Well, quite a bit has gone on here since my last visit ... on the post AND on our energy strategy.
We finally have enough data to analyze with a degree of accuracy. The base heat loading of the new house is established, and we have mechanicals understood enough so that we can estimate use of an all-electric solution vs. a propane gas solution.
California still has incentives here and there which help with the financials. In our case an all-electric house, with sufficient solar photovoltaics to 100% cover our electric utilization, pays for the entire system within 7-10 years. Afterwards there is an additional 10-15 years of service life for the equipment when it starts all over again.
So we basically have to decide whether we are planning to live in the house for 10 years. Of course there are other things we think about such as the 'goodness' of doing this (in our opinions, at least). And the going-in cost is dramatically more which is also a consideration.
The inflation rate of energy costs is an unknown. But we are willing to bet that the RATE will increase. Possibly the incentives will increase as well.
The cheapest way to reduce energy costs in a new house is through BUILDING a good house (eg insulation, etc), and conservation. We have gone as far as we can with those items.
Within a couple of weeks I will have soft copies of our analysis. Send me pm at mjp /at/ slobuds /dot/ com if you would like to get a copy.
The cooling topics above don't apply to us. Our base performance on the new house will yield interior temperatures of high-70s, on exterior temperatures of 115-120 degrees. We can only achieve that because of insulation (straw bale), high-quality windows, south-facing orientation, overhangs, and most importantly a COOL night every night which is always low-60s regardless of the daytime temperatures. Whole house fans will be used to expel hot air each night.
We are happy with the way the house has turned out from an engineering perspective. We wanted to try to achieve zero ducting and it has worked out that way exactly. But only because of our kindly Mother Nature for the most part.
Reply With Quote
