Solar Water Heaters – Why not it’s free

Posted on July 8, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Not the system the Sun. There are so many Solar Water Heaters available now that it is embarressing. Anyone who owns their own home and doesn’t install one is an Energy Hog. Tankless water heater owners are given a pass.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_hot_water

Solar hot water

Solar Hot Water refers to water heated by solar energy. Solar heating systems are generally composed of solar thermal collectors, a fluid system to move the heat from the collector to its point of usage, and a reservoir or tank for heat storage and subsequent use. The systems may be used to heat water for home or business use, for swimming pools, underfloor heating or as an energy input for space heating and cooling and industrial applications.

In many climates, a solar heating system can provide a very high percentage (50% to 75%) of domestic hot water energy. In many northern European countries, combined hot water and space heating systems (solar combisystems) are used to provide 15 to 25% of home heating energy.

In the southern regions of Africa like Zimbabwe, solar water heaters have been gaining popularity, thanks to the Austrian and other EU funded projects that are promoting more environmentally friendly water heating solutions.

Residential solar thermal installations can be subdivided into two kinds of systems: compact and pumped systems. Both typically include an auxiliary energy source (electric heating element or connection to a gas or fuel oil central heating system) that is activated when the water in the tank falls below a minimum temperature setting such as 50 °C. Hence, hot water is always available. The combination of solar hot water heating and using the back-up heat from a wood stove chimney to heat water^[2] can enable a hot water system to work all year round in northern climates without the supplemental heat requirement of a solar hot water system being met with fossil fuels or electricity.

Evacuated tube collector

Evacuated tube collectors are made of a series of modular tubes, mounted in parallel, whose number can be added to or reduced as hot water delivery needs change. This type of collector consists of rows of parallel transparent glass tubes, each of which contains an absorber tube (in place of the absorber plate to which metal tubes are attached in a flat-plate collector). The tubes are covered with a special light-modulating coating. In an evacuated tube collector, sunlight passing through an outer glass tube heats the absorber tube contained within it. The absorber can either consist of copper (glass-metal) or specially-coated glass tubing (glass-glass). The glass-metal evacuated tubes are typically sealed at the manifold end, and the absorber is actually sealed in the vacuum, thus the fact that the absorber and heat pipe are dissimilar metals creates no corrosion problems. The better quality systems use foam insulation in the manifold. low iron glass is used in the higher quality evacuated tubes manufacture.

Lower quality evacuated tube systems use the glass coated absorber. Due to the extreme temperature difference of the glass under stagnation temperatures, the glass sometimes shatters. The glass is a lower quality boron silicate material and the aluminum absorber and copper heat pipe are slid down inside the open top end of the tube. Moisture entering the manifold around the sheet metal casing is eventually absorbed by the glass fibre insulation and then finds its way down into the tubes. This leads to corrosion at the absorber/heat pipe interface area, also freeze ruptures of the tube itself if the tube fills sufficiently with water.

Two types of tube collectors are distinguished by their heat transfer method: the simplest pumps a heat transfer fluid (water or antifreeze) through a U-shaped copper tube placed in each of the glass collector tubes. The second type uses a sealed heat pipe that contains a liquid that vapourises as it is heated. The vapour rises to a heat-transfer bulb that is positioned outside the collector tube in a pipe through which a second heat transfer liquid (the water or antifreeze) is pumped. For both types, the heated liquid then circulates through a heat exchanger and gives off its heat to water that is stored in a storage tank (which itself may be kept warm partially by sunlight). Evacuated tube collectors heat to higher temperatures, with some models providing considerably more solar yield per square metre than flat panels. However, they are more expensive and fragile than flat panels. The high stagnation temperatures can cause antifreeze to break down, so careful consideration must be used if selecting this type of system in temperate climates.

For a given absorber area, evacuated tubes can maintain their efficiency over a wide range of ambient temperatures and heating requirements. The absorber area only occupied about 50% of the collector panel on early designs, however this has changed as the technology has advanced to maximize the absorption area. In extremely hot climates, flat-plate collectors will generally be a more cost-effective solution than evacuated tubes. When employed in arrays of 20 to 30 or more, the efficient but costly evacuated tube collectors have net benefit in winter and also give real advantage in the summer months. They are well suited to extremely cold ambient temperatures and work well in situations of consistently low-light. They are also used in industrial applications, where high water temperatures or steam need to be generated. Properly designed evacuated tubes have a life expectancy of over 25 years which greatly adds to their value.

Or you could make your own:

www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/1979-09-01/A-Homemade-Solar–Water–Heater.asp

This is what the Chinese buy:

http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/cninterma/product-detailxoHJaYFbJrhW/China-Solar-Collector-SCS-.html

Or you could Pay Alot for it:

http://solarroofs.com/

There is a lot out there:

www.firemountainsolar.com/solarhotwater.html

www.honglesolar.com/SolarWaterHeater.htm

www.sunheat.com

http://talensun.com/procuct.asp

www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/Plumbing/solar–water–heaters

www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm

www.solarpanelsplus.com

www.solarenergy.com

Geothermal Heat Pumps For Water Heaters And Refrigerators – Well maybe but it is expensive

Posted on July 7, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

If the Geothermal Heat Pump is the best, why not use it throughout the house? It’s true, you could use a Geothermal Heat Pump to refrigerate your food and heat your water. It’s expensive and against many of the principals CES stands for. Why? Well there is a number of reasons. One, you can’t use the same Geothermal Heat Pump to heat and cool your house and heat your water and cool your food. In fact you can’t even use the same Geothermal Heat Pump to heat your water and cool your food. A Geothermal Heat Pump works for conditioning your air in your house because it cycles through the heating and cooling system. That is it is reversible.

