New Construction in N. Texas asking for advise on HVAC systems
I want to get the best system for our new home In N. Texas. I do not want to be paying crazy monthly bills to have a comfortable enviroment. We are 45 miles North of Dallas and in Climate zone 3. We will have a slab 3,000 sq.ft. home. Everything is on the main floor except for a 650 sq. ft. room upstairs. The floors will be mainly concrete except for the bedrooms and the living room will have carpet. The front of the house faces East by South East. The house will be foamed from the top of the roof to the slab, all the way around. The attic will be a conditioned attic. We will have a Propane tank and of course Electricity to cool and heat our home. We do not have Natural gas yetand do not expect it. I am personally not a high tech guy. I will take fundamentally sound over gadgetry any day. However I understand that the gadgets have advantages.
I requested my builder to give me quotes on the different HVAC systems he has to offer. I will say I have no brand loyalty here. I want the best product that can heat and cool my house as cheaply as possible within a budget. Here is what he offered and what I added on.
Lennox:
XP16 with EVC( air ventilation), Honey well air filter and dehumidifier.
XP25
American Standard: I do not know the models
17 Seer system: Honeywell Air filter, Dehumidifier
20 Seer system
Goodman: No models here either
16 Seer system EVC(air ventalation), Honeywell air filter and dehumidifier
18 Seer system Honeywill air filter
We are planning on staying in this home until we kick the bucket. I feel the foaming is a good product and the conditioned attic is a must to be efficient from what I understand. I forgot about windows. They are a double pain with out argon gas. Of course we will have blinds on all the windows. We have a tree line which will block the majority of the Western sun. Also, I have the freedom to go outside the builder and pick another brand of system which I have already recieved quotes and they are a lot higher so this is probably where I be. Thank you for your time and please, if you have a problem with a product let me know why. The more facts the better...
With the often high and unstable cost of propane, I'd explore the possibility of a hybrid heat pump, or even conventional heat pump, over straight propane heat. The ventilation unit and dehumidifier are a good idea.
Read here-
I want to get the best system for our new home In N. Texas. I do not want to be paying crazy monthly bills to have a comfortable enviroment.
We are 45 miles North of Dallas and in Climate zone 3. We will have a slab 3,000 sq.ft. home.
Everything is on the main floor except for a 650 sq. ft. room upstairs.
The floors will be mainly concrete except for the bedrooms and the living room will have carpet. The front of the house faces East by South East.
The house will be foamed from the top of the roof to the slab, all the way around. The attic will be a conditioned attic.
We will have a Propane tank and of course Electricity to cool and heat our home. We do not have Natural gas yetand do not expect it.
I want the best product that can heat and cool my house as cheaply as possible within a budget.
20 Seer system
They are a double pain with out argon gas.
Of course we will have blinds on all the windows.
Thank you for your time and please, if you have a problem with a product let me know why. The more facts the better...
For starters ...
May wish to use 2 heat pumps. > 16 SEER & 9.5 HSPF
2,400 sq feet on one floor is a rather large length.
ATTACHMENT
... BREIF, " ball park " MANUAL J
Designer Dan __ It's Not Rocket Science, But It is SCIENCE with Some Art. _ _ KEEP IT SIMPLE & SINCERE ___ __ www.mysimplifiedhvac.com ___ __ Define the Building Envelope & Perform a Detailed Load Calc: It's ALL About Windows & Make-up Air Requirements. Know Your Equipment Capabilities
I understand you are not jumping to go with gadgetry, but you should look into the lines of inverter driven communicating heat pumps from RHEEM/RUUD/weather king.
One of the few that uses a scroll instead of a rotary compressor, and a very wide range of operating abilities. Whichever brand you choose, GET A MANUAL D DUCTWORK LAYOUT! You want proper even quiet air distribution and on such a long structure, you are going to want the best ductwork design. Do not scrimp here. Oversized trunk for the best distribution with low friction loss is key.
The TRUE highest cost system is the system not installed properly...
rider77: I forgot to put in the hybrid. It is the option we are going with, for the reason you mentioned. Propane cost varies quite a bite. I also forgot to mention the tonage suggested. They recommended a 4 ton unit. I was not real happy to hear that because I thought higher tonage ment higher mo. bills considering all things are equal between each. (1 ton, 2 ton...ect.) I also thought by foaming and having a conditioned attic allowed be to have a lower ton unit. Is that not the case?
dan sw fl: Its funny that you mentioned two units but are you talking about two 16 seer units...If so I do not think I can fit it in the budget...However I did not mention that the house is phase two of our build. We are now in a small garage apt (600 sq ft) which is heated and cooled by a wall unit ( like in a motel) I was talked into because at the time it was cheap and we had limited funds so it fit the bill at the time. However after a year of elec.bills it is more expensive than our old 1750 sq ft house was. So I am trying to work out a deal to pull that thing out and get some type of refund or credit (praying) and somehow connect the Garage Apt. to the main unit(s). The house and the garage apt will be connected through a 10, breeze way. What about those Mitsubishi ductless units. I hear great things about them but I would need 6 heads or more.
vstech: is the inverter driven communicating heat pump the same as the variable speed of the Lennox XP25? and was not given an option for those brands. As far as the Manual D Ductwork layout. I will look that up. Is that simular to using steel ducts? I have read not to run flex duct no longer than 10'. I agree this seems like another critical part of the equation.
Also the Apt is surrounded by foam also but it does have a direct visual of the sun setting in the West.. THank you all for your input. Keep em coming.
My HVAC contractor said they use manual j load and d ducting energy star guidelines. What else do I need to know about D-ducting. Should I assume they are going to use metal ducts and flex at the ends. Is that what d-ducting energy star guidelines include?