Hi, I live in a 70 y/o EOG rowhouse with southern & western exposure located
in Baltimore, MD.
The house has electric baseboard heating and window air conditioners.
Utilities were recently deregulated
and I believe I need to install a more efficient heating unit. Might as
well install central air at the same time.

I understand there are new high efficiency units that can save a bundle in
utility costs but they need to installed by
a crew that's trained to install them otherwise the are less effcient than
the other systems.

Recommendations for HVAC companies are also needed.

Any recommendations for highly effcient replacement windows at a resonalble
cost?
(will chck consumers union website)

Thanks,

Mike

On Jan 27, 11:29 am, "Mike" <1...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi, I live in a 70 y/o EOG rowhouse with southern & western exposure located
> in Baltimore, MD.
> The house has electric baseboard heating and window air conditioners.
> Utilities were recently deregulated
> and I believe I need to install a more efficient heating unit. Might as
> well install central air at the same time.
>
> I understand there are new high efficiency units that can save a bundle in
> utility costs but they need to installed by
> a crew that's trained to install them otherwise the are less effcient than
> the other systems.
>
> Recommendations for HVAC companies are also needed.
>
> Any recommendations for highly effcient replacement windows at a resonalble
> cost?
> (will chck consumers union website)
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike

I imagine you are probably going to end up with an electric furnace
with a heat pump.

As far as I know this is about as efficient as you can get using
electric.

But bear in mind the cost of this is going to be thousands of dollars
It could be a while before you hit break even on your energy bills.

Hi Mike,

Since you currently have electric baseboard heat and therefore I take
it no existing ductwork, I would highly recommend a ductless heat pump
(a multi-zone model most likely). A ductless heat pump can be
installed very easily and without any disruption to your living space
-- no cutting of walls and floors, no loss of interior or closet
space, no re-drywalling, no repainting and no construction dust.

A high efficiency ductless heat pump can cut your space heating costs
by 70 per cent and your cooling costs in half. It will improve the
outward appearance and security of your home; i.e., no unsightly
window air conditioners that can leave you venerable to break-ins.
They're also incredibly quiet.

I've been speaking with someone in another newsgroup who lives in
Montréal, a city much colder than your own. He tells me that even at
-1F, his ductless heat pump can still heat his entire home and at half
the cost of resistance heat.

He has a Fujitsu model 24RL. You can obtain more information on this
product here:

http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/PDF_06...6_brochure.pdf

I have oil-fired hot water baseboard heating and a year and a half ago
I installed a small Friedrich ductless heat pump (it's a rebranded
Fujitsu). It has cut my heating costs by more than half.

This is a picture of the inside air handler, which is located in my
living room:

http://server4.pictiger.com/img/2640.../heat-pump.php

You can view the Friedrich line here:
http://www.friedrich.com/pdf/Ductles...s_Brochure.pdf

The Mitsubishi "Mr. Slim" is another popular choice and you can learn
more about their offerings here:

http://www.mrslim.com/UploadedFiles/..._final_9-8.pdf

I had read BGE will be increasing their residential utility rates by a
whopping 72 per cent! With that in mind, I would recommend a heat
pump with a high SEER and HSPF rating -- preferably a SEER in the
range of 16 to 20 and a HSPF of at least 8.0 and, better yet, 9 or 10.
You'll pay a little more upfront, but a heat pump with a high HSPF
produces far more heat in sub-freezing weather and at a much lower
operating cost.

Cheers,
Paul

On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 16:29:44 GMT, "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Hi, I live in a 70 y/o EOG rowhouse with southern & western exposure located
>in Baltimore, MD.
>The house has electric baseboard heating and window air conditioners.
>Utilities were recently deregulated
>and I believe I need to install a more efficient heating unit. Might as
>well install central air at the same time.
>
>I understand there are new high efficiency units that can save a bundle in
>utility costs but they need to installed by
>a crew that's trained to install them otherwise the are less effcient than
>the other systems.
>
>Recommendations for HVAC companies are also needed.
>
>Any recommendations for highly effcient replacement windows at a resonalble
>cost?
>(will chck consumers union website)
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mike
>
>

"Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:Y5Luh.315$Hb6.2@trndny02...
> Hi, I live in a 70 y/o EOG rowhouse with southern & western exposure
located
> in Baltimore, MD.
> The house has electric baseboard heating and window air conditioners.
> Utilities were recently deregulated
> and I believe I need to install a more efficient heating unit. Might as
> well install central air at the same time.
>
> I understand there are new high efficiency units that can save a bundle in
> utility costs but they need to installed by
> a crew that's trained to install them otherwise the are less effcient than
> the other systems.
>
> Recommendations for HVAC companies are also needed.
>
> Any recommendations for highly effcient replacement windows at a
resonalble
> cost?
> (will chck consumers union website)
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike

Depending on your local utility rates, you might want to install Heat Pumps.

