From: "Edwin Pawlowski"


"gerry" wrote in message
I am in the process of building a 3000 SQFT house that my builder
spec'ed for two zone heat.

Our contract specified two zone heat, is this something I should
have to pay extra for or would this be his cost.

Just thinking about this you have a few options and maybe a dilemma or two
to face. Who designed the building? Who specified the type of heat and
number of zones?

Let's say you determine the builder to be at fault and refuse to pay him any
additional. How good of a job do you think the rest of the house is going
to get if he just lost a couple of grand on the heating system? I doubt he
is going to take a big hit, smile, and give you the first class job you are
paying for. That money has to come from someplace and one way or another,
it probably will be you.

Sit down with the builder and the mechanical contractor. Get their ideas,
and more important, the actual reasoning behind the decision to change. If
the guy is good, he will give you sound advice based on his experience and
knowledge. You surely don't want a new house with deficiencies in the heat
or the economy of running the heat. If you don't feel comfortable with the
decision, talk to another mechanical contractor. Either way, it is much
easier and cheaper to fix any problems now rather than after next winter.
Ed


It sounds like these "extra" 2 rooms over the garage/mud room are what are
known as "bonus rooms" which sometimes, future finishing, or finishing from the
onset aren't taken into account when planning/sizing the original HVAC system.

Regardless of how efficient the original heat pump is, in the Northeast they're
just not the way to go for the long haul. They save the builder tons of money
because they get to sell the homeowner both a central a/c AND heat for little
more than the cost of central a/c only. The homeowner is then stuck paying for
this folley for all of eternity, while the builder and electric company (who
often subsidize the builder under the guise of installing an "energy efficient"
system) laugh all the way to the bank.

If you have a gas main in the street, go with gas heat, or at least get the gas
to the house for cooking / hot water / clothes drying. (Much less expensive
than electric) If not, go with an oil burner for heat.

Do not let the builder sucker you into installing 2 or 3 heat pumps. A heatpump
in the northeast is about as useful as a swamp cooler in Antartica.