Heating water at the same time as cooling your food would require 2 additional Geothermal Heat Pumps and while that would save energy its a huge waste of equipment. At 2,000$ – 3000$ per Heat Pump you would be paying a lot for the privileged of hot water and cool food.

Second the best bet for heating water is either a tankless water heater or better yet a Solar Water Heater system. It is a toss up in Illinois which is better. The Tankless Water Heater is ideal for the cooling season because you get around the energy “war” between heating your water and cooling your house. Where Solar Water Heaters heat water efficiently they generally heat lots more water and need super insulation to avoid that energy “war”.

Using a 2000-3000$ device to cool your food? It would last virtually for ever so its life-cycle cost would be great. Still it seems somewhat futuristic. Most Refrigerators are build completely wrong anyway. The freezer should be at the bottom, the food compartment on top of that and the Compressor on top of that. After all cold falls and heat rises doesn’t it?

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=12840

Heat Pump Water Heaters

Most homeowners who have heat pumps use them to heat and cool their homes. But a heat pump also can be used to heat water—either as stand-alone water heating system, or as combination water heating and space conditioning system.

How They Work

Heat pump water heaters use electricity to move heat from one place to another instead of generating heat directly. Therefore, they can be two to three times more energy efficient than conventional electric resistance water heaters. To move the heat, heat pumps work like a refrigerator in reverse.

While a refrigerator pulls heat from inside a box and dumps it into the surrounding room, a stand-alone air-source heat pump water heater pulls heat from the surrounding air and dumps it—at a higher temperature—into a tank to heat water. You can purchase a stand-alone heat pump water heating system as an integrated unit with a built-in water storage tank and back-up resistance heating elements. You can also retrofit a heat pump to work with an existing conventional storage water heater. They require installation in locations that remain in the 40º–90ºF (4.4º–32.2ºC) range year-round and provide at least 1,000 cubic feet (28.3 cubic meters) of air space around the water heater. Cool exhaust air can be exhausted to the room or outdoors. Install them in a space with excess heat, such as a furnace room. Heat pump water heaters will not operate efficiently in a cold space. They tend to cool the spaces they are in. You can also install an air-source heat pump system that combines heating, cooling, and water heating. These combination systems pull their heat indoors from the outdoor air in the winter and from the indoor air in the summer. Because they remove heat from the air, any type of air-source heat pump system works more efficiently in a warm climate.

Homeowners primarily install geothermal heat pumps—which draw heat from the ground during the winter and from the indoor air during the summer—for heating and cooling their homes. For water heating, you can add a desuperheater to a geothermal heat pump system. A desuperheater is a small, auxiliary heat exchanger that uses superheated gases from the heat pump’s compressor to heat water. This hot water then circulates through a pipe to the home’s storage water heater tank.

Desuperheaters are also available for demand (tankless or instantaneous) water heaters. In the summer, the desuperheater uses the excess heat that would otherwise be expelled to the ground. Therefore, when the geothermal heat pump runs frequently during the summer, it can heat all of your water. During the fall, winter, and spring—when the desuperheater isn’t producing as much excess heat—you’ll need to rely more on your storage or demand water heater to heat the water. Some manufacturers also offer triple-function geothermal heat pump systems, which provide heating, cooling, and hot water. They use a separate heat exchanger to meet all of a household’s hot water needs.

http://www.greenerbuilding.org/buying_advice.php?cid=104

Heat Pump Water Heater

Heat pump water heaters (HPWH) work using the same premise as any heat pump. Heat pumps transfer heat from one zone to another and most achieve efficiency factors (EF) of 2 to 3. Heat pumps gain their efficiency by using electricity to move heat versus using the electricity to create it.

Heat pumps move temperature from a warm location such as an outside space in a warm climate, near a furnace, or from the basement, to the water storage tank. The heat pump uses a heat exchanger located within the tank to transfer the warmth to the water. Because the HPWH extracts heat from the air it delivers about twice the heat as a conventional electric water heater.

The byproduct of this water heating is air cooling. In some applications the units can act as both a water heater and air conditioner. Depending on needs such as condition of current water heater, HPWHs are available as independent units, or as add-ons to existing systems. Initial purchase and maintenance can make these an expensive choice especially when inexpensive natural gas is an option. In appropriate applications, the HPWHs save energy in almost every situation.

The downside to greater efficiency is a more complicated installation. HPWHs should be installed by professionals who can assist with choosing a water heating system that matches your needs. The investment costs can be recouped quickly when hot water use and electricity costs are high. HPWHs are most efficient in warm climates or when installed in a heated location, such as a furnace room. Because the efficiency and capacity of the HPWH decrease as air temperatures drop, cold ambient temperature locations should be avoided.

Maintenance of HPWHs is higher than with other options, sometimes requiring routine heat exchanger coil cleaning as often as every 3 months. Heat pumps are slower than electric water heaters by about 25%. While this may not be an issue often, if the demand for hot water exceeds the supply the backup heaters come on, reducing efficiency of the entire unit.

