HVAC and HRV
 

Hey all,

So I bought a new house outside of our city. A little bit bigger then what I have now including the basement...probably about 200 sqft...my old house is currently 2900 sqft including the basement. The new one is a 2 story and it was built by a very good builder about 25 years ago. Unfortunately the furnace and AC are also the same age :D. The house has some hardwoods so it needs a bit of humidity in the winter. Any recommendations on furnace/AC/HRV that would be good to put in a house like that? Is it better go to electric, or stick with a gas furnace? Would I need a whole house humidifier? I doubt the house is sealed tight, but I want the HRV just to get some fresh air in from the outside and circulate the air. Anything you can come up with would be helpful. Thanks.

Do you know what you'll be paying for electricty and gas at the new place?

Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about furnaces and what kind of technology to look for in new ones.

Also, are there any goverment or power company incentives for any of the items you're looking at purchasing?

I like gas if you have a supply line to the house and chances are that it will be cheaper to heat the house.

Actually my electricity where we live is cheap, so it's actually the reverse for us. I'm just thinking gas more for the hardwoods to keep some humidity in the house. I believe a gas furnace is better for humidity...correct me if I'm wrong.

No, I don't know electrical costs or gas bills yet.

Not the bills, just the cost per kWh or therm/metric whatever of gas.

Almost any forced air furnace can be equipped with a humidifier, controlled by a humidistat. That would ensure that you have appropriate moisture in the air for your hardwoods, and the added bonus is that we feel warmer at lower temps with adequate humidity!

There are massive government grants right now. First thing to do is read this page and start following it's steps. ecoACTION - ecoENERGY - ecoENERGY Retrofit*– Homes

it looks like from the feds alone you can get $790 for the right gas furnace. $500 for air source heatpumps including minisplits if you have 1 head unit per floor.

$4375 for a ground or watersource heat pump if you live somewhere it's viable.

here's the grant table.
Grant Table | ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes

I bought 2 years ago just as the program ended. Had I had an inspection before it did I could have gotten a few grand back based on what I already did. Taking my attic to R60 cost me $700 and was worth $750 back...

I agree with Strider3700, all Canadian homeowners should have a good, hard look at the Government of Canada Eco grant programme. We replaced our old (1962) gas furnace and added 12" of cellulose insulation to our attic in late 2010, and the Federal portion of the grant was approx. $1600, (at the time, under the first round of the programme, there were matching Provincial Government grants in Ontario) The net effect of the two improvements was a reduction of about 60% on our monthly gas bill. We've also noticed that the house is much more comfortable, warmer in the winter, and much cooler in the summer.
If you are considering any eco upgrades to your home, now is the time!

I'll also say this again. Make sure they right size the furnace. If they just replace the one you have with the same BTU output it might be way too big, especially once you start doing anything energy savings wise with the house. This leads to inefficiency.