Heating a Split Level Home

[Ceci123]

Hi, my first time here.

I am contemplating buying a Split Level House built in 1970(see attached file). I have two little kids, one 3years old and the other 4months old. The house is not for sale yet but I know the owner is getting ready to sell it. I read on split-level.com about HEATING & COOLING PROBLEMS.

The 4-bedrooms are right about the garage and I am told that Its very cold in the winter and its very hot in the summer. The question is how do people who own split-level homes heat their homes? If I do buy this split-level house, how much would it cost me (estimated cost) heat & cool the home correctly?

I found these possible solutions online. Wanted to know what's your take on it?

"Specifically, the open stairs that run between three or even four different levels
make it almost impossible to keep the temperature even on any given level. This is
caused by simple physics: warm air rises and cool air falls. In the winter, warm air rises
from the basement to the bedroom level, making the bedrooms hot and the basement
cold; in the summer, cool air sinks to the basement, leaving the bedrooms hot and the
basement cool. There are three possible solutions to this problem.

The simplest solution is to run the furnace fan continuously at a low setting. This
keeps air moving throughout the house, and evens out the temperature differentials
between levels. While it’s low-tech, running the fan consumes electricity and adds noise.

A second solution is to modify the forced air heating system to create separate heating
and cooling zones, each with its own thermostat. In the winter, for example, the
basement and bedroom level thermostats can be set at different temperatures, evening
out the temperature differential between levels. This is a fairly expensive solution.

The third and most inconvenient solution is to add doors at the stairways, thus physically
preventing air from flowing between levels. Doors between levels will also help
limit the flow of unwelcome sound between levels. However, doors also make moving
around the house more difficult."

Thanks a lot.

Ceci

 

[adrpga498]

I feel your pain sorta speak. I have a 2 story bi-level. I did well by heating the house with wood stove (in lower level) and cut fuel oil bill by 85%. Air conditioning is another story. Keeping the upstairs cool in summer months is a challenge. At least I can save a few $ in the winter to supplement the summer AC costs. Welcome to the forum and best of luck to you.

 

[begreen]

Is there a wood stove in the home or fireplace or is one planned for?

 

[Ceci123]

I know there is a fireplace in the guest room, I don't think its pumping heat to the bedrooms though.

Right now I just trying to gather as much information as possible to see how much $$$ I would need to get the HEATING & COOLING system done correctly. Would it cost me 3-5K?
I plan to live on it for a long while so I would like to make the right decision. At least I haven't bought it yet LOL.

Official property, sales, and tax information from county (public) records as of 09/2013:

• • Single Family Residential
  • 1 Partial Bathroom
  • Built In 1970
  • Parking: Attached Garage
  • Basement: Full Basement
  • Tax Rate Code Area: 142203
• • 4 Bedrooms
  • 1,449 sqft
  • Stories: 1 story with basement
  • Parking Spaces: 1
  • Fireplace
• • 1 Bathroom
  • Lot Size: 9,520 sqft
  • Heating: Hot Water
  • Exterior Walls: Siding (Alum/Vinyl)

 

[Woodchuck1378]

I myself own a split level home and are battling the same heating issues. I personally have replaced every window inside the home and replaced the furnace. I am still trying to get my heat bills even lower. My heating area is 2025 sq/ft. I have recently come to the conclusion of putting in a wood stove to supplement the heat. I plan on using a combination of the fan on the forced air furnace and the ceiling fans to disperse the heat throughout the home. When the heat bills start coming in, I will let you know how efficient it is. Good luck

 

[Ceci123]

Woodchuck1378, since buying a house is one's biggest investments/commitments you will ever make...knowing what you know now would you buy a split level home or would you consider buying something else?

 

[Woodchuck1378]

I would without a doubt consider buying something else. There are pros and cons to having a home on many levels. One of the big pros is having the lower level of the home in the summer. It naturally stays a bit cooler in the hottest months of the summer so you do not have to run the A/C as hard.Now to the biggest cons I can think of that my wife and I have run into. Not having a more open floor plan in the home limits you severely how you can set up rooms, positions of appliances, etc... The worst part is that they heat horribly. I have sunk almost $20,000 between insulation, windows and doors, and new appliances getting this place to what I consider reasonable heat bills. When you are trying to heat multiple levels and with the inevitability of heat rising, that lowest level will always be your biggest fight without cooking yourself out of the upstairs. If I had it do over again, I would have looked for more of a ranch or colonial home and kept everything from the ground floor up. Please do not let my reply scare you, but realize in these types of home, depending on construction, insulation, and heating system, you may be in for an ongoing fight trying to keep even heating over the cold weather months. Best of luck in your decision, I hope this may have given you a little more insight.

 

[Ceci123]

Woodchuck1378 thank you so much for your honest input. We are not rich by any means and adding $20K on top of the purchase price is a bit scary to me. We'll not exactly scary...but you know what i mean.
The seller is asking for $160K and looks like the guy has not done much work on it for a long while. I am thinking if I buy a house for $160K and am going to have to do all the other work and spend more money to get it to a point where is acceptable (in terms of heating & cooling)....might as well buy a colonial home for $180K and don't have to deal with the problems. Would you agree?

Anyone else has any other input? I am sure this thread will become handy for someone who is considering buying a split-level home in the future. So any other input might be helpful for them too.

Thanks again.

 

[Woodchuck1378]

I like you am not rich, my wife and I make a very modest income. The best thing I believe you could do is have a reputable home inspector check the home over. If he/she thinks your insulation values are good, you may not have the problem my wife and I have had. We have about got all the bugs worked out of this place for heating and cooling. If he is asking $160K, I believe I would start in the neighborhood of $147,500. It will leave you with enough room to make any reasonable modifications depending on the home inspectors findings. Again, please do not let me deter you, just a few things you should be aware of. Living in NY and looking at a split level, please do not rule out a couple different sources of heat to keep your bills down in the harsh winters. Pellet and wood stoves are a great way to supplement heat, and are very ascetically pleasing. Best Wishes.

