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kateandrhys

Replacing whole of house heating - options?

kateandrhys
7 years ago

We need to replace our 30 yo central heating at the end of the year when we are extending the house to add a bedroom. We currently have a natural gas ducted heating system (Brivis Buffalo) - vents in the floor (the house is on concrete stumps with significant subfloor space as we're on the side of a steep sloping hill). We have found this system to be perfectly adequate to our needs - it's cost effective (peak winter use cost for a quarter is around $400) and keeps the house very comfortable.

From the quotes we've had so far, we're looking at between $3-6k to replace the system (depending on how many stars we opt for), plus an additional $2-3k to replace all the ducting (it is in pretty poor condition in parts), so we're looking at $5-10k all up, which is obviously a fair investment.

As I'm keen to consider sustainability impacts in the longer term, I'm interested to hear if anyone knows of any other central heating options which would work in our situation without being cost prohibitive up front and would be competitive to run in the long term. We don't have solar panels at present (beyond the budget!), so an electricity based system of some kind seems cost prohibitive. I'm not sure if hydronic heating would be practical in terms of the internal disruption to get heating to all parts of the house (it's over 3 levels), and from what I understand it would still rely on gas or electricity to heat the water.

Any information / thoughts appreciated! :)

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