Has anyone done geothermal?

[LaydeeBug]

My other half keeps talking about it, and I think we should invest in a Tesla if we're going to invest that kind of money.

Does anyone here have it?

[ret5hd]

1. You just want a cool car instead of some pipes stuck in the ground...

Admit it!

[LaydeeBug]

2. Either way, I'm still in a Ford neighborhood...lol

I'd love to instal heated floors on the first floor and up the insulation to save some energy, but I don't think geothermal is going to give us a return on the house.

[northoftheborder]

3. No, but I'm interested in pursuing it. I talked to my architect about it. It has a large up front.

....cost, but huge savings for cooling and heating. It really has a simple mechanism. It depends upon how long you would be living in the home, I suppose. It would pay for itself in the long run many times over.

[tk2kewl]

4. I did

a 4 ton Florida heat pump with a single open loop well.

works well until there is a power outage which we had for 15 days after Sandy. Backup electric generation is on my list but you cannot get away with a low wattage generator. Something around 10,000 watts or more is required.

Otherwise it has been a good system and saves us a lot on gas/oil.

I am not sure what tax credits are currently available but we got 30% of the installation cost and since it was new construction that included the heat pump, all of the ducting and controls and the well. All in it cost around $30,000 (before the tax credit) for the system to heat and cool 2700 sq ft.

[LaydeeBug]

5. How many years ago did you put it in?

And where are you? Are they mild wonders? summers?

I am in zone 7 on the east coast.

[tk2kewl]

6. I'm on L.I. and finished construction in '08

[Kaleva]

7. I've worked on a few of them here in Upper Michigan

They are very reliable and economical to operate. Up front cost is high which deters many from installing such but every single person who had a geothermal system loved it. They all mentioned the high initial cost but were all glad they had invested in it.

[LaydeeBug]

8. but 65k in the top end?

Man!!!! That's a Tesla. lol

[Kaleva]

9. Costs I was told was in the $15k to $20k range.

$65k seems awful high to me. How many estimates did you get?