New Home Heating Ideas

[mjncad]

Insulation and sealing the home will be the best passive energy saving investment you can make.

 

[Sledgie]

I've had either natural gas or propane in several different homes over the years, and my present house could have had either. I went with propane because I got tired of the gas co. nickel and diming the bill every month with franchise fees, taxes for this and that, transportation charge, on and on to where the gas I used was $10 and the total bill would be over $30. I own the 1000 gal. propane tank and can have it filled once a year when prices are cheapest and then I'm done. It's also farm use so I don't have to pay any sales tax. It supplies the water heater, a couple of radiant eyes in the shop, and a backup forced air when I'm not around to feed the woodstove. The best bet is still putting your money in insulation, sounds high in the beginning but will pay back many times over the years.

 

[Combustix]

I had propane but switched to pellets. One furnace and one stove. Square footage is around 2200. Last year was $500 in pellets and around $200 in propane. I now have a tankless water heater only on propane. Winters aren't as cold here in PAC NW

 

[Carl_NH]

I too would vote Geo thermal if you can tie into the mortgage - it's probably a $10-12K addition over traditional systems. Another suggestion is using the foam insulation for the first 1" to seal the building envelope then traditional batt insulation in the cavity.

Then propane for hot water and a propane fireplace in finished basement area. Also with a tight house an air-air exchanger (usually part of the geo thermal) is a good idea.

We have 2800 SF and use 500 gal ($2K) of oil a year (90% eff boiler) along with a cord or so wood in a fireplace.

Neighbor has 3600SF new construction (plus 1500SF basement) with 10" foam insulation in ceiling/roof and 6" in walls and uses $1600 propane a year and $100/month electric on average. So $250 a month average cost. He spent $24K for all foam insulation - double the cost of batts but felt long term it was worth it.

As others have said then orient house for thermal gain in winter will make a difference.

 

[El Wood]

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I think I will try for Geothermal if I can afford it. It sounds like from many of the posts that I should be looking just as hard at insulation. Thanks again.

 

[El Wood]

You need to contact a heating engineer called Doug Rye he is out of Arkansaw he has a web site and is an advocate of geo-thermal. I have had mine since 1990. It is the cheapest way I have to heat my house. I have hot water boiler and a wood stove but the geo is the most econimical there are more geo systems in Canada than the US and it has been around since the early 1900. Doug lists his phone # and will talk you thru what you need he will calclulate you furnace and a/c size if you send him your plans,

I found the site and will give him a call! Thanks

 

[ronjhall]

You need to super insulate the basement also. Should be done before walls are back filled.

 

[forgeblast]

Think about a system that will work with the power out in the case of a winter storm. Our jotul propane stove works if the power goes out and heats our whole house.

 

[jejeosborne]

I went through this scenario five years ago. I ended up buying and designing our house around a Napoleon nz6000 fireplace and it heats well. We live on 20 acres of forest so wood was the best option for us. If going heat pump, geothermal for sure in your climate. You will benefit with free hot water in the summer. Just realize that with the current EPA plans, the cost of electricity will continue to go up substantially. You may want to also consider, dual fuel with propane backup. Probably wont add much to the cost since you can use it as the air handler and could be used with a small generator during emergencies.

 

[Fi-Q]

Do you have a big property ? Lot of acerage ? Acces to free burning wood ? If you don t mind the extra effort and have access to wood, this would be your cheapest long run option. A good design indoor gasifier wood boiler with appropriate storage usually need 1 fire a day. And you can heat the house wih radiant hydronic floor, and have your DHW heat by wood year round. But you have to remember that heating with wood is part of a lifestyle. If you hate processig wood, don t do it. There is a forum on wood burning with a LOT of usefuul info: hearth . com . I am in a new home and will be going with hydronic radiant that eventually will be heated by wood boiler

 

[MNBobcat]

Do you have a big property ? Lot of acerage ? Acces to free burning wood ? If you don t mind the extra effort and have access to wood, this would be your cheapest long run option. A good design indoor gasifier wood boiler with appropriate storage usually need 1 fire a day. And you can heat the house wih radiant hydronic floor, and have your DHW heat by wood year round. But you have to remember that heating with wood is part of a lifestyle. If you hate processig wood, don t do it. There is a forum on wood burning with a LOT of usefuul info: hearth . com . I am in a new home and will be going with hydronic radiant that eventually will be heated by wood boiler

I have a wood boiler. I love it but it consumes a lot of wood.

I have a suggestion. I can't recall the name of what these are called - but basically its a masonry fireplace that takes long lengths of logs and it heats up a mass of block/stone which radiates heat long after the fire goes out. Burns very little wood.

 

[EHR]

I have a sip home that is partially earth bermed, passive solar heat. Upstairs it has 15 foot ceilings. While I have propane fired radiant floor heat I do not use it. In the lower level I have a Woodstock soapstone woodstove that heats the entire 2500 sq feet home on 2 1/2 cords of wood a year. The peak demand for heat is 21k BTU because of the insulation.

This weekend is the national solar home tour that you might be able to view a super insulated home on. Google "national solar home tour" and you should find someone. This would allow you to see real facts instead of what someone trying to sell you something would tell you. If you have question just message me and we can talk.

