Best home heating system?

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benz1

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#315170 19-Jun-2024 02:00

I know that this topic has just about been flogged to death over the years but hoping to get some advice on the best home heating system to install?

Two storey, 3 bed, 180m2 house located in Auckland North Shore, lower half brick and top half weatherboard. Doesn't normally get too cold but at present the only heat is provided by a large heat pump downstairs so the bedrooms do a bit chilly at times. I currently in the UK but will be returning to NZ next year with my new British wife and 14yr old stepdaughter who are used to a warm centrally heated house so I'm going to have to upgrade the heating system.

Looking for suggestions on what type of system I could consider and specific equipment or suppliers to look at? Gas is available at the property, currently only used for hot water (although considering switiching to something else and getting rid of the gas). We'll be sending out a container from the UK so one option might be to bring out something from the UK if practical to do so and better than anything that might be available in NZ?

Thanks in anticipation.

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#3250687 19-Jun-2024 06:37

We put in ducted Aircon for the upstairs of our 2 storey house and love it. Overall running costs are very low.

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timmmay

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#3250693 19-Jun-2024 07:07

Congratulations! Everyone's house is different, asking for advice makes sense.

My wife is from the UK. She always feels cold even when we have the house at 23 degrees. It's mostly radiators in the UK, no air blowing around. Even when they put in heat pumps they use them to power the radiators.

Initially we had oil heaters in the bedrooms and a heat pump in the lounge. My wife liked the oil heaters except they got in the way, but didn't much like the heat pump as it blew air around which made her feel cold. We got a ducted heat pump, partly to get rid of the oil heaters and partly to leave the walls clear so we could put up decorations.

Initially I suggest you get oil heaters for the bedrooms. They don't have to be large, we had 1200W and they worked fine in our 4x4m bedroom - old house but fairly well insulated.

Following that she how your wife likes the heat pumps downstairs. If she's ok with them you could consider those upstairs. As the owner of a ducted heat pump, I would look at individual high wall / floor heat pumps next time for more control and less hassle. The main advantage of the ducted heat pump is at night, on low, air movement is minimal. Ducted units need airflow so you may need wall vents, whereas high wall keep the air in the room.

Ducted guide I wrote here. I'll update that some time with more experiences.

tweake

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#3250735 19-Jun-2024 09:59

i recommend heat pump simply because it also provides summer cooling.

ducted or separate, that will depend on house and budget. also what about ventilation?

Obraik

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#3250781 19-Jun-2024 12:03

Definitely recommend a ducted heat pump. If it's set up right, you won't feel or hear the air blowing from the vents.

This is my first winter in a house with one and it's probably one of my favourite things about my new house. The whole house is consistently warm (and cooled in summer) and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to run.

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alasta

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#3250787 19-Jun-2024 12:15

I have radiators and generally like them but they are very slow to heat the place up. I have my system set to a baseline temperature of 17 degrees and then raise it to 21 degrees when I'm home and awake but it takes a long time to get those extra 4 degrees despite having good insulation.

My current heat source is a gas boiler which also provides hot water. I imagine at some point I'll have to replace it with a heat pump hot water system and have that set up to feed the radiators.

If I were starting from scratch then I would probably have a ducted heat pump instead of the radiators.

tweake

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#3250789 19-Jun-2024 12:28

alasta:

I have radiators and generally like them but they are very slow to heat the place up. I have my system set to a baseline temperature of 17 degrees and then raise it to 21 degrees when I'm home and awake but it takes a long time to get those extra 4 degrees despite having good insulation.

My current heat source is a gas boiler which also provides hot water. I imagine at some point I'll have to replace it with a heat pump hot water system and have that set up to feed the radiators.

If I were starting from scratch then I would probably have a ducted heat pump instead of the radiators.

install some ceiling fans. you really need air movement. dc fans are great for running at slow speed, which is all you need.

benz1

51 posts

Master Geek

#3250991 20-Jun-2024 01:58

timmmay:

Ducted guide I wrote here. I'll update that some time with more experiences.

Thank you so much for this, I just spent an hour or so reading through your guide, very informative (and slightly scary!). The ducted system looks like a good solution if well implemented but sounds complicated and you're pretty much at the mercy of the installers. The multi-split system might be a more straightforward solution although I would also like to get a ventilation system installed (but again, how do you find a good installer?).

All in all, the whole heating/ventilation space sounds like a bit of a minefield!

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timmmay

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#3250993 20-Jun-2024 07:02

Like I said, a couple of oil heaters will tide you over until you can do something permanent. Make sure your wife is ok with the heat pump / blowing air you already have before you decide.

