Hello everyone
We are currently taking the next steps toward building our own home. We have looked at several prefabricated houses and spoken with sales consultants from various providers. Based on this, we have created a top 5 list. Now I want to contact these 5 companies with our floor plan and the standards we want. This way, I hope the list will be reduced by 2-3 providers after receiving the first offers.
In my inquiry, I want to roughly outline what we have in mind. KFW55, KFW40, or KFW40+ is not yet very important—it will be one of these standards. Our floor plan does not differ much from the standard layouts offered by prefab house suppliers. Something like a simple 8x10 meter (26x33 feet) rectangular shape... To be able to compare the 5 offers reasonably, I want them all to be as similar as possible. Therefore, I would like to specify the heating system.
Now the question is, what is the right choice… I assume this is partly a matter of philosophy? The options are an air-to-water heat pump, an air-to-air heat pump, or a ground-source (geothermal) heat pump. I assume most have one of these three systems combined with solar panels on the roof.
My first thought was this: an air-to-air heat pump, since we would also have an automatic ventilation system in the house, making manual airing less or unnecessary. However, I have learned that all KFW-certified houses are so well insulated that they almost always have automatic ventilation. So this argument is no longer valid. Nevertheless, I still find the air-to-air heat pump interesting. We also want to install a wood stove in the living room. With an air-to-air heat pump, the indoor air is circulated throughout the house, so I could benefit from the wood stove’s heat everywhere, right? Perhaps even with heat recovery, which is usually included.
Another advantage of the air-to-air heat pump would be that if it ever gets too warm, we could install a fixed air conditioning unit somewhere in the house, and the whole house would benefit. The built-in cooling systems in these heat pumps usually aren’t as effective as promised.
Is it true that an air-to-air heat pump cannot provide domestic hot water? Then a second system would be needed just for hot water, which means more costs, two systems to maintain, and more space taken up. In the forum, I mostly see air-to-water heat pumps mentioned, probably combined with underfloor heating. That seems to be the most popular system. Is there a particular reason for this?
Geothermal heating combined with a heat pump seems to be the most efficient. But then I would also have underfloor heating, right? We actually didn’t want underfloor heating, but as I’m writing this, I’m starting to convince myself toward geothermal or air-to-water heat pumps…
How did you make your decision and why? Somehow, I don’t fully trust the salespeople, since they want to sell what makes more money, right? And since I’m not very technical in this area, I’m hoping to benefit from your experience.
Best regards Andreas_79
We are currently taking the next steps toward building our own home. We have looked at several prefabricated houses and spoken with sales consultants from various providers. Based on this, we have created a top 5 list. Now I want to contact these 5 companies with our floor plan and the standards we want. This way, I hope the list will be reduced by 2-3 providers after receiving the first offers.
In my inquiry, I want to roughly outline what we have in mind. KFW55, KFW40, or KFW40+ is not yet very important—it will be one of these standards. Our floor plan does not differ much from the standard layouts offered by prefab house suppliers. Something like a simple 8x10 meter (26x33 feet) rectangular shape... To be able to compare the 5 offers reasonably, I want them all to be as similar as possible. Therefore, I would like to specify the heating system.
Now the question is, what is the right choice… I assume this is partly a matter of philosophy? The options are an air-to-water heat pump, an air-to-air heat pump, or a ground-source (geothermal) heat pump. I assume most have one of these three systems combined with solar panels on the roof.
My first thought was this: an air-to-air heat pump, since we would also have an automatic ventilation system in the house, making manual airing less or unnecessary. However, I have learned that all KFW-certified houses are so well insulated that they almost always have automatic ventilation. So this argument is no longer valid. Nevertheless, I still find the air-to-air heat pump interesting. We also want to install a wood stove in the living room. With an air-to-air heat pump, the indoor air is circulated throughout the house, so I could benefit from the wood stove’s heat everywhere, right? Perhaps even with heat recovery, which is usually included.
Another advantage of the air-to-air heat pump would be that if it ever gets too warm, we could install a fixed air conditioning unit somewhere in the house, and the whole house would benefit. The built-in cooling systems in these heat pumps usually aren’t as effective as promised.
