Hi
I am new to this so please bear with me.
We purchased our property a few years ago which came with an approved
DA for quite a substantial property. We applied to have modifications done but these were knocked back and so, we are going with what is approved. This limits some of the choices we would have otherwise made. We are trying to decide how to make this house function as economically as possible without relying too much on electricity. The property is on acerage with 3 phase power, we have solar but using solar we already pay a fortune in electric. we have no town utilities, lpg gas which is getting expensive. we will be adding to the size of the solar system, but we will still have large bills. we currently average 46kw/h/day and this new build will be additional to this. our current solar system is 4kw, we are looking to upspec to 10. so, getting to the point, we are considering adding in hydronic underfloor heating and looking for recommendations on the best ways to insulate the house.
It is 445sqm downstairs floor space, 75sqm as an upstairs attic space(will be stairs from living area to this and vellux windows as per Basic report). There will be 2 fireplaces, on in the main living room-north facing front of the house. one will be in the open plan kitchen, living, meals area which is west facing. there will be verandas over the entire building and double glazed windows (hoping for every window). Our idea is to run hydronic underfloor heating using an air source heat pump to the bathrooms, bedrooms, living space and kitchen (not formal lounge) this area is around 200qm total and has been quoted as just over 20k which includes air source heat pump but having it done DIY installation so price dose not include instal.
We are located around one hour west of Sydney, it gets chilly, but I am british so dont find it too bad, I just hate how draughty and badly insulated the houses are here compared to the British ones. My husband hates winter and loves to turn the ducted heat/air con on at every given opportunity. this drives me mad and I am looking to try and make sure the new build is better insulated and more comfortable to try and combat this issue. we have young children so would like to be comforablt but not silly! are we being silly looking at the hydronic underfloor heating? I am conflicted as it is a very large cost to only be used for a few months a year, as the space is so huge we can't afford to install in the whole house so will this defeat the purpose? are we better to invest this money elsewhere to improve or add some other feature?! if we useda very efficient inuslation in the house can we get to a point where we can get away without going down this of hydronic heating but also not rely on ducted heating?
the roof is going to be colour bond and the stud width is 90mm. tiled floors in living/kitchen/bathrooms and carpets elsewhere. I am not interested in electric underfloor heating as our current house has that and it is extortionate to run.
Any advise on insulation would also be greatly appreciated. As I am the one who is responsible for sourcing the heating and cooling needs on our new build I am trying to get as much advise as possible. I hate the heat we suffer here. Ideally we are looking to run air con for as little as possible but the house is not shaded by trees, just have the veranda coverings on the double glazed windows. Will be a concrete slab. I had the idea that hydronic underfloor heating could cool the slab too but have been told this is not the case, any input here?
will have whirly things on the roof and ceiling fans everywhere . Also looking to get a solar hot water system, that will be another thread! hope this makes sense, any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.