Trying to decide if geothermal is a way to go for us

12 years ago

Hi there - we are about to embark on a new build. Our home is in the Chicago suburbs, on a 1/2 acre lot. There is a lot I like about the geothermal route but my husband has reservations.

First, one selling point is the fact you do not need an external compressor. But my husband believes you still do in our area - thoughts??

Second, my family had a heat pump in Michigan, and it was great, but on the really cold days, we needed supplemental heat. Now, that was a 100 year old farm house, with minimal if any insulation. The house we're building will be about 4000 sq. feet, with closed cell spray foam insulation. Do you think we would need supplemental heat?

Any other "cons" I'm not thinking of (I know up front cost is much higher)

Also, we have lots of allergies in our house - would a geothermal unit vs. another kind make any impact on that?

I'll look forward to your sage advice!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

neohioheatpump
12 years ago
Does the new lot have natural gas available? Geothermal with very tight insulation will likely achieve reasonable bills and be comfortable. However build cost is more expensive. Currently natural gas is cheap and might save money short-term.
You will probably want supplemental heat just in case but you likely will rarely/never use it if your house is as insulated as you say and your system is working properly.
mike_home
12 years ago
Heating and hot water supply with natuaral gas is the way to go if it is available.

Below is a thread that was started 6 years ago and is still active. There is some interesting discussion if you have the patience to read it.

Chicago winters can be very cold. I would imagine you will need so type of supplemental back up heat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Up front costs of Geothermal heat pump vs. other heating methods
Related Discussions
Trying to decide whether to use Little Gems (leaf sparcity concern)
Q
Comments (2)
I have seen those Little Gems with sparse canopies and that is why I'm not particularly fond of them. Some seem gorgeous, but about 50% not so much. I can't recommend being from Houston area but you do need to consider that it be heat and drought tolerant. Good luck. I just wanted to validate your concern as legitimate.
...See More
Trying to decide on up hill or down hill lot
Q
Comments (21)
We finished a house in the Rocky Mountains (snowy, similar to your situation) on an uphill lot. We bought the lot years ago, and based our decision on things like orientation, view, the other lot choices and a trail running along the back of the lot (which was a plus for us). We might have purchased a downhill lot if it had all of the other features that we wanted. What we like, now, about an uphill lot. Our slope is roughly the same as the lot you're looking at - doesn't seem like much until you want to put a house on it. Our driveway has a slope, of course, but it isn't very steep. It gets snow buildup because of the orientation, but not icy and we didn't have any issues this winter with difficulty in getting up the drive. We have a ground-level entrance, which is much better in terms of snow buildup and shoveling outdoor stairs in the winter. Inside, a stairway (half a level, a turn, then another half level) goes from the entry up to the main level of the house. So yes, we have to bring groceries up stairs, but at least they're inside. We have a great outdoor space out back that's dug a bit into the hillside (about 2 feet or so), with hot tub, grill, tables and chairs, lounge chairs, etc. The view out back is the forest (similar to your lot); it's peaceful, and we love looking out at the trees and animals. I've found that the views are more enjoyable from ground level. (Our "main" house is a walkout basement with a deck, where the views are from one flight up.). One advantage that we didn't consider is that it's very nice to have ground-floor access out back. Spouse can go out to the hot tub without going down any stairs. And I can head out on the trails behind the house directly from our main area. It works very well for us. We only have a small deck out front, partly because it's a northern exposure and we thought it would be too cold for a bigger deck there. Turns out, that's not the case. But because it's a retirement house, our little Juliette deck is just the right size for the spouse and I to sit out front in the morning with coffee and the newspaper. As with most things, there are advantages and disadvantages to an uphill or a downhill lot, but some of the factors may be different for you, based on how you would use the lot and the house you put on it.
...See More
Help deciding between Geothermal and Traditional HVAC
Q
Comments (5)
So regarding the foam and the R values I am not sure, I know we are doing a full foam envelope so regardless of the system the equipment & ducts will reside inside the conditioned space but that is the extent of my knowledge on the matter unfortunately. My builder is pushing for the cheapest system but that is because we are on a fixed bid... I got to pick everything that really mattered to me, Doors, windows, fixtures, flooring but the rest was just built into the fixed bid so I assume they will push me to use the cheap system so that they have the most profit. I don;t care if I have to pay more but I want to make the right choice. Here are the specs on the systems High Efficiency System (Trane) - $22,500 l-TAM8A0C60V5--5 Ton Communicating Air Handler t-BAYEVBC20--20 kW Heat Strips I-4TWV8060-5 Ton l8 XV Heat Pump Condenser I -TAM8A0830V-2.5 Ton Communicating Air Handler l-BAYEVAC l0-- l0 kW Heat Strips l-4TWV8024-2 Ton l8 XV Heat Pump Condenser Includes: R-8 Flex,2 Digital XL824 Programmable Thermostats, 1 - ERV Geo System (Hydron) - $39,500 l-HXT060-5 Ton Ceo Thermal 2081230V IP}t I-HXT024-2 Ton Geo Thermal 208/230V lPH Includes: R-6 Flex Ducts, 2 - TH8320 Honeywell Digital 7-Day Programmable Thermostat, I - ERV Standard System (Trane) - $14,925 l-TEM4A0C60--5 Ton Electric Air Handler 1-BAYHTRl520-20 kw Heat Strips l-4TWR4060-5 Ton 14 XR Heat Pump Condenser 1-TEM4A0B24-2 Ton Electric Air Handler l-BAYHTRI5l0--10 kW Heat Strips I-4TWR4024-.2 Ton 14 XR Heat Pump Condenser Includes: R-6 Flex Ducts,2 - TH3210 tigital Non Programmable Thermostat, I - ERV
...See More
Trying to decide on what to use for shower walls
Q
Comments (9)
We currently have cultured marble in white on white. Had the same in a previous home not something I selected then, but it so easy care for except it was different colors. That house had 20 years plus on it and it was still in great shape so we asked for it in our current house too and will use it again for the house we're building as well. Our current house has a thicker frame it in the same material so it looks a little nicer. I'm considering doing a band of tile inlay above the general water level for our future house.
...See More
fsq4cw
12 years ago
Since this is new construction and you're well aware of the higher cost of geothermal I would say that the main difference in cost between a conventional system and geothermal would be the cost of drilling the boreholes or installing a horizontal ground loop. That's basically it unless you want to go for premium system that incorporates both in-floor radiant and forced air.

