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stinkyxy

New Build HVAC System

Stinkyxy
7 years ago

I am building a house in Ontario, where the temp ranges from hot and humid in the summer to very cold in the winter.

I have a 3 story house so I am trying to be efficient. In the basement, we are putting 4" of XPS under the slab for extra insulation. The house will be air tight with a wrap on the outside, exterior brick, and R24 walls.

In terms of heating, we are thinking about radiant floors in the basement - just to keep the floors warm. Floors will be engineered wood and we walk in our bare feet around the house. We will have an HRV - currently thinking about Zehnder but unfortunately cannot get the units they released last year in North America.

For HVAC we have a few options - I will get the technical terms wrong here.

Boiler system for whole house. I believe this is the most expensive option with domestic hot water, radiant flooring, and water to air exchangers in the basement and third floor. $65k

Combi-core for domestic hot water and radiant floor in the basement. Forced air furnace in basement and third floor. $47k

Skip the radiant floor in the basement and just use forced air units. $35k.

With large price swings I am wondering if there is a real difference between the options. I hear having a boiler for domestic hot water has its pitfalls.

Are there options that I have not listed here that are worthwhile exploring? Are prices reasonable? Are there certain makes of boilers or combi tanks I should consider?

thanks for all of your help.

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