Um...*supply* vents for warm air *in the ceiling*? Warm air rises. Ceiling supply would be nice for A/C; not for heat. Perhaps they are talking about *air return* vents in the ceiling?

Not familiar with "hydronic hot air heating".

I can say that we have the best of both worlds in one room at our house. The HVAC guy was a dunce. He didn't allow for enough forced air heat supply in a north-facing room, so we had to supplement by running tubing under that room; a small boiler heats the water in the tubing. This is the most comfortable room in the house during the heating season. The under-floor heat radiates. The forced air heat humidifies.

We have two-stage blowers on our furnaces and flow-through humidifiers on each one. Our supply vents are in the floor. We have two sets of air returns on our walls: One for the heating season and one for the cooling season.

The two-stage blowers make for more even temperatures. The flow-through humidifiers moisten the air in winter without creating a home for mold to grow in a constantly wet medium; the medium dries out between calls for humididy.

I have hydro-air (I assume that is the same as hydronic). We have a boiler in the basement (a Veissman), two air handlers (one attic, one basement) and a super-stor for hot water. It is nothing like steam radiator heat. Unless you are in the basement, the system looks like a hot air system (floor and/or ceiling grilles, ductwork). It is quiet, quieter than baseboard. It is supposed to be cleaner and less dry than a hot air system, but our house still gets pretty dry, but not dry enough to need a humidifier usually. Because you have ducts you can still have air conditioning (unlike hot water or radiant systems where the ducts would need to be added). We looked into radiant and it was too expensive for out size house, although I wish I had added it just under the great room floor (we may add it later...someday...). Our vents are in the floor on the first floor and the ceiling on the second floor. Personally, I hate baseboards and would never do baseboard heat. I have no complaints about the system. We use oil (no NG available here).

Uneven tempertatures are a design issue. I have a great room with a 17' ceiling. That room is about 2 degrees colder than the adjoining rooms. Our master also tends to run colder than the rest of the house, but that is because it have numerous outside corners and is over the garage (it is on a separate zone, so it isn't an issue). There are some things I wish they had done differently (an additional return in the master, more supplies in the great room, supplies located in different places in a few locations), but those are design flaws.

Sue_36 -- It sounds like it would be simple to add some under-floor tubing for your great room. The materials are inexpensive, and the time consuming part (stringing the tubing) could be DIY. Could it run off your existing boiler or water heater? Is there easy access -- unfinished basement or crawl?

This is just so *comfy*. I wish we had it throughout the house!

thanks for the replies.

I think we're talking about the same thing Sue. I'm not familiar with how the "old" hot air systems work differently. This is supposedly a hot water loop that runs to the air handlers and air is blown over it.

yes, at least 1 guy was saying putting the supplies in the ceiling was fine, a coworker has this, he seems to think its fine. my concern is exactly what you commented chisue, hot air rises, shouldn't it be on the floor? I'm trying to meet with the plumber to explain some of the differences but apparently their time is like gold, they don't need the work.

I'm totally amazed when people on here come on with multiple detailed written quotes from subs, here, homeowners don't get the time of day from them, and GCs unless its "their" GC, get blown off, get the run around and can't even get a written quote.

The most important issue is whether or not you want to air condition your house. If you do, the air-handler approach is best since it can have coils for heat and for AC and the controls can be well integrated with variable speed fans. The comfort level is greatly increased by lower velocity air when heat demand is low.

Also, the boiler can be high efficiency (especially if it is gas-fired) and heat the domestic hot water. Some units also contain a ventilation system with heat exchanger.

I don't know why the air-handler systems would be considered new; they've been pretty common for new and renovated homes in New England for 25 years. These systems work well in cold climates and heat pump systems work well in warmer climates. The only advantage of a hot-air furnace is that it is cheaper assuming AC is not desired.

Do not let them put heating vents in the ceiling...we have 9' ceilings upstairs where the bedrooms are and I HATE it. Of course heat rises so it's difficult to keep the rooms warm enough, although being on the second floor helps. If they would have done that on the first floor, we'd be screwed.

I have had much better experiences personally with baseboard heat from a boiler but that's just my personal experience.

Heat will rise regardless of where it is introduced into the room. The trick to ceiling outlets is to design the system to provide enough air velocity to force the air against the outside walls and windows.

we definately are doing AC as well.

if I understand correctly a heat pump is electric? Electric rates are sky high by us so that wouldn't work in our situation

maybe I'm misunderstanding about the "new" part. basically most construction in our area is anywhere from 30-100 years old. not much has been built in the last 20 years, maybe that is what is meant.

I just wanted to chime in because I'm in the same position (new build underway in NY, looking at HVAC options still) and I appreciate this.

We also are discounting electric heat pumps because electric rates in NY are not quite the same as other states where everyone seems to think it's near free.

I would get a price for radiant if that is what you want, but keep in mind that you would also need ducting for A/C unless you wanted to do the duct-less mini split systems, but those are usually not recommended if you can do a traditional system instead.

Also, personally, I hate baseboard water heat. We have it in our apartment and everywhere I have seen that has it has the same issues. They take up wall space, the covers rust or fall apart, they have sharp metal edges that are not kid friendly. I know most of these issues are because of cheap covers... but still I'm soured on this option.

We are still exploring geo-thermal options (because the 30% tax credit brings it close to other options) but will likely end up with a traditional hot air LP or oil furnace with wood stove supplement and traditional A/C.

Unless you have a geothermal spring producing steam under your house, your geothermal system will probably be serving a heatpump that will heat as well as cool your house (if the climate is appropriate).

Ductless multi-zone AC systems are all heat pump systems.

Don't dismiss a heatpump just because you think electricity is too expensive; electricity is 100% efficient so within certain temperature ranges nothing can beat a heatpump.

The only way to waste money on an HVAC system is to not have it professionally designed.

how a geothermal heatpump works:

Here is a link that might be useful: geothermal heatpump