Southern Ontario has a humid continental climate. Design temperatures for heating/cooling range from 85ºF in the summer to 1ºF during the winter. The house was built in 1980 and has a 2000 sq. ft. main floor plus a finished basement. The property has 2 acres. Situated under the Niagara Escarpment, a protected area under the Province of Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act, the installation had to meet strict requirements and regulations.
The home owners, Sergio and Florencia Manzur, are environmentally conscientious. Shortly after moving into their home they realized that the operation of their baseboard electric heater was going to be expensive, and that the lack of an air conditioning and air filtration system had to be corrected.
The initial interaction with Green Method was the starting point to establish the customer needs and expectations, as well as parameters for the house assessment and evaluation. At the time of the house assessment the existing house services, location of existing utilities, and site conditions were determined. The heat loss and gain calculations determined that the house needed 46,580 BTUS to maintain 72ºF at the design outside temperature of 1ºF. Based on the results of the heat loss and gain calculations, Green Method recommended a 4 ton, 2 stage waterfurnace unit. The system works at partial capacity on mild days for exceptional efficiency and automatically shifts to full capacity on days where the temperatures are more extreme.
After assessing the two-acre property which contained moist clay soil, the company proposed to support geothermal system with a horizontal loop. The loop consisted of 2400 feet of ¾ “ HDPE pipes. The installation took 4 days to complete, including the loop, whole house duct installation and equipment.
Shortly after the system was installed, Florencia says the family immediately noticed the difference. “The house didn’t come with air conditioning, so the added comfort geothermal brings to our home in the summer months is fantastic,” says the mother of six and four year old boys. “From the first month of operation in the winter our home was consistently warm throughout the house. Many friends who were unaware of the geothermal system, commented that the heat feels different, very comfy.”
Since the installation of the Waterfurnace geothermal system in October of 2011, the Mansur’s reduced their heating bill by approximately 65%. The home also enjoys cooling now. At a set temperature of 73 °F, combined heating and cooling costs in 2012 amounted to only $1,050.
“The Green Method did an outstanding job” Florencia adds. “They provided us with excellent advice and support all throughout the project. They were very thorough with the analysis of our heating / air conditioning capacity needs, the system recommendation, handling the needed applications for permits with the town of Milton and the Niagara Escarpment, and performing the actual installation.” “Green Method’s crew was very knowledgeable and courteous, and completed the job quickly and professionally. Since day 1 the system has been working perfectly and cost effectively”. said Sergio, adding that he highly recommends Green Method to anyone that is thinking about installing a geothermal system.”
