5 FAFCO Solar Pool Heating panels used to heat water in a 750 Gal tank for nightime radiant heat in the Greenhouse.

Greenhouse used for plant research and propagating varieties of Strawberries, Raspberries and other fruit bearing crops.

Bottom line was to replace the existing natural gas furnace and electric air conditioner.<P>

Our total investment of $50K will take about fifteen years to achieve some balance. But, that was not our goal. Our goal was to show that it could be done today.

SHOP: 2300 sqft / One side woodshop - One side car lift (metal working) / radiant floor heat. Takagi T-DK20 tankless water heater.

mmyers01@rochester.rr.com / WEL0023

Mike

Most importantly, Solar Harvest is home to Ecofutures’ founder Eric Doub’s family of four that will benefit for decades to come from its durability, beauty, comfort, and clean air.

Solar Harvest has been reviewed more than 40 times in journals and papers around the world, including the New York Times, Investors Business Daily, and the Washington Post, as well as by HGTV and Discovery Science Channel. Additionally, the home and Ecofutures have won numerous awards for our efforts to advance building methods and materials to new and greener levels.

Over 3,000 visitors have toured Solar Harvest, and you are welcome to visit as well!

Our WEL monitors the ground water temps, DeSuper heater flow and burn times for propane and the Geo's on time.

Full reports available against on-line DB at www.217.done-that.com

Single story residence, 3400 sf, built 1992; Plano, TX (75074), 1/4 mil population suburb N of Dallas.

My email is: bneukranz@verizon.net . Please feel free to make observations and suggestions. WEL implementation takes advantage of almost all WEL features.

Geothermal heating/cooling: Two 2-stage variable speed WaterFurnace Envision Ground Source Heat Pump units - 3 and 5 ton; single closed water loop, 8 vertical boreholes each 300' deep using standard grout. WaterFurnace IntelliZone zoning on 3 ton unit - 3 air distribution zones.

Solar generated electricity: 8.1 KW (DC) PV grid-tie-only system.

Lighting: Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) only - no incandescent light bulbs.

Pool Pumping: 2-speed ultra-efficient 2.0 HP (total) filter pump.

Please see more details at another WEL unit: WEL0343.

(Last updated 9/2011)

2009.10.26
Work still waiting to be completed: Fix thermosiphoning problem with the hot water desuperheater and install runtime switches for dryer/generator.

For now testing out the WEL at our rental with a couple of temperature
sensors, inside and outside !

October 2008: Replaced fixed glass in kitchen area with double glazed units (12mm gap, low-e) in preparation for the arrival of replacements for the opening windows and doors from Germany.

December 2008: Replaced worst (14) of the hopelessly leaky doors and windows in the house with Fauser 18mm double glazed, argon-filled, low-e and wind rated units.

Watch for more info on how to install a system yourself

My email is: dean@palacegeothermal.com.

Please feel free to make observations and suggestions

To build a custom home that is sustainable and the most efficient that we can do at this time within reason. Geothermal HVAC, Foam Insulation, Low-E windows, Walkout basement and Water Reclamation.

We broke ground May 6th 2008 and hope to be completed by mid Nov 2008.
6000 Sq Ft home with a walkout basement. We are installing 2-5Ton WaterFurnace open loop water to air units into 5 zones. We drilled a 300' water well in the front yard and can pump 18GPM at 68 degrees.
The Geo waste water will be dumped into a 2000 septic tank only for this water and reused for irrigation. Any left over water will overflow into the natural creek on our site.

Performance of my PV system and details to consider when planning a PV system are described at:
http://milo-scientific.com/pers/PV_system/

Located in Dartmouth Nova Scotia, Thermo Dynamics Ltd. manufactures liquid flat plate solar collectors, solar systems, solar pumps.

Our factory is mainly heated by thirty (30) G32-P solar collectors located on the south wall of the building. Our heating costs for the past 6 years has been around $1,000 per year.

100 Thermo-Dynamics 3x8 Flat-Plate Solar COllectors. System installed by Doctor Solar of Scotian Renewables Inc.

Likewise, where radiant heating was quoted at between $30,000 and $ 45,000, we got a very detailed design and the complete installation kit from the great folks at www.nrt.com and installed it with a bit of help from the plumber. The result is a 6 zone radiant system operated by a Climate Master 5 ton (turns out to be much more than we needed, typical HVAC oversizing...see graphs) water to water Geothermal Heat pump operating off our domestic water well. First year ran just over $ 1,200 for both heat and hot water. We expect to do better next year, since we're fixing all the sloppy air infiltration our awful builder didn't do properly.

