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Seems to me a good setup would be ducts running up walls with a register a foot above the floor and another near the ceiling. In winter the lower one could be opened, pushing air into the room near the floor, then closed in summer allowing cooled air to be released near the ceiling.
Yes, we had this in one house. You switched between the vents (the top ones were called "riser vents," I think) depending on the season. Seemed to work pretty well.
Most real estate listings that I have seen have a data section that lists details like the kind of appliance, type of heating system, etc. Rely on that rather than trying to decode the photos.
In my experience hydronic or steam systems with radiators, either traditional or baseboard, are more effective at distributing heat around the house than either forced air or so-called gravity systems.
Most real estate listings that I have seen have a data section that lists details like the kind of appliance, type of heating system, etc. Rely on that rather than trying to decode the photos...
The problem is, the term "heat pump" does not tell how the heat is vertically distributed. (Nor does it tell if the heat source is outside air or the ground.)
Forced air is the most commonly used because it is cheapest, especially if you will have AC ducting anyway.
Radiated heat is better in many ways, healthier, more comfortable, more efficient, less recharge time, ect. The more spread out it is the better it works. Thus radiated floor heat is top of the line. Copper baseboard heaters distribute the heat more evenly but they are not as efficient as cast iron so you need more of them. They are also damaged easily. Personally I prefer cast iron radiators after floor heat.
In all systems heat goes as low as possible. Cold goes as high as possible. In a two story house, much of your heat ends up upstairs and much of your AC ends up downstairs.
A heat pump is just a different means of generating heat. Like any heat source it can be used for forced air or radiated heat.
Every heat system has two parts, a heat source and a delivery system.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 03-26-2018 at 01:55 PM..
There is nothing about a "heat pump" system that would cause the HVAC ducts and diffusers to be in the ceiling versus the floor. I think its purely a matter of which area is easiest to access in order to install the duct distribution system. In cold climates it makes a little more sense to put the heating sources in the floor, as heat rises, this will distribute it more evenly.
Where I lived up North it was more common for the ducts and diffusers to be installed in the floors or lower side walls. Those houses were mostly built over basements or houses with crawl spaces.
Now that I live in the South it is more common for ducts and diffusers to be installed in the attics and ceilings, as most houses are built onto of a solid concrete foundation.
On our main floor we have floor level vents. Upstairs the vents are located in the ceiling because part of the unit for that level is in the attic. I didn't like the air in our bedroom and near the bed blowing down near me. No matter the time of year, it made my feet cold. It was a simple inexpensive fix--a magnetic air deflector is less than $5. Now the air moves out away from my feet when I'm in bed.
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