Summer Update

Obviously it's been a while since my last post.  My main focus for this summer has been on establishing my gardens and working on the landscaping.  Doing this organically has posed some challenges, particularly dealing with the bugs.  I'm trying different organic soap sprays to see which one has the best results, but as anyone who has tried to do everything organically knows, it takes some trial and error.  Another challenge has been the weather patterns here in Asheville for 2012.  Lots of rain, followed by no rain for a while.  Late frosts and a hot summer have added to the challenges.  Overall, I estimate that once all the current food producing plants are established, I can cut my grocery bill by $100-$150 per month.

As for how the home is performing, it's been continually excellent.  My last 5 total energy bills are as follows: $27.72, $29.77, $28.56, $36.96 and $36.96.  When I use these totals to calculate my average energy bill for almost 2 years of living in the home, I estimate that I have cut total energy costs by 78% compared to a code based model home.  I'm still interested in installing solar panels, but I will most likely wait until the end of this year to explore this option again.  Net Zero is still the goal, but cutting 78% off my energy bill without alternative energy sources has kept me pretty content for now.

I've had some followers of this blog ask me to go into more detail about my HVAC system; particularly the brand that I chose.  I've covered this topic in earlier posts, but not specifically about the brand I used.  For me, brands like Lennox, Carrier and Trane all provide quality systems.  What is comes down to is making sure that a full manual J calculation was performed to insure the system is sized right, that the system was designed for proper air flow and comfort, and that they system was installed correctly.  I chose Lennox for two reason.  My HVAC installer carried this brand and Lennox had the system numbers I needed for the energy modeling that was being done.  I truly believe you probably won't go wrong choosing any of these manufacturers providing the above criteria for sizing, installation and design are done correctly.

Best Regards,
Craig