All systems use photovolataic-powered Solar Pumps by Thermo Dynamics

Solar collectors and solar water heater by Thermo Dynamics (www.thermo-dynamics.com)
of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

This is a test session for use in Earthlinked Geothermal applications. This WEL server site consists of supply/return/attic/outdoor with compressor discharge and suction temperatures of our house. It will change as needed to display different parameters and calculations.

Our home is a 1,260 sq. ft. bungalow with 25,000 BTU/hr of solar heated domestic hot water, solar infloor heating and 1.9 kW solar array
Large south facing windows for passive solar heating
An energy efficient instant hot water heater, backup for solar heat
Energy efficient doors
Triple pane high efficient windows
Is insulated greater than a standard build
R 24 in the walls of the home including polar wrap
R 45 in the ceiling
R 40 in the basement walls
R 20 in the garage walls
R 30 in the garage ceiling
50 year shingles
Low flush toilets and low flow showers heads
All the appliances are new and energy efficient
The yard will be landscaped to have low water use

5.6kw PV Operational since August 2010.

WaterFurnace Envision Series 2 Ton water to air ground source heat pump.

Thermostat set at 72.F with no setback.

Installed by Doctor Solar
A Division of Scotian Windfields Inc

-Stirling Systems energy recovery ventilator.

This is a test case for a potential wider scale implementation of WEL for monitoring the performance of a number of home energy efficiency retrofits.

Large south oriented windows provide enough passive solar to completely heat house from 10am to sunset on sunny winter days above 30 degrees. There is 6'' thick exterior stone on southern walls to maintain heat into evening. Deep roof overhang shields sun in summer.

HAI intellegent staging thermostats used to maintain the more efficient low speed HP operation as much as possible. They only add stage 2 when user specified heat rise rate is not being met in stage 1.

Loop one has 6 vertical wells connected to two 3-ton AC systems

Loop two has 3 vertical wells connectedd to one 2-ton AC system

Only ground loop temperature sensors installed thus far.
System installed by Palace Geothermal, South Jordan, UT.

Application

-Preheat Domestic Hot Water

40 - G32-P Thermo Dynamics Ltd Liquid Flat Plate Collectors
4 - P118330 Thermo Dynamics Ltd Solar Pumps
1000 IG Storage

(Note: This site shows only electrical, room temperature, and heat recovery ventilator statistics. Please see http://welserver.com/WEL0243 for mechanical systems.)

Also recently added a GE 50 gal. heat pump water heater with an 80 gal. tempering tank. This is an excellent combinatin that has reduced the electric power cost for domestic hot water by more than 60%.

-Pool heating
-In-floor radiant pre-heating
-Solar domestic hot-water pre-heating

Trying out all types of Renewable Energy.

monitor.plotit.com

ecm1240.plotit.com

welserver.plotit.com

2 Collectors pre-heating the domestic hot water.

It works great - when the sun shines it heats water. There is nothing for the homeowner to adjust, no annual maintenance and no reliance on grid electricity. It will not overheat or freeze-up; it just works.

The primary purpose of this implementation is to understand the WEL's serial logging capabilities and to illustrate control applications by interfacing 3rd party products to the WEL.

(Last updated 10/10)

Monitoring Air-Source Heat Pump and HRV

5 House Humidities and Temperatures

Solar Radiation on Roof

Outdoor Temp and Humidity

The goal is to achieve net zero energy usage for the home on an annual basis.

The systems are being operated on a 24 hour cycle. For instance, during the summer, the Mitsubishi runs 24 hours straight from midnight to midnight, and then the GE runs for the next 24 hours. We have just begun this analysis, and are now getting the units to maintain as close to 72 degrees as possible. Once we have sufficient data on the energy consumption rates with each system, they will be shut off for the most part. During the colder weeks of the winter, the comparison will be viewed again with the heating elements in operation.

The space in 650 SF over an unconditioned detached garage. The purpose of the data collection is to come up with real consumption rates/costs for running a high efficiency heat pump in comparison to old fashioned resistance heat (and regular AC units in the summer). Assuming that the COP of the heat pump is high enough, we will be taking our numbers to HUD to ask them to revise their ''utility allowance tables'' that they mandate building owners to abide by when the tenants are required to pay for their own heat. Right now, the tables only account for ''resistance'' electric haat, and the numbers are skewed as a result.

