Also, the rainwater is directed from the home’s rooftop to water specific areas of the property. Plus, the water that lands on the driveway in also channeled off the driveway into the ground cover, keeping the vast majority of the rainwater on the property and out of the storm sewers.

 
With almost two months of hot, humid Indiana weather since the geothermal system was installed, we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Utility bills are going down and the comfort level in the home has improved dramatically.

In the past when the weather got into the mid-to-upper 80s, with the humidity not too far behind, we’d set the thermostat on 70 degrees, and be cool, but “clammy”. Now we set the main zone in the home at 75 degrees and the second (less used part of the home) on 77 degrees, and we’re totally comfortable, without the clammy feeling. That’s because the humidity is controlled via the Whirlpool dehumidifier to stay below 50% relative humidity.

I never realized that humidity could make such a difference in the comfort level of the home. And the unit’s HEPA filtration system has also made a noticeable difference in the indoor air quality…reducing the dust levels and making allergies much more tolerable.

It will be fun (and interesting) to begin tracking energy consumption – both gas and electricity – to see what kinds of savings we are generating. I’d like to get six-to-eight months of data before reporting on how we’re doing energy-wise.

In addition to getting the geothermal system working, we also finished the insulation project that was halted because of weather last fall. Tony Zinger of Wolfe Insulation was back to install 7 inches of open cell foam insulation in the floor of a cantilevered section of the home containing the kitchen, breakfast room and formal dining room. This was always the coldest part of the home in the winter because there was literally no insulation in the floor and it was exposed to ambient temperature because it cantilevered out over a hillside, exposing it to the elements on all sides.

The next step is to finish the landscaping, designed to be water self-sufficient and also to keep all precipitation on the property.

Just a year after I started making my 50+ year-old home more energy efficient and sustainable, the biggest part of the project was completed. When I first started investigating my HVAC options I was focused on high efficiency furnaces (gas and heat pump varieties). But the more I investigated geothermal, the more intrigued I became.

I’ve known about geothermal systems for almost two decades…and that was a part of the problem. Because geothermal technology is different than what I had learned about years ago. The systems I was aware of back then actually pumped ground water, and either re-circulated it, or dumped it into a pond or stream.

My Climate Master system uses a ground loop system that circulates fluid in a closed system, only exchanging heat with the steady 52-55 degree temperature of the earth. Plus, it also provides heat for the hot water tank…a nice energy saving benefit.

Bu the biggest psychological obstacle to geothermal was that I was considering it for an old home on a small lot with plenty of trees and mature landscaping. Geothermal makes sense for new construction, but I was skeptical about the damage to the landscaping at our home.

Fortunately, Mike Duckworth with Aire Serv contractors in Indianapolis, is a very knowledgeable geothermal expert. Mike walked me through the whole process, did the heating and cooling loads, and helped calculate the return on investment. He also made sure that the drilling and ground loop installation would be minimally invasive. And really, it wasn’t as bad as I had expected, but I had to add about $1,000 to the budget to fix the landscaping.

The other person who played a huge role in getting the home to deliver on all fronts was Roger Clearman, president of Air & Energy Products in Kennesaw, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.

I think Roger knows more about how to make a home truly comfortable and livable – and energy efficient – than any person I’ve ever met. From Roger’s patient tutoring I learned the intricacies of indoor air quality, the effect of humidity levels on comfort, and the importance of introducing fresh outside air into the home the right way. Or, as Roger put it to me, after the installation was complete:

“So you have addressed the 4 critical areas for optimum indoor health and comfort.

• H umidifier. The Honeywell humidifier adds a little humidity in the winter months to keep the air from getting too dry.
• De humidifier. The Whirlpool Whole House Dehumidifier is designed to keep the entire home in the target range even in the muggy summer months in Indiana. The Whirlpool unit also includes a HEPA air filter for both re-circulated air and fresh outside air.

Thanks, Roger and Mike. It is amazing how much more comfortable the home feels. Plus, I feel like I have begun to understand the complexities of home heating and cooling, and why it is so important to the health of the home and its occupants.

      

Well, this is one Earth Day I won’t forget. I’m getting the ground loops put in for a geothermal system to heat and cool our home, and to provide hot water as well. The CimateMaster system I saw at the GreenBuild tradeshow last October will be installed next week.

It’s taken a long time from initial discussion to installation, but I think it will be well worth it.

When I saw the drilling rig pulling up between mature trees onto the front lawn, I must admit is was a bit scary. Branches had to be trimmed. The drillers had to maneuver around water lines, sewer lines, electrical and gas lines, too.

Friday is the really messy part of the process when they connect all the loops in the pit and then trench to the foundation and break through to where the system will be placed. Goodbye landscaping. I can understand why geothermal installations seem to be much more popular with new construction that retrofitting into existing homes.

But I am looking forward to a greatly enhanced energy future. According to the calculations I’ve been able to run, it looks like the pay back is about six years…and that’s based on current energy prices. I think that’s a pretty fast pay back for such a large investment.

I’ll be taking photos and sharing them throughout the next several days as the whole system is installed.

It’s big, old, creaky and high maintenance. I’m talking about the HVAC system in our home. And until I tackle this “elephant”, our home will continue to be an energy gobbling money pit.


A couple of things to know: first, the crawl space is actually about 7’ high, nice and dry, and thanks to some pretty leaky ducts, it stays nice and warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Way too much of a good thing according to the experts.

Second thing to keep in mind: sometime in the mid-1960s the home had an addition put on, and it got its own HVAC system. Great, double the maintenance, separate ductwork, etc.

At GreenBuild, an industry tradeshow I visited in late 2009 looking for green HVAC products, I stopped and checked out ClimateMaster geothermal products. And I was impressed. I have known about geothermal heating/cooling for a long time, and several friends have them in their homes, so I was more than interested to learn that it came along with a very generous government rebate.

I contacted the local ClimateMaster distributor and got the name of several contractors, that I called to have them check things out and give me a quote. Along the way the contractors further educated me about the ins and outs of geothermal.

One contractor, Mike Duckworth of Aire-Serv, used my room-by-room measurements to do a thorough analysis of the heating/cooling capacity that would be required to keep the home at a proper temperature. And he planned to remove the smaller furnace and combine the ductwork so we’d only have one system.

This all sounds great, and as we got further into February, the drilling contractor he recommended came out to calculate the location he’d have to drill. Then, all we needed was for the ground to freeze, so his very heavy rig wouldn’t sink into the mud.

Six weeks later, we’re still waiting…but now it’s for the rain to stop so the ground can dry out. Indiana in April and May can be pretty wet, so this may have to wait a while. Very frustrating.

In the meantime, I’m working with Mike to spec out the air filtration system that I will get from Roger Clearman, owner of Air & Energy Products in Atlanta, GA (see earlier blogs about Roger). And Mike is also setting up the geothermal specs to include hot water, with a natural gas assist to get the water from 100-degrees to the 125-degrees we usually set it on.

So, for now, all we can do is wait for the ground to dry out so we can drill the ground loops. In the meantime, I’ll tackle another task on the list: finishing the insulation.