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Similar climate was overcome with boiler heating in-floor coils under dining and kitchen hardwood and radiant baseboard around the perimeter. Radiant heat will avoid most of the issues with drafts, cold spots, dryness, and offers a very uniform temperature. Done during construction rather than as a retrofit it will be a manageable cost. Talk to your builder or local experts for true cost comparisons that will be too variable to accurately get info here.
A/C can be done via attic mounted unit with ceiling vents. Since cool air drops and warm air rises, having heat in or near the floor and a/c in or near ceiling gets you better coverage than single duct combinations anyway.
Natural gas is the cheapest/most convenient form of heating there is either hot air or radiant of some kind.
Oil and propane are expensive and a little inconvenient if you run out. Electric is very convienient and 100% efficient but very expensive.
You will have to get a quote for spray foam insulation and it is used instead of other insulation.
The Geothermal heat pump systems are an excellent choice. Geothermal pump systems reach fairly high Coefficient of performance (CoP), 3 to 6, on the coldest of winter nights, compared to 1.75-2.5 for air-source heat pumps on cool days.[6] Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are among the most energy efficient technologies for providing HVAC and water heating.
They use the natural heat in the ground down below the frost level, to supply the auxiliary heating normally supplied by electricity or fossil fuel for a heat pump system. They are highly efficient for both heating and air conditioning, without the need to pay for electricity or fossil fuel auxiliary heat when the weather is cold. Costs a little more, but that is recovered in 3 to 10 years from actual savings of this system over others. Also check to see if there are tax credits, etc., available for such a system in your area. They have become real popular for large homes, and big commercial buildings in colder weather areas of the nation.
This type of system, makes it possible to have lower heating costs that a heat pump gives you, even in cold weather as they use the earth temperature to supply the auxiliary boost that would be required with a conventional heat pump system. It can be a great savings, over some other heating types, and helps lower the cost of operating the air conditioner in the normal heat air conditioner systems.
Here is a government made video on how this type of system works.
Our 1572 sq ft house with full (conditioned) basement will require 2 - 300' closed loops (2 - 150' deep wells). Our lot is about an acre and a quarter with about a third acre of it being wooded ravine. In the clear area we will have our Single story house plus porches and attached 26 x 28 garage, my 24 x 36 shop/storage building, our septic system/leach field and HVAC wells. These, and the driveway all fall within the building setbacks required by our township.
With our construction methods, in SW Ohio, the calculated estimated heating and AC operating costs are just over $400 per year.
The tax credits (not deductions, but CREDITS) that currently are set to expire in 2015 will bring the install cost (including the well drillings) down to within several hundred dollars of the install cost of a conventional electric heat pump. Natural gas is also not available at our building site.
The Geothermal heat pump systems are an excellent choice. Geothermal pump systems reach fairly high Coefficient of performance (CoP), 3 to 6, on the coldest of winter nights, compared to 1.75-2.5 for air-source heat pumps on cool days.[6] Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are among the most energy efficient technologies for providing HVAC and water heating.
They use the natural heat in the ground down below the frost level, to supply the auxiliary heating normally supplied by electricity or fossil fuel for a heat pump system. They are highly efficient for both heating and air conditioning, without the need to pay for electricity or fossil fuel auxiliary heat when the weather is cold. Costs a little more, but that is recovered in 3 to 10 years from actual savings of this system over others. Also check to see if there are tax credits, etc., available for such a system in your area. They have become real popular for large homes, and big commercial buildings in colder weather areas of the nation.
This type of system, makes it possible to have lower heating costs that a heat pump gives you, even in cold weather as they use the earth temperature to supply the auxiliary boost that would be required with a conventional heat pump system. It can be a great savings, over some other heating types, and helps lower the cost of operating the air conditioner in the normal heat air conditioner systems.
Here is a government made video on how this type of system works.
There are some additional videos at that site if more explanation needed.
Agree - look at a geothermal system if at all possible. More cost up front, but it will pay for itself if you plan on staying in the home for any length of time.
I was leaning towards Forced Air with a humidifier, but the builder came back with this:
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]"No matter how you heat the house a humidifier can NOT beinstalled in the 2nd floor unless you spray foam the house instead of usingconventional insulation. I am not sure but this could cost $15-20k. Payback might be 8-10 years "[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
I was leaning towards Forced Air with a humidifier, but the builder came back with this:
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]"No matter how you heat the house a humidifier can NOT beinstalled in the 2nd floor unless you spray foam the house instead of usingconventional insulation. I am not sure but this could cost $15-20k. Payback might be 8-10 years "[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
Imagine a nice pasture. Now imagine a cow in it. Now you notice that the cow has no udder and a long thingie underneath. Now watch as it creates a pasture patty from its backside. Now examine that patty. You may notice a resemblance between it and what your builder just wrote.
You need a fence and a cattle prod. Hire a heating engineer and be done with it.
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