Help Steve Dave Build A House (NOW HELP HIM TAKE CARE OF IT)

[Emo EMAW]

let me know when youre ready to talk 5series for your snow-melted driveway.

 

[O-town Kat]

You should lawyer up and put satellites all over the [redacted].

[steve dave]

Let me know when you're ready to talk HVAC and other mechanical systems on this deal.

what is good HVAC for this: two story. about 2,600 sq feet plus an unfinished walkout basement that we would probably plan on finishing some day. SW facing. also what is "other mechanical systems"? like, humidifier or whatever? I think we want that because it's basically the north pole here in winter. would we need a "2 zone" like people mentioned with this amount of sq footage? seems like maybe one would be enough with this size? no idea, tho. we don't want geothermal because everyone here says it doesn't work very well for what you pay for it. maybe not enough lava under omaha or something.

[puniraptor]

Let me know when you're ready to talk HVAC and other mechanical systems on this deal.

what is good HVAC for this: two story. about 2,600 sq feet plus an unfinished walkout basement that we would probably plan on finishing some day. SW facing. also what is "other mechanical systems"? like, humidifier or whatever? I think we want that because it's basically the north pole here in winter. would we need a "2 zone" like people mentioned with this amount of sq footage? seems like maybe one would be enough with this size? no idea, tho. we don't want geothermal because everyone here says it doesn't work very well for what you pay for it. maybe not enough lava under omaha or something.

VRF with ground source condenser

[Dr Rick Daris]

you know what i've always wanted? a house that you could ride a bicycle over. like and underground kind of house or something with grass for the roof. 

[The Tonya Harding of Twitter Users Creep]

Let me know when you're ready to talk HVAC and other mechanical systems on this deal.

what is good HVAC for this: two story. about 2,600 sq feet plus an unfinished walkout basement that we would probably plan on finishing some day. SW facing. also what is "other mechanical systems"? like, humidifier or whatever? I think we want that because it's basically the north pole here in winter. would we need a "2 zone" like people mentioned with this amount of sq footage? seems like maybe one would be enough with this size? no idea, tho. we don't want geothermal because everyone here says it doesn't work very well for what you pay for it. maybe not enough lava under omaha or something.

im gonna recommend a 535i for this driveway. very slick ride yet still very good in the snow.

youre welcome.

[CNS]

I would think it to be a good idea to have an upstairs zone and a downstairs zone in a two story.  That said, I am not sure how, even with two zones, that you keep your heat from rising or your cooled air sinking short of installing a door or something.

Residential HVAC is not fully in my wheelhouse

[star seed 7]

I would think it to be a good idea to have an upstairs zone and a downstairs zone in a two story.  That said, I am not sure how, even with two zones, that you keep your heat from rising or your cooled air sinking short of installing a door or something.

Residential HVAC is not fully in my wheelhouse

they work together and save power on one (or i guess work one harder) when needed.  i don't believe that they are truly "independent".  parents once had a situation where the upstairs unit went out, but the downstairs was hot because the main unit was working overtime to cool the upstairs too.  upstairs was cool because it was smaller or something.  didn't make sense to me, but that's what the tech said.

[Skipper44]

As someone living in a similar house, I wish I had a zone for each level.

My basement was finished by the previous home owner and is kind of a weird split between the 3 levels but essentially when you are down in the basement during the summer to watch a TV (the only place your wife will let you turn the volume up to an audible level so you don't wake the baby) the last thing you need is the A/C kicking on for the first floor when the basement is already 65 degrees.

Additionally, how open is the floor plan?  A loft in the 2nd story that opens to the 2 story entry will result in the unit serving the 2 floor running all summer while the unit for the 1st floor never runs. Virtually the only time our unit for the 1st floor/basement is when we have a party and fill the house with people.

Finally, consider which rooms will be the kids rooms/nursery - are they on the North or West side of the house?  Over the garage or the longest run from the furnace?  You want to be able to keep TLBSD nice and cozy on frigid NE nights.

[steve dave]

 

[star seed 7]

oh ya, SD, get a water pump so like 3 people can take showers and run the washer all at the same time.

[Emo EMAW]

Couple tips:

1)  Make sure the pipe run from the water heater to the master bath is short.  Some idiots design them so the hot line snakes all over the house and hits the master bath last.  On our new house wait time for hot water is 1:45; that's about 3.2 gallons of wasted water every time to wash hands or take a shower.  Also consider insulating the hot line.  Not sure what Omaha is but KC I believe is 70/30 split between cooling and heating.  So basically you want to focus on reducing cooling load before you focus on heating load efficiency.  So take a hot water line....you pay money to heat that water, and as it sits in the line it gives it's heat to the surroundings, then you have to pay AC to get rid of it.  Pay for it twice and never get to use it.

2)  Geothermal does cash flow for you in Omaha, but don't expect to retain the investment in home value.  If you're going to live there 15 years or more you should really consider it.  Less than that and I wouldn't do it because whoever you sell to won't be impressed.

3)  I like that the basement will at first be unfinished.  Something you might consider spending extra money on now (assuming you'll finish later) is a water heater with an indirect heating function.  It's probably only a small adder to the water heater you'll buy anyway.  Then later you'll add base board heating or some other hydronic heating in the basement and you'll notice significant savings since your traditional furnace or heat pump won't be running near as much and the water is quite efficient.  My dad recently did that here in KC and estimates 30% savings during the heating months. 

