[Robotgroup] Residential Geothermal HVAC and Solar Energy..?

[Doug Emes]

> From: Vern Graner <vern at txis.com>
> Subject: [Robotgroup] Residential Geothermal  HVAC and Solar Energy..?
[snip]
> Ok, as many of you know, Kym and I are getting ready to build a new
> house in Dripping Springs. We're now looking closely at trying to find
> ways to reduce the TCO of the house.
>
> The first thing we're exploring is possibly abandoning the "typical"
> freon-based HVAC system for a geothermal one.

If you have the landmass (which I assume you will in Dripping Springs,
population < 2k) then going geothermal seems like a really good return
on investment.  For that matter, so does storing your own rainwater in
an underground tank.

> Some googling has shown a company called "Water Furnace". They have a
> video that describes their system here:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybfVoiN14HE
>
> We contacted them and they said they have a dealer in Austin and one in
> San Antonio. The Austin dealer is:
>
> American Geothermal
> 11604 Tridens CT
> Austin, TX 78750
> 512-219-1465
>
> Does anyone have any experience with this company they can share with me?
>
> Next up is the idea of fitting the house with Solar panels to offset the
> electrical usage. I was thinking about using a battery-less system and
> pushing the power into the grid during the day and "buying it back" at
> night. At Earth day there was a company there called "Meridian Solar"
> advertising panels and installations:
>
> http://www.meridiansolar.com/
>
> We will be asking them for some pricing, but I'd like to know if anyone
> has any experience with them as well.
>
> FWIW, I'm not interested in "living off the grid" as much as I am in
> cutting the energy costs of the house. My current house with all
> electric appliances, electric heating and cooling (I like very cold
> indoor temps in the summer!), and all the computers and electronics I
> run can sometimes drive my monthly electric bill as high as $500+! Also,
> besides costs savings, solar panels and geothermal heating/cooling
> appeals to the techno-geek in me. ;)

For bang for the buck, nothing beats solar water heaters.  Dont know if Kym
likes hot showers, but assuming she does, you might want to look into
having one or more of these.

For true geekness you can also take that solar energy and generate your
own hydrogen gas.

> In both the above cases (solar & geothermal), one other thing I would
> like to know is if anyone here knows of state or federal grant programs
> that offset the installation costs of a systems like these. As I am
> outside the City of Austin, I need to know what county/state/federal
> programs would apply.

http://www.txses.org/
"Dates:	Jun 22, 2008
Event:	2008 Cool House Tour
Time:	Noon - 6 PM
Description:	Visit open houses featuring energy efficient and
environmentally sound design and construction…in very cool houses!
email:	info at txses.org
URL:	http://txses.org/cht08/index.html"


http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_solar.htm
-- nutshell answer: $2k for solar power, $2k for solar water heater

Best of luck in your endeavor.  If I ever _find_ a winning lottery
ticket, I'll be sure to ask you to help
design my residence =)