The heating & cooling system in your home has a wide range of options and costs and has the largest impact on energy consumption. We will discuss three different systems. Please keep in mind that there are countless variations on each of these systems.

• Heat Pump System - The most common type of heat pump is the air-source heat pump, which transfers heat between your house and the outside air. If you heat with electricity, a heat pump can trim the amount of electricity you use for heating by as much as 30%–40%. High-efficiency heat pumps also dehumidify better than standard central air conditioners, resulting in less energy usage and more cooling comfort in summer months. However, the efficiency of most air-source heat pumps as a heat source drops dramatically at low temperatures, generally making them unsuitable for cold climates, although there are systems that can overcome that problem.
• Heat Pump w/ Gas Furnace - Uses the same heat pump and ducting system as above, but adds a gas furnace back-up to help with the heating demands of the home during cold days.
• Geothermal - Geothermal heat pumps (sometimes referred to as GeoExchange, earth-coupled, ground-source, or water-source heat pumps) have been in use since the late 1940s. Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) use the constant temperature of the earth as the exchange medium instead of the outside air temperature. This allows the system to reach fairly high efficiencies (300%-600%) on the coldest of winter nights, compared to 175%-250% for air-source heat pumps on cool days.
  While many parts of the country experience seasonal temperature extremes—from scorching heat in the summer to sub-zero cold in the winter—a few feet below the earth's surface the ground remains at a relatively constant temperature. Depending on latitude, ground temperatures range from 45°F (7°C) to 75°F (21°C). Like a cave, this ground temperature is warmer than the air above it during the winter and cooler than the air in the summer. The GHP takes advantage of this by exchanging heat with the earth through a ground heat exchanger.
  As with any heat pump, geothermal and water-source heat pumps are able to heat, cool, and, if so equipped, supply the house with hot water. Some models of geothermal systems are available with two-speed compressors and variable fans for more comfort and energy savings. Relative to air-source heat pumps, they are quieter, last longer, need little maintenance, and do not depend on the temperature of the outside air.

Many people probably feel that all plumbing systems are the same, but they can be as truly diversified for each individual home as any other mechanical system.

• The basic plumbing system will consist of a water supply (well or municipal), flexible plastic piping run throughout the home, a hot water heater (gas or electric), standard plumbing fixtures and a hook-up to waste management system (private or municipal).


• A more advanced system would consist of a water supply, a pressure regulating system, possibly a manifold plumbing block to help provide even pressure flow throughout the whole system, instant hot water systems with recirculating pumps, high-end computerized fixtures that can digitally control temperature and water flow, just to name a few options.


• Keep in mind that there are countless variations on these systems and the fixtures that the plumbing system is ultimately hooked up to.

The electrical system consists of the electrical service (the actual electricity supplied to your home), lighting outlets and various hardwired appliances. The electrical service must be sized to accommodate the lifestyle of the occupants, and is usually between 100 amps and 200 amps, though 400 amps for a very large home is common. An electrician installs the service, and may also install telephone and cable TV wires and, less frequently, security systems.
The electrical lines are run from the street to the meter box outside the home (the unit where your electricity is read to determine your electric utility bill), then through an exterior wall and directly into the electric panel board, which has switches (also known as breakers) to control the electricity in each room of your home. Here, the amps are divided up across circuits to provide various areas of the home with electricity. For example, of the 200 amps available in a home, the circuit for the living room may have 20 amps, the circuit for the bedroom may have 10 amps, and so on.