Tessa Hill and Dennis Odin Johnson
Bear Creek Dome - North Branch, Minnesota

  • Model: 1800 mid profile, 49' diam. dome home
  • Location: North Branch, Minnesota. Department of Energy Zone 7A (severe cold-moist) 9000 heating degree days.
  • House size: 3200 SF; slab on grade. Main floor 2100 sf, upper floor 1100 sf.
  • Specifications: 18" thick dome walls and dome roof, 16" fiberglass insulation (R-Value=57 in triangles, R-Value=62 in riser walls), vented dome shell; slab has 2" styrofoam under and 11" styrofoam on edge of slab. Blower door test was .06 ACH
  • Heating system: Radiant floor in 4" concrete slab using 1500 lf of PEX tubing circulating water. Heating unit is 14 KW Seisco Electric "instant on" boiler with a secondary natural gas "Munchkin" boiler that you can switch to manually. Electric rate is off-peak interruptable rate of 4.2¢ /KW. * Note: Rate increase to 4.8¢ /KW in Feb. 2008 (14% increase).
  • Built: 2007, moved into November
  • Heating costs: See below.(Billings run from the 7th of each month.)
  • Air conditioning costs: The Summers of 2008 and 2009 had zero A.C. costs. The outside temps were 90°-95° F many days, yet the highest inside temps were 72°-74° F.

Winter 2007-2008
Radiant floor heating

Bear Creek Dome
Inside
Month
Cost
 Price per kw
KW Used
July 07 $0 4.2 ¢ None
August 07 $0 4.2 ¢
None
September 07 $0 4.2 ¢ None
October 07 $71 4.2 ¢ 1680 kw
November 07 $153 4.2 ¢ 3640 kw
December 07 $156 4.2 ¢ 3720 kw
January 08 $165 4.2 ¢ 3940 kw
February 08 $143* 4.8 ¢ 2980 kw
March 08 $97 4.8 ¢ 2020 kw
April 08 $73 4.8 ¢ 1520 kw
May 08 $16 4.8 ¢ 340 kw
June 08 ---- 4.8 ¢ ----
Total:

$765.00

   16,660 KW

Winter 2008-2009
Radiant floor heating

Domestic hot water heating cost
January, 2009, was extremely cold, the 4th coldest January on record. All of the days were below 32° (0° C) with some periods of 4-5 days where it never was warmer than 0° (-18° C).
Instant natural gas heater
Month
Cost
 Price per kw
KW Used
   Base monthly fee Actual gas used
July 08 $0 4.8 ¢ None   $8 $4.01
August 08 $0 4.8 ¢
None
   $8 $4.73
September 08 $11 4.8 ¢ 220 kw   $8 $3.82
October 08 $55 4.8 ¢ 1140 kw   $8 $1.59
November 08 $152 4.8 ¢ 3160 kw   $8 $5.10
December 08 $216 4.8 ¢ 4500 kw   $8 $3.86
January 09 $244 4.8 ¢ 5080 kw   $8 $6.04
February 09 $150 4.8 ¢ 3120 kw   $8 $3.64
March 09 $140 4.8 ¢ 2160 kw   $8 $3.21
April 09 $30 4.8 ¢ 620 kw   $8 $4.21
May 09 $8 4.8 ¢ 180 kw   $8 $2.51
June 09   4.8 ¢     $8 $3.96
Total:

$871.00

   16,840 KW Total  

 

Winter 2009-2010
Radiant floor heating

  Domestic hot water heating cost
Instant natural gas heater
Month
Cost
 Price per kw
KW Used
   Base monthly fee Actual gas used
July 09 $0 4.8 ¢ None   $8 $2.26
August 09 $0 4.8 ¢
None
   $8 $1.71
September 09 $25 4.8 ¢ 520 kw   $8 $2.11
October 09 $97 4.8 ¢ 2020 kw   $8 $4.28
November 09 $115 4.8 ¢ 2400 kw   $8 $4.62
December 09 $223 4.8 ¢ 4640 kw . $8 $3.07
January 10 $188 4.8 ¢ 3920 kw   $8 $5.00
February 10 $153 4.8 ¢ 3200 kw   $8 $3.88
March 10 $   kw   $8 $5.96
April 10 $   kw      
May 10 $   kw      
Total:

-

   KW      
             
 

 

Kim and Steve Long - Perry, Iowa

  • Model: 1500 low profile, 45' diam. dome home
  • Location: Perry, Iowa. Department of Energy Zone 5A (cold-moist) 6500 heating degree days.
  • House size: 3600 SF; 1700 SF basement, 1700 SF main floor, 200 SF loft.
  • Specifications: 2x8 dome walls and dome roof. 7" sprayed-in place foam (R-Value=27), unvented dome shell, no vapor barrier, permanent treated wood foundation walls with 2x8 studs, 7" sprayed-in-place icynene "soft" foam (R-Value=27). Basement walls have one side approximately 2/3 out of the ground. Blower foor test was .03 ACH
  • Heating system: Radiant floor in basement concrete slab using PEX tubes circulating water and PEX tubes under plywood of main floor with insulation under; heating unit is "Munchkin" natural gas boiler. There is a natural gasburning fireplace on the main floor, however; it is not used for the main heating. It is rated at 42,000 BTU output with 86% efficiency.
  • Built: 2006 (moved in March 2007)
  • Heating costs: See below. Please note that the domestic hot water system is also operating with natural gas. The average usage is based on 30 therms and is not in the heating total. *Also note that this dome is still not complete. The insulation under the main floor has not been finished, and we expect heating costs to decrease as the proper insulation is finalized. November and December bills are averaged. Billings run from the 10th of each month.
  • Also note that due to rising energy costs, the cost per therm nearly doubled this past heating season. The price per therm is noted in the chart below.
Month
Cost
 Price per
therm
KW or Therms Used
Long Dome
July 2007 $0   None
August 2007 $0   None
September 2007 $0   None
October 2007 $35 $.60 33 therms *
November 2007 $111 $.73 100 therms *
December 2007 $142 $.74 128 therms *
January 2008 $169 $.77 150 therms *
February 2008 $120 $.86 134 therms *
March 2008 $72 $1.00 80 therms *
April 2008 ---- $1.02 ----
May 2008 ---- $1.12 ----
June 2008 ----   ----
To-date Total:

$649.00*
(see note above)

   625 Therms

 

 

 

Joyce and Rich Peake - Arden Hills, Minnesota

  • Model: 1250 Low Profile 40' diam dome home
  • Location: Mounds View, Minnesota. Department of Energy Zone 6A (severe cold-moist) 8400 heating degree days.
  • House size: 3200 SF; walk out basement 1350 SF, main floor 1450 SF, loft 450 SF
  • Specifications: 15" thick dome walls & dome roof, 12" fiberglass insulation (R-Value = 44), vented dome shell, riser walls 45" high, 15" thick with 15" fiberglass (R-Value=51) Permanent treated wood foundation walls with 2x8 studs, 7 1/4" fiberglass insulation (R-Value = 27)
    (Lower floor has 2x8 walls 3' in ground with a walk out patio door on one side.)
  • Heating system: Forced air, natural gas, high efficiency furnace (no wood stove)
  • Built: 1984
  • Heating costs: (Billings run from the 12th of each month.)
Month
Cost
 Cost per therm
KW or Therms Used
Peake Dome
June 2007 $12.00 $1 4
July 2007 $12.00 $1 4
Aug 2007 $11.00 $1 3
Sept 2007 $12.00 $1 4
Oct 2007 $37.00 96¢ 30
Nov 2007 $96.00 $1.10 80
Dec 2007 $112.00 $1.10 92
Jan 2008 $116.00 $1.05 103
Feb 2008 $106.00 $1.15 92**
March 2008 $65.00 $1.12 51
April 2008 $28.00 $1.18 17
May 2008 $8 base charge 0
June 2008 $8 base charge 0
Total:

$530.00

   398 Therms
Winter 2008-2009
July, 2008 $8 base charge 0
Aug., 2008 $8 base charge 0
Sept., 2008 $8 base charge 0
Oct., 2008 $31 82¢ 28
Nov., 2008 $90 95¢ 86
Dec., 2008 $115 82¢ 130
Jan., 2009 $91 77¢ 108
Feb. 2009 $65 63¢ 90  
March 2009 $32 53¢ 45
April 2009 $12 50¢ 8
May 2009 $8 base charge 0
June 2009 $8 base charge 0
Total:

$476.00

   495 Therms
Winter 2009-2010
July 2009 $8 base charge 0
Aug. 2009 $8 base charge 0
Sept. 2009 $12 40¢ 10
Oct. 2009 $21 48¢ 27
Nov. 2009 $37 43¢ 67
Dec. 2009 $74 68¢ 109
Jan. 2010 $67 63¢ 93
** Indicates rate increase
Natural Spaces Domes

Contact Us

Natural Spaces Domes
37955 Bridge Road
North Branch, MN 55056, USA

Just 45 minutes north of the
Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.

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Member of the North Branch
Chamber of Commerce

Natural Spaces Domes

MPLS/St. Paul Area: 651-674-4292

Toll-Free: 1-800-733-7107

Fax: 651-674-5005

Email: nsd@naturalspacesdomes.com
Office Hours: 8:30 - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday
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