Waterfurnace claims they have rectified the "formicary corrosion" problem. I would recommend discussing a 10-year parts and labor warranty - from Waterfurnace, as this has been a problem and as there are several technologies in 7 Series that while not entirely new are new to Waterfurnace products and relatively new to the residential market. One of these technologies that is offered in the 7 Series and not in 5 Series is âÂÂElectronic Expansion Valvesâ (EEV). Without getting into the weeds, this is a big step up from Thermostatic Expansion Valves (TXV) and in my opinion IS a BIG deal! ItâÂÂs not commonly found in residential equipment at this point in time but it will become more common in the future. It is my personal opinion that if youâÂÂre going in - go ALL in! Install the best. IâÂÂm never sorry when I install the best. IâÂÂm only sorry if I didnâÂÂt when I had the chance. I get over the money part very quickly - but I know IâÂÂll NEVER forgive myself for cutting corners if it doesnâÂÂt work out and it usually doesn't. But thatâÂÂs just me⦠BECOME YOUR OWN EXPERT - but KNOW what you donâÂÂt know! IMO SR

@ Klem1 - Actually the high ceiling makes this a more difficult design. Being a sport court, the ductwork and associated grilles are going to be located higher in the space. This leads me to believe the unit being proposed is UNDER sized based on the cubic ft of the space. @ps - save yourself some headache and find a commercial air conditioning design-build contractor and not a residential contractor. If you are putting in wood floors, this brings in another design aspect of humidity control. A residential unit is NOT really what you need here. Adding additional equipment seems silly when you can buy commercial grade units that encompass all these features. This will also require upsizing your HVAC unit to compensate for the re-heat that will be utilized for humidity control. The Commercial grade unit also incorporates outside air in the unit and can modulate via a CO sensor to get more outside air in the space when more people are there. This will eliminate the need for an ERV. A simple exhaust fan will get your air changes. The formula is (x)60 / cubic ft of the space to get the air changes. (x) is the CFM of the exhaust fan. You should be able to work it backwards to come up with (x). You could always have this interlocked with the light switch or keep it running 24/7. I just sized a unit for a QC lab smaller than your sport court and it sized out bigger than 5 tons with a normal 9 ft ceiling. A failed HVAC in this application will cause you a warped floor. On your insulation, Give me some details how the contractor is getting R30 wall ratings please

We were required to have them service annually for the first 3 years to get warranty, after that we pushed it a few months (to Nov instead of Aug), then skipped a year. So no, I won't go contract with anyone. But what do you think about getting a 2nd opinion so to speak? Though I probably should have installer do the metering you suggested so there is no finger-pointing. I know the 80-gal wired HHW (and 7 loads of laundry on average per week, plus showers esp. during XC/track season, plus 1 or sometimes 2 loads in the DW each day) do add up (esp. since we're on a well) - and then the electric dryer too (though I try to do loads back-to back starting with Hot Cottons and ending with Delicates to use residual heat). Ironically, when I just looked at the actual usage the past 7 years, we've been using less (or the same) since DS started running (in fall of 2010) than we did the first few years that he was in grammar school so I can't blame it on showers and laundry! We have gotten the lockout set so we don't see the 2500-kWh winter months anymore, but we don't go below 985 or so either (in the early years we had some about 965 but I think I've gotten used to AC in the summer LOL!). We're on a budget plan so we pay $236/mo (I thought about 18cents/kWh but it turned out to be more like 16) every month(so I figured 15,773 kWh but it's been more - see below) and don't have to take out a loan each winter LOL. It could be going up soon though when our 7.79 cent/kWh generation rate expires. Unit is 4 ton Tranquility 27 with DSH, a pair of 279-foot wells. My zone *used* to show in posts, we're in the foothills of the Berkshires, NW CT. Actual usage (varies from just under 1000 to over 2000 kWh depending on month), averaging more like 49 kWh/day this past year (but we've had a couple of really cold winters in a row, though looking at usage there was only 1 low year - I think we were without power for about a week late Oct/early Nov 2011, the winter of 2010-11 may have been hard too): 11/13 -10/14 18032 11/12 - 10/13 17338 11/11 - 10/12 16010 11/10 - 10/11 18785 11/09 - 10/10 17179 11/08 - 10/09 18111 11/07 - 10/08 18822 (really big bill in Dec 07, I think we were still messing with settings, and had too large a setback overnight) Is 49 kWh/day still good for family of 4 with electric dryer, electric HWH, and a well? We keep thermostat set at 67 during the winter and 74 in summer (though I have been known to bump it down to 72 when I'm having a hot flash). Only set back 2 degrees at night (downstairs) or during day (upstairs, I stay downstairs) and then come up 1 degree at a time (we were told not to program the T-stat but to me it seems silly to heat/cool unoccupied spaces, though we found more than 2 degrees at a time was causing heat strips to kick in). We also started turning the breakers to the heat strips off most of the year and only turning them on Thanksgiving - Easter, spring of 2009 I think after our first full year of bills. This post was edited by ajsmama on Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 10:23

