Best heating system to use

ARB

I am rehabing a house that needs a heating system installed. I'm trying to find out what is the best system to install as far as economical to purchase & also to run. I was thinking of radiant floor heat (since the floors are not installed yet) but not sure how that compares to a traditional furnace as far as installation price goes. Looking for some helpful suggestions, thanks!

GMcD

Best value heating

"Best" is a relative term and what's best for you may not be best for the neighbor. BUT- the best way to reduce energy bills and help provide more even, stable home comfort is to upgrade the house envelope- high performance windows (triple glazing with low-e coatings, or even Heat Mirror quad for some really good performance), some exterior solar shading to keep out summer heat gains, police up all the wall and roof insulation, seal, seal, seal, all cracks, holes, and make sure the vapour barrier is intact. THEN, start looking at home heating system options - they will be a lot smaller now that you've reduced the heat losses to the minimum you can, and you will be paying less energy costs for the life of the house.

ARB

I am definitely going to make sure the house is fully insulated & sealed. The interior is fully gutted right now so I have a clean slate. I'm trying to figure out if radiant floor heating or a more traditional home heating method would be more economical for me, since I do not have any heating experience at all. Thank you for your reply.

Scott Gregg

Are you building a new house ground up?

If so look at geothermal regardless of the cost. If you do your homework you will find out that the extra money you pay up front (In your mortgage) will put you money ahead on your monthly budget the day you move in the house.

Here's how my math worked out. By adding about $14K to the cost of my house over a conventional system my payment is about $60 higher/month. However my projected utility cost for this house are now an average of $80 per month less!

I'm building now and can do whatever I want. I have also turned it into a very public experiment. The website I’m developing for the house is not quite ready yet but I’ll be releasing it on this site very soon for open comment and suggestions and debate. It’s going to be called the Virginia Energy House Project and the premise is to prove once and for all that good systems paid for as part of a mortgage actually put the homeowner in positive cash flow position from the first day by saving energy. The improvement in comfort and being environmentally friendly are bonuses!

Green actually does not cost more money! Not when all budget items (Like energy costs) are considered. Green building is not just for “tree-huggers” anymore.

GMcD

Some reading

The economics of what heating system would suit you are very location dependent, what your local fuel costs and sources are, and what the lifestyle and other home activities are going to be. I can only recommend some further research at www.healthyheating.com or some google searches on "healthy homes".

And while the walls and roof sealing and insulation are being done, that's only a part of the system- you have to look at best practice (or better) windows and exterior shading to help reduce your heating and cooling loads further.