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
>
>
> On Jan 27, 11:29 am, "Mike" <1...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Hi, I live in a 70 y/o EOG rowhouse with southern & western exposure
>> located
>> in Baltimore, MD.
>> The house has electric baseboard heating and window air conditioners.
>> Utilities were recently deregulated
>> and I believe I need to install a more efficient heating unit. Might as
>> well install central air at the same time.
>>
>> I understand there are new high efficiency units that can save a bundle
>> in
>> utility costs but they need to installed by
>> a crew that's trained to install them otherwise the are less effcient
>> than
>> the other systems.
>>
>> Recommendations for HVAC companies are also needed.
>>
>> Any recommendations for highly effcient replacement windows at a
>> resonalble
>> cost?
>> (will chck consumers union website)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Mike
>
> I imagine you are probably going to end up with an electric furnace
> with a heat pump.
>
> As far as I know this is about as efficient as you can get using
> electric.
>
> But bear in mind the cost of this is going to be thousands of dollars
> It could be a while before you hit break even on your energy bills.


I've got a gas stove and water heater. How can I convert BTU/therms to kw
so I can compare costs?

"Paul M. Eldridge" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi Mike,
>
> Since you currently have electric baseboard heat and therefore I take
> it no existing ductwork, I would highly recommend a ductless heat pump
> (a multi-zone model most likely). A ductless heat pump can be
> installed very easily and without any disruption to your living space
> -- no cutting of walls and floors, no loss of interior or closet
> space, no re-drywalling, no repainting and no construction dust.
>
> A high efficiency ductless heat pump can cut your space heating costs
> by 70 per cent and your cooling costs in half. It will improve the
> outward appearance and security of your home; i.e., no unsightly
> window air conditioners that can leave you venerable to break-ins.
> They're also incredibly quiet.
>
> I've been speaking with someone in another newsgroup who lives in
> Montréal, a city much colder than your own. He tells me that even at
> -1F, his ductless heat pump can still heat his entire home and at half
> the cost of resistance heat.
>
> He has a Fujitsu model 24RL. You can obtain more information on this
> product here:
>
> http://www.fujitsugeneral.com/PDF_06...6_brochure.pdf
>
> I have oil-fired hot water baseboard heating and a year and a half ago
> I installed a small Friedrich ductless heat pump (it's a rebranded
> Fujitsu). It has cut my heating costs by more than half.
>
> This is a picture of the inside air handler, which is located in my
> living room:
>
> http://server4.pictiger.com/img/2640.../heat-pump.php
>
> You can view the Friedrich line here:
> http://www.friedrich.com/pdf/Ductles...s_Brochure.pdf
>
> The Mitsubishi "Mr. Slim" is another popular choice and you can learn
> more about their offerings here:
>
> http://www.mrslim.com/UploadedFiles/..._final_9-8.pdf
>
> I had read BGE will be increasing their residential utility rates by a
> whopping 72 per cent! With that in mind, I would recommend a heat
> pump with a high SEER and HSPF rating -- preferably a SEER in the
> range of 16 to 20 and a HSPF of at least 8.0 and, better yet, 9 or 10.
> You'll pay a little more upfront, but a heat pump with a high HSPF
> produces far more heat in sub-freezing weather and at a much lower
> operating cost.
>
> Cheers,
> Paul
>
> On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 16:29:44 GMT, "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>Hi, I live in a 70 y/o EOG rowhouse with southern & western exposure
>>located
>>in Baltimore, MD.
>>The house has electric baseboard heating and window air conditioners.
>>Utilities were recently deregulated
>>and I believe I need to install a more efficient heating unit. Might as
>>well install central air at the same time.
>>
>>I understand there are new high efficiency units that can save a bundle in
>>utility costs but they need to installed by
>>a crew that's trained to install them otherwise the are less effcient than
>>the other systems.
>>
>>Recommendations for HVAC companies are also needed.
>>
>>Any recommendations for highly effcient replacement windows at a
>>resonalble
>>cost?
>>(will chck consumers union website)
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Mike

Hi Paul, thanks for the useful information. I'll check out each link.
BGE rates going up - I suspect the "delivery charge" will be going up too.
Nobody has ever saved money using deregulated gas or electric.
What a major rip off.

Mike

Hi Mike,

There are 100,000 BTUs per therm of natural gas, or the equivalent of
29.3 kWh of electric heat.

A mid efficiency furnace operating at 80 per cent efficiency will
provide you with 23.4 kWh of heat per therm (the other 5.9 kWh being
lost up the chimney). A high efficiency furnace with a 90 per cent
efficiency rating would give you 26.4 kWh/therm and at the very top
end of the scale you might achieve upwards of 28 kWh/therm.

