Future dilemma forced air or boiler?

crowsnest2002 · Post by **crowsnest2002** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 1:51 pm

I don’t mean to start a war on this one, but what is best to tie into a central air unit? I feel like like a boiler might be the best option, with lines running into the coil fan unit. We are planning on building in the next 2 years roughly. My love for coal feels like it should go with us to our new home. So I want to have ideas for the house layout. Some things I’d like some help with are Manufacturers, hot water tie ins and efficiency, do you run your system all year, any info or insight will be helpful. I have a Alaska 140 now and it works awesome for our home. It’s forced air with thermostat control and our home stays at 72* all winter. Should I keep the stove separate from home, or basement?

Post by **Lightning** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 2:24 pm

Boiler all the way.. so that you can heat all your domestic hot water with it also.

Post by **Rob R.** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 3:32 pm

You won't start a war...that war has been going on for years. A boiler looks like the better option when you have a big DHW load, and/or want to do things like heat a pool, have warm floors, etc.

As much as I like burning coal, I probably would not consider it for a new house unless I could get coal really cheap, and the house was quite large. A moderate size house properly built should have a very low heat load.

Post by **StokerDon** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 3:46 pm

crowsnest2002 wrote: ↑
Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 1:51 pm
I feel like like a boiler might be the best option, with lines running into the coil fan unit. We are planning on building in the next 2 years roughly.

I hate to point out the obvious but, if you are building the house in the future, why does it have to be hot air? Don't get me wrong, it will work fine if you put a heat exchanger in the duct and plumb a boiler to it. You don't get any radiant heat out of the hot air system though.

You should just do a search. There are a lot of use that have gone from stove to furnace to boiler and posted our results.

-Don

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 4:42 pm

If I was to build I would go with a boiler and cast iron baseboards. I like the idea of radiant in the floor but not sure I like the idea of so much water running under my feet. Seems like asking for trouble. I'm not a fan of the hot/cold feeling of forced hot air. Personally I'd probably spec a Coal unit with propane or natural gas backup. The Leisure Line Boilers seem like they'd be efficient in a modern setting. They also appear to offer easy swap over to other fuels. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 4:46 pm

Come on Don, Summertime cooling doesn’t work well w/o ductwork.

However like said have a tight house and small heating and cooling loads then could be cooled by a couple wall mounted mini/splits.

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 4:51 pm

Ducted heating or cooling is not very common anymore. At least not here in New England.

crowsnest2002 · Post by **crowsnest2002** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 5:21 pm

ASea wrote: ↑
Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 4:51 pm
Ducted heating or cooling is not very common anymore. At least not here in New England.

So what is the more common route? I’d like to do a central air system, mainly for cooling. Wondering if I should just do a heat pump then? I hate the idea of a heat pump, but with new construction having better insulation and less heat demand, then it might not be as much of a strain on the system. Thoughts? I was originally looking at the EFM 520.

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 5:57 pm

crowsnest2002 wrote: ↑
Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 5:21 pm
So what is the more common route? I’d like to do a central air system, mainly for cooling. Wondering if I should just do a heat pump then? I hate the idea of a heat pump, but with new construction having better insulation and less heat demand, then it might not be as much of a strain on the system. Thoughts? I was originally looking at the EFM 520.

Everything is mini splits. Heat pumps are effective to a certain point. A local heating expert could probably tell you more.

Post by **Rob R.** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 6:00 pm

Nothing wrong with ducted central air. There are some systems that use the same ductwork for cooling & heating, but I don't know much about them.

In my area it seems like most new houses are built with hydronic radiant heat and minisplits for cooling.

Post by **Lightning** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 6:19 pm

I agree with Rob..
Heating is a lot more important than cooling in this neck of the woods

you'll use heating for 6-8 months of the year, cooling for 2 months and part time at that. Tailor the heating/cooling functions appropriately.. just my opinion...

crowsnest2002 · Post by **crowsnest2002** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 7:10 pm

Thanks for the input all. Never had to really think about this before. Because one, I’ve never lived in a newer home, 2 the heating systems were crap before hand, and 3 installing systems like these were extra pricy in an existing structure to install. I guess more research is in my future to get some ideas. Thanks again for your inputs.

franpipeman · Post by **franpipeman** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 9:01 pm

Forced hot air helps to spreadcontagions around the house unless you have a super duper filtration system , I vote for condensing gas boiler radiant heat with outdoor reset. Coal
Boiler for dual fuel capabilities and mini split heat pump for ac and temperate heating seasons it’s always good to have multiple kinds of fuels as their prices and availability always are changing .It’s lot of equipment but a lot of bases are covered

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 9:10 pm

franpipeman wrote: ↑
Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 9:01 pm
Forced hot air helps to spreadcontagions around the house unless you have a super duper filtration system , I vote for condensing gas boiler radiant heat with outdoor reset. Coal
Boiler for dual fuel capabilities and mini split heat pump for ac and temperate heating seasons it’s always good to have multiple kinds of fuels as their prices and availability always are changing .It’s lot of equipment but a lot of bases are covered

Off the top of my head, I believe the Leisure Line, and Keystoker boilers can be run on gas. Also I believe the AHS WOC Boilers can be run on gas backups with hand fired coal. So in that case you'd have both in one unit.

ziggy87 · Post by **ziggy87** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2021 11:17 pm

We put up a modular home 6 years ago. It is a ranch with a walk out basement. We had hot water baseboard installed in all the rooms that was specked per load calc. We also had all the ducts cut in the floor already. I just had to run pipe back to the boiler and install ductwork. I would not trade my hot water baseboard heat for anything. I have every bedroom on its own zone. Also have an indirect for hot water.
If you do go with a heat pump, I would suggest going with Bosch. They are a ducted system that uses inverter technology like the ductless units use. The company I work for has a bunch of them out with great success so far.