This is the one they like if you want to see a living breathing specimen:

http://www.aers.com/etech_residential_water_heating.html

You probably have a heat pump in your home. Refrigerators ARE Heat Pumps. But they are never asked to heat any thing. In other words they are not dual cycle. The problem with refrigerators is that they ventilate in the house and during the cooling season this is simply a bad idea. Net cycle because they reduce the heating load during the heating season. A house with 3 heat pumps and a superinsulated water heater and a super insulated refrigerator such differences would be minute.

http://www.saburchill.com/physics/chapters/0126.html

Thermal Physics

Heat Pumps

If a heat engine is operated in reverse, as described above, it has the effect of transferring internal energy from a body at a low temperature to one at a higher temperature. It is then called a “heat pump” (or a refrigerator depending on what it is used for).

A heat pump or fridge can be represented by a similar diagram to the one used for the heat engine but with the arrows representing energy flows reversed.

An explanation of the operation of a fridge requires consideration of cooling caused by evaporation.

The temperature of a body is a measure of the average kinetic energy of its particles. During evaporation, the molecules which are more likely to “escape” from liquid and become part of the vapour are the ones which have higher than average kinetic energy. Therefore, if you cause the rate of evaporation of a liquid to increase, without supplying energy, the temperature of the remaining liquid will decrease.

The rate of evaporation of a liquid can be increased by

i)	decreasing the pressure acting on its surface
ii)	blowing air over the surface (clothes dry more quickly on a windy day)
iii)	increasing the surface area of the liquid (evaporation only occurs at the surface)
iv)	increasing the temperature

The diagram below shows the main parts of a refrigerator.

In the tubes around the freezer compartment, the pressure is decreased by the pump (there is a small section of the tube which is narrower than the rest). Rapid evaporation takes place here and latent heat of vaporisation is taken in.

In the tubes outside the refrigerator, the vapour is compressed and then it condenses. Latent heat is given out as it condenses.

Energy Independence Day – Stop burning things up.

Posted on July 4, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Community Energy Systems’ mission is to educate the public regarding energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the prudent and fair operation of utility companies. We believe that mission requires both intellectual and practical applications.

Energy Independence
Every July 4rth it is long over due that the people of Illinois declare their Energy Independence from the utility companies that prey on them and from the green house gases they emit.Everyday the Earth is bombarded by in excess of 27 gigawatts of power by the sun. This is after the Earth captures enough to grow all of the food to feed everyone on the planet. This is after the earth captures enough to warm the oceans. Yet the 27 gigawatts that we allow to be reflected away everyday is 7 gigawatts more than we humans consume in a single day. Instead the utility companies burn coal more desperately everyday.Everyday the Earth is orbited by the moon, which generates untold gigawatts of tidal power. These sources are so powerful that the first attempts to harness them in the Hudson River crumpled the turbines steel fins like so many sheets of tissue paper. This tidal power causes a drop in water levels in some extreme cases as much as 26 feet everyday. This generates more than enough power for a state like Illinois for an entire day. Instead the utility companies burn uranium more desperately everyday.

Everyday the Earth itself generates enough energy to power the state of Illinois. The Earth generates enough rain to power Illinois using smart hydroelectric systems. The Earth generates enough wind power to feed Illinois’ thirst for electricity everyday. Indeed when harvested properly the Earth generates enough geothermal energy to power Illinois everyday. And yet everyday the utility companies burn natural gas more desperately. So desperately that they are proposing huge Liquid Natural Gas ports up and down our coasts which will put peoples lives in jeopardy.

It is time for Illinois to stand up for its Energy Independence Day. Dig and Burn is no longer an earth acceptable way to generate energy. Burning the planet up is not the answer for Illinois’ future.

If You Are A Genius You Install A Geothermal Heat Pump

Posted on July 3, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Short of Heating your house with Solar and cooling your house with evaporated water, this is the closest thing we have right now to an environmentally sound system. Its advantage is that it heats and cools the house as one unit and the Earth becomes your heat sink.

Thanks to the good people of Econar for the Explanation:

http://www.econar.com/

ECONAR^® GeoSource^® Geothermal Heat Pumps

How Geothermal Works

Geothermal can be used to providing heating or cooling services. In each instance the process is similar.

Geothermal Heating
In the heating mode, the water circulating in the earth loop is colder than the surrounding ground. This causes the water to absorb energy, in the form of heat, from the earth. The water carries this energy to the heat exchanger in the pump. In the heat exchanger, refrigerant absorbs the heat energy from the water. The water now leaves the heat exchanger at a colder temperature, and circulates through the earth loop to pick up more energy.

The refrigerant gas, which contains energy gained from the earth loop, travels from the heat exchanger to the compressor. In the compressor, the refrigerant temperature rises to 160°. From the compressor, the superheated refrigerant travels to the air heat exchanger. Here, the heat pump’s blower circulates air across the air coil, increasing the temperature of the air, which is blown through ductwork to heat the home. After refrigerant releases its heat energy to the air, it then flows to the earth loop heat exchanger to start the cycle again.

Geothermal Cooling
In the cooling mode, the water circulating in the earth loop is warmer than the surrounding ground. This causes the water to release energy, in the form of heat, into the earth. The water, now cooler from traveling through the ground now flows to the heat exchanger in the heat pump. In the heat exchanger, hot refrigerant gas from the compressor releases its heat into the water. This causes the water to increase temperature, which it releases to the ground.

