Air source heat pump

Our energy auditor saw this on Green Building Advisor and forwarded it to me (Thanks Erik!). 

The article discusses using solar electric and grid-tied air source heat pumps (like our GeoSpring) for hot water supply.

Read the article at http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/solar-thermal-dead

Cheers,

Mark

Great deal on the GeoSpring water heater

I just saw this today.

Lowe's has discounted the GeoSpring water heathers.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_79425-83-GEH50DNSRSA_0__?productId=3127075&cm_mmc=email_promo-_-20110915-_-banner-_-$600_off_water_heater

Follow-up on Air-source Water Heater

As a follow-up to my post from last October (http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2010/10/water-heater-wrap-up.html), I am providing an update on my experience with the GeoSpring water heater.


The air-source heat pump is working great.  I haven't purchased oil since February 16, and since last May (May 2010) we used only 370.1 gallons of oil. That is a 28% savings (370 gallons vs 517 gallons [average from previous 2 years]). I realize that not all of that is due to the GeoSpring-- we did a lot of air sealing in 2010. But, my boiler has been off since May 15, 2011.

How has this impacted electricity use? That was my biggest question, too.

Here are my results of my electricity consumption for 2011, 2010, and 2009 (in KWH/day):

Month	2011	2010	2009

May	17	18	17
June	19	21	18
July	18	26	20

Do you see a difference? Neither do I!

I think this may be due to replacing the dehumidifier with the GeoSpring (which cools and dehumidifies while it heats the water).Same number of people in my house. Still taking hot showers.

I think this is wonderful. Since I typically used around half a tank of oil each summer (May to October), I am saving around $340/year (100 gallons * 3.40/gallon). The GeoSpring cost me around $2500 (for unit, installation and less state rebate). The ROI is 7 years, assuming oil prices stay level (something I very much doubt). I can live with that. Realize that we had to have a lot of electrical work to accommodate the installation-- your ROI may be lower!

I see this as a very successful energy saving investment. I hope more people consider this as an option.

Cheers,

Mark

Return Audit Results

After completing the work for the 2010 Home Energy Savings Program, we had our house audited again.

See related blog (http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2010/08/home-efficiency-2010-continued-flir.html) for initial FLIR photos and discussion. Since the original audit we undertook a number of retrofits as discussed in related blogs

http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2010/08/home-efficiency-2010-continued.html, http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2010/09/air-sealing-top-and-bottom-of-house.html, http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2010/10/water-heater-wrap-up.html,
http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2010/11/air-sealing-electrical-outlets-on.html, and http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2010/11/work-in-attic-air-sealing-and.html

The following show side-by-side photos before and after for same or similar areas of our home. Note that the temperature difference between inside and outside is greater now than when the audit was conducted back in August (44° vs. 65°) as compared to (82° vs. 95°). A greater difference inside vs. outside would mean that any air movement would show up more easily in the FLIR camera.

Before photo of the porch

After photo of the porch.

We didn't make any changes to the porch, so the photos are essentially the same.

Before photo of the attic hatch.

After photo of the attic hatch.

The attic hatch shows a dramatic reduction in airflow. In the recent photo you can see the bolts and wing nuts, but you don't see any air leaking.

Bert's office before.

Bert's office after

I think this photo is pretty impressive also. In the earlier photo, you can see air moving between the ceiling joists. In the current photo you don't.

Basement sill before

Basement sill after

Here again, the movement of air was reduced. The difference in air flow for some of the areas is quite dramatic, but my overall airflow wasn't reduced by a whole lot as measured by the blower door. I was hoping for a really big reduction. I don't recall the exact number right now. Erik said this was to be expected to some extent. Our house was already pretty tight and it would take some more invasive work to drop it much lower. Nevertheless, we did control some important trouble areas-- like Bert's office and the work we did meets the minimum requirement for the rebate-- 25%*. That puts my ROI at between 6-7 years at current oil and electricity prices. 

* Erik said: "The final value for my home was 1585 CFM and the final savings [as calculated by the software] was 36%. I've mentioned a few times that EM's software is pretty generous but I'd be comfortable saying real world savings around 25% [that's the number I'm using]. Another question that may arise is whether the house is 'too tight' and that it 'needs to breathe'. The BTL (Building Tightness Limit; the engineered standard for necessary air flow) for your house was 1343 CFM50. That's the point at which you need to begin adding mechanical ventilation to make up for natural air flow. You can compensate with intermittent ventilation to 70% of BTL (940) after which dedicated continual ventilation is needed. So your house is well over the various air thresholds."

I can't wait to save money and be more comfortable this winter.

Cheers,

Mark

Air Sealing Electrical Outlets on Exterior Walls

Have you ever noticed a cold draft when plugging or unplugging something on a bitter cold morning? I have at my house. This is a sure sign that you need you need to air seal and insulate!

Standard 2x6 construction means an electrical box leaves little room for insulation in exterior walls. As soon as you have a hole in the wall, you have a path for air to move, and you are making a hole in the wall for electrical service.

