What Heating System Is Right For My New Custom Home?

Q:

What heating system is right for my new custom home?

A:

This question is asked by every homeowner to their general contractor when they are having a new home built. There are some many options out there and with every option there are pros and cons, every option is a different price and affects the way the home is heated/cooled.

Time should be spent on this decision; this decision should be made with the homeowner, the general contractor and the HVAC sub-contractor that will be installing the system.
HVAC systems have become very complicated and some system work better with certain equipment.

When it comes to the choice of equipment that decision should be left up to the general contractor and the HVAC subcontractor.

There are several main factors that determine or shape the direction in which you will proceed when narrowing down the choices for your HVAC needs, they are;

• Price. Price will dictate whether you can afford high-end systems like geothermal in-ground heat. The lower your budget for HVAC the less choices you will be left with to choose from.

• Availability. If you are in town and have access to natural gas then you have a lot of inexpensive options to choose from when considering your HVAC. If you are in an area that does not have natural gas then your choices narrow and you have to decide on what combination of equipment works for you. You might be building your home on a piece of land that doesn’t work well to have in-ground heating; this would mean you would have to choose other options.

There are so many combinations for HVAC systems like pairing a natural gas furnace to a electric air to air heat pump and so many grades of efficiency that it’s not worth me taking the time to try and list them all. I would be here for hours.

One of the big factors will be what recommendations your HVAC installer wants to use, their knowledge of systems, warranty issues, ease of use and pricing will go a long way in determining what you can install.

With anything if what they are proposing to install doesn’t make sense and cannot be properly explained then ask for other options. This will help ensure that you get not only what you want but what your new home needs.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.

Trends in heating systems in custom homes 2013

Heating system trends 2013

The trends in homes and renovations coming in to 2013, a lot of the things that we did in the 2012 construction year were the same as in previous years. But there were things that became trends in 2012 with more and more home owners opting for them leading into 2013 creating trends. I am focusing on the heating systems that are being installed in new homes and renovations and where they are trending.

Heating Systems

Here is a list of things that have stayed the same over the last couple of years;

• In town natural gas high efficiency furnaces are still the most commonly installed heating system.

• New custom homes that do not have access to natural gas are all by a rule installing geothermal heating.

• Conventional hot water tanks are still the most popular way to heat hot water in town and in the country.

• HRV’s are standard in all new homes that are now built.

• Heating of bathroom tiled floors is done with electric mats that are controlled per room, making for a more enjoyable experience when stepping out of the shower on to warm tiles.

Here is a list of the trends that are gaining momentum this year;

• Ductless heat pumps are becoming by far the most popular way to heat or cool area’s of a home that have been renovated or added too.

• Air-to-Air heat pumps are one the most popular choices lately to make your heating system more energy efficient whether you live in town or in the country. This system is becoming so popular because it is basically an add on to your existing furnace without too much interior renovations required.

• Flash boilers that run on natural gas are growing in popularity for new homes. There is a rise in people wanting in-floor heat; with in-floor heat you require a flash boiler which also gives you on-demand hot water.

• A disturbing trend in new homes is people opting out of installing air conditioners. Whether it is the extra cost of installing it or the fact that they believe they do not require it a lot more people are opting out. New homes must be climate controlled and without air conditioning that can’t be achieved.

• Multiple thermostats are a rapidly growing trend; this allows the home to be better regulated with heating and cooling. You can set the temperature of the different zones of the home to whatever you require, different levels of the home can have different temperature settings.

• Smart thermostats are being more popular; with the growing smart phone market people want to be able to control the climate in their home from anywhere in the world, smart thermostats do that with a phone or internet connection.

• Fume hoods in kitchens are getting larger and with that growth mechanical contractors are being forced to install “make up air” systems in the furnace. This system helps stop the depressurization of the home when all the air is being sucked out by the fume hood by adding more air then normal into the duct system to make up for it.

• Steam humidifiers are becoming more popular; people are trying to avoid the overly dry air they end with through the heating season.

• Multi stage furnaces are more readily available and the bigger the home the more it’s being demanded. The multi-stage allows for better energy efficiency and that is one of the biggest trends in today’s homeowners.

