Climate and energy

Banks are trembling, markets are falling, and soon the sky probably will, too - but as blog readers know, this summer Maril’s AC/ heater unit completely blew out. And despite the moment’s financial uncertainties, this sort of infrastructure investment can’t really wait.

(Sob.)

Oh well.

As part of CEP’s work in energy efficiency, we figured this would be a great time to bring our readers an up close look at the installation of a heat pump, from the financing (or lack thereof) to the installation.

What is a heat pump? A heat pump is one of the most energy-efficient heating and cooling decisions you can make. The technology is generally considered to be a form of geothermal heat, which can be ground source or air source. (Since my husband and I live on a rocky hill where trenching would be horribly expensive, we went with air source.)

According to EnergyStar, an air source heat pump “uses the difference between outdoor air temperatures and indoor air temperatures to cool and heat your home.”

Why a heat pump? This decision will vary by homeowner, but a heat pump was especially a good idea for us because our regular heater ran on propane. We usually just depended on our wood stove, since propane was so expensive.

There are those who would say that when your electric provider is a rural electric cooperative with some of the highest rates in the state, moving to an all-electric heat pump is iffy. I say right back - then you pay for the propane.

Actually, this wasn’t just knee-jerk. The switch-over also penciled out for us. We are going with one of the most efficient heat pumps on the market, which means it is also more expensive. However, we are also pretty conservative electricity users. We also keep our thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer. Given these and other factors, this investment should pay off in 5-7 years at the outside, even as electricity price will probably continue to rise.

Also, Maril likes where our electricity comes from. Our co-op is part of KEPCo. Compared to other Kansas rural co-ops and utilities, KEPCo has a much smaller carbon footprint. It gets a large chunk of its electricity from low-carbon emission sources such as nuclear, hydropower, and wind.

Propane is also still right for us, for other types of uses. In the future, if at all financially possible, we’d like to add a propane generator, and possibly a heater for Brian’s woodshop (aka, the garage). When it comes to more limited, targeted uses (versus heating and cooling a 2100 square foot home), we will be more able to afford it.

Getting the Groundwork Set

Rebates from utility. Luckily for us, Leavenworth-Jefferson County Electric Cooperative (LJEC) does offer a rebate for installing heat pumps. The amount you receive depends on the level of efficiency you choose to install. Also, they’re very nice when you call up to talk to them.

Financing. First, we looked into the KEEP program, administered by Kansas Housing Resources Corporation in partnership with Sunflower Bank or other financing interests. This is a low-interest loan plan for Kansas citizens to carry out energy efficiency improvements, and it is available to all Kansans, regardless of income.

Sounded promising, but it didn’t turn out that way for us. Here’s the deal: We already have a home equity loan. The rate is higher than the KEEP program, which is why I was interested in KEEP. Also, when I set up said home equity loan, I took it out for a fairly small amount. I tend to be fiscally conservative, and I was worried that if I had more room on the LOC, I might actually use it. We have a lot of equity in the home, which I figured would set the KEEP/ Sunflower Bank folks’ minds at ease.

Nope. Didn’t work out. It doesn’t matter how much equity you actually have, Sunflower Bank will not finance your KEEP loan if it means they take the third position on the house. End of story.

So, no KEEP. We scrimped and wiggled instead. I didn’t want to extend the original LOC, because I hate closing costs… yes, these financial details are boring, but if you ain’t got the money you ain’t getting a heat pump. It must be dealt with somehow.

Finding the right HVAC guy. This part both broke my heart and turned out awesome. I loved my old HVAC people, and will still use them where I can. However, their bid didn’t have the detail on it necessary for me to know if their heat pump qualified for the LJEC rebate. Phone calls and emails did not result in me getting any of the needed details. This part broke my heart, because it means that my old HVAC people are just not going to get it done.

But here comes the good part. I asked some friends with Kansas Electric Cooperatives (KEC) who they would suggest. They immediately said Bruce Robinson, of Anchor Refrigeration. Bruce and his folks serve Shawnee County, Osage County, and parts of Franklin, Douglas, Jefferson, Riley, and Coffey counties - and, they are totally awesome.

Bruce also came out and looked at our ductwork and said, oh dear.

Figuring out the plan

Quick “don’t try this at home” note - Brian is a rare homeowner, in that he’s very experienced with construction, home renovation, wiring, etc. He’s well-qualified to work closely with Bruce. No offense, but the vast majority of you reading this probably are not really, no offense.

OK. Figuring out the specific HVAC plan for your own home - on one hand, it’s simple. You want a heat pump, you go get a heat pump.

On the other hand, it’s not simple at all. Here are some of the variables that your HVAC person will have to figure out: What are your heating and cooling habits? This will make a difference to the type of heat pump that is right for you. Also, what are the constraints of your pre-existing system?

Turns out our pre-existing system had a lot of problems. The house was built originally as a lake house, so there was no AC or heater, just a woodstove. There was a radiant heating system attached to an ancient first generation solar hot water heater that was never maintained, so it hadn’t worked in recent history. We sold it for scrap. Also, there are so many mature trees around the home, I’m not sure what made them think solar would work well there anyway.

The previous owner installed heating and AC, plus vents. Kind of. It was an outside system. As noted in the photo the air had to flow through a really complicated set of twists and turns to get into the house, which really means that it didn’t flow at all.

That was a problem. Bruce’s solution, if we were up for it (he looked mildly apprehensive when he first suggested it): Move the heat pump inside to a more central location in the basement, to cut out a lot of unnecessary ductwork.

Only this would mean basically trashing our basement.

Oh well. The basement is a disaster area anyway. It was mostly unfinished, and what was finished had been finished in a very crummy fashion.

We decided to go for it.

Rather, we decided to go for it - then Brian had to do all the actual work of demolition. Maril just watched, took notes and photos, and supplied snacks and moral support. Bruce came by again yesterday, he and Brian put their heads together, and I think they have now come up with a plan.

Stay tuned!

— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org