New home HVAC Help

[bob1057]

I am building a new home. Located in South west Ohio. it is approximatly 4100 sq feet of finished living area and 1400 unfinished basement. we typically keep the house cooler in the the winter 65-66 ish and cooler in the summer 70 ish.

The builder uses Goodman equipment.

My question is what type and features to put in...any comments on total cost of ownership would be help full.

1. heat pump or traditional?
2. variable speed or single blower? (hearing issues with replacement fan cost and throw?)
3. Seer rating
4. High end filtration
5. Humidifier?

Thank you in advance for your time.....Just trying to educate my self so I can make a well informed decision....

[glennac]

I am building a new home. Located in South west Ohio. it is approximatly 4100 sq feet of finished living area and 1400 unfinished basement. we typically keep the house cooler in the the winter 65-66 ish and cooler in the summer 70 ish.

The builder uses Goodman equipment.

My question is what type and features to put in...any comments on total cost of ownership would be help full.

1. heat pump or traditional?
2. variable speed or single blower? (hearing issues with replacement fan cost and throw?)
3. Seer rating
4. High end filtration
5. Humidifier?

Thank you in advance for your time.....Just trying to educate my self so I can make a well informed decision....

My first concern would be to have all the ducts installed inside the building envelop or conditioned space. Save you big bucks in operating cost, duct insulation, don't need the duct blaster test, etc. Then make sure your AH/furnace is located for easy access like in a basement or a nice sized closet.

Use metal ducts for better air flow and make the contractor run a good heat load calculation and air flow distribution calculations so you will get what you paid for with the expensive HVAC equipment. You don't want restricted air flow, bad air distribution, etc.

These are IMO your most important concerns. I got to go and I'll let the other aces and we have quite a few here some I'm even smarter than me to get you straight on your well thought of questions.

[kls-ccc]

You need to look at your fuel cost to determine what type of system to go with for operating cost, around here it use to be heat pumps but this last year gas prices have come down and electricity has gone up so it's close to a wash righ tnow, LP won't come close to a heat pump though.

I wouldn't let the cost of a VS blower sway you away from them. We have installed VS blowers for over 20 yrs now and have less than a 1% failure rate. Most of the early ones we put in have been replace with new equipment when the whoe lsystem was upgraded.

SEER rating goes back to energy costs again, will it pay back? I think the bigger question is features. With the Trane equipment I sell as you go up in SEER the features also get better which may be a more compeling reason to go higher SEER than savings.

Health issues? If your family has them yes look for a high end filter like the Clean Effects or other brand. If the issues are minor or non-existant I recommend the Aprilaire 2210 or 2410 better filter than a 1" pleat and cost less to replace on a yearly basis.

Depending on life style and how tight the house is built you may not need one. In fact you may need to consider a HRV or ERV to provide fresh air and help keep moisture down

[motoguy128]

70F is pretty cold if you're managing humidity properly. Cold enough you can create condensation issues on very hot and humid nights. Typical design is for 75F when it gets really hot and humid.

This I assume is a luxury home (just based on it's size). I'd be looking at 2 systems plus zoning for the main floor where you have the kitchen, living room, media room and dining room. When you have guests, those loads can vary dramatically room to room.

Get a engineering company to do a properly system design included duct sizing and make clear where you plan to entertain, what appliances you'll have a so forth. A well designed system can maintain 0.5-1F between rooms.
Consider radiant hydronic (hot water) heat for the main floor. You might even look at using a combi boiler plus a cascading water heater. You can also heat the garage floor or even add a snow/ice melt system in your driveway.

For the basement, radiant floor heat would also work great.

Upstaris, radiant floor heat in the tile floor bathrooms for sure! I'd run that year round!