Any geothermal heat pump should last longer than12 to 15 years - that’s the point of geothermal. In addition to much lower operating costs, there should also be a much longer life cycle. These premature failures seem to point to poor installation from the get go. Geothermal should last longer than air-source! Re: jreagan Your installer solved your loop problem without dealing with and repairing its source. His solution, which was a practical one, was to (probably) install a ‘QT Flow Center’ and change you ground loops from pressurized to non-pressurized. It’s a legitimate solution and almost guarantees that the installer will not be bothered with nuisance calls as long as you were instructed on its maintenance. I don’t know your situation but I may not have gone that route unless it was determined that the problem lay ‘somewhere’ out in the borefield, as this solution ‘fixes’ the problem without excavation and disturbing landscaping. If the problem were determined to be within the mechanical room then the preferred method would have been to correct all the original causes without unnecessary replacement of equipment that was not yet even half way through its life cycle. This solution is also less than optimal in that it requires the owner to monitor the fluid level in the flow center. Note that I say ‘fluid level’ not ‘water level’, as this may be a complex mixture of chemicals. If you live in a climate where freezing is not likely to occur then this may not be a big imposition. However, if you do live where the ‘Leaving Water Temperature’ (LWT) may be close to or below freezing, then the owner not only has to monitor fluid level but also antifreeze concentration level as well and be able to correct for the lack there of. Unmixed antifreeze can be very dangerous to store and handle, some having a flash point of just 54˚F, a flame may not even be visible - you won’t know you’re on fire - at first anyway! Bacterial, microbial and corrosion factors may also become issues over time as well. You may have to become somewhat of a ‘basement biochemist’! Regarding compressor replacement in your case as well as the original poster's case, we certainly want to replace defective compressors where possible before the insulation on the motor windings really burns up and completely shorts out, contaminating the oil contained in the refrigerant, making the flushing of contaminants from the refrigeration circuit more challenging. I’m glad its worked out for you. I know of cases where the owners have just abandoned the GSHP technology all together. I hate seeing good equipment scrapped, not a very ‘green’ solution. Back to the OP: You may have to replace the ‘pump’ whether you repair or replace the existing Waterfurnace, unless you go to an air-source HP. If the damage to the flow center is only surface rust caused by sweating because of poor or no insulation on the circulator volute, it may look bad but may not have to be replaced, just properly insulated. If there is a defect in the buried ground loop system, you may have to adopt the ‘Reagan solution’. So then you’re basically looking at a possible replacement of the compressor, or maybe a lesser expensive part, possibly more if a heat exchanger is also defective. A properly constructed and insulated commercially built 2-motor flow center module with brass valves and fittings may cost about $1500.00 plus installation but what you have might be repairable at a reasonable cost. After all, when all is said and done it’s just a pair of pumps, just 2-circulators - that’s basically it! A compressor change out should be no more expensive than in most other refrigeration equipment. I see that your 2-biggest problems are no one within your geographical area qualified to diagnose your problem(s) and the even larger elephant in the mechanical room, that exists everywhere, that no one is usually willing to talk about and tell you, is the reluctance of any technician or company to step in and ‘attempt’ to repair someone else’s ‘disaster’ - that they will then own! No good deed goes unpunished! I hope my posts are not too long-winded and down into the weeds… IMO SR This post was edited by fsq4cw on Wed, Nov 13, 13 at 10:56