Geothermal response for T-Bone

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The proplem with GSHP is the intial unit cost and higher installation costs. With these figures added in, the "total overall costs" are much higher than a typical HP even with the energy savings added in. If that wasn't the case, we would be installing them very fast, when in fact there an extremally hard sell item.

Theres another consideration for any type of HP. They don't feel like there heating to the average homeowner, anotherwords the preceived warmth felt by a human will not be the same and people tend to feel on the cool side although the room temperature is the same. This is because a HP average output temps are 115F while a typical gas untit is 130F. The same problem occured for people switching from wood heat to gas forced air heat. The air movement is the problem. Any air movement during heating and you feel cool, but during cooling season the air movement feels good.

As any new item comes to market theres allways a big savings claimed but rarely that is the case. HP when they first hit Denver back in the 70's had the same sales hype, but in realility HP's were over three times the cost to operate not facturing in the additional unit cost.

Something else to consider is how Electricity came to be installed in every home. Back 100yrs ago every farmer made his own electricity by wind generators. They were simple units and very efficent and the farmer could work on the unit himself adding big savings over hiring service people. The electric utilitys came in and offered the farmer almost free electricty, free upkeep, provided that the farmer would give up his windmill when the "new" electricity was installed. With in 3yrs there was no more windmills to be had and the company's making them went out of business, then the electric utilitys raised the cost to double what the farmer was paying to maintain his own unit and within another 3yrs doubled again.

History does repeat it's self and the Electric company's are really pushing hard for the same thing to happen once again. Just another thought!

T_Bone

You results would be different for your area effected by, utility costs, unit and installition costs, geothermal ground source, manfactures intrest in the area. If you reread my orginal comment, I stated "for this application" and in my area at the current time frame. This field changes really fast so I have no doubt it would be cost effective for you.

Without you explaining your system, I thought you were refferring to a GSHP and not a true geothermal HP (GTHP). The difference in the GSHP and a GTHP, is the GSHP only is effected buy ground temperature alone. Not that efficent but more efficent than a air to air exchange unit, but unit and installation is not cost effective for this area. Even for me to install a system for my self at my cost is not cost effective. Here in the summer time Relative Humidity(RH) drops to 10%RH and evaporatative coolers work very well.

I would love to have your well water temperature here. My cooling costs would be about $20 mth, if that much. With our well water temps, it could be used for heating and preheating but only if one maintains there own systems.

The biggest change in refrigeration in the past 50yrs is the skroal compression cycle. This is a very effeicent compressor and almost a indistructible compressor. Now if the manufactures just don't make them out of cheap materials we got it made.

T_Bone

I think REA came 4 years later, or abouts then.

--->Paul

Your house would be much cheaper to set up as it's already wired for a solar/combustion engine system.

T_Bone