Geothermal Loops?

[JimRB]

Message - TractorByNet.com Photo Gallery My geothermal has no booster heat but there are lots of caveats. My earth is warmer than your earth. Cold day is 0 and that is really rare. Most days get above freezing in the winter and rare is a cold snap of more than a few days where the high is less than 30F. There are maps available but it looks like my earth is 10 warmer than yours. Shallow ground water temperature map

Here is a picture of my messy basement. Message - TractorByNet.com Photo Gallery
OK, just the mechanical room but the rest isn't all that different. Note the air handler has two lines from the loop pump on the back wall. Note the loops go out low but obscured by the fan or some other junk. That is about 5 feet below ground. Note the waste heat recovery which feeds the hot water heater just to the right of the air handler. Switch to hot water heating elements is turned off 9 or more months of the year as the waste heat recovery creates enough hot water for us.

I thought I had posted a link for earth temps. you can Bing or Google for geothermal ground soil temps to find maps.

Some manufacturers will only sell to professional contractors so DIY requires some hoops to jump through. You have to know how to purge the air from the slinky or ground loops is the biggest challenge. You also need good water for the ground loops. You do not want acidic water eating up the plumbing in the air handler. My installer brought his own water.

 

[bruceha2000]

You guys are killing me here... our last bill was for 948 kwh, by the time all the fees and taxes are added in it was nearly $160... slightly over 12 cents per kwh.

I'll take it! 13.5 cents here and that is BEFORE all the fees/taxes/etc.

 

[lilranch2001]

1716KWH here on the bill I received today, $199

 

[mfreund]

I know I am late to the party but we drilled our loops. 4 tons of capacity in 4 150 ft deep wells. My installer recomended the drilling because of hitting ground water before 150 ft. He reasoned the water gave better heat transfer than dirt to pipe contact. My system has been in since 2006. The winter electric bills are under $200 in the really cold months and under 100 running the cooling in the summer. These are the highs, most months are less. We have electric resistance heat for back-up. Not the most efficient but very easy for operation. Our electric company offered rebates on the wells, desuperheater and efficency rating. The $20,000 was reduced to 15,800. The only propane we use is the clothes dryer and whole house back up generator. We have not filled the tank since Dec 2005.

 

[powerstroke444e]

Well have had the system running for the 1st full month and the geo and electric water heater used $116 of electric or 1660kwh of power all in all I could not be happier with how it works for the size of the house. We only had 4 days of real cold windy(35mph) weather around 10F but it didn't seem to bother it at all. So far I wouldn't change anything, its real nice to not be going out and checking the propane level.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I'll add this about saving electricity. I heard a radio talk show that a guy was being delayed a solar permit for so long that he had to sue to get permitted for solar.

In L.A. the city makes money on the utilities and if the people pay less in utilities the city makes less money. Also I think the permit price was astronomical. If they don't get it one way they get it another way.

 

[bucktaker]

Repost below my eariler question about adding a geo unit if my current failed.

just for my info
Since my mechanicals are in the walkout basement if and when I go Geo could my concrete floor be opened and a pit dug that would then allow lines to be bored under the slab and footer to a outside pit then connected to geo loops at depth? Then the condensor unit is in place of existing HVAC connected to ductwork and cooling loops?

As far as DIY sounds like the excavation could be done with rental equipment.
Rent excavator backfill with kubota tractor[/QUOTE]

 

[LD1]

Well have had the system running for the 1st full month and the geo and electric water heater used $116 of electric or 1660kwh of power all in all I could not be happier with how it works for the size of the house. We only had 4 days of real cold windy(35mph) weather around 10F but it didn't seem to bother it at all. So far I wouldn't change anything, its real nice to not be going out and checking the propane level.

WOW....7 cents/kwh

We are 10 cents here two states over.

That kwh usage would have cost me $166