Reply #5: Geothermal has different meanings.... [View All]

[SnoopDog]

Geothermal #1 means, yes, using piping hot water from the earth. But this is rare as it is not prevalent all over the USA. Here in Nevada, yes there are geothermal energy but an entire energy system is use to produce energy for parts of a city. This type of energy is not really conducive for individual homes.

Geothermal #2 means that pipes are sunk 100 to 300 feet and latent heat from the earth is used as a preheater for your household energy systems. This would include the hot water heater and furnace heat. I am a firm believer in solar and other forms of renewable energy. I sort of question geothermal in this case. Yes it does preheat the air - that can be between 40-50 degrees and indeed does represent renewable energy. But systems I have looked into costs $16k. I guess I would prefer a PV system that I can gain electricity for the whole house.

my $.02.