海角大神

As I learn about green options as we renovate Sheep Dog Hollow, I have definitely tripped and stumbled along the way.

In my most recent post, I noted what could have been my biggest wrong-footed move to date: choosing an expensive geothermal heating system when I could have for the cost of my monthly electric bill 鈥� at least, that鈥檚 how it seems on the surface.

But like all things green and cutting edge, the situation is more complex than it first appears.

Let me set the stage, though. The man from our local y came to give a quote for our current home and was clearly taken aback when I mentioned that we had chosen geothermal for the house we鈥檙e renovating.

鈥淲ow, that could cost you,鈥� he said. 鈥淵our monthly electric bills could be pretty high.鈥�

Since the had already cost about $20,000 more than a traditional heating system, I was not pleased to hear his analysis of why it would also cost more to operate monthly than solar.

His reasoning went this way: use a compressor and a heat pump to circulate the piped warm water from beneath the ground into the house and raise its temperature to a toasty 72 degrees F. That鈥檚 similar to what鈥檚 used in a central air conditioning system (but backwards and in winter.)

Since we don鈥檛 have central air conditioning, I was stunned to hear that during the summer, people who do have it can see their electric bills spike to $400 or $500 month.

鈥淪ame thing is happening with geothermal," he said. "You鈥檙e running a pump and a compressor all of the time, and you get consistently high electric bills, but for 12 months, not just during summer. So you have to be prepared for that. Some people in this area with geothermal have had $500-a-month electric bills.鈥�

That might be true, but they鈥檙e also not paying $600 dollars a month in winter to keep their heating oil tanks full.

Nonetheless, his sales pitch got me. With the solar lease program, we could have put in a solar system for zero down. I couldn鈥檛 help but slap the palm of my hand to my head and think, 鈥淲hat have I done?鈥�

(That鈥檚 especially true because my fianc茅, Martin, was adamantly opposed to geothermal and I had prevailed upon him. If this was true about solar, I鈥檇 never hear the end of it.)

After the solar man left, I called Ray Sima, who had put in our geothermal wells. He and his family have been using geothermal heat here in chilly New England for the past 20 years.

鈥淔or every quarter you pay in electricity, you get 75 cents free in heat,鈥� he said reassuringly 鈥淲e鈥檙e essentially heating our house with a hair dryer. Our highest electric bill this winter has been $284. In the summer, it鈥檚 significantly lower.鈥�

I don鈥檛 know the size of his house, but it still set my mind to rest. And then Ray had his say about solar:

鈥淲e鈥檝e been playing the solar game since the 1970s. Here in New England, it just doesn鈥檛 work well because days like today, it鈥檚 too cloudy.鈥�

Hmmm. But solar has improved significantly since the 1970s, so much so that it can easily provide enough electricity in cloudy New England to at least keep the lights on and the water hot.

That鈥檚 what prompted the state to set up the Connecticut Solar Lease Program to make it possible for middle-class people to go at least partially solar. And it is reasonably priced.

In our current 2,000-square-foot home, according to the analysis by BeFree Solar, it would cost only $99 a month to lease enough panels to provide our current electric needs (which don鈥檛 include heat or hot water). The panels would cover the entire front roof of the barn 鈥� which faces south.

I鈥檇 probably need double or triple the number of panels if I wanted to heat with solar, too, and I鈥檓 not sure where I鈥檇 put them (our house is in a very shady part of the property.) I can鈥檛 see solar heat as a viable option here unless I want to give up my garden.

At Sheep Dog, which is twice the size of our current home, to use solar panels to effectively heat the whole house, we鈥檇 probably have to cover an acre or two to get enough electricity. (All right, that鈥檚 probably an exaggeration, but not too much of one.)

So here鈥檚 what I鈥檝e finally concluded: Geothermal was the right call in terms of finding an alternative to oil or gas boilers to heat the house, since we're in New England. But it also would make sense to add solar panels to augment additional electric needs.

But I鈥檓 going to have to wait on that. Right now, it鈥檚 impossible now to know how much electricity our lights and geothermal system will use at Sheep Dog. We can鈥檛 even estimate basic electric needs 鈥� for lights, computers, etc. 鈥� because the house had been abandoned for the past 20 years.

So, we鈥檙e going full steam ahead with our current plan and then, when we know what our electric load will be, we鈥檙e planning to lease some of those very reasonably priced solar panels.

Editor鈥檚 note: Alexandra Marks blogs twice a week about her green and budget-friendly restoration of a 1902 farmhouse in Connecticut. Click here to find all her blog posts and articles.