New Home HVAC System

[Frankenkubota]

Yours sounds just like ours. We did closed cell walls and underside of roof. Timberframe home so very little attic space. Just a very small area above the 3 bedrooms on the upper level.



Sigarms house was built 6 years ago so your assumption was correct. I agree on the absurdity of how money is spent on new homes. We hit our coldest temp so far in this home the other night at minus 21. Coldest I can ever recall in this area. Units ran most of the night but rarely saw all zones calling at once and kept temp just fine. On the flip side a friend of ours had a new build high end home with frozen water lines on one wall and a bedroom over a garage that was so cold it was unusable. Would love to see the insulation job behind the sheetrock.

-21? Was that temp or wind chill? Man oh man, i'm gonna quit whining......at least for a few minutes.

 

[Sigarms]

Sigarms house was built 6 years ago so your assumption was correct. I agree on the absurdity of how money is spent on new homes. We hit our coldest temp so far in this home the other night at minus 21. Coldest I can ever recall in this area. Units ran most of the night but rarely saw all zones calling at once and kept temp just fine. On the flip side a friend of ours had a new build high end home with frozen water lines on one wall and a bedroom over a garage that was so cold it was unusable. Would love to see the insulation job behind the sheetrock.

No word of a lie... A front door on a high end home I came across cost more than the HVAC system to install.

People have no qualms throwing money at fixtures, but God forbid when it comes to your HVAC and duct system (along with insulation) that will cost you more or less money every month per your utility bill for as long as you live in the house, depending on what you spend and do.

Never been to Missouri other than St. Louis for work (and hearing in my youth that Ft. Leonard Wood sucks LOL) but never thought it got that cold in Missouri.

Out of curiosity, what does your average utility bill run you during the summer and winter? For myself, 1 heat pump, 1 dual fuel system and one gas/AC system, I'd average about $325 during summer and winter. Thing is, that doesn't include the LP my dad uses down in the basement for heat (his temp set to 75 year round, other two floors average about 70 in winter and 74 in summer). Not the greatest, but for what I have and when the house was built, better than average IMO and from what I've seen for the size of house.

 

[jk96]

-21? Was that temp or wind chill? Man oh man, i'm gonna quit whining......at least for a few minutes.

Actual temp before wind chill.

 

[jk96]

Out of curiosity, what does your average utility bill run you during the summer and winter? For myself, 1 heat pump, 1 dual fuel system and one gas/AC system, I'd average about $325 during summer and winter. Thing is, that doesn't include the LP my dad uses down in the basement for heat (his temp set to 75 year round, other two floors average about 70 in winter and 74 in summer). Not the greatest, but for what I have and when the house was built, better than average IMO and from what I've seen for the size of house.

We are all electric. Around $300-$320/month coldest months of Dec/Jan and around $230/month in the hottest months of June/July. Last two winters I've been lazy and haven't burned any wood. If we utilize the fireplace I can cut my winter usage significantly. Once the 3 kids are out should see another drop. Our washer/dryer seems to run non-stop.

Edit: We are in Northwest Missouri

 

[Sigarms]

We are all electric. Around $300-$320/month coldest months of Dec/Jan and around $230/month in the hottest months of June/July. Last two winters I've been lazy and haven't burned any wood. If we utilize the fireplace I can cut my winter usage significantly. Once the 3 kids are out should see another drop. Our washer/dryer seems to run non-stop.

Edit: We are in Northwest Missouri

Curious if you have strip heat for back up heat on those geo units? Being more curious, what's your electric rate? We're at about .11 per KW.

$320 for heating your size house in the Winter is way above average IMO without using any other supplemental heat other than electric.

Utility company has "peak hours" here. My wife is like ****** when anyone can do laundry except for my dad, but we end up doing it for him and as long as it gets done that day, he's happy.

That's the thing about mini splits. It may be a 30 SEER system, but to get max heat, that compressor is running full load to maximize the heating capacity, and that costs more money than AHRI "rated" performance (compressor rated at around 50-60% load).

 

[jk96]

Curious if you have strip heat for back up heat on those geo units? Being more curious, what's your electric rate? We're at about .11 per KW.

$320 for heating your size house in the Winter is way above average IMO without using any other supplemental heat other than electric.

Utility company has "peak hours" here. My wife is like ****** when anyone can do laundry except for my dad, but we end up doing it for him and as long as it gets done that day, he's happy.

That's the thing about mini splits. It may be a 30 SEER system, but to get max heat, that compressor is running full load to maximize the heating capacity, and that costs more money than AHRI "rated" performance (compressor rated at around 50-60% load).

Our electric rate is .12 per KW. That cost posted is whole house electric bill, not just heat. Not sure exactly how much is for heat only. Breakers for heat strips are off so that they do not kick on.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

Thing is, what's easier to run, electrical or gas lines?

Run water lines and heat and chill the water? i believe that is how they are doing it the office buildings. The air handler makes 50 degree air. Then they heat the air going into the individual zones using water air exchangers and they are using water source heat pumps to move the heat around?
Kid is into the commercial heavy stuff craning compressor on roofs and what not. I only dabbled in my own stuff and residential forced air, and I was only changing parts. I was young at the time and didn't know a lot. Got the kid in the business then helped him out, stuff is not rocket since. He is in it big time now, and i know enough to dangerous.

 

[Sigarms]

Our electric rate is .12 per KW. That cost posted is whole house electric bill, not just heat. Not sure exactly how much is for heat only. Breakers for heat strips are off so that they do not kick on.

At -18F without strip heater, you're doing great maintaining heat without a fossile fuel.

 

[Sigarms]

Run water lines and heat and chill the water? i believe that is how they are doing it the office buildings. The air handler makes 50 degree air. Then they heat the air going into the individual zones using water air exchangers and they are using water source heat pumps to move the heat around?
Kid is into the commercial heavy stuff craning compressor on roofs and what not. I only dabbled in my own stuff and residential forced air, and I was only changing parts. I was young at the time and didn't know a lot. Got the kid in the business then helped him out, stuff is not rocket since. He is in it big time now, and i know enough to dangerous.

To ensure we're on the same page, what are you proposing for residential use for home heating and cooling, not commercial use?

To some extent, why Geothermal is one of the best sources for HVAC for residential use, but also more expensive than forced air.

 

[jk96]

At -18F without strip heater, you're doing great maintaining heat without a fossile fuel.

The night we hit -21 I checked my usage on the units. From midnight to 8 am each unit ran just over 7-1/2 hours so they ran almost non-stop but maintained a 73 degree setpoint in all zones. Incoming water temp from my loop as of yesterday was 38 degrees so loop is holding up well this winter. Units are putting out a 21-22 degree delta T on the heat side.