Radiant or Geothermal Heat?

[Paddy]

That sounds encourging. Did the Geo price include the wells? Then, the $7700 adder above heat pump will be made up in 5 years or so.

Thank you for your input.

Patrick

 

[Mavrik02]

If I recall correctly the quoted price on our house was about $35k. It included heat and AC. The house is 2100 sq ft for basement and same for first floor with another 900 sq ft for the second floor.

I ended up paying about $22k for my HVAC work (radiant in basement/master bath, forced air gas, forced air electric, and two AC systems).

 

[Piedmont3]

Yes, That was the total price. It included the wells, the ductwork, a 40 gal water storage tank, the water furnace unit, 4 zones, 4 thermostats, 4 return air ducts and filters and covers, and grill covers for the ducts, everything. We just got our bill yesterday for electricity from Oct 29 to Nov 29, it was $89.63. We are very pleased with the system.

 

[HobbleCreek]

That's good to know. How deep did they have to drill the wells?

 

[Piedmont3]

Our Pipes/loops are in 6 each 4" diameter wells that are 115 feet deep.

 

[Got2BTru]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU for this thread...keep it going! We're hopefully building on 32 acres next Spring in CNY. I'm currently looking at hydronic radiant heat (solar powered heater) and have contemplated geothermal, but doubt I'll have the $$$ for it. Just gotta figure out how to COOL the house in the summers.

 

[sbatzold]

Got2BTru,

Check the geothermal. I'm in CNY and have had it for 15 years now and its cheaper than you think especially if you can do some of the work your self. If your moving to what is really central NY your in for a big weather change from TX:0)

 

[Got2BTru]

Thank you, I will. We're building the house in 2 phases next year. First is a 4 car garage with an "in-law" suite above it. We'll then move in there and once everything is paid off, then we'll start the main house. In between there will be a barn, etc. so it may be a couple of years.

As for CNY, I grew up in CNY, so I know what it's like. I left in my early 20's & spent 5 years in the Carolinas and 15+ in the Dallas area. TOO HOT for me...that's why we're in the process of moving back and building up in CNY.

 

[JCByrd24]

Same principles of sound solar design apply regardless of what the construction material is:

1 Locate main living spaces on south side of building.
2 Place garages, stores, utility rooms, circulation spaces on colder north side of building where they can act as thermal buffers. This also helps with 4 below.
3 Maximise southerly glazing.
4 Minimise northerly glazing.
5 Build in high thermal mass.
6 Insulate highly.
7 Try to maximise internal volume/surface area proportion. This also helps with resource efficiency (more bang for your buck).
8 Use renewable energy if possible.

This is excellent advice. Buildings built properly today with these principles in mind do not need complex and expensive systems like geothermal and even radiant to be comfortable. A residence can be easily built in any climate the can be heated/cooled primarily with mini split heat pumps at cost a fraction of any of the systems mentioned in this thread. The money can be spent on insulation and then renewable energy to approach net zero rather than forking out thousands on systems that still required you to buy the energy.

 

[Raspy]

This is excellent advice. Buildings built properly today with these principles in mind do not need complex and expensive systems like geothermal and even radiant to be comfortable. A residence can be easily built in any climate the can be heated/cooled primarily with mini split heat pumps at cost a fraction of any of the systems mentioned in this thread. The money can be spent on insulation and then renewable energy to approach net zero rather than forking out thousands on systems that still required you to buy the energy.

Well, radiant is not an expensive way to install heat in a home if it's simply PEX tubing buried in concrete. Second, it's not complex either. Third, it is the most comfortable heat delivery system there is. There is no way a mini-split system will match the comfort of a radiant floor. As far as whether it's geothermal OR radiant, as the OP asked, I'd like to point out that radiant is the best way to deliver Geothermal because radiant operates at the lowest temperature.

In my case, I did not need air conditioning, so that is not a factor in the cost. But if it is in your case, you might be able to go with a simple, one zone system that will make it worth it. I understand combining the heat and cooling into the same ductwork seems like a savings, but when walking around on a cold floor, you'll definitely be wondering if that was the right choice. The mini-split is efficient, but the floors are still cold.

Geo-thermal is appealing, but it is also an expensive and complicated system when compared to a simple active solar system delivered through in-slab radiant. I chose an oil boiler to make up for extended periods of bad weather with limited solar. This will still keep the radiant heat working. But in my case we never needed it last winter and ran on 100% solar. I don't like propane, but a small occasionally used propane boiler would be a fine backup too.

It's sad when builders tell their clients that they'll need supplemental heat because the radiant won't be enough. Hogwash. My clients have told me the radiant is their favorite part of their new house. No one with radiant chooses to use backup forced air systems.