Pulled the trigger! Wall of fame or wall of shame?

[21degrees]

Geo Therm is too expensive and the price of your gas is good. You will need to replace that unit before it pays for it self. They also need more maintenance. Give your head a shake and get a quote on a high efficinent boiler or furnace. Unless you have money to burn.

[mose0]

I hope all of this talk doesn't make you think you made a bad choice. Every
opinion on here is just that - an opinion. You did your homework very well and made an informed decision that you will not regret! Go GEO!!!

[thenuke]

I hope all of this talk doesn't make you think you made a bad choice. Every
opinion on here is just that - an opinion. You did your homework very well and made an informed decision that you will not regret! Go GEO!!!

I was wondering how long it would take you to find this Dan. I get the 55 year warranty for all my hard work, right?

[mose0]

Where is this particular post / whats it called?
Mose

[Greenwood1]

Hey thenuke, I also live in Northeast WI and am looking into geothermal systems for new home construction in the beginning of September. Also, where I'm at we can only get LP. I was wondering if your happy with your system 3 years later? And if you could offer in advice on geothermal systems and new the home building process because this is our first time around? THANKS

[Six]

Howdy!

I just gave the official "yes" to a geothermal proposal I've been mulling over for about 30 days now.

I just thought I would share the details of the proposal (minus price of course) with everyone to make sure I can post the results of the install on the wall of fame and NOT on the wall of shame.

Location: Outside Green Bay, WI
Home size: 4913sq ft TOTAL - 1st - 2028sqft 2nd - 857sqft Basement - Unfinished, will finish later!
Orientation: Facing North, most windows on South side
Insulation: 2x6 with R-23 BIBS, R-50 attic, foam attic seals, foam box sills
Heat Load: 60,189Btuh
Cooling Load: 25,077Btuh
Electric Cost: $.12
Gas Cost: $1.25

Proposed System:
WaterFurnace Envision ND049 ECM
12 60' trenches @ 8ft depth w/ 500ft of slinky in each (6000 total feet)
Electric auxiliary internal duct heat 8kW
Envision ND dual capacity Series Water Unit
Electric with GeoAsist Water Heater
3 Zones
RenewAire ERV

Heat calc and job info attached for your destruction.
- Loop seems kind of fat, and WF unit seems kind of small, but I don't know jack, and all the math seems to work, let me know if I'm nuts.

Thats great news !!

You'll start seeing a ROI in about 20 years right when its time to replace the condenser !!

J/K

I loves me some Geo Thermal.

[54regcab]

If you are going Geo go all electric home eliminating the monthly fee for the gas meter is a big part of the savings for going Geo. If you are going to shell out for the gas meter fee, might as well get a gas furnace. In our area the meter fee is $28/mo and gas costs 50 cents per therm. For lowest overall utility costs it's make as many appliances as possible run on gas or go all electric.

[energy star]

1.25 is that city gas?

[wkearney99]

If you are going Geo go all electric home eliminating the monthly fee for the gas meter is a big part of the savings for going Geo. If you are going to shell out for the gas meter fee, might as well get a gas furnace. In our area the meter fee is $28/mo and gas costs 50 cents per therm. For lowest overall utility costs it's make as many appliances as possible run on gas or go all electric.

But isn't that ignoring the larger benefit of reducing the amount of fuel burned at the site, or at the power generating plant? Sure, the simple economics of it might not make as much sense today, but in the long run how is it better to keep burning more fuel? Vs doing something NOW to change how much your own HVAC demands are going to impact the system overall.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of saving money. It just strikes me as very short-sighted to dismiss the larger benefits of a geo setup only because of today's gas or electric meter price.

[54regcab]

But isn't that ignoring the larger benefit of reducing the amount of fuel burned at the site, or at the power generating plant? Sure, the simple economics of it might not make as much sense today, but in the long run how is it better to keep burning more fuel? Vs doing something NOW to change how much your own HVAC demands are going to impact the system overall.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of saving money. It just strikes me as very short-sighted to dismiss the larger benefits of a geo setup only because of today's gas or electric meter price.

I'm in FAVOR of doing the geo system. Distrubution costs associated with gas are getting close to that of electric. Its already in our bills.

[CallaDrilling]

Good decision.
Most of the negative opinions are from Standard HVAC installers who have never installed or educated on geothermal!
I am a fan of geothermal, and would always go geo over gas unless the install gets too pricy due to the ground conditions for the loops.

[energy star]

You can not heat cheaper than natural gas.

[jtrammel]

Y'all do realize this is a zombie thread from 2009 right.

[waterpirate]

You can not heat cheaper than natural gas.

I would argue that natural gas is a poor choice for AC. lol
Eric

[beenthere]

I would argue that natural gas is a poor choice for AC. lol
Eric

Actually, those nat gas fired absorption systems were very efficient.

[54regcab]

Actually, those nat gas fired absorption systems were very efficient.

It's the installation and upkeep costs that get you. The York Triathlon systems from the mid 90's were very efficient, but installation and operation costs killed the deal. With today's technology somebody might be able to take another go at it. Time of use electric rates are a huge advantage to gas powered AC equipment.

[waterpirate]

The real deal breaker is and allways will be distribution costs. Currently nat gas is only available in our area to high volume end users. Us peons were deemed unworthy for connection options when the pipeline went by our homes. Same story with sewer, but now I am on my soap box and waaay off topic, zombie thread or not.
Eric

[wkearney99]

You can not heat cheaper than natural gas.

Today. Once upon a time everyone though heating oil was cheap too.

And you're still burning fuel at the home. Versus electricity generated by various other means, many of which stand to be a lot less polluting long-term.

[motoguy128]

You can not heat cheaper than natural gas.

Cost per 100k BTU is $0.86 for natural gas on a 96% furanace in my area right now. With TOU rates and a COP of 3.6-4.4, I can see electric range from $1.38-0.59 depending on manothly useage. When on off-peak, it's $0.72-0.45! That's some major savings.

[geodean]

You can not heat cheaper than natural gas.

Geo beats natural gas in most cases.