 

[Woodchuck1378]

If the lower level seems like it may be a concern, I have a couple ways you can research. I prefer wood stoves. If you and your husband do not mind the idea of stacking wood and tending a fire, let me recommend the Pacific Energy Alderlea T4 or the Jotul 500 Oslo. Both are very beautiful stoves and radiate heat very well. If wood seems like it may be a little more daunting than you prefer, check out the Pacific Energy PS45. All have a look and feeling of home on a cold winters day and will save you money with the utility companies. Hope this has been helpful.

 

[elmoleaf]

Unless the current owner did any work, you are likely to find only minimal insulation in the garage ceiling below the bedrooms. For reference, I own a split entry built in 1965 with one car bay under some of the bedrooms. I opened an exploratory hole and found only 1-1/2" batt insulation (same as the walls) that wasn't even installed tight to the underside of the subfloor. Needless to say, the floors above are cold.
Homes of this vintage are typically poorly air-sealed, which leads to stack effect and lots of heat loss. Airsealing isn't necessarily expensive, just time consuming to find and seal all the leaks.

 

[semipro]

Ceci,
I wrote all below (italics) and then realized I really don't know enough about the house to make really good recommendations. I don't see any mention of heat other than "hot water" and the fireplace. Does it have any AC? I'd bet that some proper air sealing and insulation would go a long way toward making this place more comfortable. The garage under bedrooms and the cantilevered 2nd floor are typical locations for poor sealing and insulation. If you do buy this place the first thing I'd recommend is having a good energy audit done that includes a blower door test and infrared imaging ($300-500). You'd be amazed what you'll learn from this. It may well be that you spend $5-10 on some good sealing/insulation upgrades and will have a much more comfortable house. Your state may have incentive programs to help with the cost.

Natural convection can be a challenge to temp control in any multilevel house. The wide transitions between floors typical of split level houses is one thing that makes them appealing. Its also typically more of a chore to isolate levels by installing doors between levels and it ruins the flow and openness.

In all the multilevel house we've lived in we adapted by cooling the upper levels in summer and heating the lower levels in the winter trying to take advantage of the the natural heat flow. Closing doors on bedrooms and HVAC register also helped to regulate temps.

I don't think I'd want a house without the ability to control distribution of the HVAC. Many do this by using individual systems for each level which can get expensive. Another option involves controlling airflow to each room using bladders in ducts with thermostatic controls in each room like the system sold here: (broken link removed to http://www.arzel.com/index.php)

I noticed this house is "hot water heating". That could be several things. If its zoned hydronics then heat to each room can usually be controlled. I doubt give the age of the house and that you say that much work was done that hydronics are present.
​

Edit: elmoleaf and I were writing at the same time and apparently have some of the same thoughts. I wasn't ignoring his/her post.

 

[woodgeek]

I have a split level, and struggle a little with balance. When I bought, it was a drafty barn that cost me >1000 gals of oil ($3500 at todays prices) to heat for a season!

I have coped by airsealing the attic, finished basement and garage, insulating everywhere, putting a ceiling fan over the two-story foyer that runs 24/7 on low, and setting up my ductwork with dampers, so I can sent 70% of warm air to the lower level in winter, and 70% of the cool air to the upper level in summer (takes 5 mins to changeover the dampers seasonally).

Now I am comfortable at heat the place for $1100 a year. But it took years of DIY and $5k of pro energy eff work to get there.

 

[thinkxingu]

I have a split level and was raised in a split and never thought much about the difference between the floors or heating costs--the first is not much of an issue, assuming the whole home is insulated well and the second both relies on the first as well as your heating system, etc.

For heat, which is all electric, we keep the downstairs (which is only 20% below grade) at 65, which is a good temp to play in the kids' play room, do laundry, work on my R/C cars, etc. If we want it a bit warmer to read, play a board game, etc. we throw a load in the steel Englander stove we installed down there for $750 or so. Or just turn up the T-stats for the couple hours we need to. Because we keep the upstairs at 70 with the woodstove or 65/67 (away/home) the basement stays level as there's nowhere for the heat to go.

For A/C, we only cool the upstairs and the basement stays within a couple degrees as upstairs.

Here's my take: every house has heating/cooling challenges, and I would make my choice of a home less on those than on 1. the condition of the home and price, with the latter including how much money it would take to make it acceptable, 2. location of the home, 3. layout/land of the home.

#3 has become the most important for us over the last decade. Specifically, we have friends with nice ranch homes, but the kids never seem to have a space to play in other than their bedrooms. We have a nice playroom downstairs. Some homes have steep driveways (which I ABHOR), some only have front yards and no cookout room, some have too many stairs, or garages under that take away living space, or home positions that face neighbors in awkward ways (one home we looked at had a front porch looking into the neighbor's living room), etc.

Every home has its challenges, but #3 is fundamentally unchangeable--heat retention, systems, etc. are completely fluid.

Good luck.

S

 

[maple1]

Hot water heating? Add on a wood boiler. Can't beat hydronic heat with a hockey stick...

 

[1750]

I have a split level, but installed a two-zone system when we built it. In winter it works great to keep the lower t-stat set a couple of degrees cooler than the upper. The temps are very consistent and the furnace virtually never runs for the upper.

Truly everyone on this page knows more about this than I do, but in your situation, I might also look at the cost of installing and operating a mini-split heat-pump in the lower and relocating (if it's not there already) the existing t-stat to the upper. You create a defacto 2-zone system without messing with your ducting, and some of these new mini splits are getting high marks.