Reaping the "Green" Benefits

Hello All,

I'm back to tell that you the Geothermal project is ALL DONE. Final installation was completed in the middle of May 2009 and I am happy to say that the costs weren't surprisingly what one might think. With all of the Energy incentives available, it was basically the same as a traditional HVAC system but proving to be more efficient. I can't believe new home builders aren't offering them as a viable option when a homeowner will benefit in the long run especially with the rising utility costs associated with heating and cooling a home.

We've been living with the Geothermal Heating/Cooling for just under 3 months and it is defininitely proving to be a plus. Take for instance during the summer of 2008, I would normally set my thermostat at 74 degrees F during the day and then down to 68 degrees F at night which was "somewhat comfortable" for me. Now I keep the house cooled during the day at 70 degrees F and when sleeping at night, it is dropped down to 65 degrees F which is VERY comfortable for me and my pets. To top it off, my electric bills have been lower than in 2008 with less electricity consumption, and I no longer complain to my other half about being warm all the time. The house is alot more quiet inside since the unit is placed in my basement and not outside the house exposed to the elements.

Another benefit of having had wells dug to supply the water to the Geothermal System is that we had them hooked up to our irrigation system. Our water consumption has dropped tremendously resulting in a decline in our monthly water bills which means our savings continue to escalate.

I couldn't be more happier with our Geothermal conversion and I am really looking forward to our next project - Solar panels for our roof which is coming sometime in September 2009.

Ciao,

Vinnie

GO GREEN - 5 Easy Energy-Saving Tips

I came across an article in a local periodical called "South Jersey House & Home" that gets stuffed in our mailboxes each month and found these 5 easy energy-saving tips that I thought I'd share with everyone. Tip #5 is my personal favorite because we are currently in the process of doing just that which will make our home one step closer to being more GREEN. The article was written by Joe Willix and here are his tips:

Tip #1. TURN IT OFF

Somewhere along the line, we decided it would be great if appliances or devices would be on at all times ready for us to use at our every whim. That uses a lot of electricity. Save a little money each month by turning off computers, cell phone chargers, TVs and battery chargers.

Tip #2. INVEST IN A KILL A WATT

Save hundreds by investing a few bucks in a Kill A Watt monitor. Plug anything into the Kill A Watt and it will measure how much electrical energy anything in your house is using. It's a great way to find out if your old refrigerator needs to be replaced.

Tip #3. DO NOTHING

The "Do Nothing Strategy" calculates how much homeowners will spend on electricity and gas if they keep doing the same thing for the next 25 years. Remember the number $160,804.92. That is how much you will spend if your home uses an average of $200 per month on electricity including the average 7 percent annual electric rate increases over the next 25 years. It's time to think about generating your own electricity with solar or wind power.

Tip #4. PRODUCE YOUR OWN ELECTRICITY AT HOME

Invest in your own solar energy or wind energy system. A 2-kilowatt solar energy system or a 2-kilowatt turbine will produce about 3,200 kilowatt-hours a year. You can install either of these sytems for less than $20,000, and they will produce energy for the next 25 to 40 years. Start small: You can easily expand the solar energy or wind energy system size later. both solar and wind energy are clean energies with zero emissions.

Tip #5. NEVER REPLACE YOUR AIR CONDITIONER

When your air conditioner dies, don't replace it. Invest in a geothermal cooling and heating system, which will reduce your electric usage and your cooling/heating electric bill by more than 50 percent. Air conditioning and heating typically represent 60 percent of your total monthly electric bill. Geothermal uses the moderate temperature of the earth, which is 55 degrees to 72 degrees 6 feet below the surface, to cool and heat your home. These machines are up to four times more efficient than an air conditioner. They are also so quiet that they are installed indoors away from the heat and cold. A geothermal cooling system will pay for itself in a few years.

I mentioned earlier that we are in the process of having a geothermal cooling and heating system installed in our home. Not only am I looking forward to being more GREEN, but saving a substantial amount of money each month on cooling and heating bills are welcomed. Just last week, we had 2 wells (source and return) dug in our backyard which will supply the underground air and water for the system. An added bonus is now that we have our own wells, we will be able to tap into this well water to supply our underground irrigation system taking a strain from our township water supply. Later this week, the actual geothermal cooling and heating unit is to be delivered to our home. PVC pipes still need to be installed in the ground that will connect to the actual system. We are able to use the existing duct work in our home, however some minor tweaking will be needed as well as insulation of the basement ceiling to make it as efficient as possible. We were told that it should take about a week to install the unit, make changes to the duct work and run pipes to our home so the installation date will happen probably in late April. This was our decision because we didn't want to go without heat during the winter months.

As you can see I'm very happy to be able to do my part for Mother Earth by adopting GREEN technology. In the future, solar panels are also on our "To Do" list but first we must get the geothermal project done. I'll let you know how things go once it's done but enjoy the photos of the well being dug which is our ground breaking into a GREENER way of thinking.

Ciao,

Vinnie