Sorry everyone, there has been a lot going on with our project.  Between work, home life, and working on the house I have been burning the candle at both ends and have had little time to write.  I have a lot of things to report on since my last update.

First, I've stubbornly come to the realization that a house this size is expensive to build - regardless of the construction method.  We are officially over budget and we aren't done yet.  As painful as this is for us, we are hopeful the investment in this home will pay off in the long run.  In fact, given the recent interest in "green" building, and the price of fuel, this house should be a safer investment than anything currently on Wall Street.

Let's see, what have we accomplished since my last update:

• Our rough plumbing, electrical, and framing inspections were completed with no issues.
• We completed our final grading and planted Eco Lawn grass seed.
• Our Climate Master ground source heat pumps were installed and are now operating.
• Our insulated Raynor garage doors were installed.
• We started installing Bellawood hardwood floors.
• Our Energy Star appliances were delivered and installed.
• Spray foam installation started on 11/12.
• And many more smaller things.

I have nothing but the highest praise for our plumber (Steve Hogan), our electricians (Alfonso Electrical Service), and our HVAC guys (Southeastern Geothermal).  Their work is top notch, and it has been a pleasure to work with all of them. 

With great regret, I have to report that the same can not be said about Penn Lyon Homes.  From service issues (we still do not have bathroom vanity drawers after almost 4 months) to normally unseen short cuts (moldings used to hold door frames in place).  A comprehensive and fair write-up will follow in a separate post in order to keep this post positive.

After waiting 16 weeks for ground source heats pumps (GSHP) from Hydro Delta to arrive, we were at the point where we needed to install the HVAC and we still had no equipment.  We decided to cancel the Hydro Delta units and go with Climate Master Tranquility 27 units.  The Climate Master units arrived within one week.

The reason we chose Hydro Delta in the first place was because their units can provide 100% of domestic hot water needs at the same efficiency as heating the building (300-500%).  While Climate Master builds top-of-the-line units, installation of their units still required us to come up with a water heating solution.  We ended up with a 50 gallon hot water storage tank to store water heated using "waste" heat from the heat pumps (using desuperheaters).  This pre-warmed water then enters a 96% efficient Noritz on-demand propane hot water heater for heating to the final use temperature.  This solution is a bit more complicated, a bit more expensive, and less efficient than using 100% geothermal energy, but we simply could not wait for Hydro Delta any longer.

Our GSHPs are coupled to the ground using standing column wells.  Basically, we use domestic water wells to heat and cool the house.  Since both wells had never been used, a lot of sand and rust was present.  This fouled the control valves and the well pumps would never shut off.  We got around this by putting some water filters in-line.

I would like to mention that very high efficiency ground source heat pumps are NOT beyond the means of average home owners.  The greatest effect on their cost is simple supply and demand.  When fewer vendors offer the equipment for sale, there is less competition, and therefore prices are higher.  Some vendors feel the need to make (what I feel) is excessive amounts of money installing this equipment.  They are low volume and high cost vendors.  Other vendors (like Southeastern) feel that it is better for - everyone - if they make smaller profits on each unit and sell a higher volume. 

While I received quotes as high as $80,000 for a geothermal system for this house, Southeastern supplied and installed our system for $23,000.  While this did not include the cost of the wells, but we needed a domestic water well anyway.  The additional cost of modifying the well(s) for use with geothermal was reasonable (larger pump and some additional materials). 

In all, we now have a very high efficiency heating and cooling system (two complete 3 ton units which also provide some hot water) plus TWO domestic water wells for a total of ~$35,000.  A high end "traditional" fossil fuel burning system with A/C plus a domestic water well would have easily cost this.  If you want a geothermal heating system and find prices too high, shop around.  It is not as expensive as some make it out to be.

In all, progress has been slower than expected, but we are finally closing in on the last of the work.  I am estimating that we should be able to move in within 4 weeks.

Ed