Christmas Tree

My wife Ginny and I went out to cut down our Christmas tree.  Southeast of Syracuse to Critz's farm near Cazenovia.  A nice snowy field full of trees, we had the place to our self.  A tractor ride out to the tree fields.  Then a tramp thru the trees, picking a perfect one.
We got the tree up in the house today, we will decorate it tomorrow.  Then about 12th night, we take the tree down and put it outside near the birdfeeder.  The birds like to hide in the branches.  And finally, some time next summer, I will clip up the branches and feed them to the mulch pile.

Snowy Christmas trees

Taking the Bus

The past week we have had over 40" of snow.  No more bicycling to work.  I take CENTRO bus, which picks me up about a block from my house on Court Street, and drops me off a block from my work on Molloy Road.  The cost for a ride is $1.25.  In the morning, the bus is fairly full at the 7:30.  The evening bus
at 5 pm is mostly empty, yesterday we had 5 passengers.  It is the last of 3 buses into Syracuse for our area of business.   There is a 3:30 and a 4:30 bus as well.  This morning, I am trying an earlier bus, at 6:30 am.  (Post note:  the bus was on time, as well as the 4:30 bus home, though the roads were much better today)
The weather has taken its toll on the buses as well as other traffic.  My morning bus, which comes from downtown, has been 20 plus minutes late.  I suspect the bus yesterday got stuck downtown, as I went home after waiting and got my wife to drive me to work.
Last year, when I still worked downtown, my usual bus going home, the Oak-Darlington, was cancelled.  We had 5 to 10 people on the way home.  That was ok, because I had two other options, the Court street bus which took me to 1 block from my house or the Grant Bus which took me to 1/2 mile from my house, and was a quicker more direct run.  Both of these buses were packed, and I usually sat in the back.  The bus drivers have always been very courteous.

Green cups

This past weekend we took the Amtrak Train from Syracuse to Penn Station in New York City.  In the snack car, they were serving their cold drinks in "Greenware Cups Made plants". They are made by Fabri-Kal Corporation in Kalamazoo Michigan.  Their literature says they are made of Polymers derived from plants, another source names that plant as Corn.  The cups are certified by the BDI, Bio-Degradeable Plastics Institute, which means that eventually they will biodegrade.

GREENWARE

Feedback on our Energy Savings

I started graphing our energy usage in anticipation of savings this winter.  Already we have realized some savings from our tankless domestic water heater.  Our gas consumption is now limited to our gas stove and oven, and our water heater.
Comparing the gas usage over the past two summers, our  consumption has dropped from 8 therms per month average, to 2 1/2 therms average for the two summer months that I have of our new tankless water heater.  Other factors that may influence our usage are a preheater for domestic water that is connected to the heat pump loop and picks up heat to make the water lukewarm from both the heating and the cooling cycles, when they are operational.  This has the effect of halving the amount of energy required from the water heater to heat our water to 120 degrees. Also, we use the microwave in the new kitchen more than our previous kitchen to heat up items, and consequently use the stove that much less.
        In the September and October bill, the therms increased to 4 and 6 therms.  There was minimal air conditioning or heating for these two months to prewarm the domestic hot water.  There also may have been an increase in my wife's use of the oven for baking.

Solar Power In Haverhill

They are making solar power in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  Last spring I visited my sister in Haverhill, and we strolled past a large brownfield site being cleaned up and solar cells being lined up.   The system is almost ready to get started.  I hope it works as planned.  National Grid is putting up the solar cells.  It is on Hillside Avenue, near downtown.  According to the paper it will provide enough electricity to power 175 to 200 homes per year.

Carbon Footprint

What is our Carbon Footprint
The amount of carbon emmissions into the atmosphere.  Some are natural, and some are man made.  Some of our biggest emmiters are transportation and buildings.


By insulation, and maximizing the efficiency of our heating system, and driving a Prius, we are trying to minimize our carbon footprint. By a quick calculation on an online calculator, Ginny and I emit about 50% of what the average american emits.  But we are also responsible for about 5 times the emission of the average household worldwide.

