Anybody have a Geothermal heating/cooling system?

As I'm approaching 15 years on a couple of my A/C units and watching my utility bill grow out of sight, I'm wondering if it would be worth the trouble to put in a geothermal system. A lot of times in the winter, if I work in the barn, I'm heating over 14,000 sq. ft. of indoor space with my house, pool house and the barn. Needless to say, I try to burn the heck out of wood, but I have a feeling that doing so will eventually get old. I've heard some really unbelievable stories about how great geothermal is.

An advantage I have is that I have access to a boaring machine that can run all the underground portion for me without digging up my yard. I'm told by an HVAC guy that putting a coil in the deep end of my lake (about 18-10 feet) would make cooling easy for me. Thoughts, suggestions?

I know of someone in CT that has two deep wells ..... one for an intake, and the other for the return and uses the water for geothermal heating and cooling. Problem is that the cost of running the equipment is eating up all the "fuel savings". Our electric bill this time last year was about $75 per month. This year, it is over $200 per month. I think a hydro electric generating plant might yield more savings in the end. Now, the only problem is where are you going to get the water power? A local business that has a stone building on the edge of a water fall that used to be used for electrical generation has spent the money to repair all the old equipment and is now generating all there own electrical needs. In the past, the savings were not worth the cost of repair. Times have changed, and now they are saving the cost of the electric and making a profit in what they sell back to the grid during off peak business use.

No real thoughts or experience with Geothermal other than study the ROI closely. I suspect you can buy a lot of power/gas for the full installation price. I know you plan on living in your house a long time so it might be a good investment for you.

Using your pond will be your most economical route, as well as achieving the most efficient heat rejection in the summer and heat asorbtion in the winter. Well drilling can be quite expensive as far as initial cost is concerned and this fact prevents most people from going geothermal. Buried lines will not be as efficient as will submerged lines in the pond.

So the answer is your HVAC guy is correct, and that is what I would do, especially with a pond between 10-18 feet deep. With the reduced initial installation cost of using the pond, I believe your ROI will make it worth while.

I have one (9 years) with buried lines, definitely worth the investment.

Dargo said:

As I'm approaching 15 years on a couple of my A/C units and watching my utility bill grow out of sight, I'm wondering if it would be worth the trouble to put in a geothermal system. A lot of times in the winter, if I work in the barn, I'm heating over 14,000 sq. ft. of indoor space with my house, pool house and the barn.

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At what point did utility your utility bill grow out of sight? Any variables change in your house that stuck out like a sore thumb as far and the power bill goes? Bill jump up after another system installed? Reason why I ask is if the power bill is due to the equipment installed or the utility rates or some other factor other than the equipment?

I was going up a wall trying to figure out why my electric bill jumped up to $300 couple of months ago. Put in a large electric fence and new HVAC system, but didn't make sence. Long story short, it was my well pump. Replaced it and my electric bill now (during the summer, with three HVAC systems) in always under $120.

Geothermal is the way to go, and in the long run, it will save you money. If done right, you will not be dissapointed. Not sure about the pool heater (my mistake, only an area, not pool water) or barn though, never done a job like that.

Big Dog said:

I have one (9 years) with buried lines, definitely worth the investment.

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Thanks for the replies. I'm checking on equipment costs and materials cost. I'm wondering how much it will cost me to heat and cool my barn, house, and pool house with that type of thing. I'm hearing that about half of the cost is running the underground lines. That would be nice since I may have the ability to do that for little to no cost.

I understand that I will still have a pretty fair electric bill with 6 people living here (my oldest son is now gone - currently in basic training but he goes directly to VMI from there). I have 2 deep freezers, three refrigerators, two drinking fountains, a fountain in the lake, security systems, and all the pumps and lights in my wife's 200 gallon salt water tank always running. Still, with nearly 6500 sq. ft. of living space (not counting heating and cooling the 3 car garage or any part of the barn or office in the barn), I still use quite a bit of energy for HVAC purposes. That is what I'm trying to reduce. I noted marked decrease in my gas portion of my utility bill when I changed three of the four water heaters to tankless models. The only problem there is that now I have some of my kids take 40 minute showers!

I'd just like to stop having some of those four digit utility bills! I cannot add more insulation to anything. My builders always commented that they'd never seen anyone go as far as me on insulation. Although it makes no difference in the utility bill, I insulated between every wall and between each floor for sound proofing. Believe me, with all the kids here, that helps. I also have the highest efficiency furnaces and A/C units that were available when they were installed. I just don't think I'd see much of a difference going to 15 or 16 SEER from 13 or going up from my 93% efficient furnaces. I also have several zones with the HVAC installation and programmable thermostats. As long as I have kids here, I am sort of stuck with what I have to run.

I heat and cool about 3600 sqft with very high ceilings. Last months bill was $130 using the air. It conserves much better when using the air conditioning. My big months are January and February, average about $225 per month. The spring and fall months average about $80 per month. IMHO .......... you'll drop 30 - 50% on your monthly bill. I'm hoping to supplement heating savings this winter with gas now available from the well...... and eventually converting appliances as they die.

dargo

on tbn, in related topics or at least near bottom of the page, about 18 months ago, someone posted the whole deal, had at least 50 pictures to go along with it.. He was a licensed HVAC man and went into great detail from conception to completion.. I learned more about reading from this one thread than all the others put together,, Even size of pipe, how deep to dig, type of fill to absorb or release the heat, every detail about the hook ups in the cellar, etc etc

found it

Geothermal Heat Pump Project ( 1 2 3 ... Last Page)
techman

LarryRB said:

found it

Geothermal Heat Pump Project (

1 2 3 ... Last Page)
techman

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Great resource, thanks Larry!

My system used 3600 ft, dual pumps and is a three zone (one for each floor) system. Zoning is nice because it has automated dampers that open and close for each floor requirement.