Would replacing the most efficient air conditioner and a the most efficient gas furnace with the most efficient geothermal air conditioner/heater show a dramatic reduction in the BILLS PAID each month to cool and heat a standard, suburban, two-story, two-car garage house? What would be the pay back period on the investment?
Don't eliminate the old heat/cooling (unless those units are long in the tooth, which you'd replace them). Use a conventional furnace/AC to augment the geothermal heatpump system, when it cannof fulfill your heating /cooling needs.
On a percentage basis, yes.
That depends on the cost of the installation, and the present and future gas and electricity prices in your region. The less energy costs, the longer it will take to pay back the installation cost with energy savings.
Without details about your installation cost and energy prices, it's impossible to say whether or not it's a worthwhile investment. And only time will tell, because we can't predict future energy prices accurately.
I priced it out in my region for a new home. Based on an average 4% increase per year in the cost of natural gas, the payback period is 11 years. A 7% increase per year reduces the payback to less than 8 years.
What is your guess about future energy prices????
Rick
In general, how much does the currently best geothermal ac/heater cost and how much does it cost to install it? In other words, what percentage of the total cost is installation fees?
I don't have enough information to predict future energy prices. Did you or someone you know actually install a geo unit? How many dollars did it immediately cut off the ac/heat bills per month?
I can tell you this.
New home, 2500SF, central NC, R40 walls, R60 ceilings...2 ton geothermal heat pump installed: $29,000...and I was the cheaper of the quotes..
Monthly bills total less than $30.
Its up to you.
CB, what would be a guess to heat and cool this home you mention with straight electric, plain old AC, or DX heat pump?? Will it be over $1200 a year?? Seems to me for geothermal you either pay the HVAC company or go with DX and pay the utility! Greg
Depends...of course....SEER and all...
Umm...under 16SEER...I imagine so..IIRC, this one was 21SEER
You got that right. I am very happy with my system, but now that we are going Geo, I am going to change out some things hopefully before winter, and put in one here and give it a shot. The well that isnt used for anything but washing cars and lawn watering now is RIGHT beside the outdoor unit....EASY to run a drop loop down and give it a shot.
Again, it varies with the system. Averages are meaningless unless your installation is average and your installer is average.
Right. Nobody has enough information to predict them accurately. If they did, they could make a fortune trading futures.
I will in a few months, and I've talked to several people who have. They like them, but in our region they're expensive and have a long payback period. This makes them uneconomic when you consider what you could get if you invested the extra money it would cost. The best reasons to do it are that your energy costs are already high, you expect costs to become much higher, or you want to do your part to reduce pollution and reliance on middle east oil.
Since it will be in a new house, I won't have the direct comparison. But you can find many references and case studies on the 'net. Google for it. My supplier tells me that with our costs of electricity and gas, it will save approximately 50% of heating cost. Since most people in my region (temperate marine climate) don't use AC, that's probably less than you'd save if you also use AC.
Rick Rick
What was the make and model of the geothermal unit use in the project?
With one exception I can see, and correct me if I'm wrong, the market value of the house with the geothermal unit would rise and the home owner would at least recoup a percentage of his investment if the home is sold before the payback period expires.
Florida Heat pump, ground loop, GeoMiser series, 2 ton (GO024)
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