GROUND UP TO U: (vs. in-ground) Since 1980: about 7,ooo btuh [separately in a ditch] in damp clay as described below can be extracted from 52-deg earth with every 500 ft of 3/4" Poly-Black tubing and circulated easily [up to 5-3/4" pipe runs with a header to 1.1/4"] hdpe pipe 160 psi thicker sdr-9 www.geothermal-pipe.com www.flowcenterproducts.com on one 1) 1/6 hp (B&G pl 33) if the loop is ~ 35 degrees (chilled) by/on www.hydro-temp.com (ARKANSAS) a heat-pump, having ~ 18% methanol antifreeze by volume ~20% glycol, for usable(net) output per the following: if at a depth of ~6-to-7ft, lower piping runs (back-in-bottom-of-ditch-tightly-packed) x ditch length of 245 ft, up to 3-pipes in 2ft ditch and on the bottom of the ditch, up to 5 piping runs (2 ditches) on 1) pump 1/6hp damp clay soil, and returns back in same ditch as follows: RETURNS are on top at a depth of ~5ft (4.1/2 settles to 5ft in backfilling~) like a 'hair-pin over under design on side view... each ditch may support a "2-TON" Hydro-Temp, which is equal to others' 2.2/2-"ton" rated units that use higher than normal blower speeds, or water:water with over pumping to just get "high" ratings... LOOK at COMPRESSOR labels: they should have a 19,000-24,000 btuh compressor IF VERY WET, 52-DEG SUPPORTS A 30,OOO COMPRESSOR IN THAT DESCRIBED DITCH FOR RATINGS @ "3.0-TONS" YOU GET ONLY ~85% OF ANY COMPRESSOR ON ~34-DEG LOOPS... Directly GeoLoops : ECL's (Earth Coupled Loops) are generally producing only ~ 4,200 btuh at 40-degrees/avg and high volumes of ~ 3.1/2 gpm per 3/4"pipe and no antifreeze keeping things obove 38-degrees (ie @ 37 entering ECL, from loads applied/ with or without a heat pump... )

Heat from efficient electric sources such as heat pumps may feel "cold" at the supply register because the temperature may be less than normal body temperature (98.6 degrees F). Virtually everything less than normal body temperature may feel "cold" to many people. In fact, however, the supply air from electric systems such as heat pumps is more than warm enough to maintain a 72-degree interior temperature or higher (assuming house is properly insulated and sealed). That said, inefficient electric strip heaters with or without circulating fans, on the other hand, may be able to keep an interior space comfortable and warm, but they are notoriously inefficient and costly ways to heat interior space. Now, however, we're talking about efficiency and operating expense, not how a system "feels" and whether or not it will work properly to maintain a comfortable interior temperature. Gas fired heating sources with forced air supply distribution generally provide supply air that is warmer than body temperature--so they seem "warm" to the human body, but still are governed by a thermostat set to a reach and maintain a given setting. If the ambient temperature in a space is 72-degrees, it really doesn't matter how it got there--from electric or gas sources! With either electric or gas source heating, maintaining comfortable interior temperatures should not be a problem, if the system is properly designed and if the house is built for the type of system being used. System efficiency and operating expense should rightly be major criteria for selecting a heating/cooling system. That said, as humans we all have our preferences and personal choices, so whatever works satisfactorily for heating/cooling is usually a good approach.

The water heater is typically 4500 watts which is a lot but it doesn't run that much. Sure you can improve on it but here are a few numbers to chew on - based on national average electric rates. Standby loss for a modern hot water heater - $30 a year. This is what you could save if you shut it off all the time. So if you travel 50% of the time and shut it off then, you could save $15 a year. The average family uses $500 or so to heat the water with electricity per year. So standby loses are a very small proportion of that. Switching to a heat pump model cuts the usage down to about $200 a year. They cost $1000 so if you can do it, it is not a bad idea. Oil heat and electric heat are pretty close in cost depending on your local rates. So adding the duct from the main furnace won't actually save you any money (unless your electric is really high). I say this all the time. If you live in the North in an old house with no access to NG, you should do one of two things - move or install geothermal. Sure geo might cost $40k ($30k after tax credit) but will recover its cost easily amortized over its life. You live in a very blue state so there may be state programs to help you finance it. I'm going to throw out a guess. Your heating costs are somewhere around $5000 a year. Geo could make that $1500. The interest+principal on a $30k loan for 10 years would make that a break even proposition and all the installed cost would be recouped at resale. Strange how the NE states haven't all figured a way to rip out the oil and electric heat at time of sale and wrap geo into the mortgage....

The answer to this is "It depends on several factors." There is no one answer that fits all situations. First off, it depends on the system: Is it forced air, or gravity heat ducts? Where are the cold air returns? Maybe its a hot water system with several zones. What about heated floors with no air ducts? The remarks below are restricted to forced air systems, one of the most popular systems for houses built in the last 50 years. If there are plenty of cold air returns, the air flow to one room can be reduced without upsetting the system very much. The main problem in shutting off too many outlets is causing a reduced air flow in the heated bonnet of the furnace and this reduces furnace efficiency, e.g., more heat escapes up the chimney. Also, the bonnet will run hotter. If the bonnet gets too hot, the overheat safety control will trip and shut down the flame. before the rest of the house comes up to temperature. Under those conditions, the thermostat will continue to call for heat and the furnace will kick in again after the overheat switch cools. This is a bad way to operate the furnace. It causes the overheat switch to cycle many times and it was not designed for that sort of service. The overheat switch should operate only for emergency conditions. In my house, the first floor is an open concept and has 2 large air returns at floor level, one in each end of the house. Neither of these 2 returns should ever be blocked. The upper floor has 4 bedrooms and a bath. Each bedroom has a high wall return. There is no return in the bathroom. Both doors to the bathroom have air reliefs by having the bottoms of the doors clear the floor by at about an inch. If carpeting is installed outside the doors that blocks this relief, then the bottoms of the doors are supposed to shortened to restore these air slots. With this arrangement, the door to one of the bedrooms can be closed and hot air flow reduced to run the room cooler without causing much upset to the overall system. The most effective heat loss reduction is adding attic insulation if there is less than R18 of insulation and sealing interior air leaks into the attic.