Category: Home Improvement?

I finished installing the new door we have had for months now.  It didn’t turn out like I had wanted to, but the door is installed “correctly.”

The major problem is, 1.  I had never installed a pre-hung door before and 2.  I discovered our walls are not level, as they should be.

This created an “interesting” situation.  The new door jamb is flush with both sides of the wall at the ceiling, but stick out a little bit (1/2″ or so) at the base.

I haven’t installed trim yet, so I hope that it will hide this defect somewhat.  If not I might need to call in an expert.

On another note, I did some maintenance on my chainsaw and lawn mower.  Now I can finally cut up the broken limbs that fell from our pine tree.

Then I can start mowing again.  Many people have told me being a homeowner means constant repair and work to maintain.  It’s starting to kick in.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy these things, it’s just the amount that is bothering me.

After these items are done, I am hopefully going to start on my tedious garage/basement remodel.  I only have a year left (the wife told me so). 🙂

Thanks to Freecycle, we have been unloading gravel and sand by the truckload lately.  Almost all of our gravel is gone, and some of the sand has been taken.  If you live in B-town, and need sand, CONTACT ME!

After deciding on replacing our energy hog of a heat pump, it has made me take a deeper look at what I can do (within my means) to make our home as energy efficient as possible.

I have been teaching myself about many “green” technologies.  The big ones, solar and wind turbine mainly.

Right now I am looking at the major energy users in our home, I have 2 in particular picked out.  Our attic fan and water heater.

I have found a great solution to ease the electrical drain of our attic fan, a solar replacement!
Many new homes have passive solutions for attic ventilation (just vents on the ridge of the roof).  This may seem ok, but isn’t reliable.  Ours, like many older homes have an active solution, a fan.  It runs constantly in the summer, as the heat builds up inside the attic.  It has a good sized motor, even though I am unsure of it’s exact energy use, I’m sure it’s not small.  Our current fan is in good shape, so we are not going to replace it immediately.  It’s days are numbered.

Typical “tank style” water heaters are just a waste of space and energy.  Why must we constantly heat water that we might not use for hours?  I understand the reasoning behind them, it’s in their simplicity.  New “tankless” or “on demand” water heaters are great, but there are no electric options with these.  They are all gas powered, and even though I like the prospects, I’ll just pass on the gas.

There are other options though.  Ever heard of solar water heating?  I hadn’t until a few days ago.  It’s quite interesting, but still mysterious to me.  There are many ways to set it up, and it seems very complex at this time.

If I can find a way to set up a solar system to power a hot water heater I would be on board in a minute.

So on with the research.  From what I currently know, to accomplish the results I desire I will need:  1 PV (photovoltaic) panel, a battery array, an inverter and then a way to feed the power into the circuit that feeds the water heater.  It can be accomplished, and at a decent price.

I have seen way too many articles lately about how the United States is falling way behind when it comes to energy use statstics.  I read one the other day stating that we haven’t even kept up with some standards WE created 10 years ago.

Never being a statstic, I would like to eventually live off the grid, but I cannot afford the initial 20k or so investment.  With baby steps we might eventually be able to.

 

After becoming a homeowner, one thing became very clear to me.  We all need to do what we can to save our energy use.  One reason we decided to purchase an all electric home.  Thus, no confusion or systems to worry about.  I have issues with gas appliances as one of my close family members was almost killed by a gas leak.  Most electric in this area is produced by coal or natural gas.  So I use natural gas, just differently than others.

With a 33 year old home most, if not all items need updated to todays standards for efficiency.  We have replaced many items which help, and are in the process of replacing the largest energy hog, our heat pump.  If you’re unfamiliar with a heat pump, it’s simply an air conditioner that also works in reverse.  Contrary to popular belief, there is heat in the coldest air.  Utilizing that heat is the trick.

Our first sign was our electric bill.  In a 2 month period, our bill increased by almost $100, no the rates didn’t increase, our usage did.  We installed an expensive programmable thermostat almost immediately after moving in, and I have to say it has helped.  We have it set very low.  For example during “day” hours it is set for 64 degrees, and we bump it up a little bit in the evening to 67.  This is the heat only mind you.  We have it set for the upper 70’s for cooling.

After deciding to “price” replacements, I also did some research on heat pumps.  As you would imagine, many advancements have been made in 30+ years.  To my surprise, the “upper end” heat pumps are actually energy star compliant!  A few even claim to use as much energy as a refrigerator.  Our estimates came in between $4000 and up to $12000!  Ouch…

Our old system isn’t broken, but on the verge.  It’s installation is a sham at best, and it uses more energy than needed.  Those are the only factors I need to say replace.

After weighing all of our options, we have decided to go with a Trane system.  We found out that our existing system is essentially a Trane, and the company has an excellent reputation.  They are also one of the leaders in heat pump technology.

Our unit, the XL14i is energy star compliant!  We will also be purchasing an air filtration system that rivals systems I have seen in the pharmaceutical industry (it filters out 99.98% of particles 3 microns and larger!)  The icing on the cake is the air handler, it has 12 speeds!  It is not the best, but it is what we can do.  Preliminary estimates say this unit is at least 50% more efficient than our current unit.

Due to it’s efficient use of energy, we will be recieving a tax credit and a credit from our electric company.  Thanks.

If you don’t know, you can receive tax credits for many things you might be doing to your home right now.  For instance, if you’re re-insulating your home, you can receive a tax credit for up to $300 for the cost of the insulation!  All of this information and much more is available at the Energy Star website.

We are also using compact florescent lights as much as possible, and other little things that help.

To quote Star Trek, “The Needs of The Many Outweigh The Needs of the Few.”  If we look at this when it comes to energy conservation, our world can become a much, much better place.

 

This week I rewired one circuit in the garage.  Now I only have one more to go.  After that I will just need to redo the plumbing, cover everything, and we will have a new garage!

One item that is a hard, very hard decision is regarding our heat pump.  It is original to the house (33 years).  It is not efficient and quite loud at startup (I think the bearings in the blower motor are going out.)  Most people I’ve spoken with are shocked that it has lasted this long.

After receiving out electric bill, we were quite flabbergasted!  We keep our thermostat very low (between 64º and 67º).  It was $50 more than last months bill.  This brought up the discussion that we might be throwing a lot of money away due to this old heat pump that hasn’t been maintained very well.

I have contacted a few HVAC contractors in the area regarding replacement.  All of them say they need a look at our home to “size it up.”  Which seems fishy to me, I’m just wanting a price range.  So I have 4 people coming next week.

One piece of good news is about the efficiency of newer heat pumps.  One contractor told me that certain models are energy star rated, which I love to hear.  He also told me that those models use the same energy as a refrigerator.  It seems crazy to me, but I like it.  He said depending on the model we purchase, we could save anywhere from $600 to $2700 a year on energy costs alone!!!

I want a geothermal system, but it seems as if regular systems have caught up to them in efficiency.  I was told they are generally double the cost, and use the same amount of energy.

When we bought the house, we were hoping it would just go out, so our home warrantee would cover the costs of replacing it.  I think it will be a good investment in the end.  I just know it will be very hard for Rachel to spend this kind of money on this.  I’ve been told of some great financing options, so we’ll see I guess.