Propane or electric forced air????
BUILDER
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I am a home owner adding a 1,100 sq. ft. addition onto an existing 1,300 sq. ft ranch. I live in central Ohio and am going to upgrade the old electric forced air furnace and heat pump. I am trying to decide which route to go, propane of electric forced air. Which will be more efficient to operate? New heat pump will be a 13 seer rated. I also use a wood stove part of the time. Thanks for any info.
Replies
Gotta factor in your rates and weather patterns. As an example, here are a couple of installations studied recently, one for Kent WA and another for Spfld, IL. SPFLD probably near your weather pattern, but your elec rates are probably much higher. Factor the differences for your answer.
I am currently in the same situataion.... 1800 sq ft addition on an existing 1500 sqft house. Columbus, OH
I had a mechanical engineer look at it, and he suggested two units for the house. I am running nat gas... so no comparison on types. But you may want to look at whether the efficiency is dramatically effected by long runs of duct, etc. in your layout.
A geothermal (aka 'ground source') heat pump might meet your needs. They are far superior to regular heat pumps (air source), especially in cold climates. The geothermal heat pump is probably the highest efficiency unit available, but it also costs more than most other units. Whereas the regular heat pump draws heat out of the air, a geothermal heat pump circulates fluid through several hundred feet of buried tubing. It extracts the heat from the earth rather than the air.
The geothermal can be used for both heating and cooling. The unit is electric and since there is no combustion, there is no venting necessary. The unit is quiet and fully contained within the home.
The additional cost of a geothermal heat pump is due largely to the buried tubing. There are two typical loop layouts: Horizonal (where a trencher is used to bury the tubing), or Vertical (where well drilling equipment is used). Fine Homebuilding has done a couple articles on geothermal, but I don't know the specific issues.
You might also check with your local utilities to see if they offer rebates. If your climate is cold in the winter and hot in the summer... and your electric rates are not excessive, then the geothermal might be a good option.
jt8