The refrigerant, which has released its heat energy and became a cold liquid, now travels to the heat exchanger. Here the heat pump’s blower circulates warm, humid air across the cold air coil. The air is then blown through ductwork to cool the home. The refrigerant in the air coil picks up the heat energy from the air, and travels to the compressor. When the refrigerant leaves the compressor, it then flows to the earth loop heat exchanger to start the cycle again:}

Then there is Mr. Slim – The Japanese are always one step ahead:

http://www.mrslim.com/Products/subCategory.asp?ProductCategoryID=24&ProductSubCategoryID=140

Which does not explicitly say it can be hooked up to a geothermal loop but I am sure it can…I can’t copy Mitsubishi’s web page so you will have to look for yourself. Then self promoter Doug Rye:

http://www.geothermal-heat-pump-resource.org/

Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHP’s) have been supplying homes and businesses with high efficiency heating and cooling for nearly 20 years.

If you’re planning to build a new house, office building, or school, or replace your heating and cooling system, you may want to consider a geothermal heat pump (GHP) system. Geothermal heat pump systems are also known as GeoExchange^SM, ground-source, water-source heat pumps (as opposed to air-source heat pumps), earth-coupled heat pump, heat pump ground-source, or ground-coupled heat pump. Regardless of what you call them, energy-efficient geothermal heat pumps are available today for both residential and commercial building applications.

Did you know? The average life span of a geothermal heat pump is 22 years. That’s a long time!

Geothermal heat pumps save money, reduce emissions, and are cost effective in replacing conventional heating and cooling technologies

www.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/heatpumps.html

www.igshpa.okstate.edu/geothermal/residential

www.reddawn.com/featart11-98.html

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_exchange_heat_pump

People will even give you money for installing one:

www.nhec.com/residential_residentialheatpumps.php

What a deal!

We Are All Going To Die – Oil hits 150$$ a barrel.

Posted on July 2, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Just kidding. It’s hard to concentrate on the residential housing market when everyone is all aflutter about the high prices of gasoline and the artificially high oil prices. I wish gasoline prices would double again. Then we would see some real doom and gloom. This from Asianone:

http://business.asiaone.com/Business/My%2BMoney/Opinion/Story/A1Story20080701-74069.html:}

The economics of running on empty

Wed, Jul 02, 2008
The New Paper

By Dr Larry Haverkamp

Surprisingly, there are only two ways to invest: You can own or you can lend. That’s it.

Owning is called ‘buying equity’. Examples are stocks and property.

It earns about 12 per cent a year with lots of ups and downs. You could lose some sleep.

Lending is called ‘buying debt’. Examples are fixed deposits and bonds.

It earns about 3 per cent a year and lets you sleep soundly.

An age-old truth of investments is that equity earns more than debt. I guess it’s obvious since 12 per cent is more than 3 per cent.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

But now, everything has changed. The world is entering a new era of shortages that could turn the old rules on their heads.

Stocks would follow the economy down, leaving fixed deposits as the top money-earner.

The story begins with the higher prices for natural resources like food, fuel and minerals.

High prices, however, are only a symptom. Chronic shortages are the problem.

You can imagine, for example, the difficulty of building a house without steel or cement.

We saw something like this in 1973 and again in 1982. The US was hit with an oil shortfall, which resulted in both recession and inflation, called stagflation. It spread to Singapore and around the world.

In hindsight, it seems overblown, since everything turned out okay. Prices shot up, then they came down. Growth slowed, then it picked up.

Prosperity returned, as it always does. If it didn’t, you would have a permanent recession. The notion is so absurd that no economist in their right mind would even consider it. So I will.

In a worse-case scenario, permanent recession hits and each generation becomes poorer than the last. Gross domestic product (GDP) declines continuously. It eventually hits zero and we return to subsistence living, like our cavemen ancestors.

We may be seeing the beginning of that now.

Demand is out-pacing the world’s limited supplies, pushing prices higher.

NEW OIL RECORD

Last Friday, oil hit another new high of US$142 a barrel. It is exactly double the price of one year ago.

The demand comes from a rising middle class in China, India and the Middle East. This is new. We didn’t have it in 1973 and1982.

When Li Yong, Ramesh and Abdullah buy their first motorbikes, they love it. They find it hard to go back to peddling bicycles.

The US Department of Energy expects energy use in 30 developed countries to increase 25 per cent by 2030. In developing countries, it will increase 95 per cent.

As high prices persist for one, two, three and then 10 years, people will grow to understand that this is more than just a speculative bubble. (Sorry, Fat Cat.)

A permanent shortage of input (resources) produces a continuous decline in output (GDP). That, by the way, is the definition of a permanent recession.

To drive the point home, try this experiment:

Fill up your car or motorbike with one tank of gas and drive to Kuala Lumpur. When you run out of petrol, walk the rest of the way. It shouldn’t take more than a week.

You’ll be tired, but you will gain insight into a life without natural resources.

The shortages will sneak up on us gradually. A tank of petrol will soon cost some drivers a full day’s wages. After that, it will take a month’s wages and then a year’s.

Finally, availability will cease altogether and the lights will go out.

Future generations will sit around the campfire and tell fantastic stories about hollow trees with wheels that took people from Yishun to Orchard Road in less than an hour.

