Originally posted by: Squisher
Originally posted by: NoShangriLa
Originally posted by: Squisher
Originally posted by: Stifko
Originally posted by: TankGuys
Originally posted by: Stifko
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Don't be too quick to discount the idea of replacing the furnace. ...
Thanks but replace it to what? Another gas furnace or oil or coal or what?
Do you have a lot of land? (1+ acre?) If so, seriously look into Geothermal, as I posted above. The up-front cost is much higher than other options, but even with financing, the monthly payment + operating cost is often *lower* than what you pay now. Plus, it adds a ton of value to your house, and saves much $$ in the long run.
I have some land, but not quite an acre.
I wanna have the house checked out for leaks. What kind of company does that kind of thing?
"Infrared services/thermal imagining" is what you want. Some will combine this with a "blower door test."
Prices are pretty reasonable for the thermal imaging, around $200.
EDIT: btw-geothermal heat pumps are the great, but cost quite a bit up front ($5K-$10K)
Running ground loops is one solution and loop length greatly depends on the size of house/machine & soil type.
Pipe loops can also be stack/layer on top of each others if space is limited, and loops can be install in water well/s if space is a premium. There are other methods may be employ if available such as a body of water (lake, pond, river, ocean), and open loop method is one that require very little space for loop.
Air to air heat pumps is another way to go if geothermal is not a viable solution due to cost or space.
I'm no expert on geothermal heating, but I've heard so many testimonials on home improvement shows where heating for the year went from $2000 to $60 that I'm sold. One reason I put such a large span in price for geothermal ($5K-$10K) is the method of installing the ground loop. I've even heard where a person put a loop under the driveway in new construction.
The saving depends on the extremity of the climate and who you are talking to. As for my limited experience the saving isn?t as high as most sales people (including my own company sales people) let it to be. However, the saving is real but at 60% to 75% pending the climate condition, heat pump sizing & quality, circulation pumps quality, and loops design (to void friction lost) & size/length.
In milder climate the saving is close to the 60% mark, and if all condition is perfect (which never is) in extreme climate you might see 80% energy saving.
It only make sense to install in new construction because the conversion cost and refinish the house is too high for it to make sense, and keep in mind there are maintenance cost will also have to be factor into the cost of saving. Over all the cost should still be greater than 50% saving to make the solution viable.
For instant it would cost 30-40K to install in floor heating & ducting for cooling/ventilation on a 3000-5000sf new house in Northern BC/AB but the saving should take 8-12 years to pay for it self vs. electrical baseboard heater.
And, it doesn't really make sense to install geothermal in milder climate unless you want bragging rights because it would take 20-25 years before the system pay for it self.
On certain farming application it has taken as little as 5 years to pay for it self vs electrical heating.
You can install heating loops under walkway, driveway, and runway using geothermal because it is the most efficient way to do so, however the energy cost is very high because only a small portion of energy ended up at melting the snow/ice, and majority of the energy radiated off the concrete/pavement (if I remember correctly only 6% of energy do work on ice/snow melting and the rest are lost).
[add] Sorry for the tread crapping.
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