GeoThermal unit in Ohio?

Looking into Geothermal units for my home in Ohio. House has an open floorplan with high cathedral ceilings (20ft) in lower story. About

2700 sqare feet. I currently have a propane furnace and water heater. I've used 1500-1600 gallons a year for the last 4 years I have kept track. Propane was $1.79 last year, this year it's $2.69 on prepay. That means I'll average $350 a month, ALL 12 MONTHS, EVEN in the summer, just to heat home and water. That's not even considering my AC runs from May-September due to allergies. I haven't even examined those costs. I've been reading alot of bad stuff about water furnace brand, yet have several coworkers who have switched recently and love them. None of them have had their units over 3 years though. Considering a closed loop. Also considering in floor circulating heat in my sunken living room floor which is currently carpet over concrete. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. Dano.

Check into an Air to Air Heat pump as well. It will cut your propane usage greatly. Have a cost analysis done comparing your system to a simple A2A HP conversion as well as a geothermal system. I do them all the time. Design temps, construction materials, Utility rates all play into them. I'd bet the A2A would be a cheaper option upfront & give you a decent payback, especially in Ohio.

WaterFurnace is/was a fine brand, but was bought out a few years ago by a Conglomerate that felt number crunching was as important as product. Many Engineer left & started another Geo unit Co. (Climate Master possibly?)

If you want radiant as well as hot & cold air, look into a combo unit that can heat water & air, most mfgrs have them now. Make sure you size your buffer tank properly. You might want to look at the desuperheater option as well for domestic hot water in summer operation. I'm not a fan of Desuperheaters as the price is higher & the warranties are sometimes smaller. I also like keeping these systems separate to avoid "total" failure... Unfortunately in my area Desuperheaters are required for most Utility rebates/incentives.

A 2700 sf house in my area would need about 4 tons A/C & 85,000 Bth heat. (Now I've done it, I've used 2 rules of thumb!!) I'd size for about 5 Tons A/C & add electric strip heat to cover the shortage. You can expect to pay $2500-$5000 dollars/Ton for a decent closed loop system installed, so your looking at $12,500-$25,000 for your loops w/o the indoor eqpt. For this price you can have your A2A heat pump & coil installed (w/a fossil fuel kit & stat for cold weather propane heating) & buy many years plus of propane & electricity. I'd look at a new variable speed furnace matched with the HP to get the highest eff. & avoid the "Frankenstein" effect...

goodluck geothermaljones