Happy Belated New Year to Everyone! My 3rd utility bill arrived today (via e-mail as I try to have all my mail sent electronically) and I was very curious as to what the total amount would be. It's been very cold here in Asheville over the entire last month and not much free heat from the sun as it's also been very cloudy. The Asheville area has been 10-15 degrees colder than normal, with a few good snow storms mixed in. Even an affordable high efficiency heat pump system (the only heating system for the house), like the one used in this prototype, typically starts to struggle on heat pump mode below 35-40 degrees. With the outside temperature below 35 degrees for the vast majority of the past month, the heat pump has shifted to Aux or Em heat, which is basically strip heating. This is when the heat pump is least efficient and strip heating in general is a very inefficient way to produce energy. I am happy to report that the total utility bill was only $73.01.
I was starting to get a little spoiled by having total energy bills that were less than $50 a month. I then decided to look up my utility bill for the 475 sq ft apartment I was renting at this time last year. That apartment was also all electric and using a heat pump, but didn't have laundry. I also spent time fixing the weatherstripping, inspecting the insulation in the attic and air sealing wherever I could in that apartment. The total bill for that apartment last year in January was $95.36. This prototype home is almost 4x the size of that apartment and my utility bill is $23 less. I know several people living in smaller homes than this prototype who paid $200-300+ over the last month--OUCH! Combining my 1st 3 months of utility bills while living in this prototype home, and according to the Energy Star software, I have saved an average of 68% compared to a newly constructed code based model home. Considering how affordable it was to build this prototype, it feels great to know that I am doing something that is not only smart for my wallet but is also smart for my community--68% reduction in total energy use is wonderful!
My old camera died last month, so I have a new one coming this week. I will take pictures and write a post about the newly installed driveway. I will also take some interior pictures and write a post about the water saving features of this prototype home.
I was starting to get a little spoiled by having total energy bills that were less than $50 a month. I then decided to look up my utility bill for the 475 sq ft apartment I was renting at this time last year. That apartment was also all electric and using a heat pump, but didn't have laundry. I also spent time fixing the weatherstripping, inspecting the insulation in the attic and air sealing wherever I could in that apartment. The total bill for that apartment last year in January was $95.36. This prototype home is almost 4x the size of that apartment and my utility bill is $23 less. I know several people living in smaller homes than this prototype who paid $200-300+ over the last month--OUCH! Combining my 1st 3 months of utility bills while living in this prototype home, and according to the Energy Star software, I have saved an average of 68% compared to a newly constructed code based model home. Considering how affordable it was to build this prototype, it feels great to know that I am doing something that is not only smart for my wallet but is also smart for my community--68% reduction in total energy use is wonderful!
My old camera died last month, so I have a new one coming this week. I will take pictures and write a post about the newly installed driveway. I will also take some interior pictures and write a post about the water saving features of this prototype home.
That's really great, Craig! I have friends in Asheville who pay considerably more than that for less square footage. You said you had a "high efficiency heat pump" - could you tell us what brand it is? I'm looking at a Hallowell and as you can see in the provided chart, it supplies 112 degree heat when the air temperature outside is 15 degrees. Of course, I don't know how much these units cost, so that is something that needs to be taken into consideration.
ReplyDeleteVery inspirational. My electric bill was four hundred plus dollars this month. I have a new heat pump and use my woodstove often. My house is half the size of yours. My bedrooms are so small upstairs that you can touch the ceiling without getting on your tip-toes. Good job!
ReplyDeleteJeff,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delayed response. My heat pump is rated at 16 SEER and 8.2 SFPF. Actually the 8.2 HSPF is not very high, but to step up to the next level of 9.0 HSPF it would have cost about $1,000.00 more. When comparing the energy savings between the two systems, it showed that based on the heating degree days for my locations, I would save on average $40 per year. Doing the math, it would take about 25 years to pay back the difference. I would be surprised if this system is still running smoothly 25 years from now. As for the Hallowell system, the marketing sounds great, but I don't know what the price difference and energy savings would be compared to my Lennox system. I also designed the duct system in this prototype to try and reduce the length of the duct runs and increasing the cfm's in specific locations. Although I would not consider myself an HVAC expert, I do know who to turn to when I am not sure about certain very technical issues. Always make sure that a proper manual J is done to size the system properly. Also, I plan to have a pellet stove installed some day, so I wanted to take that $1,000.00 difference and put it towards the pellet stove.
8.2 HSPF!
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