This is a reasonable job that doesn’t require a lot of money, but it does take some time to do correctly. Each outlet only takes 2-3 minutes, but moving furniture to access all of them adds a lot of time to the job and if done right, you can't see the change.

What you’ll need:

Screwdriver,
Caulk,
Outlet foam insulation,
Damp cloth.

The process is simple, remove faceplate and fit the gasket to the back of the faceplate (trim as needed).Then make a thin line of caulk on the back of the gasket. Place back on wall and press down to get a tight fit. screw down the faceplate and wipe away any excess caulk.

I found this image online:

I am not using the child-proof covers or plug gaskets, but the wall gasket and caulk seem to stop drafts.

Cheers,

Mark

Water heater wrap up

Here is the GeoSpring heat pump water heater installed and ready to go.

I am looking forward to a future blog on how it is working. I will wait until I have some usage data first.

Cheers,

Mark

Efficiency Maine Home Energy Savings Program-- EXTENDED!

Efficiency Maine (http://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-home/hesp_program) has been offering an additional incentive ($1000) to get homeowners to improve the efficiency of their homes (air sealing, insulation, and space or water heating improvements).

What is it? If you follow the program and make improvements to achieve either 

1) at least 25% increase in efficiency (annual thermal energy savings) you receive 30% of the total project cost up to $1500*.

2) more than 50% increase in efficiency (annual thermal energy savings) you receive 50% of the total project cost up to $3,000*.

*Both of these are increased by $1000 if you sign up by 8/31/10, then complete the energy audit and the Incentive Application Form (http://www.efficiencymaine.com/docs/hespincentiveapplicationform.pdf) must be received by September 30, 2010, and complete all work and the Completion Form (http://www.efficiencymaine.com/docs/hespprojectcompletionform.pdf) submitted by December 31, 2010.

Step 1. You get your house audited ($400-$500). This typically entails inspection of insulation, air leakage (blower door test), mechanical heating/cooling systems evaluation. Sometimes auditors also use infrared imaging to evaluate your home. The auditor will produce a report  to guide you in determining the cost/benefit of  energy improvements you may wish to make by calculating projected savings and payback information. Note this step must be completed by a Participating Energy Advisor  (listed on the Efficiency Maine website).

Step 2. Work with a contractor of your choice to do the work. Remember that you want to get to at least 25% improvement to meet the minimum rebate criteria.

Step 3. Auditor returns and inspects the work and completes the form documenting the improved efficiency in your home.

Bottom line: if you make improvements to your home that result in a 25% increase in the efficiency of your home you can get up to $2500 back from efficiency Maine.

I have done a lot of weatherizing and made improvements to minimize waste. I was skeptical that I could make improvements for less than $5000 that would result in 25% improvement in efficiency.  So, I contacted Mary at Warm Tech (207-883-9722) for a Home Energy Analysis. This is not a home inspection, but a visit that includes a walk through of your home to give you an idea of what the audit will likely find. I had a coupon from the Sunrise Guide (http://www.thesunriseguide.com/) for a free Home Energy Analysis. Mary and Roland spent nearly an hour with us and pointed out a lot I could do. They are GREAT!

As a result of their visit, I contacted Erik North (Free Energy Maine, LLC; 207-329-7219;
www.freeenergymaine.com) to schedule an audit. Not surprisingly, he is quite busy doing audits. I scheduled our audit for August 6. 

I will post another blog about our audit and the results.

Cheers,

Mark

Big savings from a small investment can reduce your carbon footprint!

A Save is average savings since the unit was installed.



This shows how many burner hours were used for the data.



I save is instant savings (last time the burner ran).

As part of our home inspection for solar upgrades, we had our heating system evaluated. The engineer suggested a $400 upgrade to make our boiler more efficient. The unit promises at least 10% improvement on efficiency of you get your money back. It is a bolt-on installation that can be retrofit to most boilers. Essentially it makes the boiler smarter. It bolts on the side of the bioler and there are some sensors that strap on your return water pipes. It is not a major installation.

The unit is from Intellicon (we have hot water so we installed the HW unit). Cost of the unit plus installation was $400. When we purchased it in Summer 2008, oil proce was $2.89/gallon. I calculated our payback at a little less than 2 years, given a 10% savings on our typical 750 gallons per year consumption.


The unit saves energy by adjusting the burner run pattern according to the temperature of the returning water. We tried it and have been very pleased.

When the weather is really cold (and the return water is much cooler because the home is being heated, the unit does not reduce run time very much), the the unit saves less than during the spring and fall.

The unit shows instant and average savings. Our average savings (as shown in the photo) is more then 20%. We felt no difference in our home temperature. You wouldn't even know you have it installed. Though I confess that I like to go down and see how much I'm saving!

For more information, see http://www.intellidynellc.com/02_pgHW.htm

This year (heating season June 1 to May 31) we used 77% of the oil we used last year, a savings of 155 gallons. At $2.10/gallon, we saved $325.50! I anticipate we will easily meet our goal of a 2 year payback time.

Another option is to install an outdoor reset control (where the sensor measures outdoor temperature), but we elected go with this option.

I encourage you to try one of these to make your heater smarter!!

Cheers,

Mark