Twenty five years ago, I made a plan to make our house more energy efficient; I even tried to calculate our carbon footprint overall. We replaced light bulbs, insulated the entire structure, and installed a highly efficient gas furnace and on demand hot water heater. At the time, natural gas was considered the bridge fuel between coal and Renewables. By the time the heaters failed, we would have excellent electric options. Later, we installed enough solar panels to break even over the year.
That was a long while ago. Last winter, the furnace started to go wonky. We had it worked on, but it was clearly at the end of its life. It took weeks for a part to be shipped in. Rather than wait for it to die (which we knew would happen during a cold snap) we scheduled a new electric heat pump to be installed last summer. The gas bill went way down! I considered an electric heat pump hot water heater, but, considering how little gas we were actually using, decided to wait.
This December Mark noticed a puddle of water under the on demand hot water heater. He opened it up and noticed that several spots were leaking, so he called around for an expert opinion. After a close inspector and several trips out to the van for parts, he came upstairs.
“I think I’ve got it fixed for now,” he told us. “But….”
“How long do we have?”
He hesitated. “A week to a month, I think. If the leak gets worse, open the cabinet so it does not short out. That might buy you some time.” And no, he didn’t install hot water heaters, but he did have opinions on the various options. Heat pumps can be loud and expensive. We don’t use that much hot water, just showers and dishes. Maybe a basic electric tank? I called around and made appointments. A month later, the gas hot water heater went way and we installed an old fashioned electric hot water heater. No new technology. Nothing fancy. But the water is hot.
And, with that, the house is off of natural gas completely. We are Valve Turners. And, sometime this month the meter is going away and I can run one long garden bed along the south side of the house. Slow steady progress. More solar panels are coming in a few years.
