With taxes due earlier this week, I started reading up on some of the new tax bills which Congress released as part of the economic stimulus package. I learned something pretty cool: You now get a 30% tax credit with no cap for the purchase and installation of a direct exchange geothermal heat pump system. Essentially, that means that the heat pump unit itself is now free with a typical installation. In fact, most customers will likely be receiving the equivalent of a free heat pump and, for smaller installations, free ground loop coils.
In addition to long-term energy savings, DX geothermal heat pumps are now more cost-effective than ever. Recovery on initial investment is now faster than ever before, and with energy cost spikes looming in the future, the time is now to install a DX system.
The Green Home
I was poking around the Internet, looking for people with stories to tell about their DX systems or other green technologies, when I stumbled upon this. What that is is a home datalogging and monitoring system which automatically generates and uploads temperatures and energy information to the Web for a number of uses. It allows HVAC contractors to see problems before they become problems, allows homeowners to watch energy savings and performance in realtime and with serious recall capabilities, and provides heat pump manufacturers with an incredibly useful tool to monitor their installations in a non intrusive manner.
The hardware is called the "Web Energy Logger" and is available from OurCoolHouse.com. Very inexpensive and very robust, I'm currently speaking to the rest of our engineering staff and looking to make this a customer option for factory installation on our GeoDirect systems. Here's a list of all the homes with the WEL currently enabled. Most of these systems are closed loop water-source, but the first link I provided is a 3-ton DX system.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Earth Hour
Earth Hour 2009 took place Saturday, March 28th, from 8:30 to 9:30 PM local time around the world.
Take a look at some of these pictures from the Boston Globe. I find the Las Vegas picture most striking, as the Strip is known for its extreme lighting.
Despite many of the clearly misinformed comments at the bottom of the article, this Globe piece talks about Boston's participation.
Although the power saved during Earth Hour is negligible on any reasonable timescale, the goal is not energy savings. The goal is to raise awareness on climate change and the extreme danger in which it places the Earth. Skeptics will always be skeptics, but there is an unbelievable amount of concrete evidence supporting global warming hypotheses. Thousands upon thousands of accredited environmental scientists agree that human intervention has generated climate change at an unprecedented rate in the Earth's history. There has never been an increase in the Earth's temperature in so short a time. And until new technologies are developed which will allow us to sequester carbon or otherwise begin to reduce atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, our only solution is to reduce our impact by becoming more energy-conscious and responsible. I might be from California, but I have no desire to see my home become beachfront property.
Reducing your carbon footprint by installing energy efficient devices in your home, driving fewer miles and with more fuel-efficient vehicles, and living closer to your job are all fundamental to the preservation of our global climate. Everything makes a difference, and no difference, regardless how small, is insignificant.
The Green Home
So you've been reading these posts for a little while now, but you're saying, "Hey, Marcus, look. The economy's in the toilet! I can't afford to buy fancy solar water heaters or even a fantastic ESES DX heat pump! But I still want to save money and energy...how?" Well, we've previously discussed unplugging unused electronics, as standby mode and other gimmicks make up about 8% of your energy bill. But an area where most people completely miss free energy savings is window shades.
Yes, window shades.
Much as you might put one of those big reflective accordion things in your car window when you park at the mall, the blinds in your home can have a surprising impact on your HVAC bill. Although my cat loves finding a warm spot in the sun to curl up and nap (lazy Fluffy!), the sun can heat up your home a couple degrees while you're at work. In the winter, this is a good thing, so you might want to leave your blinds open and get some free heat to take the edge off the nasty New England weather. In the summer, though, make sure to close your blinds and save a couple degrees so your A/C requires less on-time.
Simple, effective, and forces your cat into productive activities. Perfect!
Take a look at some of these pictures from the Boston Globe. I find the Las Vegas picture most striking, as the Strip is known for its extreme lighting.
Despite many of the clearly misinformed comments at the bottom of the article, this Globe piece talks about Boston's participation.
Although the power saved during Earth Hour is negligible on any reasonable timescale, the goal is not energy savings. The goal is to raise awareness on climate change and the extreme danger in which it places the Earth. Skeptics will always be skeptics, but there is an unbelievable amount of concrete evidence supporting global warming hypotheses. Thousands upon thousands of accredited environmental scientists agree that human intervention has generated climate change at an unprecedented rate in the Earth's history. There has never been an increase in the Earth's temperature in so short a time. And until new technologies are developed which will allow us to sequester carbon or otherwise begin to reduce atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, our only solution is to reduce our impact by becoming more energy-conscious and responsible. I might be from California, but I have no desire to see my home become beachfront property.
Reducing your carbon footprint by installing energy efficient devices in your home, driving fewer miles and with more fuel-efficient vehicles, and living closer to your job are all fundamental to the preservation of our global climate. Everything makes a difference, and no difference, regardless how small, is insignificant.
The Green Home
So you've been reading these posts for a little while now, but you're saying, "Hey, Marcus, look. The economy's in the toilet! I can't afford to buy fancy solar water heaters or even a fantastic ESES DX heat pump! But I still want to save money and energy...how?" Well, we've previously discussed unplugging unused electronics, as standby mode and other gimmicks make up about 8% of your energy bill. But an area where most people completely miss free energy savings is window shades.
Yes, window shades.
Much as you might put one of those big reflective accordion things in your car window when you park at the mall, the blinds in your home can have a surprising impact on your HVAC bill. Although my cat loves finding a warm spot in the sun to curl up and nap (lazy Fluffy!), the sun can heat up your home a couple degrees while you're at work. In the winter, this is a good thing, so you might want to leave your blinds open and get some free heat to take the edge off the nasty New England weather. In the summer, though, make sure to close your blinds and save a couple degrees so your A/C requires less on-time.
Simple, effective, and forces your cat into productive activities. Perfect!
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