Building Tech Services Geothermal Maine

The Energy Shed

Energy Shed

What is an energy shed for?

Engineered for a simple solution to add cutting edge hybrid solar/geothermal energy to home heating and air-conditioning without having to engage unfamiliar contractors that can drive the cost of installation up. The Energy Shed is a stand alone module that comes complete with everything you need for an E-Max solar / geothermal energy package. Designed to provide a plug in energy source to conventional low temperature home heating systems. The "Energy Shed" can reduce the seasonal energy requirements for a home so that it requires about half of the P.V. capacity to achieve a netzero energy home.

The Energy shed is a super-insulated structure that contains:

Water Furnace

Geo-Thermal heat pumps for homes and commercial buildings, any size system can be installed. Buildings up to about 20,000 SQ-ft can be installed with a fossil fuel free system, larger systems use a peaking boiler to keep the return on investment attractive. For a complete description of the "E-Max" hybrid solar / geothermal system click here and go to the bottom of the page for a PDF download.

Depending on your system requirements for heating and air-conditioning, the energy shed has two to four pipe connections that feed the home energy needs and two pipe connections for hookup to the roof mounted thermal solar collectors. An electrical conduit connection provides an interface with home thermostats and solar panel temperature sensors.

The energy shed provides hot water for heating radiant floors, baseboard fintube, air handler coils and potable water heating. The shed can also provide chilled water to an air handler coil for air conditioning while also providing dierct solar hot water for potable water heating.

The energy shed can be advantagous by locating all of the E-Max equipment in a single location close to the well and energy storage tank for minimal piping losses. The shed also contains the pumps and compressors that may produce noise, especially if any variable speed pump drives are required.

"E-Max" is a trade mark of Turner Building Science & Design and the H.L. Turner group for a patent pending ultra high efficiency solar/geothermal energy system.

The energy shed can either be an actual building as shown above making a retro-fit installation easy, or it can be a skid mounted package for installation in new construction.

What will an energy shed cost? The cost can vary considerably just like a Chevy Chevette and Corvette are priced differently with many models in between. The big difference is that buying a conventional boiler has a low first cost but you have to feed it with fuel year after year so that the actual life cycle cost of the boiler is the cost of the boiler and fuel for the next 30 years. An energy shed has a high first cost with very low energy costs for the next 30 years of the equipment’s life, resulting it a much lower life cycle cost. The E-Max hybrid solar / geothermal alternative energy system has a basic cost that will pay for itself in 3 to 4 years for year round heating applications like an indoor swimming pool. For heating systems that only operate during the winter heating season this rises to about 12 to 14 years on average. So in contrast to buying a boiler with its higher hidden costs, the energy shed has a return on the investment and pays for itself with substantial long term savings. So for home heating, multiply what you spend to heat your home by say 15 to include some likely related costs and that is a good ballpark price to start at. But remember, it is an investment that comes back to you many times over in the course of time unlike the boiler that will continue to cost you year after year to provide fuel and where is the price of fuel going? Call us for more information.