Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's closer to 80 to 85 in most units. One of the issues here is the BTU value per ton can vary from about 24 million to 28. A good average is about 25. At $200/ton and 12 cents per kWh it would have to be in the 400% range for efficiency for same BTU's per dollar.
Coal Boilers are not cheap, the one in the video I posted is about $9K on a pallet. However they are far cheaper than geothermal sytem and if you are young man you only have to buy it once. For supplementary heat they make small hot air stokers for as little as $2K that will throw about 90KBTU, you'll only get 2 or 3 decades out of cheaper unit like that.
The high efficiencies like that have been achieved since the late 40's and 50's believe it or not. Stoker designs have not changed much since then because if they make them anymore efficient you're going to start running into drafting issues.
The flue gases typically navigate a convoluted path before exiting the boiler. For example in mine there is 3 walls. This is difficult to describe but the two inside are the boiler walls, the outside wall is for the flue gases. The flue gases exit in the one corner the burn chamber and have to go around the whole unit between the second and third before they finally exit out the back. The flue exit itself is much lower than the height of the firepot inside. 99.9% of the time you can put your hand on the flue pipe and it will just feel a little warm.
It's about 30K here. That's assuming you hit water in a well at a shallow depth, and some spots you have to go over 500ft to get it. Trust me- I have $5,000 in a dry well (for consumption/general household) that netted ZERO at 325ft. I stopped there. I would have to start over elsewhere, rough cost for the well is $12-$15K alone.
I do not think we are talking about the same kind of system. Nothing to do with a well.
Our entire geothermal installation for our new 1500 sq ft house with full basement was about $23K. With the 30% tax credit, it dropped the total cost to within $300 of a standard air source electric heat pump (no natural gas available here).
We have 2 wells just outside the house, each 150' deep, for our loops. No need to hit water, just get the loops into the ground. We moved in the first of June and have had the thermostat at 72 since the day we moved in. Even throughout the weeks of temperatures in the mid 90s and humidities at nearly the same number, the house was very, very comfortable and our highest electric bill (which includes everything except the propane for cooking) was about $125. Expecting to see similar numbers for the heating season
Of course the SIP panels for the walls and roof and the insulated Superior wall system for the foundation system are also contributing to this. As our designer says, it's like we are living inside a foam ice chest.
Our entire geothermal installation for our new 1500 sq ft house with full basement was about $23K. With the 30% tax credit, it dropped the total cost to within $300 of a standard air source electric heat pump (no natural gas available here).
We have 2 wells just outside the house, each 150' deep, for our loops. No need to hit water, just get the loops into the ground. We moved in the first of June and have had the thermostat at 72 since the day we moved in. Even throughout the weeks of temperatures in the mid 90s and humidities at nearly the same number, the house was very, very comfortable and our highest electric bill (which includes everything except the propane for cooking) was about $125. Expecting to see similar numbers for the heating season
Of course the SIP panels for the walls and roof and the insulated Superior wall system for the foundation system are also contributing to this. As our designer says, it's like we are living inside a foam ice chest.
Very reasonable electric bills. Do you mind me asking what state are you in?
Off topic... the new Fujitsus and Mitsubishis mini splits are good to about -15F and -13F respectively (although I've heard they will keep running below that) , but more efficient the warmer it is (although they are still 300% efficient at 17F).
Where are you getting your efficiency numbers? Coefficient of performance numbers are derived from HSPF ratings which are a combined average of steady state efficiency at outdoor temperatures of 62°, 47°, 35°, and 17°. I'm not aware of any valid AHRI ratings at one outdoor temperature.
FWIW, comparing ductless to ducted HSPF isn't really a fair comparison. Ductless gets the luxury of adding a 62° outdoor temp efficiency to the average that ducted HP's don't
I haven't heard about these new units, I heard they were working on ways to extract heat from colder air, but didn't know they have done so.
Go take a look at the video I posted of a guy in Canada testing his Daikon unit. Mitsubishi with Hyper-heat H2i is considered the best right now (for cold climates). Tested at -13F
This is a pretty good testimonial of a Vermont customer that had an energy audit and Mitsubishi units installed.
Where are you getting your efficiency numbers? Coefficient of performance numbers are derived from HSPF ratings which are a combined average of steady state efficiency at outdoor temperatures of 62°, 47°, 35°, and 17°. I'm not aware of any valid AHRI ratings at one outdoor temperature.
FWIW, comparing ductless to ducted HSPF isn't really a fair comparison. Ductless gets the luxury of adding a 62° outdoor temp efficiency to the average that ducted HP's don't
The Fujitsu's COP at 17F is 3.0 so, it's just an average. Average temps in January where I live (the coldest month) is 17F.
Go take a look at the video I posted of a guy in Canada testing his Daikon unit. Mitsubishi with Hyper-heat H2i is considered the best right now (for cold climates). Tested at -13F
This is a pretty good testimonial of a Vermont customer that had an energy audit and Mitsubishi units installed.
the Fujitsu RLS3H is actually better than the Mitsubishi FH series right now. It puts out more heat, at lower temps, more efficiently. I'm sure this changes pretty frequently as new models come out.
Very reasonable electric bills. Do you mind me asking what state are you in?
Ohio
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.