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From: "TURTLE"

"HA HA Budys Here" wrote in message
...
From: "TURTLE"

"TN" wrote in message
...
I am in the process of building a 3000 SQFT house that my builder spec'ed
for
two zone heat. He called my yesterday and said after he met with his
mechanicals subcontractor that two zones were probably not enough since
the
room over the mudroom and the room over garage were (I guess) to far away
from
the furnace to be efficiently heated. He was suggesting we add a heat
pump
for
those two rooms (with AC of course). We live in Northeast and I am worried
this
would be terribly expensive solution. I questioned him about adding a
third

zone and he said he'd get back to me after talking to the sub again. Does
a

heat pump make sense? I don't understand why a third zone couldn't be
added

fairly easily. Is this a cost issue? Wouldn't a larger BTU furnace do
the
job? Our contract specified two zone heat, is this something I should
have
to
pay extra for or would this be his cost.
Thanks in adavance for any advice you have.

This is Turtle.

One thing here and when there is any changes to the first aggreement -- You
are
going to pay for it. There is a old rule in the hvac business that says
when
the
contractor starts paying for the system to be installed , He should not do
the
job.

Now using a Heat pump for the 3 rd zone : You may look at a another gas /
hvac
system / hot air type system just for the 3rd zone. Now Heap pump is still
not
out of the question for the cost of a heap pump and another gas or oil
heating
system are not much difference on cost. The Heat pump may be a little
cheaper

for not having venting system and oil or gas lines run to it.

Now having a small area heated by a heat pump would not be a big cost item
for
operation but gas or oil fuel would be a hair cheaper.

Now when you have a 3rd zone far off from the other 2 zones does make a
problem
with tring to keep a even heat in all zones. I can't see it from here but
this
is what it seem to be here.

Don't listen to [ Ha Ha Budys here ] for he is our resident Troll and want
to
feel like he is somebody.

TURTLE

I'm the resident troll?

This is Turtle.

Yea, for one statement on the heat pump. You stated that the heat pump would
cost more and cost more to install. I do this for a living and the heat pump
cost less than a gas fired furnance, evap. coil, and condenser. On the 6
brand I
sell the heat pump runs about $60.00 to $100.00 cheaper to buy wholesale than

the gas furnce/ coil / condenser.

Maybe where you're located, Turtle. But up here the contractors charge the
homeowners based on what the homeowner think's s/he's getting, not what the
products cost to purchase.

Also, central a/c is somewhat common though in most localities, hardly
necessary and therefore, not as expensive to install (especially in new
construction) as it would be down South or in the MidWest where they're as
necessary as our baseboard heating systems, if not more so.

Add a heat pump to this mix, however, and the contractors realize a substantial
savings. They talk homeowners into them because for little more than the basic
cost of a basic central a/c system, the contractor has also provided heat w/o
running a single pipe for baseboards. And not having to provide a triple wall,
double insulated stainless steel flue along with a roof penetration, to a
contractor, is just golden.

Also it take less time to install a heat
pump
than a gas furnce coil system.

None of which concerns the homeowner, because as a businessman, time saved is
money in the contractor's pocket.

The OP is finishing space that otherwise wasn't planned for in the heat/a/c
load calculations. Or maybe, so the contractor says. What the heck, if the
contractor can get the owner to spring for a totally unnecessary 3rd heatpump
package, complete, well that's just icing on the cake.

You speak before you think or you don't know
about it.

I do know about it. All about it. And I think I'm more in tune to how
contractors and homebuilders operate in the Northeast. Do you know how a
homeowner can tell his builder is lying? His lips are moving.

I'll bet the homeowner was also told he heeds a bigger electrical service for
that additional heatpump as well. Not to mention all that extra power and
lighting a bonus room/den will need.

Now the heat pump being more costly than a gas furnce heat is too verible to
try
to say cost to operate it is high or lower to run because of fuel difference
in
the different areas.

If you forget everything I've said, fine, but remember this:

In the Northeast, unless you have cheap hydropower (which effectively puts you
so far north as to make a heatpump virtually useless anyway) natural gas
provided by a regulated utility, or an oil burner fueled by oil companies who
are in direct competition with regulated gas utilities, is ALWAYS CHEAPER for
heating a home.

Now to being a troll or not. A troll speaks to get a adverse reaction from
the
newsgroup. Some speak a lot of differences and other just a little to get a
reaction. Do you do this ?

TURTLE

I don't care whether you react or not. The OP was more about the necessity of
another zone on a still undescribed system, although it was suggested to the OP
by the contractor that the additional space be on it's own heatpump system.