What Is In My Home?
Update: I just added a Honeywell Built-In Central Vacuum System to my house! It has 2x the sucking power of a Dyson Upright Vacuum and keeps all the dirt out in the garage where it belongs. The system I put in cost only $2,800 if installed in an existing home and is absolutely amazing in terms of effectiveness, ease of use and just plain money well spent. If you want me to quote you one of these systems while I am at your house, just let me know. I will have the full review and product details on this site soon. - Wes
If there is one question I get ask the most, it is, "What is in your house?"
First off, I want you to understand that it is not necessary for you to go to this level to have a good system, but if you want the best, now that is a different story all together. What I figured is that if I am going to preach Efficiency and Heat Pumps and Zoning and Air Quality and Variable Speed and Staging and Tight Duct Work and this and that; I should probably have it in my house and not just take the brochures word for it.
When building my house, I only had X amount of dollars to invest in "fancy". There is a strong tug from the world of house building to have Slate and Hardwood and Granite Counter Tops and Stainless Appliances and what ever else you are supposed to put in your house these days. Well, there was just no way that I was going to put all these things in my house and then only be able to install a basic system with an 80% Furnace. What is the point of investing all that money in things that look nice and then not being able to enjoy them because you are uncomfortable or your bills are so high you can't afford to turn on your heat? So, we have Carpet and Linoleum, Black Appliances and a basic Tile Entry, it is all nice stuff, but zero "fancy".
Instead, I poured every last penny I had into my family's health, comfort and the system efficiency, literally every penny. Was it worth it? My wife says yes.
Again, when I went to design the heating system in my house I looked at the three categories that I detailed in my Variable Speed Article; they are Health, Savings and Comfort.
First, a list of components, then I will give you the "why". Don't forget to scroll down to the My Bills Section!
- Carrier Infinity Series 3-Stage 95% Variable Speed Gas Furnace
- Carrier Infinity Series 2-Stage 18.5 SEER/9.1 HSPF Heat Pump
- Lennox PureAir PCO Air Purifier
- Carrier Infinity Series 2-Zone Modulating Zone System
- Multiple Return Air Inlets, Including All Bedrooms
- Motorized Fresh Air Damper on Timer
- Duct Loss at .5% (Energy Star is 6%)
- Rinnai On-Demand Gas Water Heater
- Honeywell Central Vacuum System (AWESOME!)
Like I have said in the past, Indoor Air Quality really is the most important thing. The first component of this is the Air Purifier, which is able to neutralize practically everything including the cold and flu virus. However, there is no point in owning one unless you have constant air flow over the filter, thus we have the variable speed fan on the furnace which, when not heating, ramps down to produce a low air flow throughout the house, exchanging the air over the filter constantly.
One of the most important parts of this system is the Multiple Return Air, not only is it good for lowering the static pressure and increasing system performance and longevity, it means there is not a stale room in the house. My favorite part is that I have both Supply and Return Air in every bedroom. This means that if one of the bedroom doors is shut, that room is getting fresh air out of the supply and sending its dirty (sick kid) air back to the Purifier to be cleaned through its own return air duct. Since we all spend literally half of our day in our rooms, it seems that ensuring easy breathing while we sleep would be a no brainer.
Before we moved into this house, my son had slowly developed a chronic deep cough and my daughter was following suite. My wife was miserable with allergies and I guess I snored like a beast. Well, within literally 1 week of living in our new home with this air quality system all those things went away. Literally, no coughing, no sniffing and no snoring, IT IS AWESOME!
SAVINGS
This system is what we call a Hybrid, running on electricity for most of the time, but kicking over to gas if it is really needed. The difference between this system and all other Hybrid Systems, including Carrier, is that while all others need to be given a balance point or outdoor temperature at which the heat pump shuts off and the furnace takes over, the Carrier Infinity System needs no direction. It will run the heat pump as long as it is able to satisfy the desired set point on the control. If the heat pump cannot keep up with your houses heat loss, it will then and only then, shift over to the gas furnace. This part is huge when it comes to value for your dollar. If you are going to invest in a heat pump, you want to let it produce for you as long as possible.