This from Singapore no less…

Heating And Cooling Your House The Grown Up Way – Pump pump my heat pump

Posted on July 1, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

That’s right for you rap fans Hump up to the Heat Pump, Jump up to my Heat Pump it’ll burn you baby!…Well maybe not. The idea behind a heat pump is temperature differential. When its cold outside you throw heat inside because the fluid is colder than the cold and when its hot outside you throw heat out side because the heat is hotter then the hot. Well let’s let the experts explain…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump

According to the second law of thermodynamics heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder location to a hotter area; work is required to achieve this. Heat pumps differ in how they apply this work to move heat, but they can essentially be thought of as heat engines operating in reverse. A heat engine allows energy to flow from a hot ‘source’ to a cold heat ‘sink’, extracting a fraction of it as work in the process. Conversely, a heat pump requires work to move thermal energy from a cold source to a warmer heat sink.

Since the heat pump uses a certain amount of work to move the heat, the amount of energy deposited at the hot side is greater than the energy taken from the cold side by an amount equal to the work required. Conversely, for a heat engine, the amount of energy taken from the hot side is greater than the amount of energy deposited in the cold heat sink since some of the heat has been converted to work.

One common type of heat pump works by exploiting the physical properties of an evaporating and condensing fluid known as a refrigerant.

A simple stylized diagram of a heat pump’s vapor-compression refrigeration cycle: 1) condenser, 2) expansion valve, 3) evaporator, 4) compressor.

The working fluid, in its gaseous state, is pressurized and circulated through the system by a compressor. On the discharge side of the compressor, the now hot and highly pressurized gas is cooled in a heat exchanger called a condenser until it condenses into a high pressure, moderate temperature liquid. The condensed refrigerant then passes through a pressure-lowering device like an expansion valve, capillary tube, or possibly a work-extracting device such as a turbine. This device then passes the low pressure, barely liquid (saturated vapor) refrigerant to another heat exchanger, the evaporator where the refrigerant evaporates into a gas via heat absorption. The refrigerant then returns to the compressor and the cycle is repeated.

In such a system it is essential that the refrigerant reaches a sufficiently high temperature when compressed, since the second law of thermodynamics prevents heat from flowing from a cold fluid to a hot heat sink. Similarly, the fluid must reach a sufficiently low temperature when allowed to expand, or heat cannot flow from the cold region into the fluid. In particular, the pressure difference must be great enough for the fluid to condense at the hot side and still evaporate in the lower pressure region at the cold side. The greater the temperature difference, the greater the required pressure difference, and consequently more energy is needed to compress the fluid. Thus as with all heat pumps, the energy efficiency (amount of heat moved per unit of input work required) decreases with increasing temperature difference.

Due to the variations required in temperatures and pressures, many different refrigerants are available. Refrigerators, air conditioners, and some heating systems are common applications that use this technology.

A HVAC heat pump system

In HVAC applications, a heat pump normally refers to a vapor-compression refrigeration device that includes a reversing valve and optimized heat exchangers so that the direction of heat flow may be reversed. The reversing valve switches the direction of refrigerant through the cycle and therefore the heat pump may deliver either heating or cooling to a building. In the cooler climates the default setting of the reversing valve is heating. The default setting in warmer climates is cooling. Because the two heat exchangers, the condenser and evaporator, must swap functions, they are optimized to perform adequately in both modes. As such, the efficiency of a reversible heat pump is typically slightly less than two separately-optimized machines.

Everyone sells them..everyone:

http://www.searshomepro.com/hvac/options.aspx?lst=352

If you want a quote on one:

http://www2.qualitysmith.com/heat_pump

http://www.servicemagic.com/sem/category.Furnace-Central-Heating.10335.html

or if you just want to look:

www.residential.carrier.com/products/acheatpumps/heatpumps/index.shtml

www.trane.com/Residential/Products/HeatPumps.aspx

www.rheemac.com/home_cooling_pump.shtml

www.nhec.com/residential_residentialheatpumps.php

Efficiently Cooling Your Home – Air conditioning the old fashioned way

Posted on June 30, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

I know, there are better ways to cool your house than you cool your food. Nonetheless it must be discussed for the people who just can’t do it any other way.

http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/EnergyWise_House_Energy_Efficient_Air_Conditioning-Air_Conditioning-A1629.html

EnergyWise House: Energy-Efficient Air ConditioningMany people buy or use air conditioners without understanding their designs, components, and operating principles. Proper sizing, selection, installation, maintenance, and correct use are keys to cost-effective operation and lower overall costs.

Related Showrooms

• Cadet – Zonal heating solutions for your home from Cadet
• Sears – Heating & Cooling Repair
• Trane – Enjoy perfect heating, cooling and beyond year-round.
• WholeHouseFan.com – Cool Your Home with a Whole House Fan

Air conditioners employ the same operating principles and basic components as your home refrigerator. An air conditioner cools your home with a cold indoor coil called the evaporator. The condenser, a hot outdoor coil, releases the collected heat outside. The evaporator and condenser coils are serpentine tubing surrounded by aluminum fins. This tubing is usually made of copper. A pump, called the compressor, moves a heat transfer fluid (or refrigerant) between the evaporator and the condenser. The pump forces the refrigerant through the circuit of tubing and fins in the coils. The liquid refrigerant evaporates in the indoor evaporator coil, pulling heat out of indoor air and thereby cooling the home. The hot refrigerant gas is pumped outdoors into the condenser where it reverts back to a liquid giving up its heat to the air flowing over the condenser’s metal tubing and fins.

