The main aim has to be to reduce our consumption of energy. Not only is this good for the Planet, it's good for the Wallet, and makes us less reliant on unpalatable regimes, (which we don't talk about here).
Insulate your home as much as possible, because that shows the fastest payback. The main target is the roof. Even sub-tropical locations benefit from thermo-reflective foil insulation, as this cuts aircon costs.
Get the house as airtight as possible, with seals on doors, windows and other leak-sources, ( ie receptacles!), as this makes a considerable saving by reducing draughts
( drafts?). Don't forget to ventilate the house, though, as good sealing can cause condensation problems. I'm fitting forced ventilation on my remodel, using a heat exchanger to reduce venting costs.
It's difficult to insulate walls and floors effectively without remodelling, but double-glazing is a reasonable payback option if you choose the right product.
Lifestyle is important too. Get the family into the routine of turning off unwanted appliances and lamps. Personally, I 'dumped' the energy saving bulbs as their cost eliminated any payback. A lot of my aquaintances turn on every tv in the house and the computer as they get up in the morning, and most times no-one is using them. Turn them off- they suck juice even on 'standby'. Turn the 'stats down. A degree or two will be unnoticable, but will lop 10% off your utility bills. Fit IR devices on outside lights. Turn rads down or off / operate dampers, in unused rooms.
As to choice of system, the best payback in these times of high fuel prices has to be a 'heat pump'. Even in the colder parts of the world, heat is available for free down in the earth, typically you 'pay' for about 25% of your demand, the rest is free.
Heatpump souces are, in order of capital cost cheapness;-
Air to Air/ Air to water. Heat is extracted from the outside air and is exhausted chilled. These systems can adapt to existing systems, replacing your boiler, but often have an electric resistance heater for very cold periods, reducing payback.
Earth to system. Heat is extracted from the earth, either from a system of anti-freeze filled pipes laid in the garden or yard, or from a source such as a lake or river, or from a bore-hole. Bore holes can go 300 ft. deep, and I even found an American company selling a small gas-engined drilling rig on the net for weekend warriors!
http://www.deeprock.com Anywhere in the US and France, ( not sure about UK), no permit is required to bore on your own property, and you only need a couple of sq. ft. of yard. Again, the heat can be used with either air or water heating systems.
Since I had already got a nearly new oil burner-boiler, I have opted to retain it and concentrate on cutting the losses, with 8" minimum glasswool, triple glazing, etc.
If you compare energy costs, remember that electricity is 100% efficient, so even with resistance heaters it can be economic if you insulate to a high standard. Using off-peak tarifs helps too; Denise uses timeclocks to run the dishwasher and washing machine at night. We have 2 hours cheapo-electric at midday too, which helps.
Alan
ps. If you live in a city, please try not to drill through a subway or Metro system!
[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 10-31-2005).]
[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 10-31-2005).]
