Originally Posted by
ramon123
I have been observing geothermal owner's comments for several years now and it has led me to reject any thoughts of a ground based loop system, mostly due to the apparent uncertainty of results obtained and the exorbitant installation costs. I therefore might consider a lake system geothermal, but haven't heard many good things there
either. So my conclusion is that geothermal systems are simply not predictable enough are are ridiculously non cost-effective when compared to the much simpler alternatives of insulation (new construction) and especially solar panel arrays. With the advent of microinverters, array installation is unbelievably simple and quick and prices of panels
are netting (for the first 6 KW, usually more than enough) between 60 cents and a dollar per watt, with micros about 70 cents per watt. Those prices lead me to completely
reject geothermal and its apparent multitude of headaches and non-performance and excessive costs. I was enthusiastic with the concept of geothermal when it first appeared more than a decade ago, but have been quite disappointed with the
technology. I believe this technology was totally oversold and oversubsidized.