You don't need a geothermal system to have reasonable heating & cooling bills. There were 2 options that i looked at and both were about the same cost and would have provided about the same efficiency. For both options, I selected high efficiency windows with e glass and argon gas as well as doors that have 3 point locks and tight seals all the way around. The first option was the geothermal system with blown cellulose insultation in the walls & attic. For the attic, I specified R38 insultation (about 11 inches of cellulose) - the minumum code in our area is R30. The second option was a spray foam insulation package and high efficiency heat pumps. In this option, the foam in the attic would have been sprayed onto the inner side of the roof so that all space inside the house would be insulated space, and the foam does the best job at blocking air from entering or leaving the home. With this option, an air exchanger system would be needed on the HVAC to bring in a fresh supply of conditioned air inside the house periodically. The spray foam cost is a lot more than the cellulose, but the heat pump HVAC system is a lot less than a geothermal heat pump system (mainly due to the extra cost of digging the pit or wells for the geothermal pipes). In the end, both of these approaches would have cost about the same. I chose GT because that is what I always wanted for my dream home, it was as simple as that. I know a heat pump system can work in a temperature zone like the Blue Ridge Mountains in the mid-atlantic region where I live, provided that the house is insulated AND air infiltration is minimized - well beyond minimum code requirements. You might look at buying a heat pump that has propane as the auxilairy heat (I believe they make these now). As mentioned above, if you live in a really harsh climate zone like Wisconsin - then a heat pump might not be the best choice. Spend extra money on the insulation package, put in the very best windows & doors, caulk the interior of the house - every nook and cranny, insulate under the foundation slab - do all the things you can to insulate and minimize air infiltration and then you can keep your heating and cooling bills down. I suggest looking at how new homes in Canada are built (check out Holmes on Homes) and build to their standards - the Canadians seem far ahead of the U.S. in building codes for energy efficient homes. Have you selected a builder yet? If not - make sure that you pick one who really knows how to build energy efficient homes. Don't ask them open ended questions - let them tell you all the steps they take and extra things they do to make the house as energy efficient as it can be. If you only insulate to minimum code and don't take the extra steps to minimize air infiltration - your monthly bills will be high no matter what HVAC power plant you use. These extra steps I mention cost money. But it is a pay me now or pay me later proposition. If you plan on living in the house for a long time, then it would be wise to make the investment now, when it is most cost effective to do so.

This past winter has been the worse that we have seen. The coldest it got was around -30 but with the wind chill it was even colder. We may put in some type of heating system similar to my SILs. I'm not sure what it is she uses but it was cheap and would work good for an extra heat source incase it gets to cold. We do have a cousin that has a cathedral ceiling and radiant heating and they do fine with it. We will definitely get a nice boiler with 95%+. Reading a bit more online we will want one. The reasons we want the radiant heat is to help cut back on the heating costs during long winters and to not have dust blowing around. We have allergies and hate ducts. With the cathedral ceilings the radiant seems the best affordable option to help keep the heat near the floor and not blowing up to the ceilings. We will be installing reversible ceiling fans. Just wasn't sure what type of boiler to use since I figured with the cost of the fuel sources that propane would end up costing more. I have no clue how much it takes to run the boiler per day. Once we get a chance we are going to talk with a friend that does heating and plumbing and go over the boilers with him. I'd just like to look into stuff ahead of time so we will waste less time. He has installed the systems before but not that often due to the area being mostly poor.

daren what area of country do you live? my first thought is to chuck propane furnace altogether and get a high eff heat pump with var speed blower. you could keep the propane furnace and use it as a backup to a HP on those real cold days. here is a fuel comparison calculator to help with your decision. I ran some numbers quickly and it looks like with cheap electric rates that electric baseboard is about half the cost of propane. you will need to have your electric panel/service checked to see if any upgrade is required to handle electric strip backup. I would call your utility and verify your electric rate including all add-on charges. IMO Here is a link that might be useful: Fuel Comparison Calculator

Does the piping have an air elimination valve? This would be near the boiler somewhere, usually between the boiler output and the circulator. The circulator should be at the boiler output pumping the water away from the boiler. The circulator should not be at the return end of the system. Th position of the circulator in the system is important for eliminating air pockets. Is there insulation below the concrete slab? The type of system you have, called a high-mass system, should not be run in a manner which varies the temperature inside the house. Also, high mass radiant should have an outdoor reset controller, to more efficiently react to weather changes. The boiler should have a by-pass loop, which will allow the boiler to run above 140 degrees, preventing condensation. Alternatively, you should have a condensing boiler, which is corrosion resistant and runs at lower temperatures. Can you describe the type of in-slab piping that you have? Length of run? diameter of pipe? Spacing between loops? Electric baseboard heaters are 100% efficient, no matter what kind you get. Heating a house with electricity doesn't seem like something you coulod do with solar cells, as you would need a lot of panels to generate the amount electricity you wuold need..