Geothermal system manufacturers
I have forced air propane fired heat and hot water and I am exploring the economics of converting to a geothermal system. A couple of people told me to check out Water Furnace. Are there better systems out there and how exactly do you determine a good system from a mediocre one. I live in Chester County, PA in a relatively new (3 yrs old) home. I’d like to get off propane if possible. I don’t plan on moving anytime soon and live on an open 2.5 acre lot.
Thanks.
Replies
I had a WaterFurnace gshp installed in my FIL house when I built it in 91/92. The first compressor was repalced under warrenty within 5 years at no cost to him. He just upgraded to a newer and higher efficient model last year. The upgrade cost was 4K more than he paid for the original install with ground loops, but his utility bills immediately saw a decrease. He is heating and cooling approximately 4200 sq.ft., and issue average total electric cost is around $140/month or less. That includes water heater, electric range and electric dryer usage along with normal household lighting refrigerators etc.
WaterFurnace is a good product, but there are others.
Do a Google search for Ground Source Heat Pumps. Then find out who the dealers are in your area and how relaible they are for installation and service.
Have looked at the spec sheets of different mfg over the last few months.
What I looked for was water source (pump and dump, pump from a well and dump to a pond or stream) heat pumps (WSHPs) and the best specs were climatemaster system 27. PS: way the heck past my price range<G>
Did a DIY build your own system (have an EPA license) and have a measured COP of 6.5 (excluding pumping the water, probably -1, not yet calc) vs 3.5 for air to air HP at 60 F air!.
If you are not an accomplished DIY to do your own system, at least take a look at climatemaster, best spec I saw for WSHP, maynot pan out as well (pun intended) as GSHP.
Did not recognize your name, see this is just your 5th post, if no one else has already said so, welcome to BT. For future posts, it help to double click your name and enter your location if you forget to do so in future posts.
Clarification of jargon. Geothermal systems usually refer to high temperature geothermal systems. What I think you are referring to are Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP). These apply to any heat pump that is coupled with the ground or ground water (wells and well loops, buried loops, pump/dump, ponds/surface water, etc.).
Water Furnace has a very good reputation. However there are others. I believe the major HVAC brands have water source heat pumps (I think the one the other guy was referring to was a Carrier? not sure, though). Water Furnace specializes in GSHP while the other mfg are very good at HVAC in general. That is not to be construed as a good or a bad thing ... just a fact. Water based heat pumps have been used for decades in both residential and commercial applications (I recall a school that used water source heat pumps fed by a boiler/chilled water loop). The 80 story Columbia Center in Seattle uses them, I believe. These are examples that are NOT GSHP, but use the same principle of a water source (even a GSHP almost always has a water loop serving it ... although I've recently discovered another option).
Your 'source' generally CAN BE expensive, so explore your options. Good options are almost always site specific ... so take care in listening to generalizations about 'the best way to go' from well meaning friends and acquaintenances. With GSHP systems there is no such thing as a generalization when choosing your source (of heat/heat rejection).