Ductless heating--your opinions?

joel_5

My wife and I just bought an old farmhouse on the Cheasapeake Bay in Virginia. Lots of rambling additions, tiny crawl-space under old part, new part on slab, about 2,000 sq-ft.

The bids we got for duct-work and heat pump/AC were $12,000-15,000, which seems pretty high. One guy suggests ductless system from Sanyo or Mitsubishi. Or we could get hot-water baseboard and do thru-the-wall AC units.

Any opinions, particularly about ductless systems, about which I know nothing?

Thanks.

don_9

force air

Joel. Welcome To the neighborhood, What part of the chesapeake bay? You have now enter force air country,that price sounds about right.
.But it depends on what you are getting for your money.Old farm house, If it is not well insulated and have good windows then a heatpump would and should not be a option.High Efficient boiler with baseboard
and reset control is a good option,also you may be able to do some infloor in the slab area.But still you have the issue of ac. Shop around joel you dont have to get lock in to force air.Option,option,option,its your money.

Unknown

reply to Don

Don,
Thanks for the info. I'm in Mathews County, middle peninsula. So you say that, if I don't have good insulation and new windows, the ductless systems or heat pump-type forced air systems would not be a good idea, and that hot-water baseboard is a better idea? I do plan to insulate the attic better, and to put in new windows, at least in the older part of the house.

Any specific feeling about the ductless systems? Better/worse than heat-pump-duct systems?

My inclination is to go for baseboard heat, and thru-wall AC.

Should baseboard heat be any less expensive than the quotes I got for the heat pump?

Joel

don_9

ductless system

Joel, sorry about the reply had to type fast yesterday.
Ductless system or fine if you dont have a lot of partition.
No I personally would stay away from a heatpump,there more for houses that or heavily insulated.Yes with a wet system ,
you have better comfort and also you have the opportunity
to zone off a lot of the rooms that or not in use.Joel dont
get me wrong,I do a lot of heatpumps system but in order to even get close to a wet system with force air. you would have to go with varible speed airhandler and two speed out door equipment.Then one needs to consider the life of a heatpump, at best 10 to 12 years.Now with a wetbase
hydronic system 25 to 35 years.Joel upfront no, baseboard system will not be cheaper,but in long haul yes over time it will pay for itself not only out of pocket but your comfort level is much better.Is this your dream home? Don