No more oil!

It is now official--we are no longer dependent on oil. The furnace is dismantled, the hydronic baseboards have been drained, and the hot water now comes from a new 80-gallon electric tank. The actual heating/cooling unit has also been installed in the basement and hooked up to the wells. Monday the crew returns to cut vents in the family room floor (this was left to the end as it is over a tiny crawl space and running the ducting will be difficult); the kitchen (these will be toekicks due to our cabinet configuration and the fact that we have radiant floor heating there); and the foyer (the old baseboard must be removed first). Then once the ducts are connected, I believe we will be in business!

It is a bonus for us that this company will not only be removing and carting away the old furnace but also removing all of the hydronic and electric baseboards and all of the old thermostats too.

Here are a few more photos:

Old furnace, no longer in use

Where the old hot water tank used to be

Big guy is the 80-gal water heater; smaller guy is a 50-gal holding tank for pre-heated water from the geo system.

Our new WaterFurnace Synergy unit

Where the unit hooks up to the wells

We had our first 80+ degree day today and it has been pretty humid--this change is coming just in time!

Geothermal/Insulation Update

Wow, it has been a while! Work has progressed the past few weeks, albeit in fits and starts. Holes have been cut in ceilings, ductwork hooked up, wells drilled, insulation blown on the attic floor....Here are some photos:

Creative ducting in the basement

Duct through dining room closet--and we will still have some storage!

Radon system had to be shifted over to make room

Second floor guest room closet, heading up to the attic

Well driller--this is well #1 of 5. Well #5 was difficult--first attempt now has a $2000 drill bit buried at the bottom! Try #2 was fortunately successful.

It's messy work, though the birds have been enjoying our new mud pit.

Feeding in the pipe

Ceiling vent in master bathroom

All the wells are finished and have flexible tubes sticking out of them.

Digging the trench towards the house

The trench, almost to the basement

Attic--the pink is thick insulating foam board, the silver is a duct, and the fluff is cellulose.

A sea of cellulose

Our storage area at the top of the attic stairs

New cover for the attic hatch keeping us cozy!

Today the new electric water heater and the desuperheater tank are going in; the unit itself should be here and installed tomorrow or Monday. I'll try to post more photos/news soon!

Geothermal surprise!

Last week we signed our geothermal contract, and I have been waiting to hear a start date. Sunday night I had a dream that I woke up in the morning and the trucks were there, ready to begin. Well, Monday passed uneventfully, but this morning I received a call around 830, asking if today would be a good time to start. Though I was a bit shocked, I said sure---so our geothermal adventure has begun!

The majority of work on our project entails ductwork--up from the basement to the first floor, and also up through a dining room closet to a bed room closet to the attic. Here is what was accomplished today:

Ducts in basement--they seriously cut down on our headroom, so there is a lot of ducking in our future!

Not sure what this is yet.

Another view

Yes, I will be getting new floor registers....

The baseboards will be ripped out as soon as the conversion is complete.

The registers can't be any closer to the wall due to the home's construction--in other words, there's a beam in the way!

Hole in the floor--but no duct yet!




Thanks for reading, and I'll keep you posted on our progress! :-)