best heating system

   / best heating system #11  
I also have an oil fired heater feeding an exchanger inside an old gutted out electric forced air system. Also have a small airtight woodstove. As time passes its getting a lot harder to look forward to the annual cutting of wood so I've been considering a corn burning boiler to connect up to the hot water system. Then all i'd have to do is carry out the clunkers.
 
   / best heating system #12  
Spiker, thanks for all the links. It's really kind of an exciting time in home construction. The old "de facto" systems are really getting a run for their money. The fella that taught us the Nudura ICF class mentioned how oil fired boilers are really popular in Canada. The extreme there is obviously the cold winters where I am on the other end. The end result though is less cost to operate all the way around. Out here in my neck of the woods, heating a swimming pool via solar is absolutely the way to go. I cannot believe how well it works.
 
   / best heating system #13  
ghitch75

I plan on breaking ground before the end of the year on my "final" house and was planning on researching wood boilers with gas back-up. I'll be wanting to heat multiple buildings. I would love some info and knowledge! reply here or send a PM.

Kevin

ps-you should put in your profile at least what part of the country you live! It helps others to relate to your replies better!
 
   / best heating system #14  
we have hooked up multiple buildings to one boiler..one job we hooked up a house with 2 furnaces,water heater,spa,blower coil and 2 out buildings with floor radiant..i would be glad to help you any way i can.....
 
   / best heating system
  • Thread Starter
#15  
Wow, thanks everyone for the input.
I have to agree that the well built/insulated home is the first step. I'm in Virginia, so climate is moderate. I've looked at so many options my head is spinning. from straw bale, SIPS, conventional stick, panelized. am looking at metal right now, i like the 8" walls. now rat throws out ICF (sigh, thanks rat). so back to the heating system. i suppose my concern over offgassing is only part of the equation. i'm not all that concerned, of course i don't have asthma either /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. still, glue is used in so much anymore, like gluing the sub floor, most of the good glues have formaldahyde. i also am a bit concerned with the heating and cooling of the wood floor and the resulting cupping and warping it may cause. my understanding is the tubing runs at 125 to 130 degrees, the floor gets maybe 80? i've heard you cant use just any wood floor with radient. also, would seem better to use a floating floor, as oppossed to glue down or nail down. when i install air conditioning, i'll probably have a heat pump as well since it dosnt add much to the cost and heat pumps work pretty well where i'm at, would be an auxillary heat system. i do like the idea of being able to thwart the electric bills by throwing wood in an outside boiler or burning corn or bio diesel. so many choices, so little time. hope i dont die before i can decide.
paul
 
   / best heating system #16  
"ICF is so incredibly, unbelieveably superior that I have no doubts it will someday displace stick frame. "

Well, who knows? I've looked into it a bit, just enough to say that I'm uninterested. That's no reflection on how it can perform, just that my interests lie in other directions (sustainable practices, including timber-frame, straw bale, etc.). My recent use of poly doesn't fit with that, but again, it was a spec house and provided me the best scenario given the state of the construction when I bought.

"R values are an interesting thing. The way in which they are derived is interesting and a rude awakeining as to what they really are. "

You're 100% correct! Depending on the material, vapor barrier and ambient conditions, etc., R-values can decrease significantly as the temperature drops - just when you need it most! I chose SIP because it doesn't lose R-value, doesn't deteriorate or shift position, provides structural stiffening, which I wanted because the builder uses masonite sheathing, and because it provides the very best draft sealing (which is where you lose most of your heat).

"The radiant floor system is superb and if the figures work out, plan to use it. "

I'm one of those that finds radiant systems very uncomfortable. I've worked in buildings with both radiant ceilings and radiant floors. I don't like either.
 
   / best heating system #17  
I don't know if I would use radiant if not on a slab... I'll let others discuss.

We are putting in-slab radiant in our shop /apartment we are building. We are heating with a small wood boiler with electric backup. The other heating is passive solar. The roof is going to be SIPS and the walls we haven't decided yet.

Our house is going to be geothermal heated slab with wood boiler backup.

Don't use radiant floor heat to save money, many studies have shown it doesn't save $.

Don't use radiant floor heat in a super-insulated house, you can't turn the heat up enough to make the floor warm without overheating the house.
 
   / best heating system #18  
"I'm one of those that finds radiant systems very uncomfortable. I've worked in buildings with both radiant ceilings and radiant floors. I don't like either"

Wow, your absolutely the first to say this. Most people love it, others go as far as saying they will never have a home without it again.

Strawbale, interesting idea but just not my cup of tea. Timberframe, expensive, more skill to build, still uses a lot of "unsustainable" material as you say.

I know there is plenty of room for debate. Lets just say that after 32 years of framing, I am quite dissatisfied with the quality of lumber and the relative inefficiency of todays homes when compared to the new alternatives. Rat...
 
   / best heating system
  • Thread Starter
#19  
Yankee,
SIPS is intriguing. if you dont mind my asking, how did it cost out? do you know what a 4x10 panel would cost? the house i want to build has 10' ceilings up and down. is the floor and roof sips too? i know there are chanels for wiring, how do you access them? how do you cut in doors and windows? i see you use a "hot knife", but does the osb have to be cut conventionally first?
paul
 
   / best heating system #20  
"I don't know if I would use radiant if not on a slab... I'll let others discuss"

Radiant is easy to use on raised floors. The best way in my opinion is to put it down and place lightweight concrete over it. Thats the way it's done out here on subfloors.

SIPS is a great way to insulate, smart move. You will be "super insulating" your home.

I have heard much different opinions about the energy efficiency of radiant floor systems. With new boilers being used for all water heating as well as new electronics to control the many zones that can be incorporated, it seems to be quite favorable in comfort and efficiency. An airtight house requires an air exchange system, to design a house intentionally not airtight and well insulated would seem defeating. The initial cost of radiant is what has me wondering if it's within reach for us to do. It does require a second set of conditioning if you also need to cool your home. Lots of great ideas out there for us to choose from, most of them neither right or wrong, but certainly energy saving over the designs of just a decade ago.
 

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