How can we alter our footprint fairly easily?
-Walk or bike instead of driving.  Get a credit of one pound of carbon for every mile you bike or walk.
-Plant a tree.  Trees convert Carbon Dioxide into carbon and store the carbon as wood for the lifetime of the tree.  This both removes carbon dioxide and sequesters carbon.  Unfortunately, at the present time, the world is being deforested.  South America leads the deforestation with cutting and burning of the rainforest in Brazil ad Between 1990 and 2000 the world forest has decreased by 0.2% per year.  The largest losses,in the Amazon rainforest, where forest is being cleared for soybean cultivation and cattle ranches.  In Africa:  Nigeria and Sudan are the leaders in deforestation due to subsistance living.  Tropical southeast Asia and Central America are also areas of large deforestation due to development.
-Recycle household trash. This is fairly easy here in Onondaga County, where we have curbside pickup of recylables in blue bins every week, along with the garbage.  The plastics and paper are separated by the home owner.
-Teleconference, or in my case, use Skype.  We have visited my brother, my sister and her family along with my mother, and my sons apartment in New York, all by Skype.  Though not quite the same as being there, it is much better to see people, than a phone or email and pictures.  Especially with the portable laptop and netbook computers, we can show people around our area.
-Change your lighting to the compact fluorescent lights.  We have done that, and are looking for the new LED lighting to come down in price and we will replace the cfl's as they burn out.
-Buy renewable energy.  This is an available option here in Syracuse, but one I have not yet taken advantage of, due to the increased price of the renewable electricity..

Windows

When saving energy and tightening up the house envelope, windows are important.  When we moved to our house 30 years ago, the windows were the double hung with a separate double hung storm window and screen.
About 15 years ago, we replaced the windows with double hung double pane windows, with a gas in between the panes.  A drawback of these windows is that when they are broken, it is not just a simple window pane replacement.  We needed to take the window in to Solvay Glass to have the proper double glazing and sealing.  I added a plastic storm window over the inside of the windows last winter.  When the wind blew hard, you could see the plastic "ballooning".  Bottom line, if you have a window, no matter how well sealed, you have air infiltration through the cracks.

This year we are replacing the basement windows with Block Glass windows.  Over the years, the basement windows have been broken and replaced with a combination of boards, glass and plastic.  This will tighten up our basement, having already eliminated gravity flue connections to the chimney in our earlier renovations, we are now eliminating a lot of cracks that wind can blow into.

Our Prius

2005 Prius

We drive a hybrid Prius car.  In March 2005, we bought a 2005, generation II Prius.  We now have 110,000 miles as of November, 2010.  I had first seen a Prius at the New York State Fair about 3 years earlier.  I had talked to the salesman, and was shown around the car.  My car at the time was a Saturn 4 door, with a manual transmission.  We also had a second car, a station wagon that my wife and later my kids drove.  I couldn't get them interested in the stick shift, it was too complicated, though thru our first 3 cars together, my wife Ginny and I had had manual transmission cars.
So when we needed a replacement for the Saturn in 2005, we were looking for a $10,000 used car.  We ended up buying a $23,000 Toyota Prius.
What Mileage do we get?  About 45 to 50 miles per gallon in the summer, and as low as 35 to 40 miles per gallon in the winter.  Some items that reduce miles per gallon:  electric air conditioning system, electric heat in the winter.  Driving into the wind going west to Rochester, and driving with the wind behind us coming back to Syracuse, gives a swing of 40 mpg going west, and 50 mpg coming back east.  Going up hills, and we have very low mileage.  Going down hills, the generator recharges the battery.  Stopped in Traffic, the engine will shut off.  When the brakes are applies, the regenerative braking system charges the battery.
The car is not electric, it runs on gas.  There is an electric motor, but the battery for the motor is charged by the gasoline engine.  I still have to fill the tank with gas.
The car does have quirks.  When my brother rented a prius, he called me up one morning to say he couldn't get the car in gear.  I think this happens to us all, you need to press down the start button while simultaneously stepping on the brake to start the car.  The car also makes noises after it is shut off.
Sneaky, is a description of a Prius.  When it runs on electric, there is no noise.  People often will walk right  in front of us on city streets, not hearing the car.
This car is our first Toyota, and we are very pleased with the performance of the car.  We needed new brakes at 80,000 miles.  Other problems have been minimal.
Price of Gas, when we first bought our Prius, gas was under $3 per gallon.  We were told the breakeven gas price for the additional cost of a hybrid was $3 per gallon.  Since then the price has gone up to $4, and down to $2.65, now back up to $3 per gallon.
The car has done well in snow.  A few years ago, while visiting in the Catskill mountains, about 6" of snow fell overnight.  Our other car, a station wagon, had a hard time making it out of the long driveway.  Our Prius went right up with no problem, it is a heavier car than one would think and had good traction.

