumps are good to about 35ºF. I always set them up to switch to the gas heat at 40ºF.
 
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
<------ Lives in Alaska

I've had both HWBB and forced air. Both work well, forced air works faster. If you're going to have an AC system you might as well used the existing ducts and go for the forced air.

BTW... the BEST heating system is in-floor radiant heat. Warm tootsies/no cold hard floors!
Click to expand...

Indeed, my dad owns an HVAC company.

In their house they have forced hot air coupled with radiant. It is amazing...
 
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