Any info about summer/winter hook up, oil heat?
mandogirl
16 years ago
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Carol_from_ny
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Extreme heat summer, freeze in winter
Comments (7)Except for the elevation, Ticaboo sounds like my neighborhood. (I'm at 2900 ft.) I second both tugbrethil and desertlvr's suggestions. I've purchased stuff from High Desert Garden and it's done fine with my climate (my rodents are another story). There seem to be a lot of websites and books about desert gardening in Phoenix and Tucson. It can be downright depressing -- low desert stuff can be really beautiful. Sometimes you can get some of the less cold hearty stuff to work where it's blocked from the cold some. I've also observed that it may get real cold sometimes, but it generally warms up later in the day. (It's only 17 for about 2 hours.) However, I lived at rental once where the owner had put in iceplant. It lasted for two years before we had a wierd three days that it never got warmer than 45 degrees. That killed it all off. I've found that web sites about gardening in Las Vegas are of some help to me. Although I don't think the valley floor there gets quite as cool as where I live and they don't seem to have the wind issues. They do have plants they recommend. Best of luck!!...See MoreConflicting info about heat pumps in Georgia
Comments (33)Okay - thanks everyone for your input. I spent the evening looking over my bills and refiguring the math. I went with a the heat pump for several reasons. #1 - Going complete electric. The furnace was our only gas appliance and once I did the math, I realized it wasn't worth it to keep gas supplied for that because of the delivery charge. (see #2) #2 - in our case, electric heat is cheaper. See if you follow my math: Electric - Right now we pay $0.10 per kWh with an additional 12.77% service charge for various things. I didn't include the sales tax in this calculation b/c it is the same for both services. With fees, that would be $0.1135 per kWh With a HP at 9.5 HSPF, we pay $11.95 per million Btu. Natural Gas - Right now we are paying $0.74 per therm with a $27.99 per month delivery fee (which is standard for our area). Based on last years usage: 12 months x $27.99 = $335.88 We used 681 therms x $0.74 per therm = $503.94 Total cost of $839.82 / 681 therms = $1.23 per therm with fees. With a 95% Eff furnace that ends up being $12.95 per million Btu. Since we are improving the insulation, our therm usage may go down by 30% but our monthly service charge wills stay the same so: [(476 therms x $0.74 per therm) + $335.88 delivery charge] / 476 therms = $1.45 per therm with fees That would drive our our cost per million Btu to $15.26 So . . . Heat Pump Unit and Furnace + AC Units at equivalent efficiency cost the same thing - $5,200 Heat Pump costs $11.95 per mil Btu for heat Furnace costs $12.95-$15.26 per mil Btu for heat I am assuming the cost to cool will be equivalent since both units will use electricity and are equally efficient. In addition, I get $400 rebate on the heat pump. #3 - Our mild climate. While anecdotal, I talked to several people in my area with heat pumps and they were very happy with the temperature control in their house. No one had trouble with the heat pump keeping up during our short and infrequent cold snaps. #4 - Heat pump is greener. Natural gas is a fossil fuel and while fossil fuels are also used to generate electricity, there is always the opportunity for renewable energy sources to be introduced. If we get a NG furnace, we are stuck to only using fossil fuel as an energy source. So . . . that is why I decided on a heat pump. And yes, we are addressing all the insulation and air sealing issues so the house will (hopefully) not be drafty and conducive to heat pump being able to adequately heat our home. Thanks everyone!!!...See Moresummer winter hook-up: hot water problems
Comments (4)That sounds like what I have. My system is a hot water coil that runs through the oil furnace - there is no tank. Is this what you have? If so, I believe that your system cannot heat up the water fast enough if your flow rate is too fast. For instance, in my system, if I run the hot water for a bath at full blast, it is at best lukewarm, but if I run the shower, it is plenty hot. The flow rate is much higher for a bath than for a shower (darn low flow shower heads). The kitchen faucet is probably running at a low enough flow rate so that the coil can heat up the water fast enough to keep up. Your shower temp fluctuating is because the furnace temp is going up and down between hi and low setpoints and that affects the water temp coming through the coil and into your shower. It doesnt take much of a temp change to be noticable in the shower (ask me how I know!!) disclaimer: If you dont have the same setup as I do, then I have no idea :-)...See MoreGot my phone hooked up - So will be moving on over this weekend!
Comments (37)Have not read entire thread so forgive me if I am suggesting/asking stuff already covered. Not sure what area you are in but do you have good cell coverage? Could you do without a landline? Can you get internet thru satellite or cable? When I had small kids I would not give up landline in case of 911 emergencies. When they got to where I thought they could accurately report address I dropped landline and we all have cells as well as an emergency cell that is pay as you go. It is charged and sits in kitchen. Also a couple years ago our area allowed us to voluntarily register our cell numbers with our address. I have since made 911 calls and they asked are you calling from home and able to then connect us to our address. I know that I really like the savings! Best of luck in your new home. Again, if you have small kids the cheapest landline might be a good idea. Maybe this really isn't about what you are asking but just my thoughts....See Moremandogirl
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