Probably the most interesting, but abstract portion of the efficiency segment is the combination of the Infinity Zoning with the 2-Stage Heat Pump. See, most conventional heat pump systems will operate on a whole house basis, heating the entire house at once. Being a 2-stage heat pump, these types of systems will run on low, but as the load increases, will switch over to high and eventually have to switch over the their back up heat (furnace). Well, with my system I have the capacity to not only stage my heat pump, but as the temperature outside drops and the heat loads change within my home I can take all available BTUs that my heat pump is able to produce and send all of it into, say, the lower floor of my home. This allows the heat pump to carry the heating load of the house further down into the lower outdoor temperatures.
Easily one of the biggest energy sinks in most homes is the water heater. The traditional water heater has okay burn efficiency, but as it sits all the heat from the water just heated is sucked out the flue pipe as a part of natural convection. That is why it has to keep re-heating itself constantly and that is why they cost so much to run. I chose to go with the Rinnai On-Demand water heater because, for one, it is efficient, but for two, I don't want to have to replace the stupid thing in 8-10 years. Plus, it has no stand-by loss and gives us endless hot water! My wife worships the thing. When we had a traditional hot water system I would take my shower and then she would get in, but would run cold right when she was shaving her legs. Well, ladies you can confirm this, if you get goose bumps in the middle of this process, you are pretty much done. Now, with the Rinnai, it just never goes cold. She says that knowing what she knows now, we could easily pay double for the thing, which is saying a lot since they are not cheap!
Another large energy sucker in most homes is the duct work. More often that not, even on new construction, duct leakage can reach 25%. Well, without any special instruction, our guys installed the tightest duct work that my energy inspector, Robert Stockman, had ever seen.
People are always asking me why Barron is always the high bidder? IT IS BECAUSE WE DO OUR JOB CORRECTLY! From Design to Installation to Service, we simply are the best at what we do.
COMFORT
I will say it again; you can spend limitless amounts of money on multiple cosmetic upgrades to your house, but if you are not comfortable in it, what is the point? Seriously people!
The definition of comfort is not being aware of your environment; you are, well, comfortable. When I am in my house I don't hear my heating system, feel the temperature change or have any urge to adjust my thermostat. I have zero hot and cold spots, my upper floor is the same temperature as the lower floor and I can sleep in a cold room year around. You can't put money on that, it's amazing.
This is all due to two things, Barron Design and the Carrier Infinity System. This perfect world scenario isn't created by just slapping the Carrier Infinity gear in a house; it takes design. The same goes for the opposite, with out all the components of the Infinity System, my design would have only been able to do so much for me.
My Favorite Feature
By far the Air Purifier because of what it has done for my family. However, from the efficiency side, the Infinity Systems' ability to have no outdoor balance temperature is probably the coolest feature.
My Bills
To give you the right perspective, I want to first break down what appliances I have and what type of fuel, etc. Also, keep in mind that I do not intentionally limit use on any of my appliances, heating or cooling.
Square Footage - 1850 square feet
Windows - Eleven, including slider
Heating - Hybrid Heat Pump System/Heating-69 Degrees/Cooling-73 Degrees
Heating System Duct Loss - .5%, 1/11th of Energy Star Minimums
Water Heating - Rinnai On-Demand Gas Water Heater - 82% Efficiency
Kitchen Appliances - All Energy Star Electric, Including Range
Washer and Dryer - Both Energy Star Electric
Freezer in Garage - Hand me down
Lighting - All CFL bulbs/38 Total
Insulation - Code
Tightness of House - Almost Zero Infiltration
Cascade Natural Gas (budget plan) - $25/water heating and back-up heat only
Puget Sound Energy (budget plan) - $79/Christmas Lights, heating, cooling, all appliances
Green Power Program
100% of my consumption comes from Renewable Resources
(this adds $5 to my power bill)
If you have any questions about this or anything else, call me - Wes
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