It looks like BGE is currently charging residential customers $1.30
per therm (commodity and delivery prices combined). At 80 per cent
conversion efficiency, each kWh of gas heat costs you roughly 5.5
cents and at 90 per cent efficiency, that cost falls to 4.9 cents per
kWh(e).

I believe BGE's winter electric rate now stands at 12.73 cents per
kWh. A high efficiency heat pump with a seasonal COP of between 2.5
and 3.0 (not an unreasonable number given your relatively moderate
winters), would produce heat in the range of 4.2 to 5.1 cents per
kWh(e).

One of the Fujitsu ductless heat pumps has a HSPF of 11.0, which puts
its seasonal COP at just over 3.2. That effectively reduces the cost
of electric heat to just 3.9 cents per kWh(e), or some twenty per cent
below that of a high efficiency gas furnace operating at 90 per cent
efficiency.

One of the nice things about a ductless heat pump is that you can
simply leave your electric baseboard heaters in place, so there's no
need to rip them out, re-plaster your walls and repaint your rooms.
This also provides you with backup emergency heat should your heat
pump require servicing.

Cheers,
Paul

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 01:22:31 GMT, "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I've got a gas stove and water heater. How can I convert BTU/therms to kw
>so I can compare costs?

Hi Mike,

You're welcome. Domestic natural gas production peaked back in 1973.
I believe current U.S. demand is somewhere around 22 trillion cubic
feet per year, twenty per cent of which is imported from outside
sources. As domestic production continues to fall and as demand
continues to rise, this ever-widening gap will be made up through
additional imports. That puts the U.S. in an unenviable position both
economically and politically speaking, and in terms of its national
security. See where I'm going here?

Your best course of action is to aggressively reduce your home's
energy demands through generous insulation and careful air sealing.
That should be your number one priority. Once you've done everything
you can on that front, investigate your heating options and choose the
one likely to offer the lowest long-term operating costs and the
greatest security of supply. I don't know much about BGE's fuel mix
but I seem to recall it's heavily weighted towards nuclear and coal,
both domestic sources.

As it stands now, a high efficiency heat pump can provide heat at less
than one-third the cost of your current heating system and even below
that of a high efficiency gas furnace. Over the long term, I tend to
believe it's one of your best choices.

Cheers,
Paul

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 01:26:42 GMT, "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Hi Paul, thanks for the useful information. I'll check out each link.
>BGE rates going up - I suspect the "delivery charge" will be going up too.
>Nobody has ever saved money using deregulated gas or electric.
>What a major rip off.
>
>Mike

<kjpro @ usenet.com> wrote in message
news:3ffc8$45bbb163$943f6c44$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:Y5Luh.315$Hb6.2@trndny02...
> > Hi, I live in a 70 y/o EOG rowhouse with southern & western exposure
> located
> > in Baltimore, MD.
> > The house has electric baseboard heating and window air conditioners.
> > Utilities were recently deregulated
> > and I believe I need to install a more efficient heating unit. Might
as
> > well install central air at the same time.
> >
> > I understand there are new high efficiency units that can save a bundle
in
> > utility costs but they need to installed by
> > a crew that's trained to install them otherwise the are less effcient
than
> > the other systems.
> >
> > Recommendations for HVAC companies are also needed.
> >
> > Any recommendations for highly effcient replacement windows at a
> resonalble
> > cost?
> > (will chck consumers union website)
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Mike
>
> Depending on your local utility rates, you might want to install Heat
Pumps.
>

He's in Baltimore.

http://www.usepropane.com/esc/

--

"Jeffrey Lebowski" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:eph7qo$1338$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> <kjpro @ usenet.com> wrote in message
> news:3ffc8$45bbb163$943f6c44$(E-Mail Removed)...
> >
> > "Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Y5Luh.315$Hb6.2@trndny02...
> > > Hi, I live in a 70 y/o EOG rowhouse with southern & western exposure
> > located
> > > in Baltimore, MD.
> > > The house has electric baseboard heating and window air conditioners.
> > > Utilities were recently deregulated
> > > and I believe I need to install a more efficient heating unit. Might
> as
> > > well install central air at the same time.
> > >
> > > I understand there are new high efficiency units that can save a
bundle
> in
> > > utility costs but they need to installed by
> > > a crew that's trained to install them otherwise the are less effcient
> than
> > > the other systems.
> > >
> > > Recommendations for HVAC companies are also needed.
> > >
> > > Any recommendations for highly effcient replacement windows at a
> > resonalble
> > > cost?
> > > (will chck consumers union website)
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Mike
> >
> > Depending on your local utility rates, you might want to install Heat
> Pumps.
> >
>
> He's in Baltimore.
>
> http://www.usepropane.com/esc/

But the real question is, what is his utility rates?