Pushbutton start, touch screen climate control and radio tuning

Bicycle Commuter

I have now been riding my bike to work from August, through September, now thru October.  How long will I be able to keep going in our climate.  I have added some accessories.  A bike light in front and back, that goes along with the blinking light on my backpack.  It is dark when I leave the house at 7, and twilight by the time I pull into the driveway.  Another addition is gloves.    If my hands are warm, then I am warm.  Though I do add a jacket and sweater.  I am experimenting with how many layers I need, because I heat up fast when riding a bike.  One day I put on my poncho because it was raining.  I ended the trip home very sweaty, as the poncho doesnt breathe well.
Mileage is 3.4 miles to work, and 4.6 miles back on back roads at rush hour.  A round trip of 8.  That is 40 miles per week, for 3 months, or about 480 miles so far.  Probably more like 450 as I have driven the car to work a couple of days.

Bicycling

After I was laid off at the beginning of the summer, my wife Ginny and I started going for bike rides on the Erie canal by Syracuse.  We started with just a 3 mile ride out and back.  after a couple of weeks of several rides a week, we went on a 12 mile bike ride to  Canastota, where we had lunch, then biked back.  I am now back to work with another company and I ride my bike 3 miles to work each day.  I feel much better health wise.  And we have a regular 6 mile trip out on the canal on Saturdays.  We have seen the seasons turn from late spring, and now into fall.  Often we see a great blue heron wading or slowly flying down the canal.  Early in the summer, there were geese families along the paths, with the parents hissing at us if we came close.  Ginny actually hit one by accident, as they refuesed to give us space on the canal.
We have had bikes in the past, but never did a lot of biking.  We both bought new schwinn bikes at WalMart last fall, for about $200 apiece.  And now we are in a biking phase.  So far only one  flat tire.

Universal Design

As I have aged, I have become more interested in handicap accessiblity.  We realize that our physical prowess diminishes.   We have lever type handles on all of our faucets.   When we switched our toilets to low flush 1.28 gallons per flush, we got the Kohler tank type "Comfort Height", meaning handicap height.  The higher toilet has been much easier to use.  Our contractor for the kitchen is "  ", which means

Kitchen Finished

Temporary Kitchen

After having our refrigerator in the living room, and using our toilet room sink for washing dishes for 4 months, we are moving back into our kitchen.
The room was completely rearranged, and appears to have more usable space.
Some new items:  The stove now has an exhaust fan, which also exhausts the new over the stove microwave. The dishwasher.  A large sink.  Lots of countertop.  New counters and countertop.  New walls, ceiling, refinished floor, plumbing, electric.  Part of the extra room was created by removing the cast iron radiator, which is replaced by a grill in the floor.  Ginny had a broom closet added as well, which is significant, since we have no closets on the first floor.
BEFORE PICTURES

Hoosier, toaster oven in background

Sink, radiator under window at left

Sink, Refrigerator, Stove at right

AFTER PICTURES

Stove and microwave/exhaust fan

Refrigerator where the stove used to be

Sink and Dishwasher

Central Air Conditioning

August 6, 2010  Today the geothermal heat pump was started up, and our central air conditioning is now on.  Hopefully we will have a hot August, so that we can compare our July electric bill using a window air conditioner in the living room, and a window air conditioner in our bedroom.
Earlier this week, Channel 3 news stopped by to do a piece on geothermal energy, clink on the link below.
Link for News Story

