Quote:
Originally Posted by ecomodded
...I think a 1 level seriously insulated 1200sq.ft custom house could be heated with a 9000 Btu heat pump...
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It's quite natural to think of a heating system (that is the title of your thread) when you are thinking about warming your house...
But if you are going to build your house, you should make every possible effort to design your house so that it retains heat. A BTU saved is cheaper than a BTU bought, and less environmental damage is done in the process. Another big plus is that insulation almost never malfunctions, or ever requires a service call.
I don't know if you are familiar with the Passive House concept, but there is a world of extremely relevant information. Don't confuse Passive House with Passive Solar Heating... different animal, but related.
The basics of Passive House construction are more refined than conventional building. It is not just a case of more insulation.
With Passive House, if you carefully attend to the details, it is possible to build a house that will need little or no heating system... however, it will need a sophisticated ventilation system.
The new wisdom is that if you carefully design and insulate, the additional costs of superior insulation will be approximately the same as a heating system... but no (or in the worst case, exceedlingly low) future fuel costs.
Think about it...
Best,
-AC