Geothernmal System Can Cut Heating Costs By 60% (Canada)

[jpak]

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1125699

The soaring price of natural gas, oil and propane has helped spawn a new company in Chatham-Kent called Geothermal Solutions.

Company spokesman Tim Gillier of Kent Bridge said the relatively new process can reduce residential heating costs by as much as 60 per cent.

But he points out the initial investment is in the range of $20,000 to $25,000. Grants of as much as $7,000 are available from the provincial and federal governments.

"The process is quite simple,'' said Gillier. "Holes are drilled up to 180 feet in the ground and two pipes are placed in each hole. Moisture in the ground heats up a solution in the pipes that are hooked up inside the home and it provides heat in the winter and air conditioning in summer.''

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[greenman3610]

1. that sounds a little high

http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/HVAC/geothermal-heat-pumps#benefits

..the ground loop is generally the most expensive component of a geothermal heat pump system and is highly dependent on local labor rates and drilling conditions. An installed ground loop stubbed out in a home can run betwee $1000 and $3000 per installed ton. Overall, one could expect to pay between $4000 and $11000 more for a turnkey 3 ton GHP system than for an air source heat pump system. Many consumers justify this initial investment with the savings they expect to realize on their heating and cooling bills over time.



this could be a solution
for many in the less solar favored parts of the country,
or for sites like my house, where solar or wind are impractical.
It may be that a new method of financing will be needed, as in
communities or utilities developing a fund to provide
low cost loans to be repaid from the savings in
energy costs.

I do have a question as to what problems could arise once you
bury the pipes, if one of the pipes springs a leak or gets
blocked.

[ElectricGrid]

2. A guy would think it would be cheaper than that to drill a hole

that deep. 200' is not that deep in the drilling world.

[Sixty_cycle_humm]

3. I installed it when I built my home

I put in a lake loop though, far more efficient than the ground loops are.

I have a 3500 square foot home that is completely electric, with a family of five. The highest electric bill I ever had was $195, and that was in the really cold winter here in Indiana. That includes the dryer, hot water tank (in the summer it pumps all the heat from the exchanger into the hot water tank, boosting the temp a lot) and anything else, with three teenagers thrown in for good measure.

I keep my home at 70 degrees year around also, never touch it. I also built with 2x6 walls, exterior insulation behind the brick, and cellulose blown in around the walls. I choked at the cost of the Water Furnace, but since I have it I will never go back to gas or oil again. If anyone is thinking of changing to save money it is a big cost, but with the incentives and reduced rates by going all electric it will pay for itself rather quickly.

[applegrove]

4. My sister has one at her farm. She is planning on getting a mini wind turbine to run the electricity