compensate for infiltration/exfiltration issues and the Smith’s home was
undergoing a transition from leaky to
fairly tight in that regard. The real heat
loss would be more like 38,039-Btuh
and actual gain closer to 19,872-Btuh
– more than meeting the Keystone
Help guidelines. According to the
post-improvements energy audit, the
actual heat loss was reduced to 36,300-
Btuh. The A/C load is expected to be
18,970-Btuh.
As a result, and because the
Smiths wanted the geothermal to
handle most, if not all, of the heating load, a ClimateMaster TT038
Tranquility two-stage heat pump
was chosen with a desuperheater to
assist DHW production.
Bitter cold weather that dipped
below 10°F set in before we had the
electric-resistance back-up auxiliary
coil connected and the home remained
a comfortable 72°F with ease. The
owners’ experienced a pleasant surprise when the geothermal system
was activated for the first time — they
could literally feel the increased air
delivery from the registers as a result
of the duct sealing. The reduction in
envelope infiltration/exfiltration and
added insulation provided another
pleasant surprise — long stretches of
time between run-cycles. The Smith’s
annual operating costs for heating,
cooling, and production of DHW fell
from $2,040 to $773 (projected and
expected to be somewhat lower). The
monthly loan payments are less than
what was previously paid for utilities,
meaning their investment in urban
geothermal won their personal war
with their homes energy usage right
from the start. And, that’s without
taking into account the 30% Federal
Tax Credit the Smiths will receive
or the $651 Met-Ed utility rebate
( http://energysavepa-home.com/
hvac/residential-hvac). They intend
to apply both towards their Keystone
loan or perhaps invest the money in
solar energy.
The actual operating efficiencies:
3.88-COP heating •
19.6-EER cooling •
4.26-COP water heating •
During our initial conversations, we
analyzed the potential for installing a
95% efficient gas furnace along with a
16-SEER two-stage A/C system with
the 30% up to a maximum of $1,500
tax credit. Another concern was the
pending deregulation of electricity
with an expected 37% increase in cost
per k Wh.
Fuel costs used at the time
of analysis:
11-cents per k Wh for electricity •
$2.38 per therm for natural gas •
Annual operating costs calculated
using the ClimateMaster GeoDesigner
program:
16-SEER two-stage heat pump •
$1,973.
95% gas furnace with 16-SEER two- •
stage A/C $2,223.
TT038 with desuperheater $773. •
Annual operating costs after deregu-
lation in 2011 using the ClimateMaster
GeoDesigner program:
16-SEER two-stage heat pump •
$2,545.
95% gas furnace with 16-SEER two- •
stage A/C $2,279.
TT038 with desuperheater $1,054. •
One last thing to consider: Return
on investment, which can be judged
in two ways. First, by the annual cost
savings for fuels consumption, which is
23.1% at 11-cents per k Wh and a better
ROI than stocks, bonds, or real estate.
Following next year’s deregulation and
15-cents per k Wh, the ROI is 20.12%
when compared to their old 80% gas
furnace and 10-SEER HVAC system.
But, what if we look at the cost for
a new high-efficiency 95% gas furnace
and 16-SEER two-stage installation vs.
the geothermal system and give each
one the benefit of their respective tax
credits and rebates available? The net
difference in cost came in at $7,987 and
the ROI (averaged over 17-years’ time)
is 28.3% while energy savings for the
Smiths projected over a 17-year span
with annual increases in costs for fuel
calculated at 5% per year (exception:
electricity cost jumps by 37% in the
second year) is $38,324.82.
As the old saying goes, it takes
money to make money. Thanks to
Pa. State Rep. Eugene DePasquale’s
Energy Bill, that money is available
for leveling the playing field so that
everyone can take advantage of energy
conservation retrofit applications.
For a list of state-by-state and local
tax credits/incentives/rebates, visit
www.dsireusa.org.
Dave Yates owns F.W. Behler, a contracting company in York, Pa. He can
be reached by phone at 717/843-4920
or by e-mail at Dave. Yates@fwbehler.
com. He is the monthly plumbing columnist for COn TRACTOR magazine.
All Dave Yates material in print and
on Contractor's Web site is protected
by Copyright 2010. Any reuse of this
material (print or electronic) must first
have the expressed written permission
of Dave Yates and COn TRACTOR
magazine. Please contact via email at
dave.yates@fwbehler.com.
