GEOTHERMAL HEAT/AC

**427king** · #1 05-09-2008, 06:52 AM

Anyone have this type of system in thier garage or know much about it? Thanks

BBIGG BLOCK 396 · #2 05-09-2008, 08:52 AM

King I have a friend that has something similar to geothermal he is using in his barn and it works pretty good.It does not work as well as a conventional A/C and Heat system but it maintains a very comfortable temprature.
Geothermal systems us a liquid pumped through a series of underground pipes or lines, the earth stays a costant temprature + or - a few degrees at certain depths underground.
Thus the liquid is made to be this temprature then runs to an exchanger system that removes the cool or heat from the liquid and uses that to heat /cool your shop,home,barn etc. The system my friend designed uses larger pipes and even a large buried tank and they are all hooked together by a piping system that runs to a large blower.
The air is circulated from the tanks and pipes underground and blown through a duct type system in the top of the barn similar to a central A/C duct system. The cool and warm air is spread throughout the barn maintianing a pretty comfortable level.He also uses solar panels and batteries to run the pump or blower.It is a lot cheaper than conventional A/C and the source is naturaly renewable.It does not cool or heat as well as a central A/C and heat system but can regulate it to be very comfortable.

joey · #3 05-09-2008, 03:59 PM

I am partially retired(I do a few jobs for friends ) from the heat and ac buisness and you are partially right in your description, A geothermal system can work as good if not better than convential hvac system it all depends on the location ,type of geoth system and equipment being used and what your goal to accomplish with the system is. Finally something I know a lot more about than king does

Chevy454 · #4 05-09-2008, 05:50 PM

[ QUOTE ]
A geothermal system can work as good if not better than convential hvac system it all depends on the location

[/ QUOTE ]
Ditto...I have it in my house (4200 sq/ft), and LOVE it...Mo has it in his house, as well as his bowling alley (7200 sq/ft w/16? ft sidewalls) and in the dead of summer while running 8 ginormous pin-setter machines and everything else in the alley I think he said his highest electric bill was well *under* $200...and those pin-setters create a LOT of heat, and Mo likes it COOOOLD in the summer! The cool thing about them is that you can have multiple zones w/multiple thermostats in different parts of the house...I cheaped out (addnl $3k) and didn't get that option, but we now wish we had...anyway, I would recommend the system.

Another option is a heat pump w/backup (uses same unit), which we have at the shop (6k sq/ft w/ 14 ft sidewalls)...they shine in the summer months, but with colder winters like you guys have, the LPG vs electric backup would probably be better.

Hylton · #5 05-09-2008, 06:04 PM

What did your set-up in your house cost you Rob? I am building this fall and am considering this option as well.

Chevy454 · #6 05-09-2008, 06:12 PM

I believe it was $13k, which included digging/backfilling the 2k feet of lines...and as I said above, the extra zones option was gonna be $3k...but we shoulda done it. Check with your electric company, as they almost always (around here anyways) give a rebate if you go with geothermal...ours stopped a couple months prior to us buying our system, because they started on a new power plant and they had to finance it!

We have a seperate meter on our geo unit...I should check it and see how many kw we've used in a little under a year...

**427king** · #7 05-09-2008, 06:58 PM

I was given 2 prices ,one was 45K the other 82K for 6000 sq feet and alot of 12 ft ceilings.[diging 3 300 ft wells] Seems like today i got a quote of 30s due to everyone being out of work i presume?? It sure beats paying 600 a monthy for oil and rising, and i know everything regarding labor is 40% higher in CT than everywhere else in the US. they say in the northeast you need a backup[electric or oil] for those subzero days which come 7/8 days a winter ,which is a turnoff especially for that price tag they cost.. Geothermal seems a great way to go green and "stick it to the man" though.

Chevy454 · #8 05-09-2008, 07:06 PM

While we don't get *quite* the cold temps as you, we do see zero and below every winter, and last I knew, in the 10+ years Mo said he'd owned his, his auxillary heat had *yet* to kick on...I know when we had our stretches of zeros and low-singles this past winter, our backup (heat strips) never kicked on, and my wife kept it cranked up to *at least* 72, and some days better...the strips on the heat pump @ shop, on the other hand, *did* eat some juice, though...btw, our lines are layed out laterally, versus in wells.

For 45k or 80k, I'd dig mine up with a shovel, and haul it to you and install it! LOL!!

**427king** · #9 05-09-2008, 08:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
For 45k or 80k, I'd dig mine up with a shovel, and haul it to you and install it! LOL!!

[/ QUOTE ] You may laugh, but it may make sense to hire someone in Missouri or somewhere else to install it . These people is CT dont like to get out of bed unless they can make 500.00 an hour

moparts · #10 05-10-2008, 06:27 AM

Yep Geo is the way to go. I have 2-6 ton units in the bowling center. Units and ducting cost 20k 4 years ago. We have our own backhoe and done all our own digging. The trick on Geo is dig it deep. Most installers want to put them in at 5 or 6 foot. My house and bowling center are both in at over 9 ft. My house heats or cools for a dollar a day.
We run 32 elect. motors 1/2 hp or bigger, 1 35 hp 3 phase inverter,17 tv screens, 8 video games and 25 8 ft flor. lights along with the 2 6 ton units. Highest bill ever 298 dollars.