heat pump, central air and heat and a mini split as far as cost of operation?

heat pump same as central air and heat except that the heat pump provides the bulk of the heat.
this is what I recomend to my clients based on savings
compared to electric strip heat.
with heat pumps the electric strip is emergency heat and for when temps are 30 degrees..which is not that often for us.

central air is electric strip heating only. the most expensive way to heat your home. (espically if you have
entergy for your utility provider)

mini splits are pretty cool. expensive but fit a lot of needs and great for tight retrofit spots.
the condensing unit goes outside like with any set up,
but this is where it changes. in each room the air is provided by a wall mounted air handler unit. the condensing units are up to 3 tons. each room would have the
ahu..this is what they are calling zones.
cost is higher, but you don't have ductwork, so it evens out a little better.

with the foam insulation & low e windows your tonnage of ac required will be less. although I don't recomend 'rule of thumb' sizing
instead of the ususal 400 to 500 sq ft per ton, your
house will be more in the range of 600 to 700 sq ft per ton. oversizing will cost more to operate, wear the equipment out sooner, and will NOT dehumidify.
be diligent in finding out what is being spec'd for your home and what options are available for you.
some systems will qualify for tax credit, and it is always
a good idea to do better than the legal minimum allowed by law (code).
in what part of La. are you building?
best of luck.

Thanks for the explanation. We moved a 1300 sq ft 106+ year old house to Folsom and added another 575 sq ft. The addition is 10' ceilings, master bedroom, bath and laundry. The rest of the house is 8' ceilings, 2 small bdrms., 1 bath, dining, kitchen and den all open.

We are trying to do everything to get the lowest possible electric bills. We have Washington-St Tammany Electric.

We're seriously considering solar hot water and possibly electric. We will have a tankless water heater to start and use it as a back up.

The thing that's really confusing me is different companies saying they can't put mini splits because we would need 6. Then the other companies saying it's not a problem.

So if I understand correctly, the heat pump would be a better option.

What part of Louisiana are you in?

Thanks again.

Near Lafayette. Born in st tammany parish hospital.
We moved a lot..Mississippi, then bogalusa.
then turned 'of age' and got the heck out of dodge!

you would be better off with gas tankless if gas is available in your area. electric tankless takes a LOT of electricity, and is not cost effective.

check into solar tax credits for solar
water heater. And for tankless gas w/h's

if you install an electric tank, look on the
box the w/h is shipped in. Energy Factor is what you are looking for. EF's are as high as .95, better insulated
but the lesser cost w/h's are in the .80 range. whirlpool
makes a .95.

check the department of natural resources website for
HERO program (home energy rebate option)
you should qualify. drop me an email if you don't understand the dnr site info.This program would help to
offset some of your upgrades.

keep in mind that with efficiency your cost is up front
and savings long term.

Heat pump would be a good savings for you, but if your
home has never had central you would have to install ductwork, system, and possibly upgrade electrical panel.
if no one in your area has experience in mini split install
you would have to factor that in your decision.

best of luck y'all!

I don't blame you. As soon as I'm old enough to retire, we're getting out of Louisiana.

The house had central air and heat but we tore all the ducts out. We would like to use the mini splits.

The house is over 106 years old so we have to gut the entire house, plumbing and electrical. We're starting from scratch.

We can get 30% rebate from the state on solar and 20% tax credit from the Feds. The water heater would cost us $8400 up front and $2000 after rebate & credit.

We're going to have propane. I think we're going to put in a propane tankless heater for now and try to do the solar in December. We can make a loan in December and pay it off in April when we file our taxes.

Do you know anything about the mini split systems?

Thanks for the explanation. We moved a 1300 sq ft 106+ year old house to Folsom and added another 575 sq ft. The addition is 10' ceilings, master bedroom, bath and laundry. The rest of the house is 8' ceilings, 2 small bdrms., 1 bath, dining, kitchen and den all open.

We are trying to do everything to get the lowest possible electric bills. We have Washington-St Tammany Electric.

We're seriously considering solar hot water and possibly electric. We will have a tankless water heater to start and use it as a back up.

The thing that's really confusing me is different companies saying they can't put mini splits because we would need 6. Then the other companies saying it's not a problem.

So if I understand correctly, the heat pump would be a better option.

What part of Louisiana are you in?

Thanks again.