Geothermal Payback
borisswort
14 years ago
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fayemarie
14 years agofsq4cw
14 years agoRelated Discussions
GEOTHERMAL Conundrum
Comments (12)Re: armstrr "Well, I would hope all of this would be included in the bid... I know that included the driller. The owner who came out and gave me the bid got the grant for himself when he switched out his "old" geothermal system for the Envision" It all depends WHEN he got his grant. Everything changed April 1, 2008. Prior to that date, you could get a rebate filling out the ÂShort Form and without all the principals being CGC accredited. After that date EVERYTHING has now changed; long (and I mean long [form & procedure]!), form required! Canada is now recognized as having the highest standard in the world for a ÂCertified geothermal installation. This, along with the grants comes with a price. I strongly urge those wanting this option (which I highly recommend) to do their homework so that youÂre fully cognizant of the game plan before you even start. No one is giving money away for free; neither is anyone giving away their time for free. A premium will have to be paid for a premium installation, designed, drilled & installed by only those professionals that have put in the time and money to educate themselves, purchase the right equipment, tools (including software), machinery and materials. Many are under the impression that they can have a CAN/CSA ÂCGC Certified system installed for about $20k and then get back about $6~7k in grants. I donÂt think that will happen. If it does, when you get your rebate cheques, please contact me. I desperately want to hire those people! IMPO SR...See MorePayback calculation for upgrades
Comments (3)There are a lot of caveats or forewarnings concerning ultra high SEER systems in very hot climates. I would heed Bob BrownÂs warnings, they use a small compressor with high suction pressures & resultant evaporator temps to achieve greater compressor volumetric capacity. When the outdoor temperatures drive the load & pressures too high, the E-Coil temperature gets too high. For payback purposes, I am not a fan of SEERÂs above 15 or 16; I prefer a 13 or 14-SEER with a Scroll compressor & a TXV refrigerant control for efficiency & payback, however, I have NO experienced documented proofs to back up my preferences. You may need virtual laboratory conditions to get the higher SEER Ratings, which would be near impossible in most situations. - Click the "AC Overview - Specs vs Reality" on the linked page below. I would like to see more experienced straight talk on this forum, concerning this important issue to consumers! udarrell _ 2007 Here is a link that might be useful: udarrell.com...See MoreResidential GS Heat Pump in NYC?
Comments (5)ay How big is your yard and what is surrounding it - other homes, yards, buildings? Even if it makes financial sense to put in GT - you need to make sure your yard can accomodate it. Unless you have an very large piece of land to move a massive amount of dirt around to make a pit, more than likely you will need a vertical loop system. Find out if there are any local restrictions on drilling, and make sure that the drilling trucks can access your yard without encroaching on your neighbors property. How well insulated & sealed is the current house and do you plan on upgrading that - wall & ceiling insulation, windows & doors? The thermal design of the building is critical to achieving the efficiencies and time to payback goals with GT. How long do you plan on living in the house? If your time horizon is long (say 5 to 10 years) then you will have plenty of time to break even. If it is less than 5 years to 7 years, then you might be better off with other high efficiency options. I just built a new home in N. VA and have GT, and I plan on living in the house for 15 to 20 years. It really is amazing how efficient the system is. I have 5900 sq ft of finished conditioned space on 2 levels, and another 3300 sq ft of conditioned unfinished space in the basement. My highest montly electric bill last year was 350 dollars. Highest summer bill was 330 dollars. We estimate that our montly electric bill w/o heat or a/c is about $75 - so a max of $275 for heat or a/c for my home is fantastic. It is cheaper to heat & cool my new home that is 2.5 times bigger than my previous home which had natural has heat & electric A/C, but the oolder home was not as well insulated and sealed as the new one. I recently found some material on line from a class on GT systems. The guy who teaches the class lives in New England. He stated that the average yearly cost to heat/cool a 3200 sq ft home up there with GT is $1800 per year. The cost per kilowatt up in NE was stated at 17 cents. I also found another source that showed the average cost per ton of A/C to install geothermal is around $9000. My yearly total electirc bill (het+cool+other electric usage)cost is roughly $3000 per year for 5900 sq ft (plus the basement) and the install cost was $5800 per ton of A/C. I believe that my electric rate is around 11 cents per kilowatt hour. These numbers might help you ballpark install costs and payback time. Good luck!...See MoreComparing geothermal to ultra high efficiency conventional
Comments (3)At that price, I'd probably do geo. The big advantage is that you system will last longer. It is not that easy to compare HE with geo which is why you don't find an online comparison. My personal guess is that you are within 10% of each other in the summer and 20% less with geo in the winter. So if your house is tight, this might just be $200 a year so the payback for geo is 30 years. But - and this is a big but - the geo unit will last twice as long so as soon as you have to replace a unit (15? years), then geo comes out ahead. People may disagree but I live in NC - a bit warmer than you - have 16 seer HPs (with NG backup) and spend roughly $700 a year to heat 5000 sqft. If I had propane, it would be $850. So that is where 20% really isn't a lot of money ($170 to be exact). I spend about $700 to a/c so another $70 for summer. You see why the payback is so long..... Now the desuperheater may tip the balance. I have no idea what that saves but it could be $300 a year. That would shorten payback significantly (obviously). Or you could go solar for $3k (at least with my tax credits) and save yourself $400 a year........See Moresrercrcr
14 years agomepop
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14 years agomepop
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14 years agozimzim
14 years ago
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