Stitches040 Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 (edited) Hey All ... Seeing the cost of petroleum is sky rocketing out of site ... I don't want to pay anymore home heating oil costs. I was wondering if anyone on the site had Geothermal Heating for their residence? If so, do you have any pros/cons or suggestions? We (the wife and I) are lucky enough to have a thermal spring on our property. It is a constant 72*F year round. Therefore, I believe that is more than Ideal for the Geothermal heat exchangers to work and draw off the heat, as the ground temp is usually 50-60*F ... So, I am starting to look at this as a viable option for my home. Any websites of companies you have used or recommend would be great. Thanks, Shuan Edited March 13, 2011 by Stitches040 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggerdan11 Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 (edited) Where I Live is a geothermal hotbed, I know a bunch of people with geothermal heat and they love it, Its efficient and its free. There is a section of town were almost all of the residents have geothermal. All of the Elementary, Jr High and High School in the area all have Geothermal, and there are a bunch of bridges and underpasses that are also heated Unfortunately I live away from the Hotsprings Area, so i cant get geothermal heat Edited March 13, 2011 by diggerdan11 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kissfans03ss Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Shaun, I hear good things about geothermal but I hear is very expensive in the beginning(installation), you might be better off that you have the spring but I know it will pay for itself.Good luck. Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex.t Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 yup , very exspensive for initial install cost, im not sure if it would pay for itself, if you plan on staying in the house for a long time i guess it could. other then that i hear good things. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Silv Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 (edited) Very expensive for the initial cost and it will take a long time to receive any payback giving the circumstances that you don't have to fix/repair the heat pump in the future. I would just invest in an energy efficient furnace/condenser and upgrade windows, doors, etc.. to help seal up the house. Also, I am assuming that you would be installing the geothermal system in an already existed home? When drilling the well, you can expect that your yard to get destroyed in the process and a bit of work to get the pipes in your homes basement. Also, your current duct system will require fabrication to accommodate the new heat pump which also can be costly. Edited March 14, 2011 by SS Silv (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stg313 Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 I dont know much about geothermal heat, but I have worked for a heating/ac company for about 3 years..... If geothermal ends up not being worth it you would always look into getting a heat pump, no gas required! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detjoe Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 heat pump= geothermal. (thats what I think) I'll post some links when I sit down and have a few....been thinking in investing in my home's energy consumption. With energy cost rising, and fast it could (COULD) pay for itself faster. An architect told me that gas/ natural/heating oil will be a luxury commodity/ 'appliance' so finding ways to generate electricity should also be considered. I will post more...great discussion to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitches040 Posted March 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Very expensive for the initial cost and it will take a long time to receive any payback giving the circumstances that you don't have to fix/repair the heat pump in the future. I would just invest in an energy efficient furnace/condenser and upgrade windows, doors, etc.. to help seal up the house. Also, I am assuming that you would be installing the geothermal system in an already existed home? When drilling the well, you can expect that your yard to get destroyed in the process and a bit of work to get the pipes in your homes basement. Also, your current duct system will require fabrication to accommodate the new heat pump which also can be costly. We've done all that ... we have a 2900 sq.ft. Farmhouse that was built 150 years ago. We've done the New furnace, new windows, siding, crack sealing and new insulation. We still average about 1300 gals a year in heating oil.... So, even if the initial cost is high, at the rate oil is going up, we could re-coupe the cost in a few years. Like I said though ... the spring is 72*F ... that is a really good jump start for "Free" heat ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krambo Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Shuan, When I was building my home, I got estimates to be 75% "off the power grid" which included heating and cooling. To give you a cost perspective, I was looking at just under 100K (this was 9 years ago) added to the cost of my home. It would have taken 17 years to recoup the money. If I did not have central AC, it would have been around half that if I remember... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stg313 Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 heat pump= geothermal. (thats what I think) I'll post some links when I sit down and have a few....been thinking in investing in my home's energy consumption. With energy cost rising, and fast it could (COULD) pay for itself faster. An architect told me that gas/ natural/heating oil will be a luxury commodity/ 'appliance' so finding ways to generate electricity should also be considered. I will post more...great discussion to have. The kind of heat pump that I am referring to is basically a normal air conditioning unit with a reversing valve........ Ever notice how when your air conditioning is running your condenser is putting off tons of heat? Well all that a heat pump does is basically run the system backwards, therefore pushing that warm air through the evaporator inside your house and through your vents. Then the air coming out of your outdoor condenser will be cold........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Silv Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 heat pump= geothermal. (thats what I think) I'll post some links when I sit down and have a few....been thinking in investing in my home's energy consumption. With energy cost rising, and fast it could (COULD) pay for itself faster. An architect told me that gas/ natural/heating oil will be a luxury commodity/ 'appliance' so finding ways to generate electricity should also be considered. I will post more...great discussion to have. There are two types of heat pumps: -Ground source (geo-thermal) - air to air heat pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsws6 Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 that sounds like the way to go if you can tap into the spring. pay back should be around 5-7 years and you will probably have an easier time selling the house in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nastyhabit Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I had a home energy audit last week. In CT there are cash back rebates on just about everything from $50/ea for converting single pane windows (have 40) to insulation and split heart pumps. The guy mentioned Geothermal and that it was a supplement to your existing system. Look into the programs up in mass. IRS is only crediting $500 this year but I'm looking at $3500 cash back in direct rebates for windows, heat pump and attic insulation. There is also up to $20k loan at 0% for ten years that we'll be using. Has to be used for two plus measures of energy star upgrades. Maybe Mass has similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitches040 Posted March 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I had a home energy audit last week. In CT there are cash back rebates on just about everything from $50/ea for converting single pane windows (have 40) to insulation and split heart pumps. The guy mentioned Geothermal and that it was a supplement to your existing system. Look into the programs up in mass. IRS is only crediting $500 this year but I'm looking at $3500 cash back in direct rebates for windows, heat pump and attic insulation. There is also up to $20k loan at 0% for ten years that we'll be using. Has to be used for two plus measures of energy star upgrades. Maybe Mass has similar? Yup...We have already done this through CET. (the Mass. company) ... We are just looking at a cheaper way of heating the house ... But still if Oil is at a minimum of $4.00 a gal this winter. We do 1300 gals a year. The Geothermal will pay off sooner then later ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detjoe Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 what really sucks is that we live in the north...extreme cold, if we were in the south, its way easier to make it thru a winter...Is there a limit on the BTU's a heat pump can produce?? I dont see them much here in MI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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