Geothermal only requires supplemental heat, which should always be installed, if the heat loss of the envelope is greater than the HP can provide and as a backup incase of compressor failure or lockout. Remember, the efficiency of geothermal never changes due to it getting colder outside and that unlike a conventional air source HP geothermal never has a defrost cycle. The backup only comes on in tandem with the geo to assist the geo not instead of it. The backup is only on for relatively short periods of time till the thermostat is satisfied, then everything shuts off and goes back to 'normal'.

Do you have access to natural gas and are you planning to install it for other uses such as a kitchen stove, gas fireplace, gas dryer, or instantaneous domestic hot water tank?

SR
david_cary
12 years ago
I hate to overgeneralize but usually geo is a feasible option when NG is unavailable. Also, generally more cost effective to improve the envelope (new construction) then to put money into geothermal. This is often true even when NG is unavailable. The compressor outside is an issue but if planned for well, it can be hidden nicely. I can't see or hear ours ever.

That being said, it is rarely cost effective to do spray foam insulation in new construction.

If you are looking for the most efficient house on the block, use rigid foam on top of your sheathing. You can do 1 inch or 2. Cheaper than spray foam and far more effective. 2 inches of rigid foam on top of 2x6 walls can give you an effective r-20 wall which spray foam can never give.

Trying to decide if geothermal is a way to go for us

Comments (4)

neohioheatpump

mike_home

Related Discussions

fsq4cw

david_cary

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US