 

[KennyG]

Just one thing to add since so many people are suggesting "super-insulating" the house. Consider adding a heat recovery ventilator to bring in some fresh air. I renovated a house with new windows, added insulation and caulking and the air quality was noticeably reduced until I added ventilation. Also, try to take the air out of the upper part of the house and add fresh air to the basement. You will be shocked at how negative the pressure goes in the basement of a well sealed two story house due to the "stack effect". I have a wood stove in the basement and I have lots of problems with backflow in the chimney when the stove isn't in use, to the extent I now plug the chimney after heating season.

 

[wedge40]

Just my :2cents: You have 20 acres to play with and can add to the up front mortgage. I'd be going with geothermal for the basic heat. As others have said make sure the place insulated as well as possible, but make sure it's also ventilated proper too. Super insulated and super sealed homes can lead to sick house syndrome. You have a blank sheet of paper, use it. Trying to retro fit after is hard to do.

Wedge

 

[Dutch445]

I have a wood boiler. I love it but it consumes a lot of wood.

I have a suggestion. I can't recall the name of what these are called - but basically its a masonry fireplace that takes long lengths of logs and it heats up a mass of block/stone which radiates heat long after the fire goes out. Burns very little wood.

I read about these earlier this year, if your home is designed with a central area, they are quite a nice heat. combine with super insulation, it would
make for a very comfortable home.
The Masonry Heater Association (MHA) WebsiteMasonry Heater Association | A Better Way to Heat Your Home

 

[Redneck in training]

Thanks for the replies. How often do you need to feed a wood boiler? Also, would anyone mind sharing their current utility setup, monthly cost and square footage of house for some comparison. Currently with electricity and natural gas my bill on the low end is $150 and high end is $300. My wife likes the house at 70 degrees year around. Square footage is 2400.

I didn't read all the responses (I am between flights and don't have much time) geothermal is hard to beat. We heat 3800 sqft with geo feeding floor heating. I don't think we ever paid over $100/month for heating. Needles to say that we have separate meter just for the geo and associated stuff like pumps, backup direct heat etc. Our utility charges heating rate 4.2c/kWh. AC is charged at full rate 10.9c/kWh. We have 100% electric house and our average electric bill is somewhat less than 300/month. We are located in south central Iowa so our climate is not much different than in Michigan.
Our neighbor, (I think he still has it) has/had automatic corn boiler. He feeds that about once, twice a week with front loader of corn. It works like gas controlled by thermostat. But he produces his own fuel.

 

[DKCDKC]

Got a 3000 sq ft ranch house over a 5 ft conditioned crawl space. Built in 2001 with Waterfurnace geothermal. Bills average $150 to $225 - including hot tub. In AC mode I get hot water free. Use a small Irish woodstove in family room during really cold weather. The heat pump has never gone to backup heat strips as far as I know. House is one level with 24 large windows, 5 outside doors and a glass sliding door. Insulation is good, but not super. I worked for an electric utility (but am now on a co-op) and had friends there run the numbers. The higher cost of superinsulation simply didn't have a good payback set against the lower heating/cooling costs of geothermal. I have ground source geo with a couple thousand feet of pipe zig zagging deep under the yard. Also have three zones inside, computer controlled. Extra cost of the geo was high, but the numbers show it paid for itself some years ago, and it still runs beautifully.

We get it serviced every 24 months. Only problem ever outside warranty was once a computer glitch knocked out the compressor and we went on strip heat during a cold January for three weeks. Cost us several hundred in energy costs. Cost almost nothing to get it fixed. Our fault - we failed to notice a warning LED light on the thermostats. Won't do that again.

 

[tcreeley]

Super insulate -great in northern areas, heat exchanger, solar panels for elec, passive hot water, radiant heat and wood boiler outside- all good options.

 

[slowzuki]

Careful on the wood boiler, I wanted one originally when we built. My opinion changed mainly because most of them are terribly inefficient sometimes due to the boiler, sometimes the install. Some folks I know with them went from 3-5 cords per winter in woodstoves to 15+ cords in the OWB. Now they were burning proper dry hardwood in the stoves but like almost everyone they where burning not quite dry huge chunks in the boiler. To be fair with really dry wood it burned up fast so they had to be out there all the time.

It also smokes like the dickens in the fall and spring when it idles most of the time.

I'm a big fan of geothermal, there isn't anything fancy or modern about it, its technology from the 1800's called refrigeration. We all use it daily. There have been systems commonly installed locally since the late 60's early 70's. Still getting great COP's.

 

[Fi-Q]

Careful on the wood boiler, I wanted one originally when we built. My opinion changed mainly because most of them are terribly inefficient sometimes due to the boiler, sometimes the install. Some folks I know with them went from 3-5 cords per winter in woodstoves to 15+ cords in the OWB. Now they were burning proper dry hardwood in the stoves but like almost everyone they where burning not quite dry huge chunks in the boiler. To be fair with really dry wood it burned up fast so they had to be out there all the time.

It also smokes like the dickens in the fall and spring when it idles most of the time.

I'm a big fan of geothermal, there isn't anything fancy or modern about it, its technology from the 1800's called refrigeration. We all use it daily. There have been systems commonly installed locally since the late 60's early 70's. Still getting great COP's.

People having gasifier indoor wood boiler are claiming thy are using 3 times less wood than OWB There is some wood boiler now with close to 90 % efficiency compare to 35 % efficiency for a outdoor wood boiler non gassifier. I am far to be an expert, but I am reading a lot on the boiler room, trying to educate muself as much as possible . People are claimin heating 3000 sqf plys tear round dhw on 4-5 cords / year with 1 fire a day in the cold season to 1 / week for dhw in summer time.