Heating in Houston, besides central

[shesheinhouston]

Inherited a 1950's one story ranch home (3 bedrooms/1 bath/laundry room/huge den). But no central air/heat. Got the a/c covered with a few new window and thru-the wall a/c's but having a hard time trying to figure out what to do about the heating.

The house has a 20 year old Dayton 35,000 btu gas wall heater that will heat half of the house. However, it makes a terrible loud knocking noise and given it's age I'm reluctant to use it. Since wall heaters are no longer to code in Houston I'm having a hard time finding someone to even come out and look at it. Anybody know someone?

If I have to replace it, what do most people, who can't afford central heating (estimates have been between $14,000-$16,000) do? Mini-split systems? Electric wall heaters? And who sells/installs these?

Any advice/help would be appreciated!

[Geoff8201]

While my expertise lies in commercial heating and cooling, I feel it pertinent to ask why not use window AC units that also have a resistance heating coil? They can be energy monsters, but you could use it on a room by room basis on the colder days (which Houston doesn't have too many of, but when it gets cold, it can get cooooold).

And I know you wanna stay away from the cost of a central unit, but what about having a central heat pump system? While I remain skeptical of them, I've heard some good things. It can cover your summer cooling, and by reversing the refrigerant flow and functions of the evaporator and condenser, you winter heating. Some of these new systems can be very efficient and actually save you money in the long run, thus covering that high cost in energy savings several years down the line. How much though depend on what you spend now. And as always, simple things like caulking window frames, weatherstripping doors and hanging blackout drapes can help reduce costs and the needed tonnage/btus needed to cool/heat your home.

[RedScare]

I installed a mini split in my spare room above my garage. The efficiency of this unit is spectacular, especially the cooling. And, the quietness of the coompressor is impressive. Of course, it would replace your window units, but it will heat as well. The cost was approximately $3,000 (installed) for a 22,000 Btu unit that cools and heats 600 square feet. The installer originally was going to put an 18,000 Btu unit in until I told him that eventially there would probably be a stove in the room.

I once got an informal quote for mini splits in my 1400 sf house. It would have been roughly $6,000-6,500. I believe it would have included 2 multi-room mini splits. One would have served the kitchen, dining and living room. The other would have served the 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. Since I never got an actual quote, I cannot swear by that setup or price.

Bear in mind that you could do this a bit at a time. You could install one mini split with multiple blowers in the rooms you need heated most. You could them use ceramic space heaters in the other rooms, when needed. Next year, you could install the other mini split.

As you can tell, I am a huge fan of mini splits. This past summer, my central unit could not keep up with the 100 degree days. The biggest problem is that the cold air runs through ductwork in my hot attic. This warmed the air before it got to the room. A mini split is ductless, so this never happens. Mitsubishi Mr Slim models are also constanly variable, so that they are not running either full blast or off. They adjust continuously to the temperature in the room. This means that it rarely used more than 3-5 amps of electricity, where my central unit was up around 15 amps. And they are so much quieter...no air rush through the ductwork. All in all, they are worth the expense.

Here is a good website to look at. It is a company in Florida, but they do a better job of explaining specifics than Mitsubishi's generic explanations. They have added a lot of options since I last priced them. I so wish that I was looking today instead of 5 years ago.

http://www.acdirect.com/ductless_cooling_heating_.php

[rbarz]

How can central heat only cost $15,000 while central air and heat should be $10,000 or less. Your 3/1 is less than 2000 SF right? PM me if you want a quote from my (licensed but reasonable) HVAC guy.

[shesheinhouston]

Thanks everyone. You've given me a lot to think about. I'll try and remember to post when I make my final decision.

[Geoff8201]

As you can tell, I am a huge fan of mini splits. This past summer, my central unit could not keep up with the 100 degree days. The biggest problem is that the cold air runs through ductwork in my hot attic. This warmed the air before it got to the room. A mini split is ductless, so this never happens. Mitsubishi Mr Slim models are also constanly variable, so that they are not running either full blast or off. They adjust continuously to the temperature in the room. This means that it rarely used more than 3-5 amps of electricity, where my central unit was up around 15 amps. And they are so much quieter...no air rush through the ductwork. All in all, they are worth the expense.

Is your attic ductwork not already insulated? Does you attic have a little venturi fan to move the hottest air out? If it is already insulated, it needs something with a higher R value (flex included as well as the transition off the unit)... I can't see you not having more issues from the ductwork sweating on humid days if this is the case.?