Heating Considerations in Hot/Humid Climate Part I

[Marty Bennett]

I live in the South-Central portion of the US. Although keeping cool when the temps hit the 100’sF is the main concern, we do have periods of time in winter it dips below freezing. I am in the design stage of a 1000sqf guest/pool house. It’s intended purpose will be for entertaining/parties and overnight guest accommodations. The space will be approx 700sqft of open area w/ a 300sqft loft. As it won’t be for full time use, I’m looking at a large cental FP w/fan as one of two primary heat sources. The flooring will be polished concrete and I am concerned it will be uncomfortably cold in winter. As a second source, I’m studying radiant floor heat and think for intermittent use and added comfort. My big dilemma is to DIY a PEX system in the slab connected to gas POS hot water, or electric pads? Also, why is it almost unheard of in the South? Is it foolish or just cost-prohibitive?

[Dave Schwartz]

Maybe its just because I'm a recent convert but instead of a fireplace, I would recommend a pellet stove.

There are many advantages over a wood-burning fireplace. A bag of pellets is much easier to handle than hauling, chopping, stacking, hauling again, lighting, tending, etc a wood fire. Most will run more than a day on a bag of pellets and the heat level is adjustable.

In a guest accommodation area a big advantage is that they don't need to be fire-tending experts to run it... a switch to start/stop and another to adjust the heat level - easy-peasy. You can even connect a thermostat to some so you can forget the second switch!

[Joe Blake]

Something out of left field (literally) perhaps. My carpets are getting a little threadbare and inspired by a scene in the Beatles movie "Help" where the Fab Four were living in a house with a grass carpet in one room, I put down some artificial turf in my living room. I was surprised how comfortable it was, especially in winter. And no mowing, just the occasional whisk with a vacuum cleaner. It can be purchased in squares and installed by a DIYer.

The Beatles At Home, From The Film Help! - YouTube

Just a thought. :nuts:

[Rob Beckers]

Joe, like the turf idea! :love:

Marty, in-floor hydronic heat works very very well. I did a 9000 sq ft office/warehouse with it. On a smaller (and more affordable) scale you can put pipes in the slab and use an on-demand hot-water heater to provide both hot water for the place and heat it when needed. If you're a bit handy it's not hard to put the PEX pipes in yourself, before the slab is poured. There are some things to watch for, if you go this route let me know.

In-floor heating with electrical pads will be expensive, depending on how often/long this needs to run. It takes very large amounts of electricity to make just a bit of heat. Electricity prices in North America also only have one way to go...

Since you mention cooling: You can provide both A/C and heating with a mini-split, such as Mitsubishi's "Mr Slim". They are quite efficicient/economical to run, and there are versions for single rooms, or multiple rooms, with thin refrigerant lines rather than large ducts.

Dave is right about the pallet stove: A fireplace may bring ambience, but ultimately it sucks more heat out of a house than it actually produces. To make heat you either need an enclosed fireplace (more like a stove), or an actual stove, that sucks combustion air from outside. I have an enclosed fireplace (BIS brand, with a large window) that burns wood. It's double-walled steel with a fan blowing air around, and produces a ton of heat, while it's also nice to look at. Put it in myself to replace a very bad regular fireplace.

Good luck!

-RoB-