If we succeed, I would like to build multi-family affordable housing structures with very tight envelopes, proper ERV ventilating systems, cogeneration systems (to make DHW on site and produce lower cost electricity), and then use the mini-split systems throughout for every tenant's heating and cooling.

Installed 8/1/10 by Bealer Enterprises
http://www.bealerenterprises.com/

Weather monitoring station
www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID

1 4'x8' Thermodynamics Collector Pre-heating the DHW System

1 Endurance 5KW S-343 Wind Turbine Net-Meter Grid-Tie

4 Water-to-Air units and 1 Water-to-Water unit.

Graphical display shows units calculated from the difference in energy needed heat the home with fuel oil versus the actual electrical energy now used for the geothermal heat pumps.

--- System installed and monitored by THB Energy Solutions ---
Providing turnkey renewable energy systems for Jackson Hole and beyond.
www.thbes.com

Our house was built in 2002. The geothermal heat pump replaced an inefficient Hallmark oil fired furnace. The house is 2500 square feet with 2'' by 6'' framing on exterior walls and R19 insulation. The attic has R30 insulation. The house has Andersen Windows with high performance glass.

We have been researching the WEL for awhile. We are hoping to get a better understanding of how our system is performing and monitor in greater detail our temperature sensor data and monthly heating and cooling costs.

We plan on replacing in the near future our oil fired water heater with a 50 gallon Marathon electric water heater. This will finally get us out of our dependency on fossil fuels.

(Posting since 2010)

Here's why you should seriously consider solar thermal energy for your
hot water and space heating needs - using the same system.

**We seek out and provide American-made products
**Take advantage of Federal and State tax incentives
**Get Government GRANTS to help pay for your system
**The systems pay for themselves in 3 to 5 years
**Receive CASH Renewable Energy Credits

7/9/11 Status - Got the flowmeter working, added more temperature sensors, and insulated everything more effectively. I installed three sensors each on the collector inlet and outlet, and average them to get more accuracy. I also installed a sensor at the middle of the lower tank and on the water outlet. We are 100% solar at the moment (gas heater is off).
7/2/11 Installed pilotless gas water heater as the top tank. This has a flue damper that closes when the gas is not on. I plan to switch the 120VAC power to enable/disable gas backup, and run 100% solar most of the time (we are in Oceanside, CA, after all...).

Designed and Installed by THB Energy Solutions.
Geothermal Specialists in the Northern Rockies

www.THBES.com
406.522.0806

The ''Cottage'' was built in 2005 using 2x6 Walls (R21)and R44 Ceiling. Lakeside has lots of windows and we originally used a 90-plus propane furnace to heat the 4350 square ft of living space. Geothermal was installed Sept 2011 with the propane furnace being left in place for emergency heat.
A Honeywell TZ-4 Controls the Zone Dampers used to divide the heat load in half (Upstairs Zone2, Downstairs Zone1). Smart-House technology was installed using a HAI(Home Automation,Inc) controller with associated alarm, relays and sensors.

The ClimateMaster TT27 6 ton unit, non-pressurized (QT) system is supported by a closed loop (3 trenches each300 ft long), using a 6 pipe configuration in two of them, and a 4 pipe configuration in the third. The 4800 foot of 3/4'' pipe has an average depth of 8 ft in saturated clay (standing water table equalized with the lake bed).

This system was designed by and is distributed by Energy Dynamics Inc.

Call 1-800-444-8583 for more system details.

Comments or suggestions are welcome. Les commentaires ou suggestions seront les bienvenus: NormandCamire ''at'' videotron ''dot'' ca .

This is my Geothermal heat pump Dimplex SIK 16 ME
Installed on 7 radially drilled boreholes each of 38m
Running three floors,each about 70m2, of underfloor heating
Passive cooling is also available via the Dimplex PKS 14 Econ
The oldest walls of the house date back about 1000 years, with the round tower being added 400 years later, and the front and northerly walls being quite a lot more recent,rebuilt by myself last year.
Insulation hence varies dramatically.

I hope this moitoring will enable me to run the system as efficiently as possible, and to help me feel better on a day to day basis about the insane amount of money the heating system has cost me!

Check the webcam below with username and password 'visitor'

Enjoy.

Rather than building a traditional ''Energy-Hog'' home, or even a non-traditional Energy-Efficient home, our new home is a unique fusion of energy efficient techniques, and environmental sanity.

Our goal was to create a home that uses the sun, earth and water to create a pleasant living environment where we can enjoy the wildlife, and which also reduces our demands on non-sustainable resources.