Ducted heat pumps don't blow as much air around as a high wall, but instead they feel more like a slightly warm breeze if you're in the right place, otherwise a slightly cold draft. The main issue is need thermostats in each room, spill zones, and in my experience having to tweak how they work in home assistant.

I have a small Daikin high wall unit in my office. It can be pretty quiet and low fan. A floor model might work well for a bedroom, if there's space.

Obraik

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#3251106 20-Jun-2024 11:01

benz1:

Thank you so much for this, I just spent an hour or so reading through your guide, very informative (and slightly scary!). The ducted system looks like a good solution if well implemented but sounds complicated and you're pretty much at the mercy of the installers. The multi-split system might be a more straightforward solution although I would also like to get a ventilation system installed (but again, how do you find a good installer?).

All in all, the whole heating/ventilation space sounds like a bit of a minefield!

I personally would go with ducted over mini-splits. Ducted looks cleaner, is quieter and doesn't have that "fan in your face" effect.

The system doesn't have to be overly complicated but it depends on your house and how it's positioned. I have a Daikin system with an ERV attached to it which brings fresh air from outside and mixes it with the conditioned air from the heat pump. I don't have any zoning in my house at this stage as we figured it was something we could add later if needed. After some initial teething issues with the setup (the installer wasn't one of the good ones...), I think it's now dialed in pretty well and keeps the whole house at a pretty equal temperature.

In an ideal world, the complication of the system isn't something you should have to worry about as you would expect that a competent installer would take care of all that for you. However as you alluded to, and from my own experience, installers can be hit or miss.

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timmmay

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#3251107 20-Jun-2024 11:05

The problem with ducted systems without room control is in summer the sunny side of the house gets really hot while the other side stays cooler. Putting equal calling through both sides makes some rooms very cold and some rooms not cold enough. For my house it was really not good so I had it removed and put in a new system that had zoning.

You can add zoning later, but it will probably cost quite a bit more than zoning on install. Some minor parts need to be replaced if you want a spill bypass, and vendors want to make a decent profit and need a contingency built-in to the price.

Obraik

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#3251112 20-Jun-2024 11:14

Yes, I'm sure there are scenarios where zoning is almost a requirement...which is why it's probably best for the OP to focus more on finding a decent installer in their area that knows what they're doing and can spec a system based on where their house is, how it's laid out, etc.

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tweake

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#3251195 20-Jun-2024 12:26

one of the basic problems is nz houses are not designed for heating and cooling. so its always going to be a bit of a hack job and you need flexibility due to that. high end homes tend to be some of the worse for that. nz architects have the mindset that you can make up the overall house insulation level by increasing it in some areas to compensate for the lack of it in others. so you can get wildly different heating/cooling requirements between rooms.

add to that putting ducts outside the house (ie in the ceiling oe in the crawlspace) is really poor. but again you need to have the house designed and built to take a proper heating/cooling system.

Stu1

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#3279745 7-Sep-2024 18:04

timmmay: The problem with ducted systems without room control is in summer the sunny side of the house gets really hot while the other side stays cooler. Putting equal calling through both sides makes some rooms very cold and some rooms not cold enough. For my house it was really not good so I had it removed and put in a new system that had zoning.

You can add zoning later, but it will probably cost quite a bit more than zoning on install. Some minor parts need to be replaced if you want a spill bypass, and vendors want to make a decent profit and need a contingency built-in to the price.

Great article on ducted central heating, I’m exploring my options at the moment. I have central heating but I need to upgrade the unit to heat a newish extension. In the meantime i installed my problem child Daiken heat pump that won’t switch off. Our central heating vents are all underground . it sounds like if I move to ducted heat pump then I will have to get vents in the ceilings which will look naff with DVS vents in the room as well. Remove all the underfloor ducting block up all the vents and patch all my flooring which is not ideal. Is there anyway to reuse gas central heating ducting with a central heating heat pump system? . My other option is upgrade central heating but of course not useful in summer and unless hydro gas hurry’s up it’s getting super expensive

tweake

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#3279756 7-Sep-2024 19:09

Stu1:

Is there anyway to reuse gas central heating ducting with a central heating heat pump system? .

afaik the ducts are typically to small. easy enough to measure and check.

Stu1

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#3279757 7-Sep-2024 19:14

tweake:

Stu1:

Is there anyway to reuse gas central heating ducting with a central heating heat pump system? .

afaik the ducts are typically to small. easy enough to measure and check.

They are pretty Small but efficient I guess heatpump needs bigger vents and not as efficient? . Lot of cost to remove the gas unit needed a whole in the side of the house when installed so another cost . I do prefer gas heating over heat pump but getting up there in price these days

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