Upgraded 52 Year Old House Burns No Fossil Fuels
Submitted By: Louise Clark (LouiseClark@comcast.net)

Challenge

I had a simple goal: to upgrade my 52 year old house so that it would burn no fossil fuels. This might sound a little overwhelming, but fortunately I have an engineer son who was willing to tackle the challenge for me. Our home feels a little like a lab where we’re experimenting with the latest technologies for producing and conserving clean energy!


Solution Details

The solution that my son came up with has three basic parts:

heat_pump
Using Geothermal for Heating & Cooling - My home was designed with a radiant heating system (water piped through concrete floors), with the water heated by natural gas. It is has now been upgraded so the water circulating through the floors is heated by solar energy on sunny days and by ground source heat--from two newly installed 260 foot deep wells--when it is cloudy. Water is pumped through a heat pump to complement water heated by roof top solar panels -- keeping my house at 72 degrees year round. A control system decides when to heat or cool and where to draw heat from. If the tanks are already hot, then the water is used as is. If the tanks are warm, then the heat pump draws warm water from the tanks which doubles efficiency compared to heating from a cold water source.

tank room
My son purchased the water-to-water heat pump from Florida Heat Pump which is a leader in geothermal technology and has been in business for 40 years. Their catalog describes how it works: “The technology uses the relatively constant temperature of the earth (thermal energy) to provide heating, air conditioning and hot water. Ground and water temperatures, 6 feet below the Earth’s surface, stay relatively constant throughout the year. This allows the system to provide extremely efficient heating or cooling all year long in virtually any climate. In order to transfer heat to or from the house heat exchangers (ground loops) are installed in the ground. These consist of high density polyethylene plastic pipes. The loops are then connected to the heat pump and fluid circulated between them transferring the heat between the heat pump and the earth.”

Making My Home More Energy Efficient - My heating solution works because I added insulation and double-paned windows and sliding glass doors in 2009. I also lowered my use of electricity by replacing my original 58 fluorescent tubes with LED tube lights. Our house was designed with tube (vs. recessed) lighting fixtures.

Generating Electricity with Solar Panels - I had 36 PV (photovoltaic) panels installed on my roof about a decade ago and recently added more panels to accommodate the increased need for electricity to run the heat pump. We originally had 4 rows of 9 Schott ASE 300 watt panels. My son is now in the process of putting 1 row of these panels (9 panels) on three “trackers” that follow the sun during the day. They constantly adapt the angle of the PVT panels to face the sun to maximize the electric and thermal energy that is captured. The trackers will also include reflectors, which reflect light onto the panels, and can double the amount of solar energy captured. The trackers are from a German company called DEGERenergie. We are also in the process of adding 20 additional 180 watt translucent PV panels made by Sharp, above an outside garden area to provide more electricity and partial shade.

img_0389-1trellis solar

All you need to know is that I produce solar electricity when the sun shines, selling my excess to PG&E. I buy it back from PG&E when the sun doesn't shine. When I produce more electricity than I use, PG&E will start paying me for the excess.


Benefits & Payback

Making upgrades in these three areas has totally eliminated my use of fossil fuels. PG&E actually removed my gas meter a year ago as I no longer burn fossil fuel. And my electric bill is around $5.50 per month just to pay for the PG&E meter reader.

IMG_0388
My friends say they are inspired by my old house that doesn't pollute the atmosphere. I’m grateful to have an engineer son who did or ordered all the retrofitting work. It is my understanding that there are commercial companies that can be hired to do all that is necessary to eliminate burning of fossil fuel for heat and light.

Picture on right is digital display in my kitchen.



Informational Links

Geothermal:
Florida Heat Pump
Info on Geothermal Heat Pumps - U.S. Dept of Energy
Explanation of How Geothermal Works - California Energy Commission

Solar:
Schott Solar
DEGERenergie Tracking Systems
Sharp Translucent Panels


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