Northeast Heating Options

[Bill Barrett]

I think geothermal technically refers to ground sources of hot water or steam heat, such as hot springs or geysers. They use the term ground source heat pump to refer to systems that extract heat from ground that isn't thermally active.

Yep, true but everyone is using it interchangeably . Here is one of the brands I use, check out what they call it.
GeoComfort 1888-436-3783, Geothermal Heating, Geothermal Cooling, Geothermal, Geothermal Power, Geothermal Installation, Geothermal Solutions

 

[mahlers]

If you have a large pond that doesn't ever freeze completely, that's a great way to make geothermal work. Also, if you already have a deep well, you can use it as the heat source. Around here, geothermal heat pumps are pretty rare because temperatures aren't too extreme - and because most people don't have the kind of land needed to use trenching to put one of these systems in. Most of them are installed with deep wells that have to be drilled by licensed well drilling companies, and those licensed well drillers can charge upwards of $30K for a single well. That kind of up-front cost is tough to recover if you don't have to use your heat to fight off freezing temperatures all winter long. If you can find a way to get around the well-drilling or trenching cost, the systems are very reasonable to purchase.

 

[hockeypuck]

do not do geo-thermal, especially in the north east. too expensive, noisy and too many parts to break. Insulate the house very well and do not use oil.

 

[Bill Barrett]

do not do geo-thermal, especially in the north east. too expensive, noisy and too many parts to break. Insulate the house very well and do not use oil.

You must have heard a bad job, you literally can't hear the ones we put in. Warranty is 10 year parts and labor.

 

[SnowRidge]

do not do geo-thermal, especially in the north east. too expensive, noisy and too many parts to break. Insulate the house very well and do not use oil.

We will be building a new house, so I have been looking at heating and cooling options. Everything I have seen says ground source heat pumps are very quiet.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Thanks for all the information and ideas. Found a good site for cost comparing on Google,

Alternative-Heating-Info.com

 

[PineRidge]

do not do geo-thermal, especially in the north east. too expensive, noisy and too many parts to break. Insulate the house very well and do not use oil.

We are in the northeast and my neighbor uses geo with a pond loop. It's quiet and he seems happy with it. It wasn't cheap however.

 

[SnowRidge]

Thanks for all the information and ideas. Found a good site for cost comparing on Google,

Alternative-Heating-Info.com

That's an interesting and useful site. There is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet that is much more sophisticated that the web page's fuel comparison chart. The spreadsheet appears to be an excellent tool for running cost comparisons between various heating and cooling options. It has provisions for adjusting to local prices and heating/cooling requirements. It also handles both air source and ground source heat pumps.

FWIW, I opened it using Open Office 2.2 with no apparent problems.

 

[charlz]

Based on this thread I was out looking at the evacuated tube solar systems... anyone using one of these for hot water/water pre-heat? Being on propane my water heater is electric as well as the clothes dryer and I have one of those septic systems where it pumps warm air through it all the time. My electric bill never drops below $100/month. Not really sure how much of that is hot water so I am curious if anyone has put one of these systems in and how much it saved them.

Thanks,
Charles

 

[jim_n_nh]

I don't know if this will help but seven years ago I built my present house. Currently, 38' x46' . The roof is 8" Stuctual Insulated Panels (SIPS) and the walls are 6" sips. It is basically a ranch that is sunk into the earth (earth bermed) on the north and west side. The east side is basically a 3 car under garage. I heat the 1748 sq ft upstairs That has 15ft catheral ceilings and the future family room downstairs (26' x38') with one woodstock soap stone wood stove. I used 2 - 2 1/2 cords of wood to heat it here just outside of Manchester NH. It is rated at 23000 BTUs to heat. I have radiant floor heat with a 40 gallon propane hot water heater to heat with that I do not use. Currently I have just started the search for venders to switch to solar heated water for both domestic hot water and to use the radiant floor heat.

Jim