How Eight Homeowners Save Over $12,275 on Energy

By: Joseph D'Agnese, This Old House magazine (Page 2 of 11)

a pellet stove helped this couple save almost 75 percent on their heating bill

Photo: Anthony Tieuli

Brent Bussey and Jessica Gervais discovered the power of pellets—and watched their fuel bills drop almost 75 percent.

Julie Tung and her partner Ed Schwartz installed heat pumps in their home to save $2,200

Ed Schwartz and Julie Tung of Ridgewood, New Jersey installed heat pumps to save $2,200 on oil heat.

solar panels on the roof helped this couple save $2,000 per year in electricity

Photo: Thayer Allyson Gowdy

Tom Hammer and Sueling Cho installed 24 solar panels and saw their electricity costs fall by $2,000 a year.

bob alcock and tim wheeler switched to solar hot water to save on heat and hot water

Bob Alcock and Tim Wheeler of Lost River, West Virginia, switched to solar hot water to save $1,500 on propane heat and hot water.

nellie aranowski put up window awnings to shield from both hot and cold weather

David and Nellie Aranowski of South Bend, Indiana put up window awnings to save $90

tube skylights help brighten the house with daylight instead of electricity

Photo: Joe Schmelzer

Justin and Kristin Gonzalez, shown with daughter Riley, pipe in daylight with tubular skylights to reduce their electricity bill.

denim batts will help the pearson's save money on heat

Bryant and Stephanie Pearson of Portland, Oregon, added denim batts to save $300 on gas heat.

the heat pump sits on top an existing water heater and uses the air temp to conserve energy

Photo: Wyatt McSpaden

Jim and Rachel King, with kids Jimmy and Ally, retrofitted their water tanks with a heat-pump device and stopped paying for propane.

geothermal heat pumps help cool in the summer and heat in the winter

David and Jen Schlegel of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania went with a geothermal heat pump to save $1,525

a whole-house fan helps cool the house by bring cooler air up through the house while drawing warm air out upper windows or roof vents

Dwight and Shannon Okahara, of Santa Clarita, California hooked up a whole-house fan to save $500

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Easy Upgrades That Say Welcome Home

What You'll Learn:

"We installed heat pumps."
—Ed Schwartz and Julie Tung, Ridgewood, New Jersey

How They Work: An air-source heat pump looks something like a central AC compressor, and in summer it works the same way, pumping heat to the outside through lines filled with refrigerant.
During the winter, the same pump extracts heat from the outdoor air—surprisingly, even cold air still contains a large amount of heat—and sends it inside. Air handlers blow the heated or cooled air through a home's ductwork. Some systems may be equipped with humidifiers for winter comfort and filters to trap allergens.
Historically, heat pumps didn't work well in areas where temperatures dropped below 35 degrees F, but Hallowell International recently introduced an "all-climate" heat pump called the Acadia, which works when the mercury dips as low as –30 degrees F. The Bangor, Maine, company says this system can reduce heating and cooling costs by at least 60 percent.

What These Homeowners Did: While completing a renovation of their 5,000-square-foot house, much of it dating to the 18th and 19th centuries, Ed and Julie replaced an ancient furnace with two Hallowell all-climate heat pumps.

What They Learned: Last winter, when temperatures fell to the single digits, the two pumps kept the house a toasty 70 degrees F, even though some rooms were still uninsulated. And at the height of a heat wave last summer, they got the temperature down to 76 degrees. The key is to leave the thermostat at a set temperature for about eight hours at a time so that each pump can perform at peak efficiency.
It also pays to insulate and seal air leaks. By doing this, the owners were able to buy a smaller, less costly system.

Keep in Mind: New ductwork and thick, old plaster walls aren't a natural fit. To minimize the number of openings in the walls, Ed and Julie located one air handler in the attic and one in the basement.

Payback Period: 7 years
Their Cost: $15,000 for each heat pump, uninstalled; new ductwork not included
Yearly Savings on Oil Heat: $2,100