In addition to using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) we will be paying close attention to our choices for HVAC, hot water heater, appliances, plumbing fixtures, and lighting.
HVAC - Did you know that your homes HVAC system can be up to 57% of your household energy consumption? Well...that's what Whirlpool Corporations HVAC website states. We will be using a 16 or 18 SEER heat pump system. There are many systems that are actually more efficient, but given that the technology they use is foreign to many potential buyers we don't want to limit our market if we have to resell. For instance Geothermal heatpumps have been around for years. However, our fear is that the general public simply isn't aware that these are good, durable, and super energy efficient. You can educate buyers as you can, but that doesn't mean they will adopt the technology with their next home purchase. We also looked at a super efficient 22 SEER heat pump system, but the cost/payback just didn't seem to be there. Again, with an eye towards resell we didn't feel that a 22 vs a 16 or 18 was a key selling lever.
If we were further north in a colder climate area we probably would have gone with a gas pack for heat. Given our fairly mild winters the heat pump is a much lower install cost and lower cost to run as well. They key reason at the end of the day was really just cost. That foundation put a dent in our budget!
Images above were copied from Whirlpoolhvac.com. The top image is a cutaway of an 18 SEER heatpump. The bottom image is a graph showing a 8 SEER heatpump on the far left taking $100 to do the same work the 18 SEER unit does for $39...less than half the cost!
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