Gas Heat option

[ladyleh]

I am considering the 1 1/2 story cottage plans and noticed that it includes two options of heat.  Does anyone know if natural gas is one of the options?  If it is, does the plan offer ideas of where to put the furnace and duct work?

I am planning on building in Northern Minnesota and would like to inculde natural gas as one source of heat.  Always have a back up!

Thanks,
Candee

[Amanda_931]

Welcome to the forum.

I know next to nothing about duct work and natural gas.   You may be able to get by with a bit of solar, lots of insulation, some built-in thermal mass like a big old masonry stove.  

But something that will take care of the house if you go off for two weeks in January is good.  Frozen water pipes, worse yet broken flush toilets, are no fun at all.

(Are you going to have natural gas where you build?--it's available in town here, but not out in the country)

[jraabe]

Gas heat can usually be adjusted between propane and natural gas with a simple conversion of the burner. Thus most heating equipment can burn either one.

Things to remember about gas:
1 - Natural gas - comes in underground pipes for a central gas utility. You have a meter on the outside of the house. NG is lighter than air and floats away in a leak.
2 - Propane - comes in a truck and fills a pressurized tank at your house. You pay on delivery same as with oil. Propane is heavier than air and can pool and explode if a leak is confined.

The Heating and AC notes on the 1 1/2 story cottage suggest baseboard radiant or in slab radiant fired by a small tankless gas heater mounted on the wall of the bathroom. The place can also be heated by a central gas, oil or wood stove since it is open and well insulated. Also a single wall mounted gas heater will work.

If you are in a climate where you usually install ducted forced air and AC then your best bet would be an external heat pump with gas backup. The ductwork can run in the floor joists and plenum.

Personally I would use window air conditioners and a simple space heater. But then I've never lived in Phoenix or West Texas.

There is more information in the plans than I can copy here.