Central Air Conditioners
Central air conditioners circulate cool air through a system of supply and return ducts. Supply ducts and registers (openings in the walls, floors, or ceilings covered by grills) carry cooled air from the air conditioner to the home. This cooled air becomes warmer as it circulates through the home; then it flows back to the central air conditioner through return ducts and registers. A central air conditioner is either a split-system unit or a packaged unit.In a split-system central air conditioner, an outdoor metal cabinet contains the condenser and compressor, and an indoor cabinet contains the evaporator. In many split-system air conditioners, this indoor cabinet also contains a furnace or the indoor part of a heat pump. The air conditioner’s evaporator coil is installed in the cabinet or main supply duct of this furnace or heat pump. If your home already has a furnace but no air conditioner, a split-system is the most economical central air conditioner to install.Today’s best air conditioners use 30 percent to 50 percent less energy to produce the same amount of cooling as air conditioners made in the mid 1970s. Even if your air conditioner is only 10 years old, you may save 20 percent to 40 percent of your cooling energy costs by replacing it with a newer, more efficient model.But then there is new technology out there:

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Appliances/Air_Conditioning_And_Heating/W2D2V4S2

Get rid of the bug spray because an air conditioning system that kills bugs and gives you a better night’s sleep has been revealed. The innovative new inverter wall mounted air conditioning systems, that have been scientifically proven to provide a better night’s sleep.

Samsung recently conducted extensive research in Good Sleep technology involving the Bukyung National University, Busan, Korea which revealed that a room’s temperature should change in accordance to sleep patterns, to achieve longer periods of deep sleep and ensure an optimal night’s rest. The Samsung Good Sleep 2 air conditioner control program adjusts temperature profiles to the most comfortable according to the three stages of sleep.

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Appliances/Air_Conditioning_And_Heating/K5J2C3C7

Smart Energy Saving Air Conditioner

By Manisha Kanetkar | Monday | 19/03/2007

Australian company Advantage Air has developed a smart reverse cycle air conditioning system that not only saves on your energy bill but is also able to be fully integrated into a home automation system.

According to Advantage Air’s Walter Kimble, all parts of the GEN III air conditioning system are designed to operate as a cohesive, integrated system making it easier for the home automation system integrator to set up.

The system allows you, among other functions, to control the temperature of individual zones as well as program Fresh Air control.

And with sensors in each zone, the system ensures that no room is being over-heated or over-cooled, thus contributed to the product’s energy efficiency.

The Fresh Air system is an electronically controlled device that measures the temperature outside of the house. If this is cooler than that inside the house (which Advantage says is 25 percent of the time) it opens and brings cool air in. This smart function means not only do you get fresh air circulating around your house (as opposed to the same air re-circulating) but it is also energy efficient. According to the CSIRO, the GEN III is capable of energy savings of up to 38 percent or approximately $1000 a year.

Now That Your House Is All Warm And Insulated – Whatever shall I put in it?

Posted on June 27, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

The big energy hogs in the house are the HVAC, The refrigerator and the water heater.

HVAC in the residentail market simply means a combine furnace and airconditioner that share the same ventilation system. but we will treat them as seperate units for easier detail:

http://www.fypower.org/res/tools/products_results.html?id=100156

Of course it would use natural gas,

Condensing furnaces contain a second heat exchanger that condenses water vapor in the hot flue gasses, extracting additional heat. The gases are then vented directly outside through a pipe in the wall. Condensing furnaces are the most efficient on the market but they are also the most expensive. Almost all ENERGY STAR qualified furnaces are condensing models.

Efficiency Rating
Furnace efficiency is rated by annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). The AFUE measures the amount of fuel converted to space heat in proportion to the amount of fuel entering the furnace. The federal minimum efficiency standard for furnaces specifies an AFUE rating of at least 78%. ENERGY STAR qualified furnaces must have a minimum AFUE rating of 90%. The most modern and efficient heating systems can achieve an AFUE of as high as 97%.

For a list of the most efficient furnaces in all output categories, visit the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)’s guide to top-rated furnaces.

Efficiency Improvements
Some improvements that have been made to the components of furnaces in recent years are two-stage burners and higher-efficiency blower motors.

Two-Stage Burners

Fan Blower Motor

http://www.residential.carrier.com/products/furnaces/gas/index.shtml

Gas Furnaces

The smooth comfort of gas heat with the most advanced technology

For the optimal combination of gas heating and impressive energy efficiency, choose Carrier precision-engineered gas furnaces, from the innovative Infinity™ ICS with precision temperature control to the solid Comfort™ 80. The higher the AFUE rating, the more energy efficient—meaning you’ll save more money.

Infinity ICS Gas Furnace

Up to 3.5 times tighter temperature control

Quietest furnace you can buy

IdealComfort™ technology
Lifetime heat exchanger limited warranty

Infinity 96 Gas Furnace

96.6% AFUE

Variable speed blower
IdealHumidity
Lifetime heat exchanger warranty

Infinity 80 Gas Furnace

80% AFUE

Variable speed blower
IdealHumidity
20-year heat exchanger warranty

Performance 93 Gas Furnace

93% AFUE

4-5 speed blower
Enhanced humidity control
Lifetime heat exchanger warranty

http://www.bryant.com/products/furnaces/index.shtml

Evolution System Plus 95s™ Furnace

Up to 95 AFUE
PerfectSense™ functionality
Up to 73% more consistent temperatures than single stage furnaces
Quietest furnace that you can buy
Perfect Humidity
Perfect Heat technology
Pilot-free PerfectLight ignition
Lifetime heat exchanger warranty

