JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 05:59 PM |
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Hi -- and thanks in advance for any info or opinions anyone can offer on my geo situation. My geo system was installed in August of 2007, and I'm concerned about its effeciency. My house is 2400 sf, located in central N.J. There are a lot of windows and doors, but it's only 30 years old. I have two WaterFurnace units, each 4 tons. My loop is closed, buried in my yard, and is 765 feet, which means 95 feet-per-ton. My thermostats are set at 63 degrees, never changed. I pay between 7 and 15 cents per kWh for electric. So far, my winter electric bills have been costing me -- I believe -- between $200 and $300 a month for heat. Would gas or oil heat be cheaper? What do houses with that kind of heat usually cost per month? After all, there was a large initial investment for the geo.
I've thought about adding more loop. But WaterFurnace doesn't think that would change much, because the loop temperature has been measured and is pretty good as is.
Thanks for any help/insight you all can offer.
Thursday, January 01, 2009 |
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geo fan
Basic Member
Posts:405
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:09 PM |
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does your system have aux heat
I just did a comparison for my parents
in Dec. it cost them 4.80 a day for heat and hot water averaged out of course
It would have cost them roughly 16 bucks per day for the same output with oil at todays lower prices 480 winter , 3500 annual
Kwh is just under 18cents in ct
3000 square feet not that tight
How accurate is your cost analysis of the geo system
If your system has backup heat what controlls it
To answer your at 8 bucks a day if your numbers are right , this is high and likely indicates allot of aux heat but is still about half what you would have paid for any oil or gas system
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:10 PM |
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It does, but that feature was turned off so that we could see what the geo alone would do. |
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arkieoscar
New Member
Posts:44
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:18 PM |
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Wow! 8 tons for 2400sq.ft.-That's alot. You would be better off adding insulation, upgrading windows and sealing up the house. I heat and cool 2800 ft. with 3 1/2 tons. I have strips in the larger unit but only turn them on to test. If you have good EWT, you are probably saving big money over gas or oil heat. You should get an energy audit. You can get a credit to pay for it on your income tax.
I'm in far north Arkansas. It's only a little warmer here than there. We had 6 degrees last week with a high of 22.
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geodean
Veteran Member
Posts:1169
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:22 PM |
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Based on the experience others have had with Water Furnace, I wouldn't believe anything they tell you.
Can you find out what the temp of your loop is?
Are your heat pumps running most of the time, some of the time, or not very often?
I have one 4 1/2 ton heat pump in my house, it runs about 5 - 8 hours out of 24 hours .
It cost me $68 to run last month. |
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Dewayne Dean
www.PalaceGeothermal.com
Why settle for 90% when you can have 400%
We heat and cool with dirt!
visit- http://welserver.com/WEL0114/- to see my system |
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:23 PM |
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Could you tell me what "strips" are and what EWT means? That's a great idea about getting an energy audit with a tax credit. I've been wanting to get the house audited, but I didn't think I could afford it. Thanks! |
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geo fan
Basic Member
Posts:405
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:23 PM |
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does the system do domestic hot water , if not did the source of your hotwater change ie gas to electric |
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geo fan
Basic Member
Posts:405
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:26 PM |
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entering water temp
electric backup heat strips |
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:30 PM |
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I think the loop is running at about 32-34 degrees in the coldest weather. But I'll have to check on it. Is there a way I can check it myself, or do I need special equipment? The pumps, I'd say, run some of the time to not very often. $68/month sounds pretty good -- is your electric cost comparable to mine? I'm paying 15 cents per kWh on-peak, 7 cents off-peak. Thx. |
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:33 PM |
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Our hot water is electric, too. But we do get some benefit from the geo -- it has the function that allows for hot water generated by the system to be used again. Do you know of a way to measure how much electric is going to the hot water heater? Is there a typical estimate? Thx. |
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:34 PM |
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Can you tell me what is considered a good EWT? I'll check what ours is. Thank you. |
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geodean
Veteran Member
Posts:1169
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:36 PM |
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Our rate is 7 cents. I have half the heat pump, a well insulated house and a cheaper electric rate. How much did it cost you to heat your house before geo? |
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Dewayne Dean
www.PalaceGeothermal.com
Why settle for 90% when you can have 400%
We heat and cool with dirt!
visit- http://welserver.com/WEL0114/- to see my system |
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geodean
Veteran Member
Posts:1169
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| 01 Jan 2009 06:40 PM |
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About 10% of the cost goes to heating water. My EWT is 48°. The warmer the better. Heat pumps are rated at for 30°. Much below that means the designer / installer messed up. |
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Dewayne Dean
www.PalaceGeothermal.com
Why settle for 90% when you can have 400%
We heat and cool with dirt!
visit- http://welserver.com/WEL0114/- to see my system |
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P haskell
New Member
Posts:27
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| 01 Jan 2009 07:14 PM |
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Where abouts do you live GeoDean and what temp does it get to be? |
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 07:34 PM |
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We're in central NJ, and it's cold here right now -- in the low 20s. Usually our winters are like this -- between 20-35 degrees on average. |
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 07:36 PM |
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I wish I knew how much the heating bills were before geo. But I can't get that info. I do know it was oil heat. |
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conniepangan
Basic Member
Posts:110
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| 01 Jan 2009 07:40 PM |
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Hi Jill, I live in North Jersey and just had my geo installed last November. True, we had our first electric bill the same as yours this December with auxilliary heat on too at times when the temperature is in the 20's. I had oil before that which cost me close to $2000 last year (including yearly contract and $3.54/gallon of last year). If the bill will average about $200 to $300 a month in the winter, it will give approximately $1200 for the winter so I guess we're still saving money? |
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geodean
Veteran Member
Posts:1169
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| 01 Jan 2009 07:43 PM |
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We are 41° right now. You can live monitoring of my system here . |
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Dewayne Dean
www.PalaceGeothermal.com
Why settle for 90% when you can have 400%
We heat and cool with dirt!
visit- http://welserver.com/WEL0114/- to see my system |
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 07:45 PM |
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Our aux heat is turned off at the moment -- so that we can see how the geo does on its own. I'm just wondering if our costs are high because the system is at fault somehow (would more loop help? that's sooo expensive to do) or if the problem is that our house has a lot of big windows and some kind of high ceilings. Plus, the hot air comes out of the ceiling, which is such a dumb way to do it. The house was built in the 70s when energy was cheap. |
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JillF
New Member
Posts:26
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| 01 Jan 2009 07:48 PM |
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Very cool. I notice you have 6000' of loop. Maybe that's why your system works so well. We have just under 800' of vertical loop. I'm going to try to find a way to check my EWT. That seems to be important. |
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