I agree with hollysprings about the cooling aspect. If you are in a climate needing mechanical cooling then radiant heat is generally a very expensive upgrade because heat pumps can work in reverse to handle both tasks. A whole house electric radiant system is unique as most use hydronic tubing. Really have to question choosing electric in slab over hydronic but it could make sense. Electric makes more sense in wood framed floors and I feel it could be a cost-effective fuel source for radiant but ONLY if you have a very efficient building envelope (airtight and continuously insulated). Building Envelopes are the smartest investment in comfort and energy use and they are getting so advanced that it can take a very small amount of energy to make them comfortable. Otherwise, I would agree with hollysprings and choose NG as the fuel source but I usually avoid combustion appliances as much as possible. Another option for powering radiant tubing is air to water (air source or ground source) heat pumps which have high upfront costs but low monthly costs. If I was doing radiant, I would put most money into the building envelope and use a tank water heater (rheem marathon) to power radiant tubing. Although, I do think an all electric system COULD make sense. Hollysprings makes a good point that NG with forced air is a smart budget choice however, mini-split heat pumps are challenging this conventional wisdom in high performance homes. Even in heating dominated climates with NG access, I think most high performance homes are choosing mini-splits over NG furnaces and backed up central air. I think it depends on how big the house is and if occupants are ok with leaving bedroom doors open as to which one makes the most sense. Finally, dont ignore the opportunity of passive solar design; free heat, daylighting and passive survivability with no maintenance, monthly costs and zero extra upfront costs if you design it right. This post was edited by Brian_Knight on Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 12:19

Just some general comments First of all, you may not have enough capacity. Was a load calculation done? Second, your power consumption may be completely normal. See what these units consume per hour by reading your owners manual specifications and multiplying by the approximate number of hours per day they seem to be running. Third, you may not have enough ground loop per ton, 50ft/ton may be too short! I would have drilled 100ft/ton. But then again, if your compressor(s) is (are) not locking out on high-pressure your loops may be OK, albeit not very efficient. You are however, sinking a lot of heat into the ground over a very short distance (50ft)! I would NEVER install 50ft ground loops for DX  and IF I did, I would have the client sign a notarized waiver stating that I bear no responsibility what-so-ever - that the client was warned that this might not work, that he wanted to proceed at his own risk! One circumstance where this could work (50ft/ton) is in a case where we KNOW that there are fissures in the ground bringing high volumes of water in direct contact with the copper ground loops AND that the boreholes were backfilled with a coarse silica that would allow the water to flow though the boreholes contacting the copper ground loops directly (DX  Direct Exchange). Even then I would insist on 100ft per ton - minimum. That way at the very worst you would still have an efficient system - even if there were a change in the hydrology. SR

I bought a very expensive Therna Tru front door with frosted side windows and the finish started to disintegrate on the door. That is because the sun hits it in the mornings and the finish just did not hold up and began to disintegrate and come off. First contacted Lowe's who I bought the door through and Lowe's passed me off to Therma Tru. Contacted Therma Tru and it started to weasel out of any responsibility on its 10 year warranty and gave me a hard time. I assume Therma Tru has had other problems with its wood look finish disintegrating. i am going to keep posting wherever and whenever I can about how Therma Tru does not honor its 10-year warranty on its expensive front doors. I am a service-connected totally disabled homebound Marine Corps veteran who paid over $5,000 for the Therma Tru front door. Bought it along with Pella windows through Lowe's on North Shådeland Avenue In Indianapolis Indiana, Richard Bovey Indianapolis Indiana

I see a more nature-y direction for this house. And I agree that a canopy over your front door would look great; something about how the door and the window above it are the same width looks off to me. Plus landscaping and a new front light. I love the way Lauren Liesss did her contemporary. And there's a newer modern house in our neighborhood that did an organic stone walkway that could look really nice in your yard. Your shingles are a nice color which is fortunate. We have a similar style house that had ugly reddish shingles; a metal roof made a huge difference. We went from double doors like yours to a wide door plus sidelight.