Evolution System Plus 95s™ Gas Furnace

Evolution System Plus 90i™ & Plus 95i™ Furnaces

Up to 96.6 AFUE
Perfect Humidity
Perfect Heat technology
Pilot-free PerfectLight ignition
Lifetime heat exchanger warranty

Evolution System Plus 90i™ Gas Furnace

Evolution System Plus 80v™ Furnace

Up to 80 AFUE
Perfect Humidity
Perfect Heat technology
Pilot-free PerfectLight ignition
20-year heat exchanger warranty

Evolution System Plus 80v™ Furnace

http://www.lennox.com/products/list.asp?type=2

ENERGY STAR^® Product		Energy Efficiency (AFUE)	Price Guide^*

But then there is the new kid on the block:

Emerging Technology

The MicroHeater, developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, could redefine the way in which homes are heated. The size of a palm, the MicroHeater is capable of combusting 4,000 to 120,000 Btu of gas per hour. They can be installed in baseboard heaters, and an array of them can efficiently heat an entire house. The MicroHeater can reduce energy loss from a typical central heating system by 45%.

http://picturethis.pnl.gov/picturet.nsf/All/4A2LDA?opendocument

We have even talked about air conditions yet or geothermal heat pumps…geez

When Is A Concrete Block Like A Glass Window? When it comes to lousey R-Values

Posted on June 26, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Believe it or not typical Concrete Products and single pane glass have the same R-Value – 1. That is because they readily give up heat because of their porus nature and in part because they are good conductors. There is a reason why castles were cold and dreary. An there is a reason why your basement is cool in the summer.

http://www.coloradoenergy.org/procorner/stuff/r-values.htm

R-Value Table

Insulation Values For Selected Materials

Construction Materials

Concrete Block 4″		0.80
Concrete Block 8″		1.11
Concrete Block 12″		1.28
Brick 4″ common		0.80
Brick 4″ face		0.44
Poured Concrete	0.08

I should mention that the poured concrete number is by the inch. It takes no math wiz to see that 20 inches of typical concrete still is an R-value of slightly less than 1.

But you ask, “Mr. CES Man why is that important?” It is important in the Residential Market because a lot of us have basements made out of concrete, masonary block or a combination of the two.

According to the government:

U.S. Department of Energy – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

A Consumer’s Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Basement Insulation

A properly insulated basement can help reduce your energy costs. However, basement walls are one of the most controversial areas of a house to insulate and seal. You need to carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages, not to mention moisture control.

Before insulating or deciding whether to add insulation to your basement, first see our information about adding insulation to an existing house or selecting insulation for new home construction if you haven’t already.

U.S. Cities	R-10*	R-2-**
Buffalo, NY	$350	$390
Minneapolis, MN	$400	$450
St. Louis, MO	$250	$290

*Such as 2 to 3 inches of exterior foam insulation.
**Such as with most insulated concrete forms.

Annual Energy Savings

The energy cost savings of basement wall insulation vary depending on the local climate, type of heating system, fuel cost, and occupant lifestyle. Typical annual cost savings by R-value in a few U.S. cities are provided in the table above for a 1,500 square-foot home with a conditioned basement heated by natural gas ($0.72/therm).

Advantages and Disadvantages

In most cases, a basement with insulation installed in the exterior basement walls should be considered a conditioned space. Even in a house with an unconditioned basement, the basement is more connected to other living spaces than to the outside. This connection makes basement wall insulation preferable to insulating the basement ceiling.

Compared to insulating the basement ceiling, insulating basement walls has the following advantages:

Requires less insulation (1,350 square feet of wall insulation for a 36 x 48-foot basement with 8-foot walls, compared with 1,725 ceiling)
More easily achieves continuous thermal and air leakage boundaries because basement ceilings typically include electrical wiring, plumbing, and ductwork.
Requires little, if any, increase in the size of the heating and cooling equipment. The heat loss and air leakage through the basement ceiling is similar to that through the exterior walls of the basement.

These are some other advantages of insulation on exterior basement walls:

Minimizes thermal bridging and reducing heat loss through the foundation
Protects the damp-proof coating from damage during backfilling
Serves as a capillary break to moisture intrusion
Protects the foundation from the effects of the freeze-thaw cycle in extreme climates
Reduces the potential for condensation on surfaces in the basement
Conserves room area, relative to installing insulation on the interior.

Leave it to the Bush administration to say that insulation is controversial. If you are building a new home there is not a doubt that you should insulate the exterior basement walls. In fact if you are building a pad style house, you should insulate underneath the pad with some kind of insulative mixed cement. I am not sure the whole pad needs to be of that type concrete. It is expensive but if you can afford it can’t hurt.

http://www.askthebuilder.com/N2-Basement_Insulation.shtml

Mr. Builder Man makes the point that the only place to insulate in the basement is on the walls. He adds:

Because your basement walls are conducting cold into your basement via the cold ground outside, it might be worthwhile to add insulation over your exposed masonry foundation. You can choose to use closed-cell foam or fiberglass if you choose. But be sure you check with your local building department as some insulations that are flammable – such as closed cell foam – must be covered with drywall or other approved material to prevent rapid fire/flame spread.

He finishes on a note that warms the heart of a die hard conservationist:

I would also inspect the juncture between the wood framing and the top of the concrete foundation. Do this on a windy day and try to feel for air leaks. Air infiltration can be a major drain on your heating budget. Pack insulation in any cracks you discover or caulk them to stop air flow.

