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Post by KubanKrawler on Nov 13, 2011 13:21:35 GMT -4
Well, I was reminded of this the other day and thought I'd write up a little update. What I finally went with is poured in-floor, electric hot water boiler with time of day discount, and programmable thermostats. Basically I program the thermostats to raise the temperature to 22C when electricity is half price, and set it to 19 when it's not. The house is R2000, and the cement mass itself acts as a heat sink... so very seldom, or at all does it use power at normal, or peak rates. It's my understanding that this setup is comparable to a modern oil furnace for cost to operate. I love it because it's zero upkeep, and my insurance loves it because there's no fuel on site. We do have a propane fireplace, and a 1500L propane tank as back up heat. I just set us up for the NSP "budget" plan. Based on what we used in the last 11 months (moved in dec last year) we're paying $225/ month. Heat, hot water, lights, everything. Oh, and it's 1700 square feet not including the basement, 2600 including. I think that's pretty darn good. I'll post up a couple pics later. Thi is pretty much the identical setup we have here in the new house. We're happy with it so far.
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Big G
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Post by Big G on Nov 13, 2011 16:01:22 GMT -4
What's the rent on the propane tank Glen? I'm not 100% sure, but $100/ year comes to mind. I know I compared it to 3 uprights, and it was more to instal, but cheaper to rent... and held more.
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Hawkes
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Post by Hawkes on Nov 13, 2011 16:30:39 GMT -4
What's the rent on the propane tank Glen? I'm not 100% sure, but $100/ year comes to mind. I know I compared it to 3 uprights, and it was more to instal, but cheaper to rent... and held more. Sounds like a generic cost. We had a propane kitchen range at the cottage and for the cost of 1 year rental I bought wire and changed it to electric. We had 1 300 lb tank. Dad worked for Irving for a while and got the tank rental free while he was an employee.
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Post by SocialWheeler on Nov 14, 2011 8:54:32 GMT -4
We are using oil-fired hot water baseboard with the exception of electric baseboard in the master bath. 150/mth on the budget for oil and NSP is currently dinging us for about $2/day for the power. House is about 2500 sq ft.
Works out just fine.
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Aaron NN
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Post by Aaron NN on Nov 14, 2011 12:11:57 GMT -4
When we built 2 yrs ago I went with the infloor heat as well. Even did an over-pour on the upper floor and I use a Slant-fin electric boiler. We have 2700 sq/ft and we are on time-of day with NSP as well. It works out to $195/mth on the budget plan. I also put my HotWater heater on a timer as well to cut costs. The only thing I hated is that I had no backup heat source since the electric boiler was too large for the generator panel.
I just installed a 18,000 BTU air-source heat pump that is only a 15amp breaker and added it to the gen panel. The heat pump is great for the short seasons instead of turning on the floors. I am sooo going to love the A/C next summer ;D Aaron
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Dewie
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Post by Dewie on Nov 14, 2011 12:19:51 GMT -4
Are you running forced air in the house as well? or was this a Mini-split style heat-pump?
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Big G
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Post by Big G on Nov 14, 2011 12:49:44 GMT -4
I just installed a 18,000 BTU air-source heat pump that is only a 15amp breaker and added it to the gen panel. The heat pump is great for the short seasons instead of turning on the floors. I am sooo going to love the A/C next summer ;D Aaron I kind of have a heat pump in mind for down the road... I think I'll put a "ductless" one upstairs in our bedroom. Our fireplace is wired to the genset, so that's a decent backup IMO. Pics as promised; Boiler/ pump/ & 6 zones. I just put labels on... much nicer then the sharpie scribbles that were on there. LOL Beer for scale... drinkin' it as I type this. LOL I like gages ;D Tank 17KW propane Kohler genset View of both relative to echother Fireplace (HTMI & outlet are behind picture for future flat screen) What it actually looks like 95% of the time. LOL
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Hawkes
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Post by Hawkes on Nov 14, 2011 13:03:48 GMT -4
When we built 2 yrs ago I went with the infloor heat as well. Even did an over-pour on the upper floor and I use a Slant-fin electric boiler. We have 2700 sq/ft and we are on time-of day with NSP as well. It works out to $195/mth on the budget plan. I also put my HotWater heater on a timer as well to cut costs. The only thing I hated is that I had no backup heat source since the electric boiler was too large for the generator panel. I just installed a 18,000 BTU air-source heat pump that is only a 15amp breaker and added it to the gen panel. The heat pump is great for the short seasons instead of turning on the floors. I am sooo going to love the A/C next summer ;D Aaron At one time the electric hot water tank had to be locked out during the day, I know my co workers is. I thought you needed a thermal storage system to take advantage of time of use. I guess the concrete floor qualifies. I wonder why my wood stove wouldn't qualify? With only a 15 amp breaker and 18K btu I'm guessing the mini.
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Post by ©Big6™ on Nov 14, 2011 13:51:29 GMT -4
I could not believe the power savings by adding a mini-split in my house. And the A/C in the summer to boot!
Our Feb bill last year was $150 less than the year previous, and we added a 4 person hot tub on top of the mini split.
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Aaron NN
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Post by Aaron NN on Nov 14, 2011 13:52:46 GMT -4
Andrew, it is a mini ductless heatpump with just the one head in the main living area. No duct work at all in the house. I was going to go with the propane fireplace as a backup heatsource originaly but with the monthly tank rental, etc... I decided against it.
...and yes they do qualify the concrete as thermal storage retension for NSP time-of-day rates.
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