For upfront cost not operating cost, electric baseboard.

For operating cost and comfort, a mini split HP or a conventional split HP system with overhead ductwork system.

Electric panel will need to be checked for capacity.

Propane gas logs in FR, your choice. Will be expensive to operate.

You might check the capacity of existing hot water system and see if addition could be zoned.

IMO

This post was edited by tigerdunes on Mon, Dec 9, 13 at 7:35

Whatever system you decide to install it should be zoned with a separate thermostat. Ideally you would have a zone for the master bedroom and a second for the family room.

You could also have a zone for your master bathroom radiant floor heat. It you plan things well they can be made to work efficiently.

Do you also plan to cool the new space? It so, then a heat pump or mini split makes the most sense.

Tiger/Mike: thanks for your inputs.

But now I have more questions.
I don't know anything about heatpumps. I don't know anyone who has a heatpump.

- Yes, definitely will zone them separately.
- We do not have central air right now and would like to put in the ductless cooling system (like Mitsubishi wall unit).

current house = ~2200 GLA, basement not finished.

- Is it possible to have oil heat in main house and also a heat pump for the addition? Does that sound inefficient/duplicate systems?

- Can I also have the propane fireplaces (one in Mastbedroom and one in famiyroom) just for ambiance, or is that wasted cost/luxury?

- Being in NewEngland/wicked cold, do I need a backup system for the heatpump?
I thought I read somewhere that heatpump doesn't work for wicked cold/under ~10degrees.

--> So do I just add heat pump to handle the addition for heating and cooling, and also add another ductless cooling system for the rest of the house (run w/ oil???)

How much (GUESTIMATE) would this cost?

I'm trying to convince DH to do the addition and cooling. He's seeing big dollar $igns.
So I'm definitely not going high-end or even mid-end for the addition (like we did for the kitchen reno).

CONFUSED.

thank you so very much for help,
Amanda

There is not so cold New England and then very cold New England. It could make a difference.

Have you considered ground-source heat pump?

Ionized: do you mean geothermal heat pump?

We got a quick (not detailed) quote for it about 5years ago and it was ~$38K:
- to retro the house, labor and materials, was approx. $30000.00 with
- an additional $8000.00 in excavation.

That's when we chose to go w/ solar panels for our electricity.

Something more cost-effective?
We'll probably move out/sell in about 13-15years.

thank you,
Amanda

You could keep the oil furnace for the main house, and have the heat pump heat and cool the rest of the house. The heat pump does need auxiliary heat for the low temperatures. In your case electric heat strips would be a good option.

You could have a propane powered fireplace. Be aware propane is about as expensive as fuel oil. It is an an expensive way to operate a fireplace.

Mike: thank you!

Clarifications:
- So the heat pump will just be to heat the addition, yes?
- But the heat pump also cools?
Will it only cool the addition, or will it also cool the rest/main house?

What is an electric heat strip? Is that something along the wall, or inlaid under the flooring?

Which is more expensive to run:
- propane powered fireplace or
- electric powered fireplace (like this picture)?

--> Where do I start?
Who do I look up to get a quote?
My local Mitsubishi dealer/distributor?

again, thank you!
Amanda

A heat pump is basically an AC when it runs in one direction, and then can provide heat when the refrigerant flow is reversed. The heat pump does a good job down until the temperature gets in the 30's for most houses. At that point it can't provide enough heat to heat the house and needs an auxiliary heat source. A set of heat strips are installed in the air handler to provide the additional heat. These heat strips will energize when needed.

Does the fireplace you show in the picture actually provide heat or it is a visual effect only? If it visual only, then it would be cheaper than operating propane. If you intend to provide heat, then the propane is most likely cheaper. You would have to look at your electric and propane rates to make the determination.

Mitsubishi makes ductless mini splits. This is a special type of heat pump which does not use ducts. It is a good solution if you have one big room. Heat pumps work with a air handler connected to duct work. If you two or more rooms then a heat pump may be a better solution. You need to contact a HVAC contrator to do a heating and cooling calculation and provide a quote.

I've seen claims of COP 4.1 at 47 F and COP 2.8 at 17 F by Mitsubishi.

That seems way below "30s".

This post was edited by ionized on Thu, Dec 12, 13 at 16:08

Hi, I am really struggling with figuring out how to heat my basement so any advice would be appreciated. We used to heat it with wood, backup electric baseboard. This year we replaced wood stove with propane fireplace because of my asthma but propane has been very expensive. Even set at 13 celcius, we seem to be going through a lot. No one is often in that area so which is cheaper: turning propane fireplace off and leaving electric baseboard at 13 or leaving propane at 13 and turning electric baseboard off. It is a large area, about 650 square feet. How do I figure out which is cheaper? Even if I monitor the guages, things like weather affects the use.

SamKelly, you should start a new thread the prevent this one from getting too complicated.

The thing about New England in summer is humidity. You rarely need real temp reduction at night, but having a nicely dehumidifies bedroom is...sweet. There are mini-split heat pumps being sold by Mitsubishi and Fujitsu in your area that will heat down to -15* and provide excellent cooling. I used to cover your territory in my business. Depending upon who your oil company is, they could be a good bet on the minisplits.

Gas fireplaces are just not efficient. You buy them for ambiance and pay for it.