escapedtonz

Hi,


We are now moved in to the new property but we have no heating, cooling or ventilation other than opening/closing doors and windows.
As you'd expect with a new build we are fully insulated and double glazed to current code.
Not experienced any issues other than it being too hot in the house due to the summer weather. Not had any condensation or anything like that.


So, where do we go from here.......


Would anyone recommend a ventilation system - like DVS/HRV/Smartvent that includes heating in the fans or another system not mentioned.


Or, would you just go heat pumps and then sit on it for a while to see if you experience any problems ?


Cheers

Robbie2010

If the house is fully insulated and double glazed then condensation shouldn't be too much of a problem.
If you're finding the house too hot in summer then I would go down the aircon/heatpump route.

escapedtonz

Yes it is fully insulated and double glazed - even in the garage and we haven't experienced any condensation or anything in the 5 nights we've been living in it


We had a central ceiling mounted heat pump in the contract at a cost of $6k but pulled it out to reduce costs as the variations were increasing. Always expected heat pumps to be the way to go, but a colleague of mine had a DVS fitted 6 months ago with heating elements in the fans and has recommended to go that route first, so as you see I'm confused
The main living / family area is huge so begs the question whether it needs one huge heat pump or two smaller ones.
Think I need a heating engineer who isn't partial to any one particular brand to give us some pointers.

Robbie2010

DVS won't cool the place down though will it? Not like aircon. As for heating the main living area there's nothing looks nicer than a log burner.

escapedtonz

No a ventilation system doesn't cool as far as I know. The HRV brochure mentions heating and cooling but I think it's a whole package to include a heat pump which do the cooling and heating but as I said you can also add heating elements to the fans.
Don't do log burners. Would rather stick rusty pins in my eyes. I'm all for state of the art click a touchscreen button and instant heat.

bourbon-biscuit

HRV does sort of heat and cool by drawing air from the loft but in the homes I have lived in and visited that have it fitted it's a bit hit and miss, especially in the summer when you are waiting for the roof space to cool below the house temperature for the cooling to work and on winter mornings when you're waiting for the opposite. You can get expensive ones with inbuilt systems to counter that (drawing fresh air from south side of the house and using a heating system, etc.) but it starts to get expensive and expensive to run. Bear in mind it sounds slightly like being on a ferry the whole time it's running also ...

Have you considered decent quality insect security screens on a few key windows for cross ventilation? In a properly insulated and double glazed home I wouldn't expect condensation to be a problem at all. I think there's nothing nicer than a log fire and in a well built new home it should be more than sufficient. That would be my pick - forget air con: well placed insect security screen for cross flow breezes and a little wood fire (you won't need much in a new house in the BoP).

bourbon-biscuit

Whoops, missed your anti-log fire thing: just a heat pump then; might as well get reverse cycle for the odd stifling can't bear it day in summer.

simonsi

Heat pumps. And for a focal point in the living area I'd go for a nice remote controlled gas log-effect fire...

HRV (I have it) is fine for ventilation but you really need cooling when the roof space is hotter than the house, or heating when the roof space isn't being heated so it doesn't really work for temp control. Mine without heating/cooling in the HRV is about $2-3/day to run, just to give you an idea.

escapedtonz

After a chat with the Mrs last night we think the best way to go is to get heat pumps so we have a means of heating and cooling and then see how we go through all the seasons.
I've found a company in Tauranga that deals with heat pumps and the ventilation systems so should give us the right advice for positioning and KW size needed for the spaces we want them in.
Expect we won't need a ventilation system.


Will post up the details of what the engineer says when I get them out for a quote.

jmh

I'd go for heat pumps too, which can do hot and cold. This time of year you might not get condensation, but winter might be different. I have HRV and love it - my windows are dry when the neighbours are not. But wait and see what winter is like. Either way, I think a heat pump is a good investment.

Make sure you get the right size. I replaced an old heat pump with a bigger one on the advice of the sale person - my electricity bill dropped as a result, so it's no saving to go cheap.