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I will be upgrading my oil-fired,forced hot air heating system in ’99. Although it is functional, I’m not real happy with the overall comfort of the house during the winter months. The house is approx. 2800 sf and I have a full basement and a full attic to work with. I’ve seen some interesting new tech. on This Old House (Watertown Project) …basiscally a hybrid of forced air and water. There is a separate unit for each floor (1 in the attic & 1 in the basement) with air blowing through what amounts to a car radiator to supply the heat. Hot water is supplied to the units from a central furnace in the basement. It seemed pretty slick. It’s supposed to reduce the “hot/cold” of hot air heat and is very simple to outfit with a/c.
Does anyone have any experience with this or are there any suggestions as to how best to upgrade? [Name brands would be great] Also would love to hear some advice on filtration systems. Our electro-static is decent but not terrific.
Thanks in advance.
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There are several available. We happen to prefer the Hi-V from Energy Saving Products. Unico and SpacePak also make a unit. You will most likely want to choose a boiler to supply the heat exchanger. Now might be the time to consider some underfloor heat on the main level as well as an indirect water heater for that hybrid system or at least set your near boiler piping and controls up for future expansion. Engage the services of a designer who specializes in this type of system(shameless plug).
*Jeff,I have hardwood floors with area rugs and some tile with a 5/8 plywood sub floor on the main floor. Is radiant floor heat really an option for me? It seems like too much for the heat to radiate through.Thanks.
*I've had one for about a year. I have the Lennox CompleteHeat system. The way I selected the brand was by contacting several different heating companies that would give me a quote on a "hydro-air" system. This came in as both the highest and lowest bid, where highest was 100% more than the lowest.We bought it because we were planning an addition that would have radiant heat, but the existing house is forced hot air, and our hot water heater broke.It works great as far as I can tell. I've been near it when someone was taking a shower and the burner actually kicked off several minutes into the shower telling me that it heats water faster than it gets used. We only use one blower unit.
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I will be upgrading my oil-fired,forced hot air heating system in '99. Although it is functional, I'm not real happy with the overall comfort of the house during the winter months. The house is approx. 2800 sf and I have a full basement and a full attic to work with. I've seen some interesting new tech. on This Old House (Watertown Project) ...basiscally a hybrid of forced air and water. There is a separate unit for each floor (1 in the attic & 1 in the basement) with air blowing through what amounts to a car radiator to supply the heat. Hot water is supplied to the units from a central furnace in the basement. It seemed pretty slick. It's supposed to reduce the "hot/cold" of hot air heat and is very simple to outfit with a/c.
Does anyone have any experience with this or are there any suggestions as to how best to upgrade? [Name brands would be great] Also would love to hear some advice on filtration systems. Our electro-static is decent but not terrific.
Thanks in advance.