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I don't remember all the details but I put geo in my house outside of Omaha NE. In the winter if the geo couldn't keep up with the heat split it supplemented with an electric furnace. Electric was cheap in Omaha and I'm not sure how much it happened, those particular winters I lived there were fairly mild. My bills didn't seem high but it was a new house and I didn't have anything to compare it too. I kept things pretty frosty in summer
I was under the impression that geo was most efficient in certain climates (not to far north, not too far south). And a little better with cooling than heating.
But I could be wrong.
Oh, and I found out later when I asked that the installing company kept the tax credits? Or energy rebate? Something along those lines that I thought I would get. But it was 'no, we usually keep it, thats the way it is"
I was under the impression that geo was most efficient in certain climates (not to far north, not too far south). And a little better with cooling than heating.
Correct. The ground temperature down to about 30 feet is going to fluctuate with the season, at about 30 feet it's constant. This constant temperature at 30 feet is going to reflect the average annual temperature of where you live. The deeper you go after that the warmer it will get. If you could put your loop 2 miles into the ground you wouldn't even need the heat pump and could just use the water directly.
In the North this constant temp might be somewhere between 45 and 55, you are going to want a deeper loop because above that constant temp zone it's going to get colder in the winter. Same thing in the South except the exact opposite, be too hot for cooling but unlike the north where you can deeper you can't do that.
Oh, and I found out later when I asked that the installing company kept the tax credits? Or energy rebate? Something along those lines that I thought I would get. But it was 'no, we usually keep it, thats the way it is"
Huh? Can't say I ever heard of that, you paid for the system, you should get the tax credits. I have heard people that Lease Solar systems, the lease company keeping the tax credits. That's way leasing solar panels is a lousy idea, your far better off getting a loan and buying the system. this way you get the tax credits and when you pay it off you have a solar system free and clear. With a lease system it will never be paid off, not to mention if you ever try to sell your house, you'll have to see if the buyers will assume the payments on the new system. Adds a lot of complexity to an already complicated transaction.
As for the Installer keeping the tax credits, if your not leasing the system, I don’t see how that can be legal, the IRS might have something to say about that.
In the North this constant temp might be somewhere between 45 and 55, you are going to want a deeper loop because above that constant temp zone it's going to get colder in the winter.
I think it's important to note that places like Thailand the ground temperature is something like 100 degrees year round, your not getting a lot of cooling out of that ground.
Correct. The ground temperature down to about 30 feet is going to fluctuate with the season, at about 30 feet it's constant. This constant temperature at 30 feet is going to reflect the average annual temperature of where you live. The deeper you go after that the warmer it will get. If you could put your loop 2 miles into the ground you wouldn't even need the heat pump and could just use the water directly.
In the North this constant temp might be somewhere between 45 and 55, you are going to want a deeper loop because above that constant temp zone it's going to get colder in the winter. Same thing in the South except the exact opposite, be too hot for cooling but unlike the north where you can deeper you can't do that.
Aren't those well water temps? don't they dig deeper for geothermal?
Aren't those well water temps? don't they dig deeper for geothermal?
You can go as deep as you want but the difference between 30 feet and 300 feet is not going to be substantial, they charge by the foot and material they need to drill through. $$$$
You can go as deep as you want but the difference between 30 feet and 300 feet is not going to be substantial, they charge by the foot and material they need to drill through. $$$$
While the difference in temperatures may not be substantial as you go deeper, the systems have an optimal engineered loop length (closed loop system). Our system has 2 150' wells in order to get the loop length needed. If your loop is too short, you will not get an adequate heat transfer into the ground or water.
I think it's important to note that places like Thailand the ground temperature is something like 100 degrees year round, your not getting a lot of cooling out of that ground.
More like 84 degrees. And you can readily pump heat across that temperature gradient (or even a gradient to 100 degrees, if that were the case), per my post above about our air-source heat pumps in Phoenix keeping our house cool even on 120 degree days.
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