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RE: Shop heater

To: "Bill Gingerich" <wrgingerich@msn.com>,
Subject: RE: Shop heater
From: wmc_st@xxiii.com
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 00:57:15 -0500
At 09:35 PM 12/12/2005, Bill Gingerich wrote:
>FWIW, I paid $1.65/G when I filled my 1000 gallon tank 2 months 
>back.  That should heat the 1500 sq. ft. house and the 2100 sq. ft. 
>shop for about 4 months here in south central Minnesota.

OMG!  You're paying over $400/mo for fuel?!?!?  Have you heard of 
or  looked into ground source heat pumps?  Whereas a regular air 
source heat pump / air conditioner tries to dump heat into > 80dF air 
in the summer, and suck heat out of < 40dF air in the winter, a GSHP 
puts a  heat transfer pipe loop in the ground below the frost line 
where it's typically a constant 50dF or so.  Efficiency can approach 
650% compared to pure electric (100% by definition.)

I'd love to install one here for the beauty and elegance of its 
design, but the weather is mild enough here in western North Carolina 
that it would take > 10 years to pay off. If I still lived in a 
miserably cold place like Ohio, or an intolerably cold place like MN, 
I'd install one yesterday.

I have two air source heat pumps in our two floor 1600 sq-ft place, 
and our electric bill runs from $75 to $130, with temps at 68 winter, 
71 summer.  We also bought a Whirlpool "Duet" front-load washer and 
dryer.  They're absurdly expensive, but the lower water consumption 
appears to have cut our propane bill by over $150 a year.  Can't say 
enough good stuff about 'em.   And we're saving on clothing expenses, 
because it doesn't shred stuff like an agitator washer.

   -Wayne




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