Mike delivering our Heat Pump

Insulation

A part of our house project is insulation.  Payback for Insulation is 3-5 years.  New house standards for insulation are attic:  R49-R60, Cavity Walls: R13 to R21

Holes in exterior wall ready for cellulose

Insulation at edge of attic

There are two factors in insulation, sealing any cracks to eliminate convection loss of heat thru air flow, and   the R factor, which slows the conduction loss from a warmer area to a colder area.  The fiberglass insulation, unless well sealed, will allow migration of air thru the spaces in the fiberglass.  The compact cellulose will tend to seal itself and eliminate the migration of air.
As part of our ongoing renovations, we have an energy company, Energy Savers of Syracuse, adding insulation to our house.

Attic Stairs ready for blowing in Cellulose Insulation

Two of my walls had been previously insulated with 4" fiberglass batts.  The new kitchen has fiberglass batts installed in the exterior walls.  The remaining walls are being filled with blown in cellulose insulation.The attic had previously had 5"  of fiberglass installed in the joist space under the attic floor.  The new project has approx. 10" of cellulose under the eaves behind an existing kneewall that was extended the remaining width of the house. Between the cellulose and roof is a baffle to allow air flow from the eave vents up to the ridge vent.  The main floor has an additional 1" of P2000 insulation that is a boardtype insulation.  According to their literature, one inch P2000 thermal performance meets or exceeds the performance of R-19, 5 1/2" fiberglas.   The joints are sealed with tape, all penetrations are foamed in place.  This will allow us storage space in the attic.  The space under the stairs, and the inside wall of the stair are filled with cellulose.  The attic side of the door has 1" styrofoam, and a draft stop.

P2000 Insulation Board being installed, all penetrations are foamed

The R value of the attic floor has been doubled, and it has been sealed against air flow.  In addition, all walls of the house have either fiberglass insulation or blown in cellulose insulation.

Wind Energy at the Mall

PowAIR Vertical Air Wind Turbine (VAWT)

I saw a feature on tv channel 9 news about the windmills at the Carousel Mall.  

For Newscast Click Here   

The windmills are approximately 8 ft. X 8 ft, and are mounted 10 to 15 feet above the roof.  These units made by PowAIR Sail of Syracuse.  All components are manufactured locally, within 20 miles of Syracuse.  The vertical axis windmill will turn in a wind as little as 3 miles per hour.  Because the main shaft is vertical, the windmill is not affected by the wind direction  The design goal is to furnish 10 KW of electricity per unit.

The company is also installing a windmill on top of college campus buildings at nearby SUNY ESF and at SUNY Oswego.

My wife and I drove by the Mall to see the windmills, there are currently 3 on top of the building.  The windmills are not noticeable unless you are looking for them.

Carousel Mall VAWT

Design Information

The geothermal heat pump works with both the air conditioning and the heating of the house.

The savings for the air conditioning is fairly straight forward.  The window air conditioner is already a heat pump, it takes the warm air of the house, runs it over the evaporator, which absorbs heat to a gas being circulated, and then returns the cooler air to the room.  The other portion of the air conditioning cycle, the condenser, is outside the house, exposed to ambient air temperature.  The air compressor in the unit compressed the warm refrigerant into a hot liquid.  The liquid is then run thru a radiator that transfers heat to the surrounding outside air.  At the time of air conditioning, the outside air can be 70 to 100 degree F.  As the surrounding air gets warmer, the efficiency of the condenser is reduced.
For the geothermal heat pump, instead of outside air, we are using a fluid circulated thru 55 deg. F ground. At the cooler condenser side temperature, the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle is increased, resulting in less electricity being used to run the refrigeration cycle.  The efficiency is measured by the Energy Efficiency Ratio, or EER.  It is the BTUH Output/Watts of Electricity Input. A typical window air conditioner has an EER of 8.  Our geothermal system is rated at 17.

