Heating & Cooling System Upgrade - A Quandary

hmonk

Hello group,



I thank you in advance for the time you take with me!



1954 (4) split-level, brick colonial in Central Virginia.  Original oil-fired boiler.  No duct work, thus no central air.  I haven't done a BTU load analysis yet.



We really need to upgrade the systems here, but I'm not sure what direction to go in.



1.  Boiler set up right now as single zone.  Radiators in the top level, and part of the lowest level.  Main living area has base ray baseboards.  Temps are 78 degrees in rooms with radiators, while 68 in rooms with baseboards.  Thermostat (actuator?) is in that upper level.



2.  We want central air and that requires duct work.  Strongly leaning to the new and improved versions of mini duct HVAC.  Window AC's are out of the question, so there's really no other way to cool the house, right?



3.  If I get the duct work done, I have new heating options, but it seems that radiant is the best way to go.  Should I use the heat pump and just supplement with a new, electric boiler doing less work than the previous oil-fired unit?



4.  What options should I really be looking at?  I feel that fulfilling our desire for AC, and getting our heat situation straight, we are looking at a very expensive endeavor.  Would I still be cheaper than geothermal?



Thanks!

Charlie from wmass

what I would do.

Split the house int zones and install a new properly sized boiler. I would then install the min splits if they appeal to you visually or install a unico or space pak mini duct high velocity system if small round vents look better to you than the outlets for the mini split systems.Choose your fuel for what is best available. What I mean by that is if your area has a good rate on natural gas and it is on the street or even better in the house already you can get a mod con boiler that will go well with all that cast iron you have.

World Plumber

Look into ductless

Charlie took the words out of my mouth. Zone your radiation get a high efficiency boiler and I would consider heat pump mini splits.

nicholas bonham-carter

cooling quandary

i would install the mini-splits first to give yourself cooling, then when that has been paid down, you could revamp the hot water system, with a new boiler, with more zones.

in the meantime, there may be some tuning up which could even out the temperatures. do you think that when first installed, the system had such varying temperatures? 

i can't believe the mini-duct systems are so easy to service, or quiet.--nbc

Charlie from wmass

Actually

when installed properly mini duct systems are very quiet. They also have modular construction which makes them very easy to maintain. They also dehumidify better than standard force air systems from what I see. It is the humidity that gets us up north not the heat. Dry air at 78 feels better than damp air at 72.