Heating & A/C Redux

Well, it's been a few weeks now since the new heat and a/c was installed. The install took about 7 hours back on the 19th and pretty much went without a problem. Here's pictures of the new system:

The leftmost picture is the new 95% efficient ICS furnace with the air purifier to the right with the blue light. The middle is the 16 SEER heat pump, and the rightmost is the Infinity Control Thermostat. All of it is computer controlled essentially (all digital design and learns the most efficient way to run based on prior cycles).

The blue light of the air purifier was a problem several days after the install. It basically meant it was not working. The air filter of course still works, but the unit works by electrocuting the bacteria/virii before it hits the filter. Hence, the filter was catching live pathogens and not killing them. Well, I noticed this for about a week and I called 7 Services back. They actually came the same day, did some testing to make sure just the light has stopped working, and then went off to order the replacement part. (Appears to be an unusual defect, the first they had with it for a year.) They called today to say the part was in (about 1 week later), and replaced it the same day. I'm pretty impressed with the company so far, given they have come on the same day twice to fix some relatively minor issues.

Well, the real verdict is the energy savings. Convienently enough, my new billing period started about one day before the install, so let's see how the savings added up:

kWh: 1489
Cost: $163

Last year, the cost was $156 for June 2008. However, that was at 2008 rates, which were $0.02 less per kWh, which is about a 20% increase in rates. If I adjust to 2009 rates, the same thing would have cost $185. So that's a $22 savings. It's also been unseasonably warm over the past month, so, we need to factor that. I'm still looking for some place that keeps good records on monthly averages, so maybe I can do this later. I bet I saved another $20 for that. So the grand total savings from if I hadn't upgraded: $42. That alone, could add up to close to $400/year when it's done. What will be nice is to see the natural gas bill next winter when I won't be paying $150-200 on gas + $120 for electric = $270-320 total utilities. If I'm paying $200 at most in winter instead (based on my estimate for a/c electricity usage in July), then I'm saving $70-120 for three months. Grand total possible : $610 - 760 /year.

So, the system cost over ten years: $10k - 1500 tax credit - 500 VNG rebate - $700*10 years = $1000 out of pocket when it is done. Of course if you adjust for natural gas going up in price, I bet the -$1000 dwindles to some nice positive number that makes the investment worth it. Of course, the system probably also added $5-7k to the house value if we ever move, so that is nice bonus.