On the heating side, the heat pump has a COP or Coefficient of Performance.  For my house this is 4.4.  This means that for every 1 unit of electricity, 4.4 units of heat are produced.  For electric resistance heat, such as electric baseboard, the COP is 1.  The COP efficiency is related to the source of heat.  For an air to air heat pump this temperature could vary from 50 degrees down to zero deg. F and below in Syracuse.  The COP is reduced as the temperature for transfer of heat is reduced.  Once again, the ground is at a constant temperature of 55 degrees for the transfer of heat to the building from the geothermal system.

In addition I am getting the optional domestic hot water preheater.  It will preheat the water to 100 deg. when the heat pump is in either in cooling or heating mode.

What are the savings?  According to the Water Saver literature, there could be up to a 70% energy savings.  I have also heard a figure of 50% energy savings.  How that will affect the utility bills, I will have to find out over the next couple of years.

Electric

What about the electric service?  Is my service big enough?

The answer for me was that I needed to get an electrician and National Grid to upgrade the line to my house from 100 amp service to 200 amp service.  The existing meter was reused, so that the electric metering was not interrupted.  The overhead lines to my house were replaced by the utility at no cost.  And a new 200 amp panel replaced my 100 amp panel.  A sub panel was added for the heatpump, it requires two 50 amp breakers in the main panel.

I had Carl Patzer at Patzer Electric do this work for $1500.  He handled the coordination with National Grid Electric and the electrical inspector.
A grounding rod was added to the upgrade of the service, per current code.
The electric shutdown was about 4 hours.  We had to postpone our 8 am shutdown at the last minute due to rain.
Fortunately, National Grid was able to schedule us for the next day.  The electrical inspector stopped by almost immediately after National Grid and Carl had tied in the new service.

Work at our house

Work at our house link

We had a tv camera at our house filming work in progress as part of an article on lead paint removal.  The contractors are working in our kitchen, the final shot is of the front of our house.  Click on the link to see the video.

Part of the challenge of the geothermal system was to coordinate with the kitchen renovation going on at the same time.  The Kitchen was "gutted" for the renovation.  This exposed plumbing and wiring to the 2nd floor bathroom above, which were added to the kitchen upgrade, along with the dining room ceiling.

Another challenge was that we are changing from hydronic radiators to a force air system.

I will deal with both of these renovations in a future post.

Domestic Hot Water

Part of the geothermal project is replacement of the natural draft gas fired 40 gallon water heater.  This eliminated a flue out of the basement chimney.  The replacement will be a 40 gallon heater with a heat exchanger from the geothermal loop, and a Rinnai tankless gas fired water heater for supplemental heat.  The gas boiler and storage water heater have been removed from the basement.  We get our hot water from the tankless water heater.  I had some discussion with the contractor about using a 95% tankless water heater, but their concern was that it was a maintenance item.  I also verified that with another plumber I knew.  And we went with the Rinnai, made in Japan.  It is listed as 83% efficient.  However, the unit has air from the outside, and turns off when not in use.  The water outlet temperature is set at 120 deg. F.  It has worked well, with a constant supply temperature when showering or bathing.  The heater is listed as Energy Star Qualified, it is the R75LSi model.  Connections are a 3/4" gas line and 3/4" hot and cold water lines.

Regrading

Our front lawn has been regraded. Piping was extended from the two geothermal wells into the house, coming into the basement about 4 feet below ground.

Our Geothermal Heat System

Though not strictly plumbing, I am having a geothermal heat system installed at our house in New York State. We have two wells drilled in the front yard, each 300 feet deep. The top 48 feet had to have casing, the rest of the well is thru bedrock, 250+ feet. It did rain during the process, but we also hit water at a couple of different times.

Top of Drill in Vertical Position

Bottom Of Drill with Mudguard

Well piping to be inserted into drilled well and grouted

35 ton drilling unit setting up

First well installed with tubing brought up above grade.  Tubing and casing will be cut down to 4 feet below grade










 After the second well was drilled.  Mud is from the 300 foot wells, and water is from water encountered below ground while drilling