Is it true that an air-to-air heat pump cannot provide domestic hot water? Then a second system would be needed just for hot water, which means more costs, two systems to maintain, and more space taken up. In the forum, I mostly see air-to-water heat pumps mentioned, probably combined with underfloor heating. That seems to be the most popular system. Is there a particular reason for this?
Geothermal heating combined with a heat pump seems to be the most efficient. But then I would also have underfloor heating, right? We actually didn’t want underfloor heating, but as I’m writing this, I’m starting to convince myself toward geothermal or air-to-water heat pumps…
How did you make your decision and why? Somehow, I don’t fully trust the salespeople, since they want to sell what makes more money, right? And since I’m not very technical in this area, I’m hoping to benefit from your experience.
Best regards Andreas_79
H
hampshire30 Jul 2021 10:17Myrna_Loy schrieb:
OK, but this really gives me split ends – renewable raw materials are wasted just to see a nice flicker, and the heat is blown outside because the living room might get too warm... Late Roman decadence seems to be the keyword here.It sounds like you haven’t really explored wood stoves in detail, including their different designs and environmental impact. Compare a masonry heater with a heat pump using the typical electricity mix or “green electricity” from a biogas plant. Oh, surprise!Today, science provides us with so much knowledge and insight into the connections that it’s almost impossible to always do everything completely right. However, we also have enough understanding of how things interrelate to know what is consistently wrong in any case. Moreover, we are aware of the gaps in our knowledge and continue researching.
In my view, it is enough to consciously behave in a way that minimizes harm as much as possible. Demanding absolute consistency from each other is social poison, which leads to division and mutual condemnation. Some are not allowed to travel anymore, others not to commute to work, a third group can’t have a fireplace, and others must stop eating meat... Everyone forbids others what they themselves don’t value or can easily give up.
Encouraging sustainable behavior – each person doing so where they want and can – is meaningful and advances our society through discourse (which I find lacking here; for example, the Dutch are far ahead of us in this regard). This requires personal and political will to avoid proven harmful actions.
M
Myrna_Loy30 Jul 2021 10:25hampshire schrieb:
It sounds like you haven’t yet looked in depth at wood stoves, their different designs, and their environmental impact. Try comparing a masonry heater with a heat pump running on a typical electricity mix or “green electricity” from a biogas plant. Oh, surprise!
Today, science provides us with so much insight and knowledge about these relationships that it is hardly possible to do anything consistently right. However, we also have enough understanding of these connections to know what is consistently wrong in any case.
Moreover, we acknowledge gaps in knowledge and continue to research.
In my opinion, it’s enough to consciously behave in a way that is as little harmful as possible. Demanding the utmost consistency from each other is a social poison that leads to group formation and mutual condemnation. Some people can no longer travel, others can no longer commute to work, some are not allowed to have a fireplace, and others are not allowed to eat meat… Everyone forbids others what they themselves do not consider important or can easily give up.
Promoting sustainable behavior—wherever and however individuals want and can—is sensible and helps advance our society through discourse (which I find very lacking here; for example, the Dutch are miles ahead of us in this).
This requires personal and political will to consciously avoid proven harmful actions. I have studied this extensively, thank you. We are installing a wood heating system because we own a forest ourselves, but we also considered all other alternatives. When I read that good firewood is just burned for appearance’s sake and the heat ends up wasted, it makes me, as a forest owner, quite upset. In that case, it would be better to install an ethanol fireplace. It flickers too.
M
Myrna_Loy30 Jul 2021 10:28Tolentino schrieb:
I’m still all for an 80-inch Netflix fireplace in 4K when it comes to appearance... It also saves you from having to deal with ash disposal and the spiders that come into the living room with the firewood. 🙂
untergasse4330 Jul 2021 10:28Myrna_Loy schrieb:
then as a forest owner, I get into a bad mood.Try googling "forest." Among other things, it says that, depending on the type, it can regrow quite quickly. Maybe that will improve your mood.