All these people agree:

www.homeimprovementweb.com/information/how-to/basement–insulation.htm

www.homeenvy.com/db/0/750.html

www.owenscorning.com/around/insulation/fallpromo/DIY-Basement.asp

www.doityourself.com/scat/basementinsulation

www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/asktoh/question/0,,396510,00.html

www.state.mn.us/mn/externalDocs/Commerce/Basements_110602012856_Basement.pdf

www.builtgreen.org/articles/0208_mold.htm

I prefer a radical approach hire a Backhoe and dig out the dirt around your basement. Then you can apply ridgid waterproof R Board to the outside of the basement. Then you can backfill with gravel for drainage and tap down some dirt. Your house will thank you for ever. For those people that have a house already resting on a pad, you have one heck of a problem on your hands.

For Those Of You Who Can’t Give Up Their Windows – Energy efficient windows are a must

Posted on June 25, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

The problem with this topic is everyone is in the window business or the window advice business. It’s like ceiling fans, the makers are everywhere, they make tons of products, and their are millions of opinions about them. So I will try to be simple and to the point. Anyway you cut it single pain (oh sorry) double hung windows should be a thing of the past

http://www.efficientwindows.org/lowe.cfm

Window Technologies: Low-E Coatings

Low-emittance (Low-E) coating are microscopically thin, virtually invisible, metal or metallic oxide layers deposited on a window or skylight glazing surface primarily to reduce the U-factor by suppressing radiative heat flow. The principal mechanism of heat transfer in multilayer glazing is thermal radiation from a warm pane of glass to a cooler pane. Coating a glass surface with a low-emittance material and facing that coating into the gap between the glass layers blocks a significant amount of this radiant heat transfer, thus lowering the total heat flow through the window. Low-E coatings are transparent to visible light. Different types of Low-E coatings have been designed to allow for high solar gain, moderate solar gain, or low solar gain.

Double-Glazed with High-Solar-Gain Low-E Glass

This figure illustrates the characteristics of a typical double-glazed window with a high-transmission, Low-E glass and argon gas fill. These Low-E glass products are often referred to as pyrolitic or hard coat Low-E glass, due to the glass coating process. The properties presented here are typical of a Low-E glass product designed to reduce heat loss but admit solar gain. High solar gain Low-E glass products are best suited for buildings located in heating-dominated climates. This Low-E glass type is also the product of choice for passive solar design projects due to the performance attributes relative to other Low-E glass products which have been developed to reduce solar gain.

In heating-dominated climates with a modest amount of cooling or climates where both heating and cooling are required, Low-E coatings with high, moderate or low solar gains may result in similar annual energy costs depending on the house design and operation. While the high solar gain glazing performs better in winter, the low solar gain performs better in summer. Low solar gain Low-E glazings are ideal for buildings located in cooling-dominated climates. Look at the energy use comparisons under Window Selection to see how different glazings perform in particular locations. (these products can come with Krypton gas but are more expensive)

Double-Glazed with Moderate-Solar-Gain Low-E Glass

This figure illustrates the characteristics of a typical double-glazed window with a moderate solar gain Low-E glass and argon gas fill. These Low-E glass products are often referred to as sputtered (or soft-coat products) due to the glass coating process. (Note: Low solar gain Low-E products are also called sputtered coatings.) Such coatings reduce heat loss and let in a reasonable amount of solar gain and are suitable for climates with both heating and cooling concerns. In heating-dominated climates with a modest amount of cooling or climates where both heating and cooling are required, Low-E coatings with high, moderate or low solar gains may result in similar annual energy costs depending on the house design and operation. Look at the energy use comparisons under Window Selection to see how different glazings perform in particular locations.

Double-Glazed with Low-Solar-Gain Low-E Glass
(Spectrally Selective)

This figure illustrates the characteristics of a typical double-glazed window with a low solar gain Low-E glass and argon gas fill. These Low-E products are often referred to as sputtered (or soft-coat) due to the glass coating process. (Note: Moderate solar gain Low-E products are also called sputtered coatings.) This type of Low-E product, sometimes called spectrally selective Low-E glass, reduces heat loss in winter but also reduces heat gain in summer. Compared to most tinted and reflective glazings, this Low-E glass provides a higher level of visible light transmission for a given amount of solar heat reduction.

Low solar gain Low-E glazings are ideal for buildings located in cooling-dominated climates. In heating-dominated climates with a modest amount of cooling or climates where both heating and cooling are required, Low-E coatings with high, moderate or low solar gains may result in similar annual energy costs depending on the house design. While the high solar gain glazing performs better in winter, the low solar gain performs better in summer. Look at the energy use comparisons under Window Selection to see how different glazings perform in particular locations.

Variants on low solar gain Low-E coatings have also been developed which lower solar gains even further. However this further decrease in solar gains is achieved by reducing the visible transmittance as well – such coatings, which may appear slightly tinted, are best suited for applications where cooling is the dominant factor and where a slightly tinted effect is desired.

Here are all the people and places that care:

www.AndersenWindows.com

www.HomeDepot/Installations.com

www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Understanding_Low_e_Window_Coatings-Residential-A2077.html

www.askthebuilder.com/097_Low–E_Glass_-_It_Really_Works_.shtml

www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=windows_doors.pr_anat_window

Community Energy Systems

Censys.org

Category Archives: sustainability