fatpitch2

2 Geothermal Heat Pump Stocks to Consider

Chris B:
Sorry for the delay, I wish SA had a way for me to get notified when one of my comments was replied to ;-/

That price is from a good friend of mine who is in the residential and commerical business for HVAC.

Due to lack of large open spaces, in my area the ground loop is installed vertically in what amounts to a well shaft similar to a water-well with a loop of tubing in it. one well shaft is required for each ton or so of capacity - in my case 3.5 tons meant 3 well shafts @ 6K+ each for drilling, sleeves, tubing, ..... etc... very disappointing.

If I lived near a pond or if I could use the horiziontal approach it would be less for sure, I do not know by how much.......

On Dec 22 11:39 AM Chris B wrote:

> fatpitch2,
>
> $20k to dig a hole and install some tubing in the back yard? That
> seems kind of high to me. You could rent a backhoe yourself for
> a couple hundred a day! Sounds like you either have no space to
> work with or live on extremely rocky soil. If not, I'd suggest another
> estimate. Sometimes, a highball quote is a contractor's way of saying
> no thanks to a too-small job.
>
> Where I live there are dozens of subdivisions popping up in rockless,
> flat beanfields. Each house has the minimum insulation required
> by code and the cheapest HVAC system available. That's because most
> buyers are more interested in the paint and tile colors than the
> long term cost of operation. If those buyers would wise up, the
> builders would offer what they want. Likewise, if building codes
> improve, expect geotherm to get a look in such applications. That
> might not happen soon, but you can't go wrong investing in already
> profitable companies that have that possible upside.

2 Geothermal Heat Pump Stocks to Consider

Tom:
WFI & also on installing a ground loop heat pump at my house.
I was dismayed to learn that the cost of a ground loop system would be more than 3X that of the simple air-to-air system. The cost of creating the ground loop in my case (vertical well shafts) would add $20K+ to the system cost (for 3.5 ton unit). I live in typical suburbia so some of the other ground loop creation options are not available to me - trenching is not an option and I have no handy body of water to use either.... I live in the mid-atlantic and concluded that without some serious subsities the ROI was not going to close. In less temperate climates I do think they are a great idea.

Here is another interesting concept, have you hear of it?

Claim is 30% better efficiency, cheaper, and the working fluid is water
no special freon type gasses involved....

Even if only half true, still pretty good ????

blogs.zdnet.com/green/...

Your thoughts appreciated....