While choosing a heating system may not be the decision you’re most excited about making when building your new home, it’s essential.

Costs are continually increasing regarding the hydro needed to run your furnace.

Fortunately, heating systems have become more energy efficient to compensate for the rising cost of hydro. The most challenging part of choosing a heating and cooling system is evaluating the ratio of upfront costs to the expenses you will incur later.

Sometimes, your options will be limited depending on your property’s location. Many properties are not serviced with natural gas. In some cottage country areas, geothermal can be extremely costly to install depending on ground conditions.

For specific properties, an electric furnace may be the only option. If this is the case, and you are keen on energy savings, there are other upgrades you can do to save on heating and cooling costs. For more on this, check out our post on insulation. 

Here are some standard heating systems we put in new homes and cottages:

Electric Furnace

Electric furnaces are one of the most common choices. They are economical to install but slightly more expensive to run in Manitoba. Most people will use this when natural gas is not an available option. With this option, you would need a separate air conditioner (A/C) cooling unit.

Natural gas

Right now, natural gas furnaces are cheaper to run in Manitoba than electric ones. Most people choose this over electric if they have the option. One added cost could be bringing the natural gas from the road to the house.

On smaller lots, this wouldn’t be a significant cost consideration. However, on a large country lot, where the home is located at the back of a large property, it can get expensive, as it’s a long distance from the road, requiring more installation costs.

With this option, you would need a separate air conditioner (A/C) cooling unit.

Geothermal

Geothermal is by far the cheapest system to run. Initially, it is substantially more expensive to install but has huge long-term savings potential. Depending on the statistics you read, a geothermal setup can pay for itself from anywhere between 9 to 15 years.

If you truly want an energy-efficient heating system, geothermal heating and cooling are the way. Geothermal also has the advantage of not needing a cooling unit as it is designed to heat and cool your house.

Manitoba Hydro, the provincial and federal governments offer several types of grants to help offset the cost of geothermal.

In-Floor Heating

In-floor heating is fantastic. It feels great on your feet and is highly efficient because it rises evenly throughout the room from the bottom up. It is an extra cost initially but has immediate and long-term benefits. Usually, in-floor heating is used in addition to another primary heat source. It can be a great addition to areas where you spend a lot of time standing in our home.

Regardless of the types of heating systems that suit your needs, wants, or property, we can help you sort through the options to find the right solution.

In floor heating being installed in a garage.

Alternative Heating Sources

Solar power

In many provinces, solar power heating can be a considerable advantage over other heating choices. However, in Manitoba, the price of electricity is lower than in many places, making the cost of solar power installation cost-prohibitive.  

Installing solar power on a typical home can be just as expensive as a second mortgage! The option is available and may be an excellent solution for you, depending on your circumstances and the location of your property.

These systems are popular on island locations found in Lake of The Woods. Getting electricity there can be extremely expensive, if possible, and hydro in Ontario is more costly than in Manitoba.

Wood heat

While we don’t have a lot of requests for people wanting to heat their home or cottage entirely with wood stoves, it is very popular as an auxiliary heat source.

It can help with your heating costs on our long Manitoba winters. Plus, who doesn’t love the heat of a good fire!

Pine Creek Homes

Whatever your choice of heating you decide to use, Pine Creek Homes and their team has experience installing the system and can ensure you are kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We’ve been a Winnipeg custom home builder for over 40 years. Contact us today with any questions you have about heating your dream home.

One last thing…

If you want to learn more about what’s involved in building your dream home, I suggest that you sign up for our Home Builder Walkthrough; it’s a once-a-week email series that walks you through all the stages of building a house, and will answer a lot of questions you may not have thought of yet.

If you're ready to take the next step toward building your dream home or cottage, click the link below to set up a time to speak with us.

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And, if you haven’t yet signed up for our email series, make sure to do so below. These emails will take you through a step-by-step guide of the building process, so you can be fully informed and prepared for your upcoming build.