In a cold climate, should I spend more on heating or cooling?
The short answer
Heating. In colder climates homes heat about ten times more than they cool. A radiant ceiling typically costs half as much to run as gas forced air and a third less than electric forced air, so pair it with simple, well-placed AC.
Where the money goes
In colder climates, homes spend about ten times as much on heating as on cooling. A ground-source heat pump might save $100 to $300 a year on cooling compared with a standard 12 SEER air conditioner, but costs tens of thousands to install versus under $4,000 for the standard unit.
A radiant ceiling typically costs half as much to operate as any gas forced-air system, and a third less than electric forced air.
Pairing radiant heat with AC
If a mini-split or high-velocity system isn’t an option and you install standard ductwork for cooling, keep the vent runs short and toward the center of the house, with the vents up high. Cool air falls, so let physics do the work. The radiant system handles the heating months, which also extends the life of the cooling system.
Answer drawn from Premier Energy USA’s blog. Read the original post.
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Costs and Efficiency
How efficient is radiant heat, really?
Efficiency percentages are mostly marketing. Real operating costs are a better test: ThermaRay systems typically cost 30% to 60% less to run than forced air, baseboard, hydronic or infrared heat, with no maintenance or replacement. -
Costs and Efficiency
Why doesn’t thermal mass floor heat need insulation underneath?
Heat only moves toward something colder. The panels warm the slab and ground until it reaches the earth’s temperature, about 2 to 2½ feet down, and then stop. That deep mass stores heat, and the bigger it is, the lower the operating cost. -
Costs and Efficiency
Does thermal mass floor heat work in large buildings?
It works better. A 1,200 sq ft building may need 10 to 12 watts per square foot, while a 100,000 sq ft building typically needs 5 to 8. High walls, lots of glass and dock doors are hard for forced air, but radiant heat only has to warm the bottom 6 feet, where people are.
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