Quote:
Originally Posted by mbuszu
I'm researching residential HVAC options for an older two story home with basement without anything except electric ceiling heat. I came across information on residential geothermal systems and was wondering if anyone has real-world experience to share regarding purchasing one. In particular I know a system for the house I'm looking at would run approximately $20k to install while a forced air system would cost about $12-15k (FYI there's no current ducting in the house). What is the annual/monthly savings you enjoy with your geothermal system? Are there any lessons learned to share?
Thanks in advance.
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We are in north Georgia.
Hubby & I installed ground source heat pumps when we built our home in 1986. The home is a passive solar design. There are separate units for upstairs and downstairs. The main living area, includiing the master bedroom, is upstairs. The additional bedrooms are downstairs in what is essentially a daylight basement. Since our children are grown and no longer in the house, we can leave the downstairs unit off most of the time. The system is the original one. Apart from some refrigerant leaks and a few minor repairs, it has been trouble free. We have an excellent HVAC guy who keeps it tuned up for us.
We have been extremely happy with the system, which does use vertical loops. I cannot tell how much the saving is since we never had any other system in the home. We are comfortable in summer and winter. Our summer bills are probably higher than for the average family because hubby is extremely heat intolerant. He would leave the thermostat on 60 degrees year round if I let him. With the heat we are currently having, we just leave the shades closed all the time.
The units are installed in a room in the daylight basement. There is nothing outdoors, and they are very quiet. This also means they are not vulnerable to the copper pipe thieves who are currently a problem in our area.
If you are retrofitting an older home, you should ask the installer, whichever type of system you choose, to update insulation and weatherproofing, if needed.
We also have solar hot water, which I like.
Edited to add: your HVAC guy (or gal!) can estimate how long it will take for the more expensive system to pay for the increased installation cost. If you plan to be in the house at least that long, you will break even. If you plan to sell, it may or may not pay for itself.