Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation Re: Heating and Cooling 2Mar 08, 2011 1:59 pm A few options Abby A lot would be dependant on how much of the house you wish to cool / heat simultaneously. If it is only 1 or 2 rooms then I'd say hi-wall split systems (reverse cycle) if more than that then the options basically are Ducted evaporative and ducted gas Ducted gas with add-on refrigerated cooling Ducted reverse cycle (refrigerated heating and cooling) Hydronic heating Underfloor heating (in slab) Wood fire etc etc etc There are many, many options available. First determine how much of the house you would want to both heat and cool simultaneously. This will reduce options and allow you to focus on the options remaining. You get what you pay for! Re: Heating and Cooling 3Mar 10, 2011 1:44 pm In terms of heating. Gas ducted should cost you less, unless its a poorly designed system, you leave the doors an window open or you are getting either a really great price on electricity or a bad price for gas. reverse cycle electric heating uses a lower number of units compared to gas but the rate for electricity is usually about 3x gas so gas is cheaper. If you went electric, I would go for reverse cycle splits so that you can minimize the rooms you use it in at once. That will help you keep the cost down. For cooling. I don't know if you can zone evap. If you get refrigerated, get zoning. It'll help you keep costs down, so you don't have to run the whole house at once. Get an extra return air section if you have a large house. Consider ceiling fans in all bedrooms and living areas as well. Fans cost around 1c per hour to run at medium speed. They will help on hotter days and negate the need to run AC on warmer days where fans will do the job. I plan on using my air conditioning like my insurance. Not unless I have to. Also look at insulation upgrades to help stabilize the temp and stop heat loss/gain. Re: Heating and Cooling 4Mar 25, 2011 10:13 pm Point to note: Whilst refrigerated heating is 3 times more efficient (amount of energy in vs out) it is still more expensive! Compare the amount of gas used vs electricity vs tarriffs! It has been a sales pitch for refrigerated systems for YEARS - more efficient but NOT cheaper (and I am a fan of refrigerated systems) You get what you pay for! Does anyone have a suggestion for a good hydronic in slab heating speacialist who may be able to help me with an existing system and wether or not it may need a seperator… 0 4858 I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 9752 OK it's been a little while! I've been busy getting time where I can to work on this. I started by grading a pad (borrowing a… 26 19868 |