# What is the return on my investment if I spend the money to replace my current system



## guise (Jul 18, 2017)

I live in a house, in southeast Iowa, that started as an old farm home with a large addition that was added in the late/early eighties. There is no ductwork in the home and we use all electric to heat and cool the house. Right now it is cooled in the summer by window units and a wall unit. It is heated in the winter in some rooms by base board heating, in some rooms radiant heated wires plastered in the ceiling and in one room a heating unit that runs the length of the ceiling. I have never lived in a ductless home and I believe this has got to be pretty antiquated and inefficient. It works but our energy bills are high. 

I have had a couple local HVAC people come out and give me some estimates on how I could heat and cool my home. And I have called my electric company but the problem is no one will tell me what is the most cost and energy efficient way to heat and cool my home. I just want to get a ball park idea as to how long it would take for me see a return on my investment if I spent the money to replace my current system with something new and more efficient. Maybe a ball park estimate on how much I would save each year.

Why is this a hard question? If its a legitimate question, do you know who I would talk to, to get an answer. Thanks in advance for your help.


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## Chris (Jul 18, 2017)

Do you have natural gas there? That is usually the cheapest heating.


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## slownsteady (Jul 19, 2017)

It's going to depend on what energy sources are available where you live and how much the utility companies charge for that source. For instance, natural gas isn't available in our section of town, so the options are propane, electric or oil heat. In our case, oil heat works best. The next factor is how insulated your house is, and this is where most suppliers and contractors will hesitate to estimate. Another factor is how you use heat; are you a high energy user?
Don't forget to consider solar.


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## WyrTwister (Sep 2, 2017)

Consider Mini Split Units .

Wyr
God bless


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## BuzzLOL (Dec 28, 2017)

Natural gas usually about $50 - 150/month in insulated home in winter... Electric $500-1,000/month... (unless your electric company is using mainly hydroelectric (water falls) generating equipment, which is much cheaper)


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## Gary (Dec 28, 2017)

I would start with checking the insulation that is or isn't in the walls & ceiling now. Many of those old farm houses were never insulated, just used the gap in the walls for insulation. If there's no insulation or inadequate insulation, fixing that would probably be the best bang for the buck to start with. Windows and doors, same thing. No sense heating the space if it leaks the heat as fast as you make it.

I like gas/hot water heat myself, but that's just me. I ran the copper pipe, baseboard units & installed the boiler myself. No ductwork, so I still have the A/C issue you are having, but the place is insulated well, so a couple wall units takes care of the whole house.


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## Wuzzat? (Dec 28, 2017)

guise said:


> no one will tell me what is the most cost and energy efficient way to heat and cool my home.



My utility bills tell me that, for a month for a 2200 sf house at my location we spent $70 for 60 therms of energy from natural gas to heat the house.  We also spent $70 for 500 kwh of electricity (we hardly use the AC).  So, $140 for that particular month.

500 kwh of electrical energy equals approx. 17 therms so if I had electric heat I would have had to buy 60 + 17 therms and it would have cost $300.

If I haven't scrambled the numbers, 29 kwh of electricity equals a therm so if you live in a place where the price of a therm of energy from the heat of combustion for natural gas, propane, wood or oil is equal to the price for 29 kwh of electricity, then it's a tossup.

Converting from one system to another to spend less money in the future is another calculation.  How long will you live there?


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## slownsteady (Jan 3, 2018)

It's not so much the return on investment, it's more about how fast the investment pays for itself. As was mentioned above, if you are going to be there for a while, you also need to consider comfort level while you are there, which may make the ROI worth waiting for. My :2cents: also leans towards a hot water system. Hot forced air dries up my skin too much.


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