Ah CT - here we spent $90 last month for 4000 sq feet - with just ASHP.... but that was mostly A/C (and lights etc). Are you still heating in CT? To respond to the previous poster. Geothermal works great in the South (just like the North) - its just that it is overkill most of the time. My audit suggested I'd save $300 a year with geothermal but that was based on a reference house - it was down to about $100 compared to HE ASHP. Try to get $100 a year to ever payback - sure it saves money but you could save more clipping a coupon a week without the $20k upfront cost. How is this thread still alive? The savings of geothermal compared to oil in the North is amazing. Compared to ASHP in the South - it is pennies. There is an ad line that says installing geo is like taking 2 cars off the road. They must be some pretty efficient cars.... Unless you are comparing to oil in the North. The average car driving 12,000 miles a year costs about $2000 in energy (20 mpg at $3 a gallon). The average house uses less than that for HVAC. Cost is not the only concern but there is nothing clean about gas in a car - at least electricity can be clean.... CONC: Insulate and use geothermal if you can do horizontal loop or live in the North and your alternative is not NG. And drive a hybrid and/or right sized car. And don't use incandescent bulbs for lights on frequently.

Geothermal HVAC Myths Busted https://www.minisplitunit.org/ 1. Geothermal HVAC systems are not considered a renewable technology because they use electricity 2. Photovoltaic and wind power are more favorable renewable technologies when compared to geothermal HVAC systems. 3. Geothermal HVAC needs lots of yard or real estate in which to place the polyethylene piping earth loops. 4. Geothermal HVAC heat pumps are noisy. 5. Geothermal systems eventually “wear out.” 6. Geothermal HVAC systems only work in heating mode. 7. Geothermal HVAC systems cannot heat water, a pool, and a home at the same time. Fact: Systems can be designed to handle multiple loads simultaneously. 8. Geothermal HVAC systems put refrigerant lines into the ground. 9. Geothermal HVAC systems use lots of water. 10. Geothermal HVAC technology is not financially feasible without federal and local tax incentives.

Best course of action is to seal, insulate and install geothermal. You already have the ducts  itÂs a no-brainer! When a life cycle cost analysis is done, geothermal usually works out being the most cost effective system available today when considering purchase price, operating and maintenance costs over the next 20 years. The geothermal system will likely still be going strong by the time a conventional system will have to be replaced. Even at the end of the life of a geothermal heat pump, itÂs replacement will be only nominally more than a conventional HP because the ground loops will likely still be in the same shape as the day they were put in the ground. Geothermal is the most expensive up front system to install, however, geothermal is the best way to break free of the volatility of the carbon based fuel markets. ItÂs the greenest active system available and will add the greatest comfort, safety, and resale value to your home. A home that big, that old and that far north is going to be expensive to heat and air-condition with any conventional technology; there is no getting around it, thatÂs the reality you bought into. I encourage you to now invest in the technology that will give you the greatest peace of mind in the way of highest energy efficiency and independence as well as lowest operating costs year after year. Did I mention GREEN? IMO SR

...in my area which is IOWA the use of anything less than 50 for a sub is not allowed. Uh huh. That's what I figured. So it's just local lore (or possibly a municipal or state code quirk or something like that) and not a verifiable "general" requirement at all (i.e., NEC or, more to the point, the CEC). Right? Heh, for all I know, the CEC may have a 50-amp minimum. "As for the " closer " to the panel issue its not for the voltage drop itself but the annoying problems you see the further from the main the larger loads get and by larger it could be a shop 240 vac or saw or drill press or vac system..." etc. etc. Uh huh. And that has nothing to do with voltage drop, right? The annoying problems are caused by _______? Oh yeah, I forgot; it's unclean power. And there's no point in doing the calculations...it's just better to shoot from the hip because you've seen lights dim in some underwired situation or another. You're right: I didn't know that was the best way to come up with electrical specs. (I do, afterall, live in the stone age.) I have seen it many times where this has happened. people put in subs from subs and then at the third sub add a sanyo unit that they put at the bottom of the 24 panel and want to know why all the lights dim every time the thing kicks on...that was my point for saying that.. And what, exactly, does this have to do with OP's actual situation? (I must have missed the third subpanel feeding that HVAC equipment in the garage.) Oh yeah, I forgot: you've seen some amazingly underwired and overextended three-deep daisy chains that will barely keep a night light glowing. Well, trust me, so have I. Ya know, I too would prefer a main-to-sub home run in this case and I'm not adverse to upping capacity to allow for possible future needs. But it still bugs me when folks give DIYers "authoritative advice" that only serves to reduce their valid options and cost them more $$$. That is all.