New build - radiators

[boogiewoogie]

Hi
We are building a 270 sqm house next year. The open plan kitchen/living is 70sqm and has 5 bedrooms and is 3 levels tiered on a sloped section in Palmerston North. My husband wants to use natural gas and install radiators galore. Obviously we want heating in the living area, but with the house double glazed and fully insulated, do we need radiators everywhere or is this over kill? We plan to live there at least 20+ years so we want to be comfy but I don't want radiators installed that are never used. The builder has given us the impression that this much heating is not needed in a new build but I would love to hear from other people as well. Any thoughts would be great.
Thank you

[Auburn]

You will still need heating. We just finished our build and upgraded the insulation and windows. We are still using our ducted heat pump regularly. I would be installing radiators galore.

[rogercruse]

Why not heat-pumps?

Then you'll have heating & cooling for winter & summer.


It sounds like your house will have the same overall size of our four bedroom single level property on the outskirts of Auckland. And cooling is more important than heating, but heat-pumps give you both.

Get a quote from the major heat-pump suppliers for your area.

[paua]

I agree radiators galore, gentle lovely heat. When I shut off a room, I turn it off ... but when everything is open comfort plus...especially in NZ!!!

[Super_BQ]

Cost of LPG to heat a whole house would be far more expensive than electric power heat pump / ACs. I'm looking long term that NZ's supply of gas will dwindle and eventually will heavily rely on imports which = $$$$$

I'm partial to inslab hydronic water heating as radiators take up a spot along the wall or window. But builders are not too familiar with inslab heating (in the area of properly insulating the concrete slab) - most group builders can't be bothered as it complicates the compliance process.

Going heat pump / AC units on the wall gets you cooling in the hot summer months. However, installing a unit in each room of the house can prove costly.

[b&k]

If insulated to NZ code, I would run radiators to every room as it will still be cold. Your building fabric should do the work keeping your house warm so have soem rooms hot and some cold will not work as well as keeping the whole house warm. You can runs radiators from an air-to-water heatpump. If you are worried about overheating in the summer, think about shading north and west facing windows to block summer sun.

If you still have the chance, you should look at upgrading your windows as this will have the biggest impact on internal comfort (code double-glazed windows lose 10 times more heat than the walls surrounding them and are also the coldest surfaces). Thermally broken with low E coatings should be the minimum.

[Super_BQ]

The problem with the NZ building code (and I can't stress then enough) is the lack of detail of draftproofing. There isn't a code that has regard to details on how little or no gap is allowed in the timber framing (top and bottom plates) or how many holes in the ceiling for recessed lightning. So incorporating a method of trying to heat every room individually is only a recipe for high cost.

Windows CAN be the weakest link in the house for losing heat however, typically it's the roof / ceiling that loses the most heat. Particularly if you use recessed lighting where air from the cold zone atic space freely goes into the living space of the house (through the lighting fixture). Having fiberglass insulation over the lightly fixture is not a means for draftproofing.

Under the NZ building code have a good look here: http://www.smarterhomes.org.nz/desig...tion-overview/
You'll find spending more $ on insulation is a much smarter way than trying to pump as much heat in the house as possible during cold days. A good architect knows the size of the window to the ratio of the wall area. - If you're not going high performance windows, then keep the windows small because no window in the world will have the insulation R-value as a fully insulated wall. On the south side of my house is the garage that spans 12 metres long. Not a SINGLE window exists.

[Jackkkk]

Hi , I am living in Palmerston North as well. May plan to build a new house as well. how much will cost to build a new house? which company did you use? Thanks

[Super_BQ]

Bare minimum house with near minimum building code and no floor coverings, my guess in P. North - $2,000 per sqm. If you are going well above building code, then $3,000 per sqm. All major group builders have similar pricing. It's not until you get to high price architects then you will have well, the sky's the limit. Here in Christchurch I know of a family paying $5,000 per sqm for their ritzy 360sqm place and you know the irony about that build is, all that extra $ does NOT improve the performance or comfort of the house compared to standard build. Everything you can see is custom, but no real improvement on the "system performance" of the house as it's not any different to what is allowed in the NZ building code.