These are the main trends in the Heating systems of new and renovated custom homes for 2013.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Home Heating systems in the modern home

Modern Day Construction for custom homes Part 18

In today’s modern world of construction things are changing year to year faster than they did decade to decade in any other previous time period. In this multi part series I will traverse through an entire house starting with the foundation and working my way up to the roof and then to the finishing’s. I will explain what has changed in the last twenty years in custom home building.

One thing that you should be able to take away from this is how important it is to not just hire the right general contractor to build your custom home but how important it is to hire one that is up on today’s building methods.

Home Heating Systems 

Twenty years ago you had limited options for heating, depending on where you lived. Electric baseboard and electric forced air furnaces were the norm. Also a lot rural houses had oil furnaces. Low to medium natural gas furnaces where starting to become more common in the larger cities.

Today there is a plethora of heating options, depending on where you build your house. Here are the most popular ones;

• Ground source heat or Geothermal heating. Geothermal heating is a newer idea in North America, it has been used in places like Iceland for decades. The basic principal of it is that pipes are installed 8 feet in the ground outside of your home, depending on the size of the home will determine the size and amount of loops of pipe you will require. The pipes travel from the outside through your basement wall into your furnace. The liquid inside of the pipes absorbs the heat out of the ground, it is then circulated back to the furnace where it is pressurized and then fed through the furnace. The furnace blows air across these lines using the heat from the lines to warm up the air that is passing through the furnace into your duct work, this warm air is what warms up your home. If the system is run in reverse you receive air conditioning in the summer from the lines absorbing the cold from the earth. This is the most efficient heating system known today. It runs on electricity but barely uses enough electricity for you to notice on your electrical bill. The pipes can also be run into your hot water tank giving you free hot water in the summer time. This system when installed in the country is installed 8 ft under the ground in a field or in a pond that is at least 8 ft deep or if you are on a large body of water like a lake or a large river. In town it can be used by drilling wells vertically into the ground. This system is the best system you can have for heating, but it is also costs the most to install as well.

• High efficiency natural gas furnace. This furnace is the best bang for your buck. Natural gas furnaces have come a long way in the past two decades, they use very little gas to make a lot of heat compared to they older models. The units are also significantly smaller than most other types of furnaces, they do not take up a lot of space in a mechanical room. The duct work is usually larger than the furnace. You can only get natural gas if you live in town or close enough to town that there is a natural gas line installed on your road. You also have to make sure that the furnace can be properly vented, you will have to clear the snow away from the intake and exhaust ports in the winter. Natural gas furnaces do not do air conditioning; you will require a separate electric air conditioner on the outside of your house.

• Propane furnace. Propane furnaces are a cheaper option for people that have no access to natural gas and cannot afford geothermal. Propane is about a quarter of the efficiency of natural gas and is on par with oil furnaces. You will have to have a large propane storage tank installed on your property and have it filled once or twice a year depending on your heating requirements. Propane furnaces just like natural gas furnaces do not do air conditioning. You will require a separate electric air conditioner on the outside of your house.

• Oil Furnaces. Oil furnaces are still used in rural areas. Oil furnaces have become more efficient in the last two decades. But they require you to have a holding tank installed in the basement of your house. Oil furnaces can be smelly and if they are not taken care of properly there can be oil leaks. Insurance companies have raised the premiums on them because of the potential liability of oil spill clean ups in and around your home. Oil furnaces do not do air conditioning, a separate electric air conditioner on the outside of your home will need to be installed.

• In-floor radiant heat. There are two types of in-floor radiant heat, natural gas and geothermal. In floor heat is basically pipes laid under your flooring that have water circulated through them at a certain temperature. This warms the floor up which in turn warms the air above it. This is a wonderful way to heat a home because you are heating the air at the floor and since warm air always rises you always have warm air rising past you. So with in-floor radiant heat you never have cold spots in the home, the heat is evenly distributed throughout the home.

• Air source heat pumps. This is a unit that runs on electricity that converts the air outside to heat or cooling in the same way the geothermal does. It is not as efficient as geothermal but can be cheaper to install, it is more efficient than just a propane, electric or oil furnace on its own, but it is also more expensive to purchase in the beginning. Heat pumps work best when paired with a furnace to help move air around the home. Heat pumps do air conditioning as well and usually do it extremely efficiently. Newer models of heat pumps coming on the market are extremely efficient and are able to make heat out of air as cold as -30 c.

Look for part 19 coming soon....

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.