Best way to Heat/Cool Addition?

[sandyman720]

What in your opinion is the best way to heat and cool a 225 sq foot addition with a powder room. The house has no central air and it has hot water heat.

[jadnashua]

that's a loaded question!

Do you want a/c there? Does your existing heating system have the capacity to include more area? What are your energy costs? What do you have available (gas, propane, oil, electric)? Are you in the market for a new system? Do you want a/c in the whole house? How easy would it be to add ducts? There's tons of more questions that could be asked...need more info from you.

[sandyman720]

There is oil heat. Does not want central ac at this point. Do you think a Mr. Slim would be good here?

[geniescience]

climate counts too.

how cold winter is.
how hot summer is.
how much humidity you need to get rid of to feel comfortable.

that is climate. How "bad" it is outdoors, that you want to be protected from.



2nd, how is this built?
The structure. Roof. Walls. Insulation.



3rd, how open is this to the rest of the house?
Is it behind a brick wall, with only a door letting people and air through?
Or, is this an open concept addition?




Five hundred more questions available upon request. Let's wait a bit before opening submenus.




david

[leejosepho]

What in your opinion is the best way to heat and cool a 225 sq foot addition with a powder room. The house has no central air and it has hot water heat.

I have a similar situation coming up with an additional 360 square feet. A heating contractor should easily be able to tell you whether your existing system can handle the extra load. If it cannot, some electric baseboard heat might work well in that area if it is insulated well, and the heating contractor can tell you how much you will need. Insulation, windows and what is above and below are all factors that must be considered. In my own case, the extra space would be too much for our existing furnace, but it is on the second floor and will be insulated better than the rest of the house. Some of the floor will have electric heat embedded, and we will probably add both hot water and electric heat along some of the baseboards.