Adding HVAC to 2nd floor

[morrisbenz]

Hi to all the professionals. I'm in PA and am seeking guidance on adding Heat to a 1,500 sq ft. 2nd floor area consisting of 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and a rec area. The 1st floor is heated by a 20 year old gas fired hot water baseboard system. One option is to add a second zone to the present unit. The boiler has sufficient capacity per a local Heating professional. The quote included the addition of 93 ft of Argo Lo-Trim hydronic baseboard, Taco 007 circulator, Argo 2 zone electronic zone relay panel, flow control valves, purges, bleed tees, etc. and two Honeywell FocusPRO digital thermostats (one for each zone).

There is limited a/c on the 1st floor and no existing a/c on the second floor. Home is 45 years old.

The questions for the Pro's......
** Is the investment in a second zone on the exiting unit wise? Am I better off with adding a new hot air / cooling system to the second floor since ample attic access is available and duct work would not be a problem including adding ducts to the first floor for A/C. If so, any recommendations on combo units? Is a heat pump approriate?

Any other options?

Thanks much for sharing opinions.

[johnsp]

Hydronic heat is best. Since you have an oversized boiler anyway, put it to good use. That's too much baseboard for a single zone. I would create 2 new zones. Get a well designed split AC duct system in the attic with ceiling supplies for the best cooling distribution. I would then think about saving for a new high efficeny gas boiler down the road.

[morrisbenz]

Thanks for the reply John. I may have mislead or mis-understood the quote on adding a second zone for the second floor. The fellow did say he would be adding two loops...... two rooms per. Could it be that the boiler will be split into two zones... and the new second zone be split into two loops? (This gives me an opportunit to obtain additional knowledge and confirmation from the company who provided the quote.)

Any additional comments on a heat pump unit? Would this be a good alternative and provide the a/c as a bonus?

Thanks again.

[docholiday]

your boiler is oversized by 40,000+ btuhs?

[johnsp]

Spliting the loop is the right thing to do. It can be one zone (one circulator and thermostat) but you don't want more then 50-60 ft of continuous BB on a single loop of 3/4" piping.

Getting a heat pump to AC the whole house but just heat the bedroom is going to be impossible to correctly size and zone.

You might want to get a HP to just heat/cool the 2nd fl or do the whole house. This would replace your boiler or create a duel fuel set up: use the boiler when it gets very cold out. But with a duel fuel config, you must have the Baseboard installed upstairs, or go hydro-air to make sure you csn get heat to those rooms.

[eduardo grueso]

If you could keep an air handler on the second floor in a conditioned space you could have one with a heating and cooling coil.

A hot water coil allows warm air heat, a second cooling coil in the air handler allows AC.