Do you have a contingency plan?

SneakerNet said:
Yeah, I would love to get either wind turbine or water turbine (since I live near the river) after I replace all the high energy saving appliances. Refridgerator...Dish washer...done, heat pump...done.. only left are the microwave and stove. Solar panel will be useless for me since I live in the woods.

My father have 20,000 watts propane generator as a back up.
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What did you replace the heat pump with? Dang, it sure uses a lot of juice, eh? My brother was complaining of its high cost this past winter, so this Spring we will install a geothermal energy system around his house.
 
Beowulf said:
What did you replace the heat pump with? Dang, it sure uses a lot of juice, eh? My brother was complaining of its high cost this past winter, so this Spring we will install a geothermal energy system around his house.
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That what my father have, he's using geothermal for AC, hot water and swimming pool (keep it warm) and remove moisture in the pool. Geothermal is very nice to have all the options, it does all of that above listed.

As for me, When I first brought the house, we was using real cheap Goodman heat pump (you know how it is when builder build a new house.. lot of cheap stuff in it). So got it replaced with Carrier Infinity Series 19.0 SEER Heat pump along with internet thermosat. Electricity saved me about $65 per month. Overall, (with refirig, dishwasher, heat pump), it save me bout $80 per month. I'm in the process of building hot water solar. Hot water are the 2nd most expensive to run on electricity and water.
 
SneakerNet said:
That what my father have, he's using geothermal for AC, hot water and swimming pool (keep it warm) and remove moisture in the pool. Geothermal is very nice to have all the options, it does all of that above listed.

As for me, When I first brought the house, we was using real cheap Goodman heat pump (you know how it is when builder build a new house.. lot of cheap stuff in it). So got it replaced with Carrier Infinity Series 19.0 SEER Heat pump along with internet thermosat. Electricity saved me about $65 per month. Overall, (with refirig, dishwasher, heat pump), it save me bout $80 per month. I'm in the process of building hot water solar. Hot water are the 2nd most expensive to run on electricity and water.
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I see. The problem with heat pumps is that they are almost constantly running in freezing weather. A lot of times it is running just to thaw, and that adds to the electric bill.
 
Beowulf said:
I see. The problem with heat pumps is that they are almost constantly running in freezing weather. A lot of times it is running just to thaw, and that adds to the electric bill.
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Yeah it is, but suprising that during the winter time is where I save eletricity the most, normally I get about 280 to 300 per month and my last bill is $200.03. It's a phenomical saving. Summer time, it's not much of a saving.
 
Instead of storing the electrical overage, I'd love to see my meter go in reverse as I put it back into the grid and get paid for it.....:lol:
 
Talking about Geothermal, that can use for heated floor (including garage). One time it got malfunction, the floor got soo hot that you can't walk on bare feet in the bathroom, it almost burned my feet. For some reason when it got hot, it suppose to have auto shut off but it failed.
 
Beowulf said:
I see. The problem with heat pumps is that they are almost constantly running in freezing weather. A lot of times it is running just to thaw, and that adds to the electric bill.
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They are best for climates that use more summer AC than winter heat. Our winters are short, plus we supplement the heat with our woodstove. Between those two factors, our heat pump doesn't run too much in the winter.
 
SneakerNet said:
Talking about Geothermal, that can use for heated floor (including garage). One time it got malfunction, the floor got soo hot that you can't walk on bare feet in the bathroom, it almost burned my feet. For some reason when it got hot, it suppose to have auto shut off but it failed.
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Ouch! That could be a rude awakening.
 
SneakerNet said:
Yeah it is, but suprising that during the winter time is where I save eletricity the most, normally I get about 280 to 300 per month and my last bill is $200.03. It's a phenomical saving. Summer time, it's not much of a saving.
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You must have a big house.
 
When I have the time - I am going to start a thread about a project I am currently planning.

Reba - you gave me an idea when you asked if I was building a fallout shelter. I am actually planning a tornado shelter as I live in a tornado alley - and am currently cleaning up debris from a tornado that hit a couple of weeks ago.
 
Steinhauer said:
When I have the time - I am going to start a thread about a project I am currently planning.

Reba - you gave me an idea when you asked if I was building a fallout shelter. I am actually planning a tornado shelter as I live in a tornado alley - and am currently cleaning up debris from a tornado that hit a couple of weeks ago.
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Oh, tornadoes--scary. :Ohno:
 
Reba said:
You must have a big house.
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MIL's electric averages $210 a month. We don't have central A/C or heat. IT's a wall unit A/C with heat strip that is supposed to cool the whole house, but she only runs it for small amounts of time and never overnight. We have a smaller but older home and it is not insulated with insulation, just concrete blocks and poured cement. No insulation in the roof. Summer is sometimes unbearable as we cannot open windows due to allergies, and winter is just as bad since FL is getting colder and colder.
 
KristinaB said:
MIL's electric averages $210 a month. We don't have central A/C or heat. IT's a wall unit A/C with heat strip that is supposed to cool the whole house, but she only runs it for small amounts of time and never overnight. We have a smaller but older home and it is not insulated with insulation, just concrete blocks and poured cement. No insulation in the roof. Summer is sometimes unbearable as we cannot open windows due to allergies, and winter is just as bad since FL is getting colder and colder.
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I'm sorry you have to suffer in Florida's heat. :(
 
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