New House looking for heating suggestions

GW

Wow, you may get about 79 different opinions! It would be good to interview some local heating people; just keep in mind they'll be interviewing you at the same time!

Yes, radiant is the best, many heating guys don't know too much about the finer points though. The problem is- you as a layman have no idea whether you're getting snowed or not! Talk to the local guys, check out there background, references, and when they give you some ideas maybe us Wall folks can offer our "opinions". It's all in the controls- the control system can be a joke, or it can be top shelf. Any yahoo can install a boiler and slap some pex down.

Yes, you will need glycol in the driveway and the walk way with a HX. The garage is questionable; here in Massachusetts I only will add the thick juice if the customer asks, or they are traveling in the winter months. Maybe others have different opinions.

And yes to the air exchange system, I wish more people put them in; it's will be the norm some day.

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Kevin Zellweger

Looking for heating suggestions (long Post)

Hi new here.

I am going to be building a new home here in central Alberta (temperature currently -34 celsuis) it will be about 1600sqft main floor. I am planning on radiant heating.

The basement will either be carpeted or hardwood in most areas, Would there be heating problems with installing delta floor with hardwood?

The house will have many south facing windows and will feature hardwood, tile, and limited carpeting, will there be anything to be aware of?

also I plan on heating the Garage with radiant heating and (Or) a small hot water heat exchanger unit. perhaps a driveway and sidewalk snow melting loop will also be installed. I have pondered about running glycol in the garage and snow melting loop and fresh water for the house. the heat exchangers i have seen have not had much information,

how efficient are these? and would this be a good system?

and finally will i need an air exchange system? sorry for the long post Thank you and have a good day

flange

definitely use glycol in those outdoor loops. if you could afford it it wouldn't be bad to use glycol everywhere. this will change equipment sizing a bit but would afford extra protection if you had some type of failure and couldnt get your boiler on. radiant will no doubt cost much more than a scorched air system, but is well worth every penny in terms of comfort and energy efficiency. you are building a new house there, so meet with several experts that do specifically hydronics. do not let just anyone go after this project. do it right the first time. tight construction methods are no doubt energy efficient, but can affect indoor air quality. i think makeup air is a must. consider installing a hydroair unit for circulation. put up the extra ponies now for the energy efficient boiler, it will be worth it.

jackchips_2

Kevin on the

listing to the left, under books and more, you will find Dans books on radiant and hot water heat (pumping away). Do yourself a huge favor and purchase both before you even contact folks in your area.

These books will give you a great perspective on things you can do in a new home with your heating system.

Best of luck.

munchkin-man

See the Munchkin heater www.htproducts.com

Ed Vaughn

Buildin a new home, too!

I, also, building a new home in SW Iowa, of very tight construction (SIP). I want to put radiant floor heating in the basement floor (slab) with nothing over it. Will this heat the whole 1 story ranch style home? I do not have natural gas available to me. Chooses are LP, electrical and geothermal. I’m looking for the cheapest operating system, initial cost is no issue. I like geothermal because it will give air conditioning in the summers. Will this heat the water (fluid) sufficiently or would an all electric system work (cables in slab)?

Jack, CVMS

Alberta heat

Kevin,
With radiant heat PROPERLY INSTALLED in your new home, you'll love it. If you have contractors in your area who have done it, talk to some of their customers. If the customers are really pleased with it, find out why, and if it meets all their expectations. Evaluate the contractors thoroughly. Redoing radiant heat that is installed wrong can be a real difficult task. But when done right, it is the best there is.

As far as snow melting - definitely have glycol in that loop. There may be times when the outdoor temperature is too low to effectively melt off the snow without spending a fortune on fuel, and the liquid will just sit and get very cold - like -34°C right now - and you will just shut off that loop. There are heat exchangers made that will handle virtually any load you might have, but expect to pay for them.

Kal Row

radiant is best..

but put in a forced air furnace with your central ac to for quick heat and to fill in the gaps

i recommend isolated loops via heat exchangers, with anti freeze, for ALL ground levels (above the frost line) - you don’t want your garage floor to freeze and leak when the power fails, also never leave the fresh water supply lines open to those loops, because if you spring a leak, the fresh water will wash out your anti-freeze and then you will have a zillion leaks – make sure they insulate around the side of the house, it’s a huge heat loss area.

if you can afford it, put radiant in ceilings reflected down, as well as floors - this is especially important in the upper bedroom levels, don’t worry, heat radiates, only hot air rises, and radiant’s infra-red energy imparts very little heat to the air.

Make sure your manifold closets have a sealed floor pan with a drain (run it down to a basement drain with an air break so that you don’t need to deal with traps along the way

Use slab/floor sensors, air thermostats are only secondary

For snow melt - you need to make drain channels with a heated lines in them - cause slush dams - and will give you a swimming pool in heavy snow - think of the drift loads as well

Put heat lines in your leaders and gutters

Heat your shower stalls as well as your bathtubs

Use more then one boiler with a staging control (never put all you eggs in one basket), you can even do one in gas and one in oil, and heat your domestic hot water from the system (the new stainless-steel tanks come with a lifetime warranty)

have the contractor buy ready made manifolds, like the ones from danfoss

if the cost shocks you, remember that gas in many areas is up 73 percent this winter, and is only going in one direction, radiant heat by virtue of the fact the return water is 80-90 degrees, can suck every drop of heat out of the flue gases, for example a weil-mclain ULTRA run like that, claims 98% efficiency – in fact if you have a septic-tank sized insulated holding tank – then, a solar collector, with one good day of sunshine, can keep your floors warm for 2-3 cloudy days – try that with another heating system!!!

BillW@honeywell

Energy costs...

are the third largest expense associated with homeownership after mortgage and taxes, and the only one of the top 3 that you can control. In general it pays to purchase the most energy-efficient system that your budget will allow. Don't look at your climate control system as the only energy consumer in your new home, either. Your water heater, refrigerator/freezer, washer/dryer and lighting system all consume significant amounts of energy, too. Look for the EPA's "EnergyStar" logo on any energy consuming items you are considering. Remember, too, that your home is a system, and design it so that everything works together. Passive solar design, EnergyStar rated windows & doors, tyvek wrap, insulation, roofing, energy or heat recovery ventilation, landscaping design and more ALL effect you energy usage.

To summarize, buy the most efficient energy-consuming products your budget allows. Make absolutely certain that the people you hire know what they are doing; check those references! Remember, your climate control system effects you health and well-being every day, and you will be living with the results of your decision for the next 20 years. Chose wisely.