Most efficient way of home heating at the lowest price

[Deleted User]

Whats the cheapest, most efficient way to heat your home other than the ceiling electric heat that I have now(LOL)? I'm new to this industry and learning,so forgive me if this question is stupid. My backround is in electrical/mechanical.

Thank You Guys

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Cheapest is probably wood in a good catalytic free-standing stove. Oddly even the environmental kooks often consider this the "greenest" method as well.

Most efficient (from the END-USE standpoint ONLY) is probably your electric radiant ceilings--provided you have very good insulation above the panel...

In between? My vote is for a standing-iron gravity conversion with TRVs and a Vitodens, but that's only because I had the gravity conversion to begin with...

Unknown

An analogy

If you were shopping for transportation, the cheapest and most efficient vehicle would be a moped or a Vespa scooter.

Cross country; wintertime; hills; and wind..... not a concern, because you never mentioned comfort.

I guess comfort counts, because I see a lot more cars on the road than scooters.

Same applys to heat. Be careful how you shop, you might get what you ask for.

Noel

Constantin

It all depends...

For example,

How much are you willing to invest in your heating system? Are you out to get the lowest operating costs or a system that is cost effective from an install and operating cost perspective? 'Cause if cost is no object, you might as well install a DX ground-source heatpump, a KARO ceiling radiant system, and enjoy some pretty fantastic efficiencies.

For those of us with a semblance of a budget, a fossil-fuel based solution is usually in order. In many areas of the country, city gas is cheaper than fuel oil (though the NE is a exception to that rule). If you go with gas, do yourself a favor and get a modulating, condensing gas appliance, w/outdoor reset. Your wallet will thank you.

Next, consider the type of emitter to use. Baseboard is cheap, but many folks don't like the look of it. Cast-iron or custom-made emitters like the stuff from Buderus looks nice but is $$. At the other end of the scale is in-floor radiant, very comfy and very $$$.

The cheapest to install systems that can do heat and cool are air-based systems. They may not be as comfy as hydronic heat, they may use more energy, but they are cheap. Beware of hack installs though. Even the best furnace can be strangled by a undersized duct system.

ALH_3

Efficiency

Efficiency cannot be had without a price. Efficiency is a very misused word around here.

You want to minimize fuel usage, maximize performance, and maximize reliability. Throw in a low initial cost and that's a lot to balance.

If you dont mind a more expensive system such as a Viessmann Vitodens, panel radiators, and TRVs you can have an excellent system that will perform well (maintain a constant room temperature), minimize fuel usage, and have excellent reliability while still being possible as a retrofit.

If your budget will not allow this sort of system you might consider panel radiators or hot water baseboard with a cast iron boiler. Fuel usage will be greater, room temperature will fluctuate a bit more unless a weather responsive control is used, but reliability will still be excellent. Once you add the extra piping and controls this isn't a lot cheaper than the Vitodens option.

There are always cheaper ways to arrive at a warm room, but there are trade-offs in performance, reliability, and fuel consumption.

I'd also recommend installing a stainless steel indirect water heater at the same time regardless of what type of system you choose.

Electricity is better used for lights than for heat or domestic hot water production in my opinion.

-Andrew

Larry Weingarten

Might I suggest...

insulation and air sealing as a starting place? Usually these measures are far cheaper when looking at life cycle cost. Do more than the minimum to snug things up and then let the heat from the fridge warm your house. ;~) Once the heat loss is reduced, the heating system becomes easy.

kevin_5

I think you're on to something Larry

I remodeled our small 26'X26' house. We put 3/4" foil faced foam over the old 3/4" exterior sheeting. We taped the seams, then put Tyvek over that before the vinyl siding. Inside I was very careful to do a good job with the fiberglass insulation (though fiberglass has its limits. I believe some of the blown ins get a better job if installed correctly) and heavy plastic under the sheetrock. Spray foam around the new Windows. I caulked around the sill plate. That thing is TIGHT. and it seems our house is warm far into the autumn even with the heat turned off. I didn't put plastic in the ceiling. I got panicked that I had to have somewhere for the moisture to go.about 18" of blown in in the attic. We have staple up radiant (without plates) running off of a water heater. 4 Nebraska winters and it works great. Now before I get something started, I don't recommend this sort of thing to my customers, but it's working for us. We are about to ditch our two water heaters to do the whole thing with a Rinnai Integrity. And yes, I'll use a heat exchanger to avoid killing my family.
We are doing it to add efficiency and save space.
Point is Larry, you're absolutely right about the insulation. Remember houses used to be heated without any at all. It can be done. How much do you want to save? It was nice meeting you at the Denver Wetstock by the way. Kevin

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Larry Weingarten

Thanks!

Hello Kevin: Do you recall the house we're building with foam core panels? 80 cases of caulk made sure there isn't much air leakage. The refrigerator in the house actually did heat it up to 90 degrees! I needed to add a dedicated vent to get that heat out in summer... Perhaps I'll see you at Wetstock five.