Monday Talking to EWEB

After this, Mom was up and I tried to organize the plates. Some of the boxes were
empty, and we had to search for the plates.

We went out. I had Mom do the driving, in part to evaluate how well she is doing with it. There was some confusion about how to get to places that she doesn't go to very often (EWEB offices), but her driving seemed fine. In my opinion, as a rider, she accelerated a bit more than I would, but as a driver I would probably do the same. With the higher speeds from more acceleration, I was apprehensive about stopping, but she did that just fine. As long as her brakes hold out, she should be fine. And at least some of this is the difference between driving and riding -- I notice the same thing when I drive with Linda (and she picks up my body language and then doesn't want to drive with me as a passenger).

We went to the EWEB offices and had a long discussion. I looked over the file they have with an energy audit taken back in the 1990's. From it, they say there is insulation in the attic, walls, and under the floor. There was little there that differs from what we know (other than insulation in the walls). They agreed that even tho some double paned windows may leak, that doesn't cause a thermal issue -- mainly it's an aesthetic issue. Also that the baseboard heaters are efficient -- they turn electricity into heat -- only that the only source of heat is the baseboard heater, so it's all coming from electricity.

The alternative would be a heat pump which uses electricity to suck heat out of the air, so you use less electricity to get the same amount of heat. They support either a ducted or ductless heat pump. We could put ducts into the attic, or under the floor (heat rises), but it would probably cost at least $10K. A ductless system would be $3600 for one outlet and $1200 for the next, so $5K for two outlets.

A ductless system works by having a heat pump unit outside (in the back or the side to be mostly out of sight), and then sends the heat into the house by a hose with a "refrigerant". The outlet has a heat exchange part (basically a radiator) that blows
the heat out into the house. For Mom's we could put one heater outlet in the kitchen and one in the sun room, or the office, to try to heat the areas where she spends most of her time.

The question is whether or not it is cost effective. Mom may be in the house for only another year to 3 or 5 years. The value of the house would probably not reflect the total cost of the unit. Figure we got a 50% increase in the value of the house. Can we justify the other 50% in increased comfort or decreased electric bills?


John and Karen came over and we all went out for Chinese Food.