4)  If you do split zones for upstairs downstairs consider a heat pump for one of them.  Then if the gas/electric cost differential gets extreme you can priority one or the other to cover more load.

5)  Get a wifi controlled thermostat from the start.

I'll think of some others. 

[steve dave]

 

[_33]

Just get an old type thermostat.  I have a digital one and I have no idea how to use it.  I just push a bunch of buttons and it goes beep beep boop and I say "that should do it" but I don't really know what I did.  One time I woke up and it was 54 degrees in my house.

[CNS]

I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nest thermostat this winter.   

[IPA4Me]

I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nest thermostat this winter.   

I highly recommend you don't. I would go with a Honeywell 8000 or Prestige 2.0 with RedLink Gateway.

[puniraptor]

I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nest thermostat this winter.   

I highly recommend you don't. I would go with a Honeywell 8000 or Prestige 2.0 with RedLink Gateway.

obvious honeywell employee outed.

[CNS]

I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nest thermostat this winter.   

I highly recommend you don't. I would go with a Honeywell 8000 or Prestige 2.0 with RedLink Gateway.

Why?  I only know two ppl with a Nest(both love it) but what I have read on it makes it sound like it is a good choice for how I roll.  Open to other info though.

[Skipper44]

Couple tips:

1)  Make sure the pipe run from the water heater to the master bath is short.  Some idiots design them so the hot line snakes all over the house and hits the master bath last.  On our new house wait time for hot water is 1:45; that's about 3.2 gallons of wasted water every time to wash hands or take a shower.  Also consider insulating the hot line.  Not sure what Omaha is but KC I believe is 70/30 split between cooling and heating.  So basically you want to focus on reducing cooling load before you focus on heating load efficiency.  So take a hot water line....you pay money to heat that water, and as it sits in the line it gives it's heat to the surroundings, then you have to pay AC to get rid of it.  Pay for it twice and never get to use it.

A hot water loop will reduce the wasted amount of water ever further but I would explore an on demand hot water heater for the 2nd floor baths, especially if you are going to have a 2nd floor laundry that would give you a good place to locate the heating unit.

[XocolateThundarr]

I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nest thermostat this winter.   

I highly recommend you don't. I would go with a Honeywell 8000 or Prestige 2.0 with RedLink Gateway.

Why?  I only know two ppl with a Nest(both love it) but what I have read on it makes it sound like it is a good choice for how I roll.  Open to other info though.

I have one and it has been awesome.  Unless you are a grandpa and don't like technology you should get one.

[IPA4Me]

I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nest thermostat this winter.   

I highly recommend you don't. I would go with a Honeywell 8000 or Prestige 2.0 with RedLink Gateway.

obvious honeywell employee outed.

Good try but no. I am a field service rep for major hvac equipment OEM and former contractor.

[Emo EMAW]

The Nest is way more baller though, IMO.  It's like an iphone you hang on your wall.  First time my wife saw it she nearly got pregnant.

[XocolateThundarr]

The Nest is way more baller though, IMO.  It's like an iphone you hang on your wall.  First time my wife saw it she nearly got pregnant.

Mine did... 

[IPA4Me]

I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nest thermostat this winter.   

I highly recommend you don't. I would go with a Honeywell 8000 or Prestige 2.0 with RedLink Gateway.

Why?  I only know two ppl with a Nest(both love it) but what I have read on it makes it sound like it is a good choice for how I roll.  Open to other info though.

Primarily discourage it because of the sourcing of the product. Since you are buying directly from the OEM, the contractor isn't really on your side come warranty time. It is my understanding that it has to be installed by a pro.

From a functionality standpoint, I don't have any objections. It does the same thing as the Honeywell stats with similar interface (app or computer).

So, why either of the Honeywell stats? Both deliver Web interface capabilities. The 8000 doesn't need the Redlink Gateway but you get the more functionality with it. Wireless remote temperature and humidity sensing for outdoor information (not sourced from Web). My company offered lifetime warranty on our Honeywell stats. Yes. Lifetime. They're that solid.

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents.

[XocolateThundarr]

I'm going to pull the trigger on a Nest thermostat this winter.   

I highly recommend you don't. I would go with a Honeywell 8000 or Prestige 2.0 with RedLink Gateway.

Why?  I only know two ppl with a Nest(both love it) but what I have read on it makes it sound like it is a good choice for how I roll.  Open to other info though.

Primarily discourage it because of the sourcing of the product. Since you are buying directly from the OEM, the contractor isn't really on your side come warranty time. It is my understanding that it has to be installed by a pro.

From a functionality standpoint, I don't have any objections. It does the same thing as the Honeywell stats with similar interface (app or computer).

So, why either of the Honeywell stats? Both deliver Web interface capabilities. The 8000 doesn't need the Redlink Gateway but you get the more functionality with it. Wireless remote temperature and humidity sensing for outdoor information (not sourced from Web). My company offered lifetime warranty on our Honeywell stats. Yes. Lifetime. They're that solid.

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents.

I installed mine in about  5 minutes.  Has worked flawlessly since installation (2 years).