Share Your Home Electrification/Efficiency Improvements

[iPlug]

My Carrier AC unit died two weeks after the warranty period and the manufacturer refused any assistance. I won't buy from them again.

10 year parts warranty? Which model did you have?

Research and others steered me away from the highest efficiency Trane heat pump, but the next model down seemed to have a pretty reliable record. I have not come across the Carrier Infinity 20 Greenspeed having any particular issues that made it stand out. Maybe some other Carrier models don't have a good track record. Ours will come with a 2-year labor and 10-year parts warranty.

Our current unit is a 10 SEER Carrier and is 16+ years old and still working. Just had to replace a capacitor on the condenser unit about 4-5 year ago but otherwise no issues.

[SageBrush]

I don't remember the Model. If memory serves the warranty was 5 years.

[iPlug]

Checking in with an update.

About 12 months ago we indeed replaced our old AC and gas furnace with a Carrier Infinity 20 Greenspeed (SEER 20.5, HSPF 13) air sourced heat pump. We used 1258 kWh for the ‘18 cooling season and 1824 kWh for the ’18-’19 heating season. Only 6 kWh of this was resistive heat to continue to warm the house on the required coil de-ice cycles on the few coldest predawn mornings.

A few months ago we also ditched our one speed pool pump for a variable speed one and can confirm it cut energy use 85-90%.

Most recently, a couple weeks ago, we finally moved past the last personal home/transportation fossil fuel item and replaced our gas cooktop with an induction one. We still have a gas meter, but the valve is now turned off at the meter.

We were a bit skeptical on how it would perform compared to well established gas cooktops, but the new induction cooktop has not disappointed. It boils water much faster than gas, is very efficient as heats only the cookware (actually once the cookware gets hot the cookware can heat the cooktop directly underneath), and because there is immediate direct energy transfer to the cookware it allows more precise cooking control. We can melt butter or chocolate without burning it.

For the non-ecotech enthusiast (the wife), the greatest thing might be how easy it is to clean up given a smooth ceramic top and no burn-on since the top doesn't directly get hot or hot enough with cookware heat back feed.

[LeftieBiker]

I live in a Northeast second floor bedroom, and like many others it's very hard to cool in Summer, and hard to heat when we get a Northeast wind in Winter. I've ordered a "Mr. Cool" 18000btu DIY one room mini split unit. It will be here on Friday. I've been spending weeks trying to solve nearly insurmountable problems like boring a 3.54" hole through ancient lather and plaster. (I hopefully solved that one by changing the plan to boring through one of my 5" window frames - from the outside in to remove any plaster dust before I get into my living area. I'm doing the wiring for it on Wednesday, and hopefully the mounting bracket on Thursday or Friday. Then next weekend, assuming it arrives undamaged, I get to install it, with one or two unskilled helpers...

[iPlug]

Nice price and specs over at Home Depot (17.7 SEER, 9.8 HSPF). If you have a way to measure your achieved efficiency gains after a cooling or heating season, would be nice to hear.

[SageBrush]

Duplicate post

[SageBrush]

Checking in with an update.

About 12 months ago we indeed replaced our old AC and gas furnace with a Carrier Infinity 20 Greenspeed (SEER 20.5, HSPF 13) air sourced heat pump. We used 1258 kWh for the ‘18 cooling season and 1824 kWh for the ’18-’19 heating season.

Thanks for sharing.

I looked up Rocklin's temperature profile. Your cooling season consumption sounds pretty reasonable. What internal temperature do you choose ?

I live in a dry, high desert climate and at my wife's insistence am going to install cooling (heating is with NG.) I decided on a swamp cooler rather than a heat pump partly for efficiency and partly because I do not like recirculated air. I know from prior monitoring that the lion's share of energy use is actually not the cooling, it is the ~ kW to push the air through the ducting. I anticipate using 5 - 7 kWh a day during our 2-3 month active cooling season by cooling the home for about an hour in the early AM and then another 4 hours or so in the early evening. I'm shooting for temperatures that start at 60F in the AM and peak at ~ 75F.

My uncertainty is whether to size the cooler for my entire house's volume or just the bottom floor since the airflow will be bottom to top.

[iPlug]

What internal temperature do you choose ?

Our average weighted thermostat winter set point is 70°F and weighted summer set point is 77°F. Our house is a single-story, approximately 2550 ft.².

In the winter at night we might let it drop down to 68°F, and during the daytime when we’re home increase it to 72-73°F. In the summer even on the hottest days, it is always cool enough outside to turn on the whole house fan and chill the house around sunrise. On most summer nights we can also open the windows in the evening and turn on the house fan to further cool the house.

During the spring and fall it is quite easy to achieve comfortable temperatures in a house with just using the house fan occasionally at the edges of the day if passive measures aren’t enough.

As for passive heating and cooling, we open/close windows and open/close blinds and shades strategically. We (my better half) could probably do a better job with this part.

I anticipate using 5 - 7 kWh a day during our 2-3 month active cooling season by cooling the home for about an hour in the early AM and then another 4 hours or so in the early evening. I'm shooting for temperatures that start at 60F in the AM and peak at ~ 75F.

My uncertainty is whether to size the cooler for my entire house's volume or just the bottom floor since the airflow will be bottom to top.

Very nice plan and great low kWh use expected. Let us know what you ultimately decide with sizing and how the realized numbers work out.

[LeftieBiker]

Has anyone here had to cut through a lathe & plaster wall? I'm still planning on using the window frame, but have concerns about the window losing structural integrity with a 3.6" hole though a 5" frame. (The wall is in a faux turret and isn't load-bearing.) I'm hoping that the always-attached wooden storm window will help with that, as it's "glued on" with paint and caulk...

[SageBrush]

In the winter at night we might let it drop down to 68°F

Heh.

My wife has come around to my opinion that it does not matter how cold it is at night under covers. In the morning she wants the air at least 55F until the sun comes out. She still disagrees with me that exercise is best first thing on a chilly morning. For the most part we only turn on the home heating on cloudy days. Our winter climate is ~ 15F nadir and - 50F peak with a lot of sunny days. It is perfect.