BTU FROM THE BARN

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That person turned out to be Cy Westerman, a local cattle artificial inseminator who had worked for the Dieterich family for years. Cy came right over to explain exactly how the bovine heating system could work for her . . . and the dairywoman signed the papers to have Cowpower installed the very next day!

SOME HARD FACTS

Carol's unit cost about $13,000, which included all the ductwork that had to be installed in her house (it previously had no forced-air heating system). The basic price for a Cowpower system is about $11,000, which, admittedly, isn't a minor investment . . . but Bryan Ramlow claims that each setup that he or one of his representatives installs is designed for the customer's particular needs.

Carol also allows that her system needs some maintenance and that a few kinks had to be ironed out. For instance, the screens for the intake fans must be scrubbed daily because they get clogged with hay and dust from the barn. But Dieterich doesn't mind that chore . . . she feels that cleaning a few screens beats the time and effort involved in chopping wood, any day!

Problems of a more serious nature, however, occurred last January (during her first full winter with the system) when the temperature outdoors dropped to -25°F . . . the temperature inside the barn fell to 29 °F above . . . and the Cowpower setup's intake fans froze. Cy came out immediately, saw that the blowers' defrost unit had been wired improperly, and remedied the problem at no extra charge. Another time, a leaky valve caused a loss of Freon . . . but—as with the first breakdown—once it was detected, Cy took care of it rapidly at no expense. Neither disorder has occurred again.

All in all, Carol is delighted with her decision to heat with Cowpower. As she says, "I used to pay $600 a month to heat this house, and even so, we had to close off halt' the rooms and practically live in the kitchen. Last winter, though, my heating bill was only half of what it used to be. Better yet, the whole house is warm—72°F!—which is a real blessing . . . especially since my 76-year-old mother and 99-year-old grandmother live here, and a cold house just isn't good for old people."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information about how Cowpower works, other systems operating in the U.S., or the company's representatives in different parts of the country . . . write to Bryan Ramlow at Atmospheric Energy Systems, Inc., Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 453, Poynette, Wisconsin 53955 or phone 608/635-2707.

Readers who know something about heating and refrigeration will recognize that Cowpower is based upon the use of a heat pump. A do-it-yourselfer with sufficient expertise